Everyone knows the old adage that you should never try to catch a falling knife and I have always applied that same philosophy to investing. When a stock or ETF appears to be in a persistent downtrend it doesn’t make sense to try and step in when the momentum is running against you.
You don’t want to be left feeling the pain of early losses if the price continues heading south. Such as been the case in real estate stocks over the last four months as rising interest rates have pulled the rug out from under this sector.
I have been warning investors for some time to stay away from both traditional real estate investment trusts and mortgage REITs as rising rates have been a natural headwind for these stocks. Consider that fixed-mortgage rates recently hit their highest levels in two years on expectations that the Federal Reserve will taper its asset purchase program. The profitability of these REITs is directly dependent on low interest rates to finance their acquisition and ongoing operating costs. Higher financing costs make these investments less attractive, which is why they have fallen out of favor with income seeking investors.
Mortgage REITs in particular are highly sensitive to any swift move in bond yields because they borrow short-term money very cheap and use it to buy long-term debt. This enables them to pocket the spread on interest rates and distribute the majority of earnings to shareholders. In addition, they use excessive leverage to juice their returns which in turn makes them more responsive to changes in rates. [Interest-Rate Spike May be Overdone]