Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve is looking at an interest rate hike this year, which would weigh on domestic REITs.
“As rates rise, REITs’ interest payments go up, which means REITs have less cash flow available for dividends for equity investors. As a result, higher rates mean greater interest expense,” according to Morningstar analyst Robert Goldsborough.
So far this year, the shift in foreign monetary policies may have supported the outperformance in global REITs. For instance, the Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEArca: VNQ), which tracks U.S. REITs, has declined 3.0% year-to-date while RWX gained 3.6%.
For more information on real estate investment trusts, visit our REITs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.