Jussi Askola, president of Leonberg and author of the recently published book The REIT Advantage, joined the REIT Report podcast to share why he believes REITs typically offer a better investment option than private real estate.

While acknowledging the benefits of a mix of public and private real estate, “in most cases, REITs make more sense for the majority of investors,” Askola said. Higher returns, liquidity, diversification, significant economies of scale, and access to the best talent are among the key reasons investors should consider REITs, he added. 

In addition to highlighting what he sees as the elements of a strong REIT management strategy, Askola discussed options for how to navigate the diverse set of REIT property sectors according to an investor’s risk tolerance and need for income. He also touched on how the sector might evolve and diversify going forward.

“I'm very optimistic about the long-term prospects of REITs,” Askola said. Typically, “REITs offer better returns with lower risk and less required effort… than private real estate,” he concluded.

Jeremy Porter, chief economist at First Street, joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of climate risk and its significant impact on corporate operations and financial performance. 

Porter explained how physical climate risk now propagates through assets, suppliers, commodities, customers, and transportation networks. “Prior to this, we were thinking about all of these independently, or we were thinking about a supply chain independent of physical climate risk, and the ability to sort of pull all of those things together really helps to price in the downside and to protect facilities through adaptation and mitigation in a way that we weren't thinking about previously,” he said.

Porter shared how corporate attitudes towards climate risk have shifted from it being a peripheral concern to a core financial risk indicator. The conversation highlighted the quantifiable effects of climate risk on corporate revenues, the investment community's response, and the challenges posed by rising insurance costs. 

Three members of Citi’s global real estate research team—Nick Joseph in the United States, Aaron Guy in the U.K., and Howard Penny in Australia—joined the latest episode of the Nareit REIT Report podcast to share their thoughts on regional outlooks and sector performance.

Citi’s overall expectation is for higher real estate stock returns this year versus in 2025. One key theme across all markets is supply and demand, Joseph said. “The supply picture broadly is more encouraging globally,” he noted, while Citi economists are generally “constructive” on global growth this year.

Higher total returns in 2026 are anticipated in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. In Australia and China, Citi is expecting about similar performance this year versus last year, while weaker performance is forecast in Hong Kong, Japan, and the Middle East.

REITs are well positioned in the U.S. for 2026, with about a 10% to 15% total return, Joseph said. He commented on the “massive dispersion” of performance within the REIT sector. “That's really what gets us excited about different REIT opportunities because different stocks and different sectors will perform differently and create a lot of different alpha generation opportunities.”

Henry Chin, global head of research at CBRE, joined the latest episode of the REIT Report podcast to review key themes for commercial real estate investing in 2026. Chin highlighted strong investor sentiment towards the sector, an expected increase in investment activity, the dynamics of supply and demand across various property types, and more.

Chin said investors are expected to deploy capital into U.S. real estate markets this year on the back of recovering fundamentals and interest rates trending lower. As a result, investment volume is expected to increase by about 16%, he noted.

Additional observations during the interview included:

Total returns this year will be income-driven rather than appreciation-driven. “We are only going to see some strong capital value gain when the 10-year Treasury is trending down below 4%, but as of now, most of the total returns are driven by the income growth.”

Harsh Hemnani, senior debt research analyst at Green Street, joined the REIT Report podcast to review current trends across the commercial and residential mortgage REIT (mREIT) sector.

Hemnani discussed the size and breakdown of the mREIT market, the current operating environment, macroeconomic forces impacting performance, valuation and total returns for MREITs, risk profiles, and the outlook for the sector over the next 12 to 24 months.

Commercial mREITs are able to underwrite idiosyncratic, property-level risk, Hemnani said. Not only can they execute the loan quicker than other lenders, but they also provide certainty as to who the loan counterparty will be throughout the life of the loan. “mREITs take out that uncertainty and that’s the value proposition they provide to the commercial real estate market,” he noted.

Hemnani described the backdrop for commercial mREITs today as encouraging. “If you think about commercial real estate credit, it's fairly attractive on a risk adjusted basis. Property values have declined roughly 20% from their peak and they seem to have stabilized. So the risk of a broad-based property value decline from there is fairly low.”

Breana Wheeler, director of U.S. operations at BREEAM, joined the REIT Report to discuss the evolving landscape of sustainability in real estate, including how investor expectations are shifting to performance-based frameworks that emphasize data and measurable outcomes.

BREEAM is a Nareit Real Estate Sustainability Partner for 2026.

Wheeler noted that capital providers and investors “are really looking for the data and performance that can validate the claims being made about sustainability risk and opportunity.” BREEAM’s focus on carbon emissions and resilience metrics is highlighted as a critical factor in asset valuation and risk management, particularly in light of increasing regulations and climate risks. 

Wheeler emphasized that resilience isn't about a single building. “True resilience is a team sport. It's not just thinking about your asset, it's about your block, your neighborhood, and your broader community. The willingness to tackle physical risk and mitigate at the community level is critical,” she said.

Gina Szymanski, chief investment officer at AEW Capital Management’s global securities business, joined the latest episode of the REIT Report to share her insights into the year ahead. She noted that REITs are facing a favorable macroeconomic backdrop marked by good demand, moderating supply, and stable interest rates.

“The setup for us is great. and I would highly recommend the average investor take a look at REITs,” Szymanski said. “We're experiencing some of the best growth that we've ever experienced,” she added.

For the most part, the sectors that AEW has been overweight in are still favorites, Szymanski said. Number one on that list is senior housing, where AEW has been overweight across the globe. Data centers are in second place, followed by retail. Industrial remains “on the margin,” she added.

Melinda McLaughlin, global head of research at Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), joined the REIT Report to review major supply chain trends expected for 2026. 

McLaughlin discussed the performance of international logistics markets, the impact of e-commerce on leasing demand, the growing power needs of logistics facilities, emerging trends in defense-related demand, and the challenges faced by the trucking industry. 

The conversation highlighted the need for adaptability in supply chains as companies navigate a changing landscape. “I think there's an acknowledgement that supply chains need to be adaptable rather than continue to wait for perfect information. And I think that's really going to shape a return to normal in a lot of different spheres of the logistics real estate market,” McLaughlin said.

Nareit’s Senior Vice President for Research Ed Pierzak and Nareit Vice President for Index Management and Industry Information John Barwick joined the REIT Report to highlight key themes and trends in Nareit’s 2026  REIT Outlook.

Pierzak discussed the dual divergences at play between REITs and broader equities and REITs and private real estate. Each provides an opportunity for REITs to outperform, he said. At the same time, REIT balance sheets point to access to capital, putting the sector in a “great position to really embark on a growth opportunity in 2026,” alongside signs of a thawing in the transaction market, Pierzak said.

Meanwhile, Barwick discussed global REIT performance, noting that currency movements were a significant tailwind for U.S.-based investors in 2025 as a weaker dollar bolstered the performance of international assets. For U.S. investors, strong local returns in developed Asia and developed Europe were further boosted when translated back into dollars, which widened the performance gap with North America, Barwick noted.

Read the 2026 REIT outlook: https://www.reit.com/news/blog/market-commentary/2026-reit-outlook-trends-and-strategies

Ronald Kamdem, head of U.S. REITs and commercial real estate research at Morgan Stanley, joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss current performance in the office REIT sector and how it is positioned for 2026.

Kamdem spoke about the recovery of the office market post-pandemic, highlighting regional variations, trends in leasing and utilization, the impact of new developments, and the future of class B assets. Current sentiment in the REIT space, and how valuations are influencing strategies moving forward, were also discussed.

“There's a lot of excitement in the office market right now because there's certainly been a lot of leasing that's been done in 2025…for the first time from a financial perspective, you're in a position where in 2026 going into 2027, you're going to be able to post some sort of financial and earnings growth to the market that people want to see,” Kamdem said. He added that if interest rates continue to trend lower, that will provide an additional tailwind to earnings growth.