Personally, I don't know if this FFO figure is accurate, but it is higher than the P/E of the S&P 500. Also Vanguard reports the current P/B of VGSLX is 2.2, the same as the S&P 500. In the not too distant past, REITS had a P/B of about 1, sometimes less than 1. Those low valuations turned out to be a great time to invest in REITS.REITs are trading at an average of 20x "funds from operations," which is a REIT measure for cash flow. (Net income or earnings for property REITs is useless, because of the depreciation charge. That means a conventional P/E is also useless.)
Anyway, they're expensive. Really expensive. The apartment landlords are insanely expensive, although they're growing rents at large clips at the moment. They're priced as if they'll do so forever. Everyone is chasing REIT yield. Stay away from them..... Unless, I suppose, you think the 10-year Treasury will yield under 2% forever......
Question: are REITS overvalued relative to TSM or S&P 500 at present? If so, will this affect their future returns?
Garland Whizzer