JPMorgan Realty Income ETF

JPRE

Market cap $430M

The REIT sector closed out 2025 with a tough December (-1.48%) and finishing the year with a -3.57% total return for 2025. Small caps (+0.51%) eked out a small gain in December, while mid caps (-1.77%), large caps (-2.55%) and micro caps (-3.88%) fell at the close of the year. 42.04% of REIT securities had a positive total return in December with only 38.36% in the black for the full year.

The REIT sector has seen back-to-back tough months as it saw a modest average negative total return in September (-0.73%) and fell deeper into the red in October (-4.03%). Small cap REITs (-5.05%) had the worst performance in October. Micro caps (-2.81%), mid caps (-3.11%) and large caps (-4.45%) were also in negative territory albeit to a smaller degree. Only 21.66% of REIT securities had a positive total return in October.

REITs performed very well in August (+5.48%), almost pulling the REIT sector's year-to-date total return back into the black (-1.11%). Small cap (+7.52%) and mid cap REITs (+7.13%) averaged strong gains in August while large caps (+3.16%) and micro caps (+0.87%) averaged more modest returns. 83.87% of REIT securities had a positive total return in August.

After a strong June (+2.56%), the REIT sector recovery stalled in July (-1.17%) as REITs fell to a -6.42% year-to-date return. Micro cap REITs (-0.20%) outperformed in July while mid caps (-1.18%), small caps (-1.33%) and large caps (-1.55%) averaged slightly deeper negative returns. 60.65% of REIT securities had a negative total return in July.

The JPMorgan Realty Income ETF invests in U.S. REITs, exhibiting a high concentration in its top ten holdings. Wall Street analysts project ~10.32% price appreciation for JPRE's largest holdings over the next twelve months. Coupled with a 2.31% dividend yield, this results in a total return potential close to 12.5% by August 2026.

REITs finished the first quarter of 2025 in the red (-3.36%) with a brutal -4.92% average total return in March. Large cap (-2.04%) and mid cap REITs (-2.63%) saw modest losses, but small caps (-4.16%) and micro caps (-16.19%) had a particularly bad month. Only 29.49% of REIT securities had a positive total return in March.

REITs bounced back (+1.77%) in February and now have a positive year-to-date total return (+0.79%) after the first two months of the year. Large cap (+4.58%), small cap (+2.00%) and mid cap REITs (+0.98%) performed well in February while micro caps (-1.55%) continued to badly underperform their larger peers. 64.97% of REIT securities had a positive total in February.

Real estate has been one of the worst-performing stock market sectors in recent years, mainly thanks to interest rate headwinds. While this hasn't exactly been a great catalyst for real estate investment trust (REIT) returns lately, it has created opportunities for long-term investors to add top-quality real estate exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at relatively cheap valuations.

After a brutal December (-6.85%), the REIT sector averaged negative total returns again in January (-1.29%). Large cap (+0.30%) and mid cap REITs (+0.09%) averaged small gains in January, whereas small caps (-0.95%) and micro caps (-7.80%) started the year in the red. Only 42.58% of REIT securities had a positive total during the first month of 2025.

The REIT sector took a beating in December with an average total return of -6.85% but still finished in the black for full year 2024 (+3.70%). Small cap (-5.98%) and mid cap REITs (-6.62%) outperformed large caps (-7.43%) and micro caps (-8.63%) in December. Only 9.68% of REIT securities had a positive total return in December. 55.63% had a positive total return for all of 2024.