9 Best Real Estate ETFs Of April 2024

Looking for a real estate ETF with a negligible expense ratio? The iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF sports the lowest annual expense ratio on our list.

USRT provides exposure to the entire public U.S. real estate market except the infrastructure, mortgage and timber sectors. The fund’s roughly 135 holdings are mainly midcaps, mostly in the core style camp.

This REIT’s dividend yield is a smidge higher than its category average’s. Also, its average annual total return topped its category average over the past one, three, five and 10 years.

The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund aims to deliver the returns of all of the real estate firms in the S&P 500. The fund’s holdings represent real estate management and development firms, but exclude mortgage REITs.

XLRE holds about 30 securities, whose projected earnings growth over the next three to five years is estimated to be about 6%. That’s higher than the the fund’s Morningstar category average’s expected earnings growth.

It bets roughly 60% of its money on its top-10 holdings. The fund’s low expense ratio ensures that the bulk of your investment goes into the fund, not to management. XLRE is a good option for a core real estate holding in a diversified portfolio.

The JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI U.S. REIT ETF is a passively managed real estate investment trust that tracks the MSCI US REIT Custom Capped Index. That benchmark leans towards the small- and mid-cap real estate firms. Unlike RSPR, this fund weights its holdings according to their market capitalization. That’s share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding.

BBRE’s roughly 125 holdings are highly concentrated. Its top-10 positions make up nearly 50% of the fund’s value. The fund outperformed its Morningstar category average over the past one, three, and five years.

BBRE’s low expense ratio automatically gives this ETF a leg up on its competition, as there is less of a fee-drag on its performance. And its yield provides a healthy cash flow to investors as they wait for the real estate market to rebound, adding zip to this fund’s share price value.

First opened in September 2004, this share class of the Vanguard Real Estate ETF has proven its appeal by becoming the largest fund on our list of best real estate ETFs with its $28.9 billion in total net assets. The fund’s low fee is another draw. VNQ holds roughly 165 companies, tilting toward core style equities in the midcap size range.

VNQ’s yield is higher than its Morningstar category average. Telecommunications tower REITs—which own and run cell phone towers—and industrial REITs are VNQ’s largest industrial sectors. Prologis, American Tower and Equinix are among VNQ’s top holdings.

Telecom tower REITs enjoy stable income from cell phone carriers. Industrial REITs house a variety of tenants in a variety of locations. That gives them diversified, stable income. REITs like those are relative safe havens, offering reliable passive income, amid a troubled commercial real estate market.

The Nuveen Short-Term REIT ETF invests in only about 35 U.S. REITs with short-term leases, including apartment REITs, hotels, self-storage facilities and manufactured homes. This approach tends to make the values of its properties less sensitive to changes in interest rates. In contrast, rising interest rates typically hurt the values of REITs with long-term lease agreements.

NURE’s average annual total return roughly quintupled its Morningstar category average over the past three years. It topped it over the past five years too. The fund also demonstrated less volatility during market downturns over the past three and five years. If you’re seeking a low-fee real estate fund with sound prospects for good long-term risk-adjusted returns, check out NURE.

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Real Estate ETF invests in at least 90% of the S&P 500 real estate sector companies. Unlike many traditional passively managed index funds, RSPR equal weights every company within the fund. That gives RSPR more of a value orientation than a typical market weight fund, which emphasizes its highest priced companies.

RSPR owns about 30 companies. RSPR’s top 10 holdings account for about 35% of portfolio assets. The fund’s largest style and size allocation is to mid-cap core companies. Core companies have a mix of growth and value traits. They often have moderate valuations measured by such things as price-earnings ratios, and they often have stable earnings and income potential.

RSPR’s dividend yield has been uptrending and is more than a full percentage point higher than the S&P 500 Index’s average. In addition, its total return has topped the fund’s Morningstar peer group average’s over the past one, three and five years. Good income. Good relative total return. Good fund to consider.

The iShares Residential and Multisector Real Estate ETF is devoted to U.S. residential, healthcare and self-storage real estate equities. Those sectors have strong demographic tailwinds. There’s great demand for additional U.S. residential housing. Aging baby boomers are driving the healthcare sector. Consumer strength and limited space bode well for the self-storage sector.

REZ has significantly outperformed its Morningstar category over the past three, five and 10 years. Real estate investors who want cash flow and a short at strong capital appreciation fueled by demographic tailwinds should consider this ETF.

The only actively managed ETF on our list, the JPMorgan Realty Income ETF distinguishes itself from the real estate category by delving into slightly lower volatility holdings. That generally enables it to offer performance stability when markets waver. How does it pursue that trade-off? The fund targets lower yield companies but with higher earnings growth projected for the next three to five years than its Morningstar category average.

This mission positions JPRE for superior capital appreciation while generating dividend yield that’s forecast to be slightly more modest than its peer group. It owns a narrowly focused portfolio of only about 30 positions. Roughly 60% of shareholder funds is at work in the portfolio’s top-10 holdings.

Opened in December 1997, JPRE is one of the oldest REIT exchange-traded fund. It delivers steady performance and carries Morningstar’s coveted Gold Medal rating. Investors seeking a real estate fund holding smaller, growthier companies with a focus on both capital appreciation and current income should explore JPRE.

The Pacer Benchmark Industrial Real Estate Sector ETF is non-diversified. It invests in industrial REITs that are involved in ecommerce distribution and logistics, along with self-storage facilities.

Roughly 70% of INDS’s companies are U.S. based. The fund sports a lower price-earnings ratio than its Morningstar category’s average. That attractive valuation gives it more room for potential price appreciation.

With roughly 65% of its money at work in its top-10 holdings, INDS shows the most faith in its biggest bets of any ETF on our list. Prologis, which invests in logistics facilities, and self-storage company Public Storage are the top positions by far, each about triple the size of any other individual holdings.