Real estate as a portfolio risk diversifier

Abstract

This study provides evidence on the investment performance of real estate relative to bonds and common stocks in the U.S. Using quarterly total return data over the years 1978-2012, the analyses show that, over this period, on a riskadjusted basis real estate was the top performing asset class, outperformed both bonds and stocks. Real estate, in the Eastern U.S., was the top performer, outperforming both bonds and stocks. The results also show that real estate provided a partial hedge against actual and expected inflation, and that, in combinations with bonds and stocks, it made up a major share of optimal portfolios constructed for various target returns within the Markowitz optimization framework.