Real estate stocks continue to advance

[real estate agent Delivering sample homes to customers, mortgage loan contracts. Make a contract for hire purchase and sale of a house. and home insurance contracts, home mortgage loan concepts]
Daenin Arnee

Real estate stocks continued to gain this week on the back of several factors.

Office REITs were a laggard as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pitched [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553020-mamdani-pitches-nyc-property-tax-hike] hiking property taxes by 9.5% as "a last resort" to help close an estimated $5.4B two-year revenue shortfall, if his proposal to tax the rich falls through.

However, mortgage rates dropped [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554099-mortgage-rates-down-to-lowest-level-since-september-2022] to their lowest level since September 2022.

Homebuilder stocks rose marginally on the SCOTUS tariff decision, as about 60% of the homebuilders, according to the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), had reported an increase in costs on account of the tariffs, CNBC News [https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/20/homebuilder-stocks-rise-slightly-on-scotus-tariff-decision.html] noted.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554697-us-supreme-court-strikes-down-trumps-global-tariffs] in a 6-3 decision to strike down President Donald Trump's tariffs. The ruling found that Trump did not have the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The court's decision throws into question whether importers will get refunds for duties already paid.

Furthermore, the sector reported strong earnings this week.

All three S&P 500 real estate companies that declared their quarterly financials - Extra Space Storage [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554264-extra-space-storage-ffo-of-2_08-beats-by-0_04-revenue-of-857_5m-beats-by-124_64m] (EXR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EXR]), Host Hotels & Resorts [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553629-host-hotels-resorts-ffo-of-051-beats-by-004-revenue-of-16b-beats-by-110m] (HST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HST]), and Invitation Homes [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553606-invitation-homes-ffo-of-0_48-in-line-revenue-of-685_25m-in-line] (INVH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/INVH]) - met analyst estimates for revenue and earnings.

Year-to-date, real estate as a sector outperforms the broader market. The S&P 500 Real Estate Index Sector (SP500-60 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SP500-60]) is up ~9%, while the benchmark S&P 500 index has advanced less than 0.5%.

"Real estate as a theme is super durable," Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, told CNBC News [https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/17/josh-browns-best-stocks-in-the-market-real-estate.html] in an interview. "I think it works in this environment."

The best real estate stocks in the market include Realty Income (O [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/O]), Iron Mountain (IRM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IRM]), Prologis (PLD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PLD]), and Simon Property Group (SPG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPG]), according to Brown.

WEEKLY GAINERS & LOSERS

Among largecap stocks, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JLL]) led the weekly gainers. The stock rose 12.08% during the week to close at $314.00.

This week, the company reported Q4 earnings and revenue [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553158-jones-lang-lasalle-non-gaap-eps-of-871-beats-by-135-revenue-of-761b-beats-by-170m] that exceeded Wall Street estimates.

CoStar Group (CSGP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CSGP]) (+10.75% W/W to $49.87) and CBRE Group (CBRE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CBRE]) (+7.87% W/W to $147.01) were the next on the list.

For the losers, Weyerhaeuser (WY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WY]) topped the list. The stock lost 6.20% from the prior week to finish at $25.28. American Homes 4 Rent (AMH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AMH]) (-6.20% W/W to $29.52) followed, having reported [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554284-american-homes-4-rent-ffo-of-0_47-in-line] in-line earnings.

For the midcap stocks, Opendoor Technologies (OPEN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OPEN]) added 14.16% during the week to $5.00.

The residential real estate platform made progress [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554259-opendoor-stock-jumps-after-q4-earnings-demonstrate-transformations-progress] in its transformation plan. Q4 revenue and adjusted EBITDA exceeded the Wall Street consensus estimates.

Macerich (MAC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MAC]) (+13.98% W/W to $20.30) and Cousins Properties (CUZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CUZ]) (+10.16% W/W to $23.96) followed.

Macerich's Q4 earnings [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553589-macerich-q4-earnings-benefit-from-controlled-expenses-increased-occupancy] exceeded the average analyst estimate as revenue grew, expenses came in lower than expected, and occupancy improved from the prior quarter.

Cousins Properties announced [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552481-cousins-properties-sets-250m-stock-buyback-plan] an up to $250M stock buyback plan.

Howard Hughes (HHH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HHH]) (-8.06% W/W to $74.26) and Colliers International (CIGI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CIGI]) (-3.47% W/W to $114.13) emerged as the top losers on the back of mixed [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554277-howard-hughes-gaap-eps-of-0_10-misses-by-0_30-revenue-of-624_4m-beats-by-10_4m] Q4 earnings [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4551850-colliers-international-non-gaap-eps-of-2_34-misses-by-0_11-revenue-of-1_61b-in-line].

Among smallcap stocks, Kennedy-Wilson (KW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KW]) (+12.14% W/W to $10.90) led the weekly gainers as the real estate investment company agreed to be taken private [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552363-kennedy-wilson-stock-jumps-on-1090share-all-cash-take-private-deal] in an all-cash deal.

Transcontinental Realty Investors (TCI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TCI]) (-16.79% W/W to $45.40) and Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AHH]) (-10.54% W/W to $6.11) led the losers.

Armada Hoffler was losing despite reporting an earnings beat [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552302-armada-hoffler-properties-ffo-of-0_29-beats-by-0_03-revenue-of-75_6m-beats-by-6_98m] as it exited [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552629-armada-hoffler-projects-2026-nareit-ffo-of-0_50-0_54-per-share-as-it-exits-multifamily-and] multifamily and fee businesses.

For the subsector performances, below is a summary for the week:
[Source: S&P, Nareit]
Percentage-wise price change across real estate indices

MORE ON REAL ESTATE

* Zillow Home Value Index: 'Real' Home Values Continue To Decline [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4873123-zillow-home-value-index-real-home-values-continue-to-decline]
* How REITs Became The Safe Haven Trade In The Tech Wreck [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4871077-how-reits-became-safe-haven-trade-in-tech-wreck]
* REITs Rally As Rates Retreat [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4870841-reits-rally-as-rates-retreat]
* Mortgage rates down to lowest level since September 2022 [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4554099-mortgage-rates-down-to-lowest-level-since-september-2022]
* Mamdani pitches NYC property tax hike to close budget gap [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4553020-mamdani-pitches-nyc-property-tax-hike]