Best Real Estate ETFs
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
BeginnerCompare REIT and real estate ETFs for property exposure without direct ownership. Diversified access to global real estate markets.
This guide reviews 22 Real Estate ETFs funds available in Europe. They track 19 different indices, which is the first thing to check: two funds filed under the same theme do not necessarily hold the same securities, and a one-year performance gap is often explained by that rather than by how the fund is run. Their ongoing charges start at 0.07% for an average of 0.30%, and 18 of them pay their dividends out while the rest reinvest them. 14 are domiciled in US, which sets the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives. The oldest, IYR, launched in 2000, giving 26 years of history, enough to see how it behaved in a fall. The order on this page does not follow past performance: over the horizons published it says more about the index tracked than about how the fund is run, and it does not repeat. What counts are the fees, the assets and the tracking quality, the figures that are known in advance.
Updated 2025-05
Real estate has traditionally been one of investors' favourite asset classes, but buying property directly requires significant capital, high fees and daily management. Real estate ETFs offer a liquid, diversified alternative: they invest in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and listed property companies that own and manage portfolios of assets, offices, shopping centres, logistics warehouses, residential properties, data centres and telecom towers.
REITs have an interesting tax feature: in most countries, they are required to distribute at least 80-90% of their profits as dividends, giving them a yield generally higher than the broader equity market. A global real estate ETF provides exposure to hundreds of REITs across all continents, a level of diversification impossible to achieve through direct property purchases.
The listed real estate sector experienced turbulence during the 2022-2023 interest rate increases, as REITs are sensitive to borrowing costs. However, valuations have adjusted and long-term prospects remain solid, supported by structural trends like e-commerce growth (logistics), digitalisation (data centres) and an ageing population (senior living). This comparison analyses the leading real estate ETFs available in Europe.
0.30%
-3.9%
115.9B
22
VNQ, MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
Simulated from available data points. Past returns do not guarantee future results.
Best Performance
Lowest Cost
Largest Funds
How to choose a real estate ETF
Geographic focus is decisive. A global real estate ETF (FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed) covers REITs from all developed countries, with a heavy US weighting (around 60%). A European real estate ETF (FTSE EPRA Nareit Europe) focuses on European property companies, Vonovia, Unibail-Rodamco, Segro, with a different yield and risk profile. Asia-Pacific real estate ETFs offer exposure to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Australia markets.
The type of underlying properties varies by index. Broad indices cover all segments (office, retail, residential, logistics, specialty), while some ETFs focus on niches like data centres, telecom towers or logistics real estate. Post-COVID, the logistics and data centre segments have outperformed, while traditional offices and shopping centres have struggled.
Real estate ETF fees range from 0.20% to 0.45% TER. For income-seeking investors, a distributing ETF makes sense since REITs pay high dividends (3-5% yield). For capital growth, an accumulating ETF reinvests these dividends automatically. Check the fund size, AUM above €500 million ensures good liquidity.
Full Comparison
| # | Name | TER | AUM | Replication | Distribution | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VNQVanguard MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 | 0.12% | 66.4B | physical | distributing | -0.7% | +8.2% | -3.4% | |
| 2 | SCHHSchwab Dow Jones Equity All REIT Capped | 0.07% | 10.6B | physical | distributing | +3.3% | +9.7% | -1.7% | |
| 3 | XLRESPDR Real Estate Select Sector | 0.09% | 7.7B | physical | distributing | -1.1% | +8.8% | -2.4% | |
| 4 | REETiShares FTSE EPRA Nareit Global REITs Net Total Return | 0.14% | 4.6B | physical | distributing | -0.2% | +8.5% | -2.4% | |
| 5 | USRTiShares FTSE Nareit Equity REITs | 0.08% | 4.3B | physical | distributing | +4.8% | +11.2% | -0.2% | |
| 6 | IYRiShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate | 0.39% | 4.2B | physical | distributing | -0.8% | +9.2% | -2.4% | |
| 7 | VNQIVanguard S&P Global ex-U.S. Property | 0.12% | 3.6B | physical | distributing | -12.1% | +4.5% | -6.1% | |
| 8 | IWDPiShares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Dividend+ | 0.59% | 3.0B | physical | distributing | -3.3% | +4.3% | -3.5% | |
| 9 | ITBiShares Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction | 0.39% | 2.4B | physical | distributing | -16.9% | +6.1% | +3.9% | |
| 10 | RWRSPDR Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT | 0.25% | 1.8B | physical | distributing | +4.2% | +10.0% | -1.4% | |
| 11 | XHBSPDR S&P Homebuilders Select Industry | 0.35% | 1.4B | physical | distributing | -12.8% | +10.2% | +4.2% | |
| 12 | XRETXtrackers FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe | 0.33% | 1.2B | physical | accumulating | – | – | – | |
| 13 | BBREJPMorgan MSCI US REIT Custom Capped | 0.11% | 1.2B | physical | distributing | +4.3% | +10.5% | -0.5% | |
| 14 | IPRPiShares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe ex UK Dividend+ | 0.40% | 924M | physical | distributing | -18.9% | +3.4% | -9.8% | |
| 15 | DPYAiShares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Dividend+ | 0.59% | 700M | physical | accumulating | -0.4% | +11.1% | -1.0% | |
| 16 | XDWEXtrackers MSCI World Real Estate | 0.25% | 500M | physical | accumulating | – | – | – | |
| 17 | REMiShares FTSE Nareit All Mortgage Capped | 0.48% | 458M | physical | distributing | -22.5% | -4.9% | -14.5% | |
| 18 | TRETVanEck GPR Global 100 | 0.25% | 433M | physical | distributing | +2.5% | +8.1% | -2.0% | |
| 19 | MORTVanEck MVIS US Mortgage REITs | 0.41% | 325M | physical | distributing | -27.3% | -8.2% | -17.1% | |
| 20 | XMLDXtrackers MSCI World Real Estate | 0.25% | 132M | physical | accumulating | +33.9% | +18.6% | +11.9% | |
| 21 | INDSPacer Benchmark Industrial Real Estate SCTR | 0.60% | 101M | physical | distributing | -4.6% | +5.1% | -5.0% | |
| 22 | EPRAAmundi FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe | 0.40% | 92M | physical | distributing | -9.0% | +7.5% | -6.7% |
Key takeaways
- 1Global real estate ETFs offer diversification across hundreds of REITs with TERs starting from 0.20%.
- 2The dividend yield of real estate ETFs is generally higher than the broader equity market (3-5% vs 1.5-2%).
- 3REITs are sensitive to interest rates: when rates rise, REITs tend to fall (higher borrowing costs and competition from bonds).
- 4The logistics and data centre segments are the most dynamic, driven by e-commerce and digitalisation.
- 5Listed real estate is already included in MSCI World and S&P 500 ETFs (roughly 3% weighting), a dedicated real estate ETF constitutes a sector overweight.
- 6Real estate ETFs are generally not PEA-eligible, they sit in a brokerage account or life insurance wrapper.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a real estate ETF and buying an apartment?
Do real estate ETFs protect against inflation?
How much of my portfolio should I allocate to listed real estate?
How does a real estate ETF differ from buy-to-let?
Are REIT ETFs sensitive to interest rates?
What percentage of listed real estate should a portfolio hold?
Data sourced from fund factsheets. Last updated 2025-05.