IT IS not an easy time to be a real estate investment trust (Reit) manager. It could soon become just as difficult for Reit investors, particularly those without cash to spare.

Last year was one of the worst years for Singapore-listed Reits (S-Reits), as interest rate fears and geopolitical uncertainty fuelled a sell-off.

But with signs of an easing pace of interest rate hikes and buoyancy over China’s reopening post-Covid, S-Reits raced to a stellar start in 2023.