Homebuilders lag in US real estate recovery

Los Angeles

INVESTORS who put their money in a fund devoted to real estate investment trusts (Reits) have racked up gains of 65 per cent, while investors in homebuilder stocks still haven't recovered from the housing crash even after the US economic rebound.

The gap will probably endure for years as US job growth spurs demand for office, retail and apartment properties faster than Americans can buy new houses.

Almost half of institutional investors expect to increase their stakes in real estate over the next 18 months, according to a survey by BlackRock of 201 fund managers. Most of that money will be in assets outside the homebuilding sector that are less sensitive to mortgage availability or growing consumer preferences to rent rather than buy property, according to Jack Chandler, global head of real est…