Using data for the 1978-2008 period, this study presents evidence for cointegration between securitized (NAREIT) and direct (NCREIF) total return indices. Cointegration between the indices indicates that REITs and direct real estate are substitutable in the portfolio of a long-horizon...

We use sector level REIT and transaction-based direct real estate data for the U.S. to provide a clearer understanding of the dynamic relations between public and private real estate returns. We exclude leverage from REIT returns to make the REIT data more comparable with the direct market data....