Understanding Singapore REITs: Categories and Sectors (2026)

Singapore has 39 listed REITs and property trusts worth about S$102 billion. They fall into seven sectors: industrial, diversified, retail, office, hospitality and lodging, data centre, and healthcare. The sector tells you where the rent comes from, but it does not tell you how safe a payout is. The 2012 version of this article ranked sectors by “defensiveness” and yield. The 2026 data show far more overlap, so the sector is only the start of your research.

At a glance

• The REITAS list shows 39 S-REITs and property trusts with a combined market value of S$102.0 billion at 30 June 2026. Diversified and industrial trusts make up about 70% of it.
• SGX data put the average distribution yield at 6.3% and average gearing near 38% in mid-2026.
• Yields vary as much inside a sector as between sectors. Healthcare trusts yielded from 3.8% to 9.1%.
• Over 90% of S-REITs own some property outside Singapore, and 15 own only overseas property.
• There is no residential sector. Data centres and accommodation trusts are new since 2012.

What changed since 2012

The 2012 article covered eight classes, including a residential REIT that owned only Japanese flats. That trust is gone from today’s list. Some other changes:

• Mergers. The retail “blue chip” of 2012, CapitaMall Trust, is now part of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which REITAS classes as diversified. That one trust is S$18.9 billion by market value.
• New sectors. Data centre REITs (Keppel DC REIT, Digital Core REIT and NTT DC REIT) did not exist in 2012. Centurion Accommodation REIT, classed under hospitality and lodging, holds workers’ and student housing.
• Overseas exposure. REITAS says over 90% of S-REITs own property abroad. So a “Singapore REIT” often means foreign rent and foreign currency.
• Tighter leverage rules. Under changes MAS announced on 28 November 2024, a REIT’s aggregate leverage may not exceed 50% of its deposited property, with a minimum interest coverage ratio of 1.5 times (Code on Collective Investment Schemes, Appendix 6). What REITs are and how to buy them is in our guide to investing in S-REITs.

The seven sectors in numbers

Figures are from SGX’s Q2 2026 chartbook and the REITAS list, as at 30 June 2026. We grouped them by sector.

Sector	Trusts	Market value	Share of total	Examples
Diversified	10	S$41.7bn	41%	CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Suntec REIT
Industrial	8	S$29.3bn	29%	CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust
Data centre	3	S$7.6bn	7%	Keppel DC REIT, NTT DC REIT, Digital Core REIT
Hospitality and lodging	5	S$7.5bn	7%	CapitaLand Ascott Trust, CDL Hospitality Trusts, Far East Hospitality Trust
Retail	6	S$7.5bn	7%	Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Starhill Global REIT, Sasseur REIT
Office	5	S$5.3bn	5%	Keppel REIT, Prime US REIT, Elite UK REIT
Healthcare	2	S$3.1bn	3%	Parkway Life REIT, First REIT

The risk numbers differ by sector too, but the ranges overlap:

Sector	12-month yield range	Debt-to-asset range	Interest cover range
Diversified	4.9% to 8.8%	34.8% to 44.7%	1.8x to 4.1x
Industrial	6.0% to 9.4%	28.9% to 44.3%	2.4x to 5.1x
Data centre	4.6% to 7.1%	32.5% to 39.0%	3.3x to 7.2x
Hospitality and lodging	4.5% to 6.8%	31.0% to 43.7%	1.6x to 6.0x
Retail	0.6% to 9.0%	25.4% to 41.1%	1.7x to 5.0x
Office	2.8% to 9.5%	37.7% to 58.4%	1.6x to 2.6x
Healthcare	3.8% to 9.1%	34.2% to 44.6%	4.4x to 8.4x

Notes: yields exclude trusts for which SGX shows no figure (Landmark REIT, Manulife US REIT, NTT DC REIT and UI Boustead REIT). Trailing yields can be distorted by a payout change. The debt-to-asset figure is Bloomberg’s measure, which is not identical to the MAS leverage ratio, so read each REIT’s own results before you rely on it.

What drives each sector

Industrial and logistics. Warehouses, factories, business parks. Income depends on how long leases run and how much rents can rise at renewal. The key figure is the weighted average lease expiry (WALE), the average time until leases end, weighted by rent. A long WALE protects income but delays rent increases. Many large industrial trusts own property in several countries. REITAS lists CapitaLand Ascendas REIT as holding assets in Singapore, Australia, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA.

Diversified. These trusts own a mix of property types, often offices, malls and other uses. The mix can smooth results, but the label says little about what is inside. Some are almost wholly Singapore. Others are mainly European or Chinese. Read the portfolio table.

Data centres. REITAS describes these trusts as owning facilities that house customers’ server racks and supply power, cooling and connectivity. SGX said in its February 2026 ETF note that data centre REITs had shown resilient results, helped by demand linked to AI. Three trusts is a narrow group, and the yield range of the two with data is 4.6% to 7.1%.

Hospitality and lodging. REITAS says these are typically stapled trusts. The REIT holds assets master-leased to the hotel operator, and the business trust acts as master lessee of last resort. So check the lease structure. Where income is a fixed rent, it behaves like a lease. Where it depends on occupancy and room rates, it moves with tourism.

Retail. Suburban malls earn rent from everyday shopping. You can judge a Singapore mall yourself: visit it, see how busy it is and look at the tenant mix. Not all retail trusts are Singapore malls though. Sasseur REIT’s assets are in China, and the sector’s yield range runs from 0.6% to 9.0%.

Office. This sector has the weakest interest cover. The five office trusts range from 1.6 to 2.6 times, against a regulatory floor of 1.5. Several own offices in the US or UK. Look at tenant concentration, the debt maturity table and how much of the borrowing is hedged.

Healthcare. Just two trusts, Parkway Life REIT and First REIT. REITAS says healthcare REITs own hospitals, nursing homes and medical centres. Their yields (3.8% and 9.1%) show that the sector label did not mean similar payouts. Both have stronger interest cover (4.4 to 8.4 times) than most of the market.

Why sector rankings mislead

The 2012 article put yield and defensiveness on a single scale, with higher yields for riskier sectors. The 2026 table shows that this rule is weak. Industrial, office and healthcare all have trusts yielding above 9%, and each also has trusts yielding well below. A high yield may reflect a cheap price, a risk the market sees, or a payout that has recently changed.

Use the sector as a first filter, then compare trusts on the same five numbers: yield, distribution per unit trend, price-to-NAV, gearing and interest cover. The average price-to-book ratio across all trusts was 0.77 times at 30 June 2026. The FTSE ST REIT Index’s forward yield sat 384 basis points above the 10-year government bond yield, against a long-term average of 371. That gap is what you earn for REIT risk. It moves with rates, and bank mortgage rates rose after the US Fed’s hike of 16 September 2026. See our note on how interest rates and yields affect property prices.

Building a mix

If you do hold several REITs, spread across sectors that respond to different things: for instance, an industrial trust, a suburban retail trust and a healthcare trust. Spread across currencies too, since many trusts earn in foreign currency. A REIT ETF does this for you at a cost. Whether REITs suit you compared with buying a second home is another question, covered in REITs or physical property.

Bottom line

Sectors describe what a REIT owns, not how safe its payout is. Singapore’s REIT market now has seven sectors, with most of its value in diversified and industrial trusts. Choose by trust, not by label: read the portfolio, the lease profile, the gearing and the interest cover. This is general information, not a recommendation to buy any REIT.

Sources

• Overview of the S-REIT industry and list of S-REITs and Property Trusts — REITAS, list as at 30 June 2026, page checked 18 September 2026
• Chartbook: S-REITs and Property Trusts, 2Q 2026 — SGX Research, data as of 30 June 2026
• S-REIT sectors — REITAS, checked October 2026
• MAS rationalises leverage requirements and introduces additional disclosures for REITs — Monetary Authority of Singapore, 28 November 2024
• REIT ETF Product Highlights, February 2026 — Singapore Exchange, data as of 27 February 2026