How to invest in the real estate sector using ETFs

With sector ETFs, you invest in a specific part of the economy, for example in the real estate sector. The most widely used standard in the financial industry for dividing the economy into sectors is the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The major index providers MSCI and S&P use this standard consisting of 11 sectors and 68 assigned industries.

For the classification of listed companies in each sector, the index providers analyse in which business segment companies are generating the majority of their sales and profits. Additionally, the positioning and public perception of a company are also taken into account.

How do I invest in the real estate sector?

An industry or sector index consists of all the companies of a certain sector. A global real estate ETF thus gives you the opportunity to invest in the largest real estate companies and real estate investment trusts (REITS) worldwide.

Sector ETFs of this type should not be mixed up with thematic ETFs. Thematic ETFs track a non-standardised industry group and a specific investment theme. We provide you with an overview of the available thematic ETFs here.
   

Which companies are included in real estate ETFs?

The real estate sector includes companies involved in the development and operation of real estate. It also includes providers of real estate-related services and real estate investment trusts.

In this investment guide, you will find all ETFs that allow you to invest globally in companies from the real estate sector. You will also find ETFs that were launched on genuine real estate indices which do not belong to a sector index family. For a performance comparison of the various ETF sectors, please have a look at our market overview. In the table below we have listed the currently available real estate ETFs. Via the "Properties" and "Performance" tabs, you can find detailed information on these ETFs and sort them according to your desired criterion. More information about the different criteria when choosing an ETF can be found in our article on ETF selection.
 

• Properties
• Performance

Source: justETF.com; As of 28.02.25