Indirect Real Estate investing : What influences the stock price of a Belgian Real Estate Investment Trust ?

Real estate is the largest asset class globally, drawing significant interest from researchers to investigate its determinants. A substantial segment of this vast sector is indirect Real Estate investing through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which are companies that focus on acquiring and managing real estate assets. Given the increasing political and economic instability, coupled with a growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, there is now an increase significance in examining these aspects. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review to identify the drivers influencing the stock price of REITs. Utilizing the knowledge form literature and applying it to quantitative data spanning from February 1st, 2000, to November 1st, 2023, the empirical research focuses on one specific company called “Cofinimmo SA”, a Belgian Real Estate Investment trust (REIT). In this research, the thesis undertakes a Linear relationship Analysis, Multivariate Regressions, and Hypothesis testing, aimed at discovering the statistical significance of various factors, such as oil prices, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Market indexes, Unemployment rate and Interest rates, on Cofinimmo BV/SA stock price. The thesis firsthand findings revealed that market indicators such as CAC40, DAX40 and NASDAQ have a positive statistically significant linear relationship on Cofinimmo SA. And concerning our secondhand findings, the Multivariate Regressions revealed that Cofinimmo SA can be explained through negatively-impacting Interest rates and the Market index CAC40 which exhibits a positive impact.