Will 2018 Be Welltower's Best Year Yet?

Despite a 20% rise in the S&P 500 so far in 2017, real estate hasn't performed well at all. Leading healthcare REIT Welltower (NYSE: HCN) is an excellent example of this, down by nearly 4% for the year. Even when including dividends, investors have received a total return of just over 1%.

Here's a rundown of why Welltower performed poorly this year, and what could be in store for 2018.

Welltower's stock has performed poorly. However, this was due mainly to factors such as rising interest rates and oversupply fears in the senior housing industry, as opposed to company-specific performance. In addition, Welltower and REITs in general largely missed out on the tax reform rally, as a lower corporate tax rate has no direct effect on REIT profits.

Source: Fool.com