Multifamily Stock Index Breaks Another Record
During the month of October, the MFSI rose by 123 points—slightly more than 6%. With this rise, the MFSI is at an all-time high, surpassing the previous mark of 2,026 set in August of this year. At present, the MFSI is almost 24% higher than it was 12 months ago. During the past month the S&P 500 with dividends also rose, but by only 1.5%, and is now more than 9% higher than it was 12 months ago.

Because the MFSI rose by four times as much during October as the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested, the percentage difference between the two indexes widened from 104% to 113%, which breaks the old mark of 107.6% set two months ago. Despite the very strong 38% rise in the S&P 500 since early 2003, the MFSI has risen a staggering 52% during the same 20 months. In addition, the MFSI continues to dramatically outperform the S&P 500 over longer time periods, including the past two, three, four and five years. Since December 1998, the MFSI has risen by 114% while the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested has gained one-tenth of 1%.

During the month of October, the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of the MFSI rose from 19.43 to 20.23, while the dividend yield, defined as the total cash dividend payments divided by the current stock price, fell from 5.64% to 5.33%.  The MFSI is an index of 28 publicly traded US headquartered firms, including 23 REITs, principally involved in multifamily ownership and management. [ return to top ]