In a market where the tech trade looks increasingly tired, real estate stocks—which still boast low valuations and high dividend yields—may be just what investors are looking for. The new year is shaping up solidly for real estate investment trusts. The sector has returned 2.7% compared with 1.7% for the REIT shares trade at just 17 times next year’s funds from operations, REITs’ equivalent to operating profits, compared with the market’s forward price/earnings ratio of more than 22.