While the stock market continues to experience gains, REITs are moderately underperforming. 

Many REITs have suffered from the backlash of malls and shopping center owners struggling to stay afloat, while rising interest rates have also caused a disruption and are making REITs less attractive to dividend investors, the Associated Press reports.

Investors seeking high yields tend to be drawn to REITs because their tax structure requires most of their income to be paid as distributions to shareholders. But in order to do this, REITs need large sums of money and debt.

This means when interest rates rise, so do borrowing costs. This can limit profits and lead to smaller dividend payouts for investors. The Federal Reserve has already raised interest rates twice this year and is expected to raise them a third time before the year ends.

Not all REITs are facing headwinds. Industrial REITs have risen an estimated 24.7% this year and infrastructure REITs have seen a total return of 38.4%. According to NAREIT data, the multifamily REIT sector has also experienced growth and is up an estimated 11% for the year.