In this article, we take a look at the 8 Best Real Estate Stocks to Buy Beyond REITs.
On May 19, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales in April registered a 1.4% month-over-month increase and a 3.2% increase year-over-year. On a month-over-month basis, gains in pending home sales were registered in the Northeast, Midwest, and West, while declines were recorded in the South. On an annual basis, pending home sales increased in the Midwest, South, and West, while they declined in the Northeast. Pending home sales are sales in which a contract has been signed, but the transaction has not closed. Typically, these sales are finalized within one or two months of signing.
NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun highlighted buyers’ cautious optimism. He added:
“Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates. Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year.
Historically low foreclosure sales imply minimal price discounts, with a majority of markets selling at a higher price from a year ago. Unless supply meaningfully increases, home price growth could outpace wage growth and further erode the homeownership rate. All efforts need to be focused on boosting housing supply,” he added.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on May 21 that privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,442,000. This is 5.8% higher than the revised March rate of 1,363,000 but is 0.2% below the April 2025 rate of 1,445,000.
The Census Bureau said single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 872,000, 2.6% below the revised March figure of 895,000. It added that authorizations for units in buildings with five or more units totaled 514,000 in April.
Taking these developments into consideration, let’s take a look at the 8 Best Real Estate Stocks to Buy Beyond REITs.
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Our Methodology
To compile this list, we shortlisted companies engaged in real estate development, real estate services, and residential construction using the Finviz screeners. Next, we listed the short percentage of float for all the companies. From this pool, we ranked the stocks based on their short float percentage, from highest to lowest. Additionally, we also included the number of hedge funds holding stakes in these companies as of the first quarter of 2026.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
Note: All pricing data is as of market close on June 2, 2026.
8. Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS)
Short Float Percentage:7.58%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) is one of the 8 Real Estate Stocks to Buy Beyond REITs. On June 2, the company announced the upcoming opening of a new community in Crestview, Florida, under its Century Complete brand. Called the Cottages of Crestview, the project offers one-story affordable cottage-style homes measuring around 1,114 square feet.
Earlier on June 1, the company also unveiled a new project in Radcliff, Kentucky, called Hidden Ridge, which offers one and two-story homes measuring up to 2,014 square feet.
Based on four analyst ratings compiled by CNN, 50% assigned a Buy rating to Century Communities, while those who marked it Hold and Sell accounted for 25% each. The stock has a median price target of $71.50, a 31.41% upside from the current price of $54.41.
In late April, JPMorgan reduced its price target on Century Communities to $45 from $49 while maintaining an Underweight rating on the shares following the release of the company’s quarterly earnings report. For the first quarter of the year, the company reported a lower net income of $24.4 million from $39.4 million in the same period last year.
Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) is a company engaged in all aspects of homebuilding from the acquisition, entitlement, and development of land, along with the construction, innovative marketing, and sale of quality homes.
7. Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE:TMHC)
Short Float Percentage: 6.14%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE:TMHC) is one of the 8 Real Estate Stocks to Buy Beyond REITs. On June 2, RBC Capital downgraded its rating on Taylor Morrison to Sector Perform from Outperform, while maintaining a price target of $72.50, according to a report by TheFly. The analyst views the takeover of the firm by Berkshire Hathaway as highly probable, adding that this will be a solid outcome for Taylor Morrison shareholders.
On May 31, Taylor Morrison Home and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for the latter’s acquisition of Taylor Morrison for $72.50 per common share in cash. This represents a total equity value for Taylor Morrison of approximately $6.8 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately $8.5 billion.
Closing of the transaction is expected in the second half of the year and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Taylor Morrison stockholders and receipt of required regulatory approvals.
Taylor Morrison (NYSE:TMHC) is a national community developer and homebuilder with over 350 communities in the country. The company serves a diverse range of homebuyers across the entry-level, move-up, and resort-lifestyle segments under its Taylor Morrison and Esplanade brands, and develops rental communities under its Yardly brand.
