For years, real estate stocks have been a source of anxiety for investors due to the scars of the Great Recession. That crisis has led to lingering skepticism, and many see real estate as a no-go zone today due to GDP growth turning negative quarter-over-quarter and expectations of a recession. Investors fear that a recession could drag these stocks down once more.
However, these companies have learned from the Great Recession, and some of them have delivered stellar gains so far. It is a good idea to keep an eye on the winners, as they could outperform during market downturns.
Even during bear markets, there are pockets of the market that perform exceptionally well. For example, I identified 15 Healthcare Stocks that are up the Most in 2025 in another article.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the best-performing real estate stocks year-to-date.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. 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. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
15. KE Holdings Inc (NYSE:BEKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 47
KE Holdings Inc (NYSE:BEKE) operates China’s leading integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services, connecting buyers, sellers, renters, and service providers through its Beike and Lianjia brands.
The stock’s sharp rise in 2025 is primarily driven by its March 18 announcement that its Class A ordinary shares were included in both the Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programs.
On the same day, KE Holdings reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, which included a final cash dividend.
The consensus price target of $27.26 implies 31.6% upside.
BEKE stock is up 14.90% year-to-date.
14. CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 56
CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces, including platforms like Apartments.com and Homes.com, serving clients globally.
The stock is up significantly so far in 2025 due to better-than-expected first quarter results announced on April 29, which showed 12% year-over-year revenue growth to $732 million and a 429% increase in adjusted EBITDA, alongside record new bookings for its core CoStar and LoopNet platforms and rapid expansion of its Homes.com salesforce.
The company also completed the acquisition of Matterport for $1.6 billion in February, which expanded its technology and product offerings and is expected to further accelerate revenue growth. Additionally, CoStar announced a nonbinding offer to acquire a significant stake in Australia’s Domain Group.
The consensus price target of $88.38 implies 8.87% upside.
CSGP stock is up 15.52% year-to-date.
