RWR Owns U.S. REITs. HAUZ Owns Real Estate Across the Globe -- and Charges Less for It.

The State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:RWR) and Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:HAUZ) differ most in their geographic exposure, cost, and recent performance, with HAUZ delivering stronger one-year returns and a higher yield, but lagging in five-year growth.

Both RWR and HAUZ aim to provide broad real estate exposure, but their approaches set them apart: RWR concentrates on U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs), while HAUZ captures a much wider universe of international real estate equities. This comparison looks at cost, returns, risk, liquidity, and portfolio makeup to help investors decide which may better fit their needs.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months.

HAUZ stands out as the more affordable option with a lower expense ratio, and it also offers a higher dividend yield, which could appeal to cost-conscious investors seeking stronger income potential.

Performance & risk comparison

What's inside

HAUZ tracks a globally diversified real estate index, investing in 445 companies across developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. The fund is dominated by real estate (96%), with minor allocations to industrials and communication services. Its largest holdings include Goodman, Mitsubishi, and Mitsui Fudosan. At 12 years old, HAUZ offers significant breadth for international real estate exposure.

By contrast, RWR focuses almost exclusively on U.S. REITs, with 98% in real estate and 1% in cash or other assets. Its top holdings are Welltower (NYSE:WELL), Prologis (NYSE:PLD), and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX), which gives it a concentrated tilt toward U.S. commercial property. RWR holds fewer companies, making it less diversified geographically and by number of holdings than HAUZ.

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What this means for investors

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are companies required by law to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends, making them a consistent income source. RWR is a pure U.S. REIT fund, holding roughly 100 domestic REITs spanning industrial, healthcare, residential, and retail properties. Every company in the portfolio carries that mandatory income-distribution structure.

HAUZ takes the opposite approach, tracking more than 400 international real estate securities across developed and emerging markets outside the U.S., with Japan, Australia, and Europe doing most of the heavy lifting. It includes real estate operating companies alongside REITs, meaning some holdings reinvest profits rather than paying them out, which can quietly soften the income profile.

What makes this pairing particularly interesting is the fee dynamic. Despite its global reach, HAUZ is actually the cheaper fund by a meaningful margin, which means RWR needs to justify its higher cost through the consistency and reliability that a pure domestic REIT structure provides.

Investors seeking to complement existing U.S. real estate holdings with international diversification will find HAUZ a cost-efficient vehicle, though currency risk travels with it. RWR is a good choice for those who want clean domestic REIT exposure as the sector eyes a potential 2026 rebound.

Sara Appino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Equinix and Prologis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.