The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Sept. 11, edition that the iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index has surged 20 per cent since late June, bringing the sector's return to positive for the year and recovering nearly half of the losses since March, 2022. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that recent interest rate cuts are the main reason for this rebound. Canadian REITs, sensitive to interest rates, may see further gains with additional rate cuts. However, the sector is also driven by supply and demand. In late August, research analysts at CIBC estimated there is now more than $200-billion in excess funds sitting in these securities. Falling rates, the analysts wrote, "should drive investors back into Canadian dividend-paying stocks -- particularly since many of these equities have performed poorly vis-avis the broader market over the past couple of years." Utilities and telecom stocks, which tend to pay healthy dividends, have also struggled in recent years. The analysts pointed out that high-income Canadians hold a significant amount of term deposits and these investors benefit from a tax advantage if they switch to stocks due to the lower tax rate on dividend income compared with interest income.