Should You Buy CRED ETF Before The Fed Cuts Rates In 2026?

"The Columbia Research Enhanced Real Estate ETF (NYSE:CRED) launched in April 2023 at exactly the wrong moment. Real estate had just entered a brutal bear market triggered by the Federal Reserve's fastest rate hiking cycle in four decades. Since inception, CRED has delivered a negative 1.6% return while managing just $3.1 million in assets, creating liquidity concerns for anyone building a meaningful position. But the thesis for buying now isn't about 2023 or 2024-it's about what the Fed does next."

"When the Fed raised rates from near zero to over 5% starting in March 2022, it made borrowing expensive, compressed property valuations, and turned Treasury bonds into serious competition for REIT yields. That cycle is reversing. The Fed cut rates in December 2025, and forecasts from Goldman Sachs and Morningstar expect additional cuts in 2026, potentially bringing the fed funds rate down to 3% to 3.25% from the current 3.75% to 4%."

Columbia's Research Enhanced Real Estate ETF (CRED) launched in April 2023 amid a deep real estate bear market and has returned negative 1.6% while managing roughly $3.1 million in assets, raising liquidity concerns for large investors. The broader real estate sector suffered as the Fed raised rates from near zero to over 5% starting in March 2022, driving down valuations and making Treasuries competitive with REIT yields. The Fed cut rates in December 2025 with further cuts forecast for 2026, which should lower borrowing costs, compress cap rates, and make CRED's just-over-4% yield more attractive. CRED allocates roughly 28% to infrastructure REITs such as cell towers and data centers.

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