This year’s winner in the alternative investment space is—wait for it—real estate.

VNQ’s increase is all the more striking when you consider that the rest of the field below US equities has suffered mediocre-to-negative results over the past year.

Homebuilders have tried to stay upbeat about their rate-sensitive industry. 30-year mortgage rates have, in many cases, dropped three-quarters of a percentage point in 2014.

If you’re pondering the allure of real estate investment trusts (REITs) these days, consider two attributes of late: strong performance vs. the US stock market and relatively high yields over Treasuries.

With nearly every major index giving back the majority of its 2014 gains during the month of October, have interest-rate-sensitive stocks sidestepped the volatility altogether or have they merely postponed the inevitable?

In our monthly ETF chart roundup video, we take the temperature of the market in relation to its long-term trend lines. Video length 9:01.