Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IYR vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IYR returned +3.4% to VNQ's +4.8%; 73% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $3.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF, and $35.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Real Estate ETF.
Pair scorecard
VNQ costs 0.24 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.4 points; VNQ is 8.5 times larger.
| Measure | IYR | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +3.4% | +4.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.6%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | 8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index | MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.13% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $4.2bn | $35.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 73% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 52.5% | 55.8% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 8, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,150 weekly returnsVNQ returned more: +364.5% to +295.2%. IYR swung slightly less: 24.4% to 25.0%. IYR and VNQ fell about the same at their worst: −73.5% and −72.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IYR | VNQ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +295.2% | +364.5% | VNQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.4% | +7.2% | VNQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +78.1% | +80.5% | VNQ (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 24.4% | 25.0% | IYR (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.0% | 17.3% | IYR (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −73.5% | −72.5% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.30 | 0.33 | VNQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.43 | 0.48 | VNQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.09 | 0.10 | VNQ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,150 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IYR and VNQ hold 73% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
73% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IYR and VNQ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IYR and VNQ are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IYR follows Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index and VNQ follows MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index.
- Cost. IYR charges 0.37% of assets a year and VNQ 0.13%, a gap of 0.24 points.
- Size. IYR has $4.2bn in net assets and VNQ $35.9bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); VNQ is 8.5 times larger.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IYR
IYR tracks an index of U.S. Real Estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 80% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 52.5%. It sat 8.6% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VNQ
VNQ tracks an index of US real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 141 positions, with the top ten at 55.8%. It sat 8.3% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IYR or VNQ?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IYR returned +3.4% and VNQ +4.8%.
- Which is cheaper, IYR or VNQ?
- VNQ is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IYR against VNQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyr-vs-vnq
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IYR against VNQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyr-vs-vnq
[IYR against VNQ (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyr-vs-vnq)
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