Real estate and property ownership is synonymous with Australian values, both investing and in life.
However, the harsh reality is that owning real estate still comes with significant barriers for many Aussies.
First and foremost, the traditional 20% deposit for a home in Australia means you need a seriously full savings account.
Data shows the median house price in Australia sits at roughly $980,343, according to Cotality data.
That means to comfortably buy the average house, you need almost $200,000 in savings.
Luckily, investing in the stock market comes with a much lower barrier to entry.
So for Aussies looking for exposure to the real estate market without the lofty price tag, one option to consider is real estate shares.
Rather than a physical house or apartment, you can invest in companies that typically own or manage income-producing properties such as shopping centres, offices, industrial warehouses, or residential developments.
These are called REITs.
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How did real estate stocks perform last year?
ASX real estate stocks performed modestly in 2025.
The S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) rose about 5% last year.
This was slightly below the ASX 200 benchmark index which rose roughly 6.3%.
Like any sector, there were individual ASX real estate stocks that rose, while others lost significant ground.
There are a couple that had down years that may have now fallen into the value range.
Two in particular that could be worth monitoring in 2026 are DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (ASX: DGT) and Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC).
Is there value for these real estate stocks?
DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (ASX: DGT) is one of the ASX real estate stocks that fell the furthest in the sector last year.
The company is a diversified owner, operator and developer of data centres, with a global portfolio.
Its stock price fell more than 37% last year.
However, from December 18 it recovered almost 18% following its AGM.
I think this real estate stock could be set to benefit from future AI tailwinds.
Artificial intelligence – especially large-scale generative models and cloud-based AI services – requires massive amounts of compute power, storage, connectivity, and cooling infrastructure to run efficiently. This infrastructure is largely housed in data centres, which is the main focus of DigiCo.
Macquarie seems to agree there is upside, with the broker tipping more than 50% upside from last year's closing price.
The broker has a $4.16 a share 12-month price target.
A second real estate stock that could be trading below fair value is Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC).
Its share price fell more than 16% last year.
However it ended the year with positive momentum on the back of a major contract win.
Furthermore, it seems poised for future growth with fundamentals turning a corner in FY25.
TradingView has a 12-month price target of approximately $6.45, which is roughly 24% higher than current levels.
