Famed short seller Jim Chanos: Data center REITs to 're-rate' as interest rates climb

Data center REITs are only now starting to "re-rate" against a backdrop of rising interest rates and tightening financial conditions, Jim Chanos, founder and managing partner of Chanos & Company, said Wednesday at the CNBC Delivering Alpha Conference in New York City.

Chanos reiterated that data center REITs are one of his big shorts as a number of those capital-intensive firms have unattractive fundamentals ranging from negative free cash flows or leveraged balance sheets. Recall the legendary short seller said towards the end of June that data center REITs were his "big short."

He provided a gloomy assessment on Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR), in particular, which has seen its shares fall 43% year-to-date.

Earlier in September, Barclays downgraded DLR to Underweight from Equal Weight on the basis of its weak return on invested capital "reflect asset obsolescence and expensive acquisitions."

Chanos said he's also betting against office REITs. In July, Mizuho pointed out that office REITs' risk-reward profile skewed slightly positive. Seeking Alpha's Quant system, meanwhile, favors Corporate Office Properties (NYSE:OFC) the most, followed by Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) and Office Properties Income (NASDAQ:OPI).