The real estate sector generally includes two different types of investments related to real estate. Some stocks in the sector are responsible for developing new real estate projects and then managing them by obtaining tenants for various spaces within the project property. In addition, most real estate investment trusts, which are special tax-favored business entities that operate in various areas of the real estate industry, get counted as within the real estate sector.

Among the top stocks in the real estate sector, you'll find cellular communications tower specialist American Tower (NYSE:AMT) and major shopping mall owner and operator Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG).