Can Someone Explain To Me Why People Buy REIT's?

It looks like they have structurally underperformed the market as a whole, and even with the yield differential being +2%, they still get crushed. Seems like a lot of people are paying a lot for weak-ish cash flow and "peace of mind". It looks like the only time they outperformed was between 2009 and 2010 after getting obliterated compared to the market.