What is a REIT?

What Is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)?

A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-generating real estate.

Modeled after mutual funds, REITs pool the capital of numerous investors. This makes it possible for individual investors to earn dividends from real estate investments—without having to buy, manage, or finance any properties themselves.

Key Takeaways:

• Most REITs are publicly traded like stocks, which makes them highly liquid (unlike physical real estate investments).
• REITs invest in most real estate property types, including apartment buildings, cell towers, data centers, hotels, medical facilities, offices, retail centers, and warehouses.
• REITs generate an income stream for investors but offer little in the way of capital appreciation.

Properties in a REIT portfolio may include apartment complexes, data centers, healthcare facilities, hotels, infrastructure—in the form of fiber cables, cell towers, and energy pipelines—office buildings, retail centers, self-storage, timberland, and warehouses.

In general, REITs specialize in a specific real estate sector. However, diversified and specialty REITs may hold different types of properties in their portfolios, such as a REIT that consists of both office and retail properties.

A Financial Element, similar to a literary element, refers to components of a Financial Narrative. Understanding the financial elements can help us in creating and planning Your Financial Narrative. We will continue to look at various other financial elements each week as a part of the Financial Fridays