A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is a company that allows individuals to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate in the same way they might invest in a portfolio of stocks through a mutual fund. Think of it as becoming a landlord for massive properties—like shopping malls, office towers, or apartment complexes—without the hassle of collecting rent or fixing leaky pipes. REITs are a fantastic invention, born from a 1960 U.S. law designed to give all investors access to the real estate market. These companies typically trade on major stock exchanges, just like Apple or Coca-Cola, making them a highly liquid way to own a slice of the property market. The magic ingredient is a special tax status: to qualify as a REIT, a company must pay out at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders in the form of dividends. This structure makes REITs particularly popular with investors seeking a steady stream of income.
The concept is beautifully simple. A REIT pools capital from thousands of investors and uses that money to purchase, operate, and manage a collection of real estate assets. The income generated from these assets, primarily through tenant rents, flows back to the REIT. After covering operating expenses, the company distributes the vast majority of the remaining profits (that 90% we mentioned) to its investors as dividends. This model provides investors with a share of the income from a diversified property portfolio, something that would be incredibly expensive and time-consuming for an individual to assemble on their own. Instead of betting on a single duplex in your neighborhood, you can instantly own a piece of hundreds of properties across different sectors and geographic regions.
While the basic idea is the same, REITs come in a few different flavors. The two main types you'll encounter are Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs.
This is the most common and intuitive type of REIT. Equity REITs are the actual landlords; they directly own and manage properties. Their revenue comes from the rent they collect from tenants. When you think of a REIT that owns the local shopping center, the high-rise office building downtown, or the sprawling warehouse used by an e-commerce giant, you're thinking of an Equity REIT. Their success is tied to keeping their properties occupied with paying tenants and seeing the value of their real estate grow over time.
Mortgage REITs, or mREITs, play a different game. They don't own physical buildings. Instead, they deal in the financial side of real estate. They lend money to real estate owners by originating mortgages or they buy existing mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) on the secondary market. Their income is the “spread”—the difference between the interest they earn on their mortgage assets and the cost of funding those investments. Because their business is all about lending and borrowing, mREITs are highly sensitive to changes in interest rates, making them a very different beast from their property-owning cousins.
As the name suggests, Hybrid REITs are a mix of both. They own some properties like an Equity REIT and also hold mortgage debt like an mREIT. They are less common, as most REITs prefer to specialize in one strategy or the other.
For the discerning value investor, REITs offer a compelling mix of opportunities and potential pitfalls. It’s crucial to know what you’re getting into.
When analyzing a REIT, look beyond the dividend yield. A dangerously high yield can be a red flag, often signaling a collapsing stock price and deep-seated problems. Instead, the smart investor's first stop is the REIT's Funds From Operations (FFO). FFO adds back depreciation to net income, giving you a much clearer picture of the actual cash flow available to run the business and pay dividends. A stable or growing FFO per share is the true sign of a healthy, sustainable REIT—the kind a value investor can learn to love.