Can you lose money on REITs?
REITs are, however, sensitive to interest rates and may not be as tax-friendly as other investments. If a REIT is concentrated in a particular sector (e.g. hotels) and that sector is negatively impacted (e.g. by a pandemic), you can see amplified losses.
Interest Rate Risk
The value of a REIT is based on the real estate market, so if interest rates increase and the demand for properties goes down as a result, it could lead to lower property values, negatively impacting the value of your investment.
Getting out of a non-traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, can often be rather difficult and expensive. Once a REIT is closed to new investors, the board of directors of the REIT can suspend the redemption policy.
A lot of REIT investors focus too way much on the dividend yield. They think that a high dividend yield implies that a REIT is cheap and a good investment opportunity. In reality, it is often the opposite, and the dividend does not say much, if anything, about the valuation of a REIT.
REIT bankruptcies have indeed been a rarity since the REIT debacle of the mid-1970s, when high leverage and highly speculative real estate investments resulted in numerous REIT failures. Thereafter, REIT managers became far more conservative in their investment and financing practices.
In most cases, REITs utilize a combination of debt and equity to purchase a property. As such, they are more sensitive than other asset classes to changes in interest rates., particularly those that use variable rate debt. When interest rates rise, REITs share prices can be prone to volatility.
By law, a REIT must pay at least 90% of its income to its shareholders, providing investors with a passive income option that can be helpful during recessions. Typically, the upfront costs of investing in a REIT are low, while their risk-adjusted returns tend to be high.
To qualify as a REIT, a company must have the bulk of its assets and income connected to real estate investment and must distribute at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders annually in the form of dividends.
"Both public and non-public REIT investments should be considered long-term, and that could mean different things to different folks, but in general, investors who typically invest in REITs look to hold them for a minimum of three years, and some of them could hold them for 10+ years," Jhangiani explained.
Investors can buy and sell shares of public REITs at any time during trading hours. With private REITs, on the other hand, investors may have to wait for a redemption event, which can occur quarterly or annually, before they can cash out their investment. Additionally, private REITs may charge redemption fees.
What's the average return on a REIT?
REIT SUBGROUP | AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN (1994-2023) |
---|---|
Industrial | 14.4% |
Residential | 12.7% |
Health Care | 11.6% |
Retail | 11.2% |
While they aren't listed on stock exchanges, non-traded REITs are required to register with the SEC and are subject to more oversight than private REITs. According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), non-traded REITs typically require a minimum investment of $1,000 to $2,500.
Symbol | Fund name | 1-year return |
---|---|---|
BRIUX | Baron Real Estate Income R6 | 12.08% |
JABIX | JHanco*ck Real Estate Securities R6 | 11.07% |
RRRRX | DWS RREEF Real Estate Securities Instil | 9.26% |
CSRIX | Cohen & Steers Instl Realty Shares | 9.84% |
Because the REITs aren't publicly traded, the only way to withdraw money is to redeem shares.
With rate cuts on the horizon, dividend yields for REITs may look more favorable than yields on fixed-income securities and money market accounts. However, REIT stocks are only as good as the properties they own — and some real estate sectors may be better positioned than others.
Over time, the cash flow generated by those dividend payments can supplement your Social Security and pension income. Perhaps, it can even provide all the money you need to maintain your preretirement lifestyle. It is possible to live off dividends if you do a little planning.
If you invested more money into REITs or those producing a higher average annual return, you could become a millionaire even faster. Here's a closer look at three wealth-creating REITs that could help make you a future millionaire.
April 2, 2024, at 2:50 p.m. Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are a great way to invest in the real estate sector while diversifying your options. Real estate investments can be an excellent way to earn returns, generate cash flow, hedge against inflation and diversify an investment portfolio.
REITs allow individual investors to make money on real estate without having to own or manage physical properties. Direct real estate offers more tax breaks than REIT investments, and gives investors more control over decision making.
REIT Stock Performance and the Interest Rate Environment
Over longer periods, there has generally been a positive association between periods of rising rates and REIT returns. This is because rising rates generally reflect improvement in the underlying fundamentals.
Do REITs do well during inflation?
Historically, REITs are one of the better-performing sectors during inflationary periods. We can see this in the following image. You'll notice REITs are in the upper right area, showing they are outperformers during periods of high inflation. In contrast, check where mortgage REITs are in the bottom left.
Undoubtedly, rising interest rates pose challenges for REITs. All else being equal, higher interest rates tend to decrease the value of properties and increase REIT borrowing costs.
“I recommend REITs within a managed portfolio,” Devine said, noting that most investors should limit their REIT exposure to between 2 percent and 5 percent of their overall portfolio. Here again, a financial professional can help you determine what percentage of your portfolio you should allocate toward REITs, if any.
Private REITs
Private REITs may have an investment minimum, and that typically runs from $1,000 to $25,000, according to NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Risk: Private REITs are often very illiquid, meaning it can be difficult to access your money when you need it.
REITs generally don't pay taxes themselves as long as they distribute at least 90% of their income to shareholders.
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