Att investera i fastigheter på gammaldags sätt är svårt. Det är inte många investerare som har tillräckligt med extra pengar för en handpenning som bara ligger runt. Och även om de gjorde det, kan det ge dem en paus om de binder alla dessa pengar i en enda fastighet.
Om du är i den här situationen kan lösningen på ditt problem bara vara en Real Estate Investment Trust, även kallad "REIT". En REIT fungerar som en indexfond, men för faktiska fastigheter. Enligt Nareit är cirka 145 miljoner amerikanska hushåll (44%) investerade i REITs.
Den kombinerar det bästa av två världar:potentialen för höga vinster på fastighetsmarknaden, men på en nivå som alla har råd med. Fortsätt läsa för att lära dig mer om detta alternativ för fastighetsinvesteringar.
REITs har potential för höga vinster på fastighetsmarknaden, men på en nivå som alla har råd med.
Du kan tänka på REITs som en typ av indexfond för fastigheter. REITs är fonder som investerar i fastigheter och låter människor köpa aktier. Precis som med aktiemarknadsfonder kommer du att tjäna utdelning, och du kan köpa eller sälja aktier när som helst för (förhoppningsvis) vinst.
Det finns dock vissa särskilda regler som gäller för REIT jämfört med andra typer av fonder. Till exempel måste en REIT ha minst 100 aktieägare, förvaltas av en styrelse eller förvaltare, investera minst 75 % av medlen i fastigheter av något slag och betala minst 90 % av sin inkomst till aktieägarna som utdelning .
REITs är också en het handelsvara. För att se varför är det bra att titta på fonden FTSE Nareit All REITs, som är en fond-of-REITs som investerar i alla börsnoterade REITs på de amerikanska aktiemarknaderna. Avkastningsutdelningen för denna fond är 4,3 %, till skillnad från bara 1,8 % med S&P 500. Den har också en högre 20-årig avkastning på 9,5 % jämfört med 6,3 % för S&P 500 också.
Men FTSE Nareit All REITs-fonden är ned i år, med mycket:17 %, faktiskt.
Det tar upp en av de största nackdelarna med REIT:de är mycket flyktiga. Även om de i allmänhet är en bra bit att lägga till din portfölj i små mängder, vill du inte investera mycket pengar i dem, särskilt om du närmar dig när du kan behöva de pengarna.
Annonser efter pengar. Vi kan få kompensation om du klickar på den här annonsen.Annons
Att allokera en del av din portfölj i ett Real Estate Investment Trust är ett gediget drag. REITs ger alla investerare chansen att äga värdefull fastighet, erbjuder möjligheten att få tillgång till utdelningsbaserad inkomst och totalavkastning och hjälper samhällen att växa, frodas och återupplivas . Klicka nedan för att börja investera idag! Start Investing TodayADVERTISEMENT Currently, there are around 1,100 REITs in the U.S., with about 225 of them available on the publicly-traded markets. That’s a lot of REITs, and as you might expect, there are almost as many types of REITs available as there are ways to invest directly in real estate.
Some of these categories overlap with each other. For example, an REIT that specializes in office buildings and a REIT that specializes in apartments both fall under the same umbrella:equity REITs. Let’s sort out some of these categories next.
Equity REITs are what most people think of when they think of REITs. These are funds that focus on purchasing income-producing properties like retail stores, house rentals, and more. In this way, they’re more akin to people who purchase buy-and-hold real estate, and bank on the value of the rental increasing and steady income from rent each month.
Some REITs focus on the actual lending of money — i.e., the mortgages themselves, rather than the properties they buy. Mortgage REITs might invest in mortgages directly, or focus on mortgage-backed securities (yes, the very same from the famed Great Recession).
Most REITs fall under the umbrella categories of either equity REITs or mortgage REITs. Hybrid REITs, however, invest both:buying actual properties, and funding the mortgages that other people use to buy other properties, too.
Another way to parse out REITs is by certain industries. Each of these REITs also falls under the equity, mortgage, or hybrid umbrellas. For example, a residential REIT can specialize in buying homes and apartments, providing the mortgages for other people to buy them, or both.
Here are some of the most common sector-based REITs:
The advantage of sector-based REITs is that if you’re savvy, you can key in on trends that affect certain parts of the real estate industry. You might have a hankering that there’s something big going on in the office building vs. residential market, for example, and that might affect your investment decisions.
There’s a reason REITs are considered separate investments from the usual breakdown of stocks vs. bonds. Here are some considerations, before you invest in a REIT.
| REIT Pros | REIT Cons |
| Highly liquidEasy to get startedPotential for high returnsEasy to diversify your portfolio | High volatilityManagement feesDividends are taxed as ordinary income |
There’s a lot to like about REITs. Let’s look at each of these more closely.
If you buy a real estate property, you might find yourself in the unlucky position of not being able to sell it later. And even if it is a hot seller’s market, there’s a lot of time, hassle, and money you have to spend to turn that property into cash in your bank account.
But with REITs, you can just click a few buttons to sell your shares and get done with it. No realtors, no title companies, fewer hassle.
REITs are infinitely more affordable than buying an entire property. A single share of VNQ (an ETF version of a REIT offered by Vanguard) is just $86 as of this writing, for example.
On the other hand, if you were to buy real estate, you’d need a lot of cash up-front. If you bought a home in the Seattle marketplace with an average value of $784,000, for example, you’d need a down payment of $157,000 if you used a conventional mortgage with no PMI.
Not exactly obtainable for the average investor.
REITs offer the potential for some pretty impressive returns. For example, VNQ has shown returns as high as 30% in some years. Imagine earning a 30% APY from your bank account — that’d be quite the cause for celebration.
Since REITs are so easy to handle, it’s also easy to add them into your portfolio mix and keep them at whatever percentage you want. You can even automate it entirely by buying REITs within a robo-advisor platform.
For example, let’s say you want to keep real estate to just 5% of your portfolio. If we use the same example from Seattle above with an average home value of $784,000, you’d need at least $15.7 million more in your portfolio to keep it to that target 5% mark.
Again, not quite so obtainable for the average bear.
So, why doesn’t everyone invest all in REITs, all the time? They do have some downsides.
It’s true that Vanguard’s VNQ REIT has offered returns as high as 30% in some years. But it’s also true that REITs can go down in value — and sometimes spectacularly so. During the 2008 real estate crash, for example, this same fund offered returns of negative 37%. That’s not exactly something you want to see if you’re right on the verge of retiring, for example.
If you’re a DIY real estate investor, you can control a lot of the costs yourself. You can even get up in the middle of the night to fix a flooding toilet, if you don’t want to spring for property management services, after all.
But if you invest in a REIT, there will be costs in the form of an expense ratio and possibly trading fees. These don’t have to be high (VNQ has an expense ratio of 0.12%), but they’re a cost you’ll have to pay if you’re not a DIY real estate investor.
Many types of investments pay out qualified dividends , which are taxed at a lower capital gains rate. But REIT dividends aren’t considered “qualified,” and so they’re generally taxed at your marginal tax rate as ordinary income (like from your job), and this can be a lot higher than the capital gains rate.
REITs are just like any other investment type. They’re a tool, and whether they’re a good tool for you depends on your situation.
If you’re looking for an easy and affordable way to invest in real estate without jumping in headfirst to the DIY real estate investing world, REITs can be a good option for you. They’re also a good choice if you’re just getting started and you don’t have millions (or even thousands) to invest in real estate just yet.
But if you think you’d enjoy a more hands-on approach and you’re not afraid of devoting a lot of time and money (and headaches) to the cause, investing more directly in real estate might be in the cards for you.
Remember, there’s no wrong answer here. Only what you (and/or your financial advisor) determines is best.
