Should you invest in REITs?
Are REITs Good Investments? Investing in REITs is a great way to diversify your portfolio outside of traditional stocks and bonds and can be attractive for their strong dividends and long-term capital appreciation.
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.
Non-traded REITs have little liquidity, meaning it's difficult for investors to sell them. Publicly traded REITs have the risk of losing value as interest rates rise, which typically sends investment capital into bonds.
REITs have outperformed stocks on 20-to-50-year horizons. Most REITs are less volatile than the S&P 500, with some only half as volatile as the market at large. Several individual REITs delivered significantly higher returns than the S&P 500.
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.
Risks of investing in REITs include higher dividend taxes, sensitivity to interest rates, and exposure to specific property trends.
- Dividend Taxes. REIT dividends can be a great source of passive income, but the money you receive is subject to your ordinary income tax rate, which will depend on your tax bracket. ...
- Interest Rate Risk. ...
- Market Volatility. ...
- You Have Little Control. ...
- Some Charge High Fees.
Can You Lose Money on a REIT? As with any investment, there is always a risk of loss. Publicly traded REITs have the particular risk of losing value as interest rates rise, which typically sends investment capital into bonds.
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.
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.
Should I invest in REITs or S&P 500?
Further, REITs have historically outperformed the S&P 500 over the longer term. On top of all that, our research has found that many REITs deliver those higher returns with less volatility compared to the broader market.
Over the long term, our research found that REITs have outperformed stocks. Since 1994, three REIT subgroups stood out for their ability to beat the S&P 500. Here's a closer look at these market-beating REIT types.
However, this typically means REITs have large dividend yields, and dividends are unfavorably taxed relative to capital gains for high-income investors. For those in higher tax brackets, this could be unpalatable. In contrast, direct real estate ownership provides exceptional tax benefits if managed carefully.
Due in part to their attractive current yields, REITs have tended to deliver annualized total returns to investors of 10 to 12 percent over time.
Historically, REITs tend to deliver their highest returns during early stages of the real estate recovery cycle, according to research from Nareit, an association representing the REIT industry. That could spell a strong performance for REITs moving forward.
How to Qualify as a REIT? 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.
REITs allow investors to pool their money and purchase real estate properties. 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.
REITs historically perform well during and after recessions | Pensions & Investments.
REITs. When interest rates are falling, dependable, regular income investments become harder to find. This benefits high-quality real estate investment trusts, or REITs. Strictly speaking, REITs are not fixed-income securities; their dividends are not predetermined but are based on income generated from real estate.
Because the REIT manages the property, investors are not burdened with the everyday stress of vacancies, tenants, management or repairs. REITs also pay out dividends to investors, providing a reliable passive income stream.
Are REITs bad for taxes?
It's not necessarily a bad idea to own REITs in taxable brokerage accounts. But because of complex REIT taxation rules, they certainly make more sense in IRAs. This way, the REITs avoid taxation on the corporate level and you can defer or avoid taxes on the individual level, as well.
If you are interested in a real estate investment that is reliable, hands-off and offers dividends, REITs could be the answer. If you're looking for a higher-risk – but high-potential – investment or want to be able to invest in specific companies you admire, buying individual stocks could be the answer.
By law, 75% of a REITs asset must be invested in real estate. The market value of the property owned by the REIT offers a bit of protection, as long as the value of the property doesn't go to zero. That's not to say that REIT values can't go down, though.
Cons of investing in REIT stocks
Illiquid (especially non-traded and private REITs): Publicly traded REITs are easier to buy and sell than actual properties, but as noted above, non-traded REITs and private REITs can be a different story. These REITs must be held for years to realize potential gains.
While a REIT is still open to public investors, investors may be able to sell their shares back to the REIT. However, this sale usually comes at a discount; leaving only about 70% to 95% of the original value. Once a REIT is closed to the public, REIT companies may not offer early redemptions.
