Should I invest in a REIT right now?
With rate cuts on the horizon, many publicly traded REITs have rebounded, and the industry as a whole seems well-poised for a recovery in the coming year. Ultimately, the decision on whether or not to buy REITs will depend on the specific circ*mstances and risk tolerance of each investor.
Summary. REITs have access to capital and are acquiring assets, making it a good time to invest. REITs historically rebound when interest rates pivot and have the potential for rent growth.
According to expert panelists at the recent Nareit REITworld annual conference, 2024 could be a year of opportunity for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). They added a note of caution, however, that there are still headwinds affecting investor perspectives on REITs and capital markets in general.
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.
In fact, REIT total returns bounced back with impressive performance in the last quarter of 2023. Based on historical experience, the convergence of the wide valuation gap between public and private real estate will likely ensure continued REIT outperformance into 2024.
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.
The valuation divergence between REITs and private real estate will likely converge in 2024, making REITs an attractive option for investors. Solid balance sheets will enable REITs to navigate ongoing economic uncertainty while providing an advantage in terms of acquisitions and growth.
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% |
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.
Because REITs use debt to purchase investments, rising interest rates could mean these companies would have to pay more interest on future loans. This could in turn reduce their return on investment. Because of this, REITs could potentially lose value when interest rates rise.
What is the downside of REITs?
Risks of investing in REITs include higher dividend taxes, sensitivity to interest rates, and exposure to specific property trends.
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.
Key Takeaways. 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.
What this means is that REITs are ideal borrowers for banks. They are exactly who they want to do business with because they know that the risk of a REIT bankruptcy is extremely low. Just look at the past. There have been very few REIT bankruptcies over the past 50+ years.
REITs and stocks can both pay dividends, usually on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. Some investments will also offer special dividends, but they're unpredictable.
After lagging equities the past two years, REITs offer an attractive investment opportunity in 2024. The headwind of higher bond yields and central bank rate hikes is likely to abate and may turn into a tailwind if our view about an impending economic slowdown and decelerating inflation trends is correct.
But since REITs are invested in property, there's more protection against the horror show of having shares crash to $0. 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.
Here's an explanation for how we make money . More than a year of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve pushed down returns on real estate investment trusts, or REITs. While higher rates negatively impacted nearly every sector of the economy in 2022 and most of 2023, real estate was hit especially hard.
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.
REITs empower anyone to invest in wealth-creating, income-producing real estate. They've certainly done that over the years. 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.
Is REITs good for long term?
They historically offer competitive long-term performance, with consistent returns compared to stocks and bonds. REITs provide attractive income through dividends, liquidity, transparency, and diversification, enhancing risk-adjusted returns.
Commercial property investments can provide a high and potentially rising rental income and some capital growth over the long term. REITs often have long-term lease agreements with tenants, which can help to make rental income and dividends paid relatively reliable.
Buffet and REITs
However, Berkshire sold its holdings of STORE Capital in 2022 after the company announced it was being acquired by two outside investment funds. Since then, filings have shown that Berkshire Hathaway has not owned shares of any other REIT.
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.
- Max out contributions to retirement accounts. ...
- Invest in mutual funds, ETFs, and index funds. ...
- Buy dividend stocks. ...
- Buy bonds. ...
- Consider alternative investments. ...
- Invest in real estate. ...
- Fund a health savings account (HSA) ...
- Park your cash in an interest-bearing savings account.