A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT is a security that sells like a stock on major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages.
REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.
- Equity REITs: Equity REITs invest in and own properties (thus responsible for the equity or value of their real estate assets). Their revenues come principally from their properties' rents.
- Mortgage REITs: Mortgage REITs deal in investment and ownership of property mortgages. These REITs loan money for mortgages to owners of real estate, or purchase existing mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. Their revenues are generated primarily by the interest that they earn on the mortgage loans.
- Hybrid REITs: Hybrid REITs combine the investment strategies of equity REITs and mortgage REITs by investing in both properties and mortgages.
Individuals can invest in REITs either by purchasing their shares directly on an open exchange or by investing in a mutual fund that specializes in public real estate. An additional benefit to investing in REITs is the fact that many are accompanied by dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs).
Among other things, REITs invest in shopping malls, office buildings, apartments, warehouses and hotels. Some REITs will invest specifically in one area of real estate - shopping malls, for example - or in one specific region, state or country. Investing in REITs is a liquid, dividend-paying means of participating in the real estate market.
A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporation investing in real estate that
In return for reducing or eliminating corporate income taxes. , REITs are required to distribute 90% of their income, which may be taxable in the hands of the investors. The REIT structure was designed to provide a similar structure for investment in real estate as mutual funds provide for investment in stocks.
Like other corporations, REITs can be publicly or privately held. Public REITs may be listed on public stock exchanges like shares of common stock in other firms.
The key-statistics to look at in REIT are its NAV (Net Asset Value) and AFFO (Adjusted Funds From Operations) / CAD (Cash At Disposal).
In the U.S., REITs generally pay little or no federal income tax, but are subject to a number of special requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code, one of which is the requirement to annually distribute at least 90% of its taxable income in the form of dividends to its shareholders.
In recent practice, many REITs distribute all of or even more than their current earnings, often resulting in dividend yields comparable to bond yields. If an investment company such as a REIT distributes more than its taxable income, the excess distribution is considered "return of capital" for tax purposes (taxed as a capital transaction, rather than regular income). The distribution requirement may hamper a REIT's ability to retain earnings and generate growth from internal resources. This and other restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code generally limit a REIT's suitability for growth-oriented investors. However, other considerations may result in potential for stock price appreciation, such as improvements in the REITs underlying leasing markets, changes in interest rates or increasing demand for REIT stocks.
As of early 2005, there were nearly 200 publicly traded REITs operating in the United States. Their assets included a combined $500 billion, and approximately two-thirds of them were trading on national stock exchanges. The number of REITs not registered with the Securities Exchange Commission and not publicly traded is about 80.
Qualification
In order to qualify for the advantages of being a pass-through entity for U.S. corporate income tax, a REIT must:
- Be structured as corporation, trust, or association
- Be managed by a board of directors or trustees
- Have transferable shares or transferable certificates of interest
- Otherwise be taxable as a domestic corporation
- Not be a financial institution or an insurance company
- Be jointly owned by 100 persons or more
- Have 95 percent of its income derived from dividends, interest, and property income
- Pay dividends of at least 90% of REIT's taxable income
- No more than 50% of the shares can be held by five or fewer individuals during the last half of each taxable year
- At least 75% of total investment assets must be in real estate
- Derive at least 75% of gross income from rents or mortgage interest
- Have no more than 20% of its assets consist of stocks in taxable REIT subsidiaries.
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