REITs own and operate income-producing real estate โ€” malls, apartments, office buildings, warehouses, hospitals, cell towers. By law, they must distribute 90% of taxable income to shareholders as dividends. This makes them one of the highest-yielding investment categories available.

Types of REITs

Residential REITs (apartment buildings): steady income, inflation protection. Industrial REITs (warehouses, logistics): explosive growth as e-commerce expands. Healthcare REITs (hospitals, senior living): aging population drives demand. Retail REITs (malls, shopping centers): higher risk, higher yield. Data Center REITs (servers, cloud infrastructure): AI boom driving massive demand.

Best REITs to Start With

VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF): broad exposure, 3.5โ€“4% yield, 0.12% fee. Realty Income (O): monthly dividend payments, 29+ years of dividend growth, 5โ€“6% yield. Prologis (PLD): industrial REIT, Amazon and FedEx as tenants, strong growth. Digital Realty (DLR): data center REIT, AI infrastructure demand.

REIT vs. Physical Real Estate

REITs: $1 minimum investment, instant diversification, fully liquid, no management headaches, lower return ceiling. Physical real estate: $10,000โ€“$50,000 minimum, concentrated, illiquid, management required, higher return ceiling with leverage. Both have a place in a portfolio.

๐Ÿข
โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜†
Robinhood
Purchase REIT ETFs or individual REITs with zero commissions. Enable automatic dividend reinvestment.
Earn: Buy REITs commission-free
Get Started Free โ†’