A REIT, or Real Estate Investment Trust, is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Modeled after mutual funds, REITs provide investors of all types regular?income streams, diversification and long-term capital appreciation. REITs typically pay out all of their taxable income as dividends to shareholders.
REITs allow anyone to invest in portfolios of large-scale properties the same way they invest in other industries ? through the purchase of stock. In the same way shareholders benefit by owning stocks in other corporations, the stockholders of a REIT earn a share of the income produced through real estate investment ? without actually having to go out and buy or finance property.
Most REITs are traded on major stock exchanges, but there are also public non-listed and private REITs. The two main types of REITs are Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs. Equity REITs generate income through the collection of rent on, and from sales of, the properties they own for the long-term. Mortgage REITs invest in mortgages or mortgage securities tied to commercial and/or residential properties.
Today, REITs are tied to almost all aspects of the economy, including apartments, hospitals, hotels, industrial facilities, infrastructure, nursing homes, offices, shopping malls, storage centers, student housing, and timberlands. REIT-owned properties are located in every state and according to a 2014 E&Y study, ?support more than one million U.S. jobs annually.? U.S. REITs have become a model for REITs around the world, and now more than 30 countries around the world have adopted REIT legislation