Can you build wealth with REITs?
REITs are built from the ground up to pay dividends. Dividends can be a powerful wealth-building tool. Adding this modest tweak to your REIT investing strategy can amp up your wealth accumulation.
REITs make their money through the mortgages underlying real estate development or on rental incomes once the property is developed. REITs provide shareholders with a steady income and, if held long-term, growth that reflects the appreciation of the property it owns.
According to the data, REITs have outperformed stocks over the long term, delivering an 11.9% average annual return from 1972 to 2021 (compared to 10.7% for the S&P 500). At that rate of return, a monthly investment of $300 in REITs would grow into $1 million in about 30 years.
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.
While real estate has never been a big part of Buffett's investing strategy, Berkshire Hathaway has owned shares of STORE Capital, a REIT focused on single-tenant operational real estate.
A well-constructed dividend portfolio could potentially yield anywhere from 2% to 8% per year. This means, to earn $3,000 monthly from dividend stocks, the required initial investment could range from $450,000 to $1.8 million, depending on the yield. Furthermore, potential capital gains can add to your total returns.
Here are some of the main disadvantages of investing in a REIT. Market volatility: Value can fluctuate based on economic and market conditions. Interest rate risk: Changes in interest rates can affect the value of a REIT.
Getting out of a non-traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, can often be rather difficult and expensive. Once a REIT is closed to new investors, the board of directors of the REIT can suspend the redemption policy.
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.
- What dividends and REITs are.
- ARMOUR Residential REIT – 20.7%
- Orchid Island Capital – 17.8%
- AGNC Investment – 14.8%
- Oxford Square Capital – 13.7%
- Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT – 13.2%
- SLR Investment – 11.5%
- PennantPark Floating Rate Capital – 10%
What is a good amount to invest on a REIT?
According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), non-traded REITs typically require a minimum investment of $1,000 to $2,500.
“I recommend REITs within a managed portfolio,” Devine said, noting that most investors should limit their REIT exposure to between 2 percent and 5 percent of their overall portfolio. Here again, a financial professional can help you determine what percentage of your portfolio you should allocate toward REITs, if any.
The FTSE Nareit All REITs index, which tracks the performance of all publicly traded REITs in the U.S., had an average annual total return (dividends included) of 3.58% during the five-year period that ended in August 2023. For the 10-year period between 2013 and 2022, the index averaged 7.48% per year.
Poor Rates Of Compounding: Another big reason why REITs generally have low appeal to Buffett and Munger is because real estate generates poor returns on invested capital.
REITs are true total-return investments. They provide high dividend yields along with moderate long-term capital appreciation. 4 Look for companies that have done a good job historically at providing both.
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.
Bottom Line. If you can invest $200 each and every month and achieve a 10% annual return, in 20 years you'll have more than $150,000 and, after another 20 years, more than $1.2 million. Your actual rate of return may vary, and you'll also be affected by taxes, fees and other influences.
To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.
| Monthly contribution | Time to reach $1 million with an 8% annual return |
|---|---|
| $250 | 41.6 years |
| $500 | 33.3 years |
| $1,000 | 25.5 years |
| $2,500 | 16.3 years |
REITs historically perform well during and after recessions | Pensions & Investments.
Can a REIT lose money?
Any increase in the short-term interest rate eats into the profit—so if it doubled in our example above, there'd be no profit left. And if it goes up even higher, the REIT loses money. All of that makes mortgage REITs extremely volatile, and their dividends are also extremely unpredictable.
First, rising interest rates pushed up the costs of financing property purchases. Then, in March, some regional bank failures and false assumptions of an ensuing nationwide banking “crisis” triggered questions about the financial wherewithal of REIT tenants and possible follow-on effects on REITs themselves.
While it is true that the underlying assets of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) typically cannot go to zero, it is still possible for a REIT to go bankrupt. This can occur if the REIT takes on too much debt, mismanages its properties, or faces significant legal or regulatory issues.
How often are REIT dividends paid? Law requires that REITs pay required dividends at least once annually; however, many REITs pay quarterly or monthly. REIT investors should educate themselves on the payment schedule of a potential REIT investments before investing.
Investors can buy and sell shares of public REITs at any time during trading hours. With private REITs, on the other hand, investors may have to wait for a redemption event, which can occur quarterly or annually, before they can cash out their investment. Additionally, private REITs may charge redemption fees.
