What is a REIT?
A REIT lets you own a slice of income-producing real estate — apartments, warehouses, data centers, cell towers — and collect most of the rent as dividends, without ever buying a building yourself.
The one rule that defines a REIT
To qualify as a REIT and skip corporate tax, a company must hand almost all of its profit to shareholders. That legal requirement is why REITs are famous for big, steady dividends.
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Follow the money
A REIT is just a machine that turns buildings into a dividend check. Here's the loop:
You invest
Buy shares on the exchange, like any stock.
REIT buys property
It pools everyone's money to own a big portfolio.
Tenants pay rent
Leases bring in steady, contracted cash flow.
You get paid
That rent flows back to you as dividends.
Try it: what would a REIT pay you?
Drag the sliders to see the income a REIT could throw off. Move them and the numbers update live.
Illustrative only. Real yields, payment schedules and dividend safety vary by REIT — check any company's profile for the real figures.
Why income investors look at REITs
Because the law forces those payouts, REIT yields tend to sit well above most stocks and cash — closer to bonds, but with a shot at growth.
The REIT figure is the live median across the 199 REITs on this site. The others are recent typical benchmarks, shown for scale.
Meet a real one
Enough theory — here's an actual REIT from our database, with its real numbers:
FFO — funds from operations — is a REIT's real cash earnings. Net income is misleading for REITs because of huge non-cash depreciation, so the whole industry is judged on FFO and dividends instead.
Two flavors of REIT
Equity REITs
Own the buildings and collect rent. This is the vast majority. Judged on occupancy, rent growth and cash flow.
Mortgage REITs
Don't own buildings — they lend against real estate and earn the interest spread. Higher yields, more rate-sensitive. Judged on book value.
REITs own nearly every kind of property
From the towers your phone connects to, to the warehouses your packages ship from. Here's the live breakdown of the 199 REITs we track — click any sector to explore it.
REIT vs. stock vs. bond
| REIT | Stock | Bond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you own | A share of real estate | A share of a business | A loan you made |
| Main return | Dividends + property value | Price growth | Fixed interest |
| Payout | Must pay ~90% of income | Optional, often small | Fixed coupon |
| Judged on | FFO / AFFO & dividends | Earnings (EPS) | Credit & rates |
| Typical yield | 5.4% | ~1.3% | ~4.3% |
The four numbers to know
Funds From Operations — a REIT's real cash earnings. The headline profit figure.
Adjusted FFO — after the capex needed to keep buildings rentable. Truer cash for dividends.
Annual dividend ÷ price. The income you get for the price you pay.
Leverage — net debt vs. earnings. Lower is generally safer.
Start exploring
Every listed REIT →
The full sortable directory with the metrics that matter.
Screener →
Filter by yield, size, sector and valuation.
Sectors →
Data centers to self-storage, side by side.
Methodology →
Exactly where every number on this site comes from.
Research and education only — nothing here is investment advice.