What are Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)?

About Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs):

• A REIT is a company that owns and typically operates income-producing real estate or related assets. 
• They pool money from the investors and invest it in commercial real estate projects.
• These may include office buildings, shopping malls, apartments, hotels, resorts, self-storage facilities, warehouses, and mortgages or loans.
• Unlike other real estate companies, a REIT does not develop real estate properties to resell Instead, a REIT buys and develops properties primarily to operate them as part of its own investment portfolio.
• REITs provide a way for individual investors to earn a share of the income produced through commercial real estate ownership without actually having to go out and buy commercial real estate.
• In general, REITs specialise in a specific real estate sector. However, diversified and speciality REITs may hold different types of properties in their portfolios, such as a REIT that consists of both office and retail properties. 
• Most REITs are publicly traded like stocks, which makes them highly liquid (unlike physical real estate investments). REITs are like shares that are listed on the stock exchange, which means you can buy or sell them anytime on the exchange.