REIT Recommendations?

[Sharetha H.]

Hello All!
I am looking to begin investing in REITs as my access to capital for "direct" real estate purchases is very limited right now. Do you have any recommendations for REITs to invest in? Or information on where I can research available REITs? At this point, I really don't have a preference for the types of properties that the REITs invest in, although I definitely want at least some opportunity to invest in single family residential properties. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!

[Brett Wehn]

I have traded REITs for many years and have done well with some of the investments. I like the exposure to institutional quality real estate (shopping centers and large apartment buildings) with the liquidity offered by publicly traded companies. Most REITs own specfic types of properties such as land, retail, multi-family, office, and industrial. I don't own any REITs right now because of my concern with buying stocks when the overall market is at an all time high. I'm a bit of a market timer. I watch the market carefully and intend to dive back in when the market corrects. You can build a nice steady stream of income from REIT dividends. Some companies like Realty Income (ticker symbol "O") even pay a monthly dividend. One of the best indicators of market direction is VNQ (as suggested by RyanA). It's also probably one of your safest bets as it holds virtually all publicly traded REIT's in the US. Pays a fair dividend too. Do your homework and learn the fundamentals. I watch for excessive debt levels and check debt ratings (available from Standard and Poors). One of the largest publicly traded REITs, General Growth Properties filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 when shopping center vacancies soared and the company was unable to service their debt.