What a REIT ETF is
A REIT is a real-estate investment trust. It owns or finances property such as offices, apartments, warehouses, hotels, or shopping centers.
A REIT ETF holds many REITs or follows a REIT index. This gives you property exposure through one listed ETF, instead of buying individual real-estate trusts one by one.
Income and property exposure
REITs often focus on rental income. For example, an office REIT may earn rent from tenants, while a logistics REIT may earn rent from warehouses.
A REIT ETF packages property-income exposure into an exchange-traded fund structure. Its market price can still move every trading day.
What can move REIT ETFs
REIT ETF prices can move with rents, occupancy, property values, interest rates, and investor demand for income. Higher rates can pressure REIT prices because income assets may look less attractive compared with bonds.
They are still listed securities, so prices can move faster than the buildings or property cash flows behind them.
How to compare them
ETF Note currently groups 35 REIT listings on the REIT ETFs theme page, including examples such as 1345 Listed Index Fund J-REIT (Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index) Bi-Monthly Dividend Payment Type, 1597 MAXIS J-REIT ETF, 1398 SMDAM REIT Index ETF.
Compare the benchmark, trust fee, issuer, trading unit, market-maker flag, and whether the product is a regular or inverse ETF.