房地产投资信托（Real Estate Investment Trust，缩写：REIT）又称房产信托、地产信托；是一种类似封闭式共同基金，但投资标的物为不动产的投资工具。投资信托由美国国会于1960年创造，主要是借由不动产的证券化及许多投资人的资金集资，使没有庞大资本的一般投资人也能以较低门槛参与不动产市场，获得不动产市场交易、租金与增值所带来的获利。同时投资人又不需要实质持有不动产标的，并可在证券市场交易，因此市场流通性优于不动产。

本文介绍5种常见的REITs及评估REITs的关键

1. Retail REITs 零售REITs

Approximately 24% of REIT investments are in shopping malls and freestanding retail. This represents the single biggest investment by type in America. Whatever shopping center you frequent, it's likely owned by a REIT. When considering an investment in retail real estate, one first needs to examine the retail industry itself. Is it financially healthy at present and what is the outlook for the future?

约24%的REIT投资于购物中心和独立零售店，这是美国最大的一笔投资。不管你经常光顾哪家购物中心，它都有可能归REIT所有。在考虑对零售房地产进行投资时，首先需要检查零售行业本身。目前的财务状况是否健康，未来的前景如何？

It's important to remember that retail REITs make money from the rent they charge tenants. If retailers are experiencing cash flow problems due to poor sales, it's possible they could delay or even default on those monthly payments, eventually being forced into bankruptcy. At that point, a new tenant needs to be found, which is never easy. Therefore, it's crucial that you invest in REITs with the strongest anchor tenants possible. These include grocery and home improvement stores.

重要的是要记住，零售REITs通过向租户收取租金来赚钱。如果零售商因销售业绩不佳而出现现金流问题，他们可能会推迟甚至拖欠月度付款，最终被迫破产。此时，重新寻找新租户，绝非易事。因此，投资拥有尽可能多的锚租户的REITs至关重要。其中包括杂货店和家居装饰店。

Once you've made your industry assessment, your focus should turn to the REITs themselves. Like any investment, it's important that they have good profits, strong balance sheets and as little debt as possible, especially the short-term kind. In a poor economy, retail REITs with significant cash positions will be presented with opportunities to buy good real estate at distressed prices. The best-run companies will take advantage of this.

一旦进行了行业评估，重点应该转向REITs本身。和任何投资一样，重要的是它们要有良好的利润、稳健的资产负债表和尽可能少的债务，特别是短期债务。在经济不景气的情况下，拥有大量现金头寸的零售REITs将有机会以低价购买优质房地产。经营最好的公司会利用这一点。

That said, there are longer-term concerns for the retail REIT space in that shopping is increasingly shifting online as opposed to the mall model. Owners of space have continued to innovate to fill their space with offices and other non-retail oriented tenants, but the subsector is under pressure.

不过，从长期来看，零售REIT领域也存在一些问题，因为购物模式，正从购物中心模式转向网购模式。业主不断创新，以办公室和其他非零售型租户填补他们的空间，但该分部门面临压力。

2. Residential REITs 住宅REITs

These are REITs that own and operate multi-family rental apartment buildings as well as manufactured housing. When looking to invest in this type of REIT, one should consider several factors before jumping in. For instance, the best apartment markets tend to be where home affordability is low relative to the rest of the country. In places like New York and Los Angeles, the high cost of single homes forces more people to rent, which drives up the price landlords can charge each month. As a result, the biggest residential REITs tend to focus on large urban centers.

住宅REITs是拥有及经营多家庭出租公寓及工业制成品住宅的REIT。在寻求投资于此类REIT前，需要考虑几个因素。例如，和美国其他地区相比，房价较低的地区往往是最好的公寓市场。在纽约和洛杉矶等地，高昂的单身住房成本迫使更多人租房，从而推高了房东每月收取的租金。因此，最大的住宅REITs往往集中在大城市中心。

Within each specific market, investors should look for population and job growth. Generally, when there is a net inflow of people to a city, it's because jobs are readily available and the economy is growing. A falling vacancy rate coupled with rising rents is a sign that demand is improving. As long as the apartment supply in a particular market remains low and demand continues to rise, residential REITs should do well. As with all companies, those with the strongest balance sheets and the most available capital normally do the best.

在每个特定的市场中，投资者应该关注人口和就业增长。一般来说，，当人口净流入一个城市时，是因为该城市有现成的就业机会，而且经济在增长。空置率下降加上租金上涨表明需求正在改善。只要某一特定市场的公寓供应量较低，但是需求继续上升，住宅REITs就会表现良好。和所有公司一样，资产负债表最强健、可用资本最多的公司通常表现最好。

3. Healthcare REITs 医疗REITs

Healthcare REITs will be an interesting subsector to watch as Americans age and healthcare costs continue to climb. Healthcare REITs invest in the real estate of hospitals, medical centers, nursing facilities, and retirement homes. The success of this real estate is directly tied to the healthcare system. A majority of the operators of these facilities rely on occupancy fees, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements as well as private pay. As long as the funding of healthcare is a question mark, so are healthcare REITs.

随着美国人步入老龄化社会，医疗保健成本继续攀升，医疗REITs将成为一个值得关注的子行业。医疗REITs投资于医院、医疗中心、护理设施和养老院等房地产。该房地产的成功与医疗保健系统直接相关。这些设施的大多数运营商依赖入住费、医疗保险和医疗补助报销以及私人支付。只要医疗融资还不确定，医疗REITs也不确定。

Things you should look for in a healthcare REIT include a diversified group of customers as well as investments in a number of different property types. Focus is good to an extent but so is spreading your risk. Generally, an increase in the demand for healthcare services (which should happen with an aging population) is good for healthcare real estate. Therefore, in addition to customer and property-type diversification, look for companies whose healthcare experience is significant, whose balance sheets are strong and whose access to low-cost capital is high.

在医疗REITs中，应该关注多元化的客户群体以及不同类型的房地产投资。在某种程度上，专注是好的，但分散风险也是好的。一般来说，医疗服务需求的增长(或人口老龄化情况下)有利于医疗地产。因此，除了客户和房地产类型的多元化，还要寻找那些拥有丰富医疗保健经验、资产负债表稳健以及能够获得大量低成本资本的公司。

4. Office REITs 写字楼REITs

Office REITs invest in office buildings. They receive rental income from tenants who have usually signed long-term leases. Four questions come to mind for anyone interested in investing in an office REIT

写字楼REITs投资于写字楼。他们从通常签订长期租约的租户那里获得租金收入。任何有兴趣投资写字楼REIT的人都应该想到四个问题：

①What is the state of the economy and how high is the unemployment rate?

经济状况如何？失业率有多高？

②What are vacancy rates like?

空置率如何？

③How is the area in which the REIT invests doing economically?

REIT投资的领域在经济上表现如何？

④How much capital does it have for acquisitions?

它有多少资本用于收购？

Try to find REITs that invest in economic strongholds. It's better to own a bunch of average buildings in Washington, D.C., than it is to own prime office space in Detroit, for example.

尽量寻求投资于经济据点的REITs。例如，在华盛顿特区拥有很多普通的房子要比在底特律拥有顶级写字楼好得多。

5. Mortgage REITs 抵押REITs

Approximately 10% of REIT investments are in mortgages as opposed to the real estate itself. The best known but not necessarily the greatest investments are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that buy mortgages on the secondary market.

约10%的REIT投资是在抵押贷款，而不是房地产本身。最著名但不一定是最伟大的投资是 Fannie Mae和Freddie Mac，这两家政府支持的企业在二级市场购买抵押贷款。

But just because this type of REIT invests in mortgages instead of equity doesn't mean it comes without risks. An increase in interest rates would translate into a decrease in mortgage REIT book values, driving stock prices lower. In addition, mortgage REITs get a considerable amount of their capital through secured and unsecured debt offerings. Should interest rates rise, future financing will be more expensive, reducing the value of a portfolio of loans. In a low-interest-rate environment with the prospect of rising rates, most mortgage REITs trade at a discount to net asset value per share. The trick is finding the right one.

但这种REIT投资于抵押贷款而不是股票，并不意味着它没有风险。利率上升将转化为抵押贷款REIT账面价值的下降，推动股价下跌。此外，抵押REITs通过有担保和无担保债务发行获得大量资本。如果利率上升，未来的融资成本将上升，从而降低贷款组合的价值。在预期利率上升的低利率环境中，大多数抵押REITs的交易价格都低于每股资产净值。投资的关键是找到合适的。

The Keys to Assessing Any REIT

评估REIT的关键

There are a few things to keep in mind when assessing any REIT. They include the following:

评估任何REIT时，都要记住几点。其中包括:

1. REITs are true total-return investments. They provide high dividend yields along with moderate long-term capital appreciation. Look for companies that have done a good job historically at providing both.

REITs是真正的总回报投资。它们能提供高股息率，同时保持适度的长期资本增值。寻找在这方面历来都做得很好的公司。

2. Unlike traditional real estate, many REITs are traded on stock exchanges. You get the diversification real estate provides without being locked in long-term. Liquidity matters.

与传统房地产不同，许多REITs都在股票交易所交易。无需长期锁定即可获得多样化的房地产。流动性很重要。

3. Depreciation tends to overstate an investment's decline in property value. Thus, instead of using the payout ratio (what dividend investors use) to assess a REIT, look at its funds from operations (FFOs) instead. This is defined as net income less the sale of any property in a given year and depreciation. Simply take the dividend per share and divide it by the FFO per share. The higher the yield the better.

折旧倾向于夸大投资的财产价值的下降。因此，与其用派息率(投资者使用的分红)来评估REIT，不如查看其营运资金。其定义为净收入减去某一年出售的任何财产和折旧。只需将每股股息除以每股FFO数。收益率越高越好。

4. Strong management makes a difference. Look for companies that have been around for a while or at least possess a management team with loads of experience.

强健的管理会有所不同。寻找那些已经存在了一段时间，或者至少拥有一支经验丰富的管理团队的公司。

5. Quality counts. Only invest in REITs with great properties and tenants.

质量很重要。只投资于物业和租户都不错的REITs。

6. Consider buying a mutual fund or ETF that invests in REITs, and leave the research and buying to the pros.

考虑购买共同基金或投资REITs的ETF，把研究和购买交给专业人士。

英文来源：

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortgages-real-estate/10/real-estate-investment-trust-reit.asp