Explain Real estate (reit). Do they perform well in a bear market and if so why. Are they taxed like stocks?
Question:
Answer:
There are hundreds of REIT's available that are traded on stock exchanges. They are even broken into categories of investment. Appartment REITs, office building REIT's, shopping mall REIT's, hospital REIT's, hotel REIT's, and others.
They are not taxed like regular stocks. That is their dividends are not taxed like regular stocks. The dividends are not subject to the reduced tax rate that normal dividends are subject to. They are taxed at the full rate. That is because the REIT's do not pay taxes. However, some of the dividends are actually return of capital and should be subtracted from your purchase price.
In general they sometimes drop less during a bear market because of the dividend but the dividend is not secure. During a recession, their profits can drop drastically and so will the dividend. Occupancy is the key to these things and a tight realestate market.
During the period of ultra low interest rates the appartment REITs got hammered because people were moving out of their appartments and buying homes. Now that interest rates are rising, their prospects might improve.
Here is a list of available REITs
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