How do I invest in real estate without buying actual property?

Enter REITs โ€” Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Itโ€™s a company that owns and manages income-generating real estate.
Think office parks, malls, warehouses.

Instead of buying a flat or shop yourself, you buy units of this trust โ€” kind of like buying shares in a company.

๐Ÿ’ฐ How it works

  • REITs collect rent, service charges, and other fees from their properties.
  • In return, investors get a share of this income.
  • By SEBI rules, REITs must pay out 90% of their net distributable income to investors โ€” offering regular cash flow, similar to dividends.

๐Ÿ“ˆ Trading REITs

  • REITs in India are listed on NSE and BSE.
  • You can buy or sell them just like stocks during market hours.
  • This makes them far more liquid than physical property.

๐Ÿข Major REITs in India

  • Embassy REIT โ€” ~51 million sq. ft. portfolio (Bengaluru, Mumbai, NCR, Pune).
  • Mindspace Business Parks โ€” ~37 million sq. ft. (Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai).
REIT

  • Brookfield India REIT โ€” ~29 million sq. ft. (Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata).
  • Nexus Select Trust โ€” ~10 million sq. ft. retail space (19 malls in 15 cities).

    • โœ… Why REITs?

    • Lower entry barrier โ€” you donโ€™t need crores to participate.
    • Professionally managed portfolios.
    • Regular income payouts (SEBI-regulated).
    • Easy entry/exit through stock exchanges.
    • No headaches of tenants, repairs, or legal approvals.

    ๐Ÿ  The mindset shift

    In India, weโ€™re used to property = buy land or apartment.
    But REITs let you invest in real estate without:

    • Managing tenants
    • Handling maintenance
    • Locking in large capital

    ๐Ÿ’ก REITs bridge the gap between the stock market and the property market โ€” giving you exposure to real estate, with flexibility and liquidity built in.