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REIT Types and Structures

REIT terms for equity, mortgage, hybrid, traditional, non-traded, and UPREIT structures.

REIT Types and Structures covers REITs, FFO, AFFO, rental income, income property, investment property, property syndications, private real estate, and real-estate investment vehicles.

Use these pages when property exposure is held as an investment, security, fund, partnership, syndication, rental business, or income-producing asset. It sits inside REIT Structures and Performance Metrics, so readers can move up when the broader property-finance context matters.

Use the table below to choose the narrower mortgage or real-estate finance branch before applying a term to a loan file, closing record, servicing review, investor report, appraisal, or valuation model. Move into the term page when the document, calculation, party role, lien position, or property cash flow matters.

What This Branch Covers

AreaUse it for
Equity REITAn Equity Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a type of REIT that holds ownership in real estate properties, generating income from rents and capital appreciation.
Hybrid REITsHybrid REITs combine the investment strategies of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs, offering diversified real estate investment opportunities.
Mortgage REITREIT that invests mainly in mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, or mortgage credit rather than owning operating properties.
Non-Traded REITREIT not listed on a public exchange, making liquidity, valuation, fees, and redemption limits especially important.
Real Estate Investment TrustCompany or trust that owns or finances income-producing real estate and is commonly analyzed through REIT metrics.
Traditional REITConventional REIT structure focused on owning, financing, or operating real estate assets for investor income exposure.
UPREITUmbrella partnership REIT structure that can let property owners contribute assets in exchange for operating partnership units.

What to Check

  • Vehicle type, ownership claim, property type, income stream, leverage, fees, liquidity, and governance rights.
  • REIT filings, fund documents, partnership agreement, operating statements, rental records, and investor reports.
  • NOI, FFO, AFFO, occupancy, capex, distributions, debt, and valuation method.
  • Tax, legal, securities, property-management, and jurisdiction context.
  • Effect on cash yield, total return, liquidity, diversification, leverage, and investor risk.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating direct real estate, REITs, syndications, and rental property as the same exposure.
  • Ignoring leverage, fees, liquidity, tenant risk, and property-level capex.
  • Using FFO, AFFO, NOI, and cash distributions interchangeably.
  • Assuming historical property income guarantees future returns.

Real-estate investment content is educational and does not provide investment, securities, tax, legal, or property-management advice.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Equity REIT

An Equity Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a type of REIT that holds ownership in real estate properties, generating income from rents and capital appreciation.

Hybrid REITs

Hybrid REITs combine the investment strategies of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs, offering diversified real estate investment opportunities.

Mortgage REIT

Mortgage REIT is a mortgage or real estate finance term used in property financing, underwriting, securitization, valuation, or ownership analysis.

Non-Traded REIT

Non-Traded REIT is a real-estate investment trust concept used to evaluate property income, distributions, and public market exposure.

Real Estate Investment Trust

Real Estate Investment Trust is a real-estate investment trust concept used to evaluate property income, distributions, and public market exposure.

Traditional REIT

Traditional REIT is a real-estate investment trust concept used to evaluate property income, distributions, and public market exposure.

UPREIT

UPREIT is a mortgage or real estate finance term used in property financing, underwriting, securitization, valuation, or ownership analysis.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026