A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estateCITE:E1. This definition, set out by Nareit — the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts — is the baseline used across the industry to describe the structure: a REIT (不動產投資信託) is not simply a landlord, but a corporate vehicle built specifically around real estate that generates ongoing incomeCITE:E1.
Most REITs are public companies whose shares trade on major stock exchanges, though other REIT types are also available to investorsCITE:E7. Publicly traded REITs are bought and sold by investors on national securities exchanges just like individual shares of public company stockCITE:E3. This exchange listing is what separates publicly traded REITs from direct real estate ownership: an investor can buy or sell a position the same way they would trade any listed equity, without buying or managing a physical property.
To qualify as a REIT, a company's total assets and gross income must meet two separate 75% thresholds tied to real estate. According to SEC filings, 75% of a company's total assets must be comprised of "real estate assets" for it to qualify as a REITCITE:E4. Separately, at least 75% of the company's gross income for any taxable year in which it seeks REIT qualification must be derived from certain specified real estate sources, including qualifying rents from real propertyCITE:E5.
| Requirement | Threshold | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Asset test | 75% of total assets must be "real estate assets" | SEC EDGAR filing, 2014-11-04CITE:E4 |
| Income test | ≥75% of annual gross income from specified real estate sources | SEC EDGAR filing, 2014-11-04CITE:E5 |
| Distribution rule | 90% of taxable income paid as dividends annually | FINRA, 2022CITE:E2 |
REITs must distribute 90% of their taxable income to shareholders every year in the form of dividendsCITE:E2. This requirement, documented by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2022, sits alongside the 75% asset and income tests as one of the defining rules of the REIT structureCITE:E2.
REITs have historically provided investors with regular income streams, diversification, and long-term capital appreciationCITE:E6. Nareit frames these three characteristics — income, diversification, and appreciation — as the core investor benefits associated with the REIT structureCITE:E6.
Taken together, the evidence traces a single mechanism: the 75% asset test and 75% income test require a REIT's business to stay anchored in real propertyCITE:E4CITE:E5, the 90% distribution rule forces the income that property generates to flow to shareholders as dividendsCITE:E2, and public exchange listing gives investors a liquid way to hold that income streamCITE:E3CITE:E7. These three rules, not any single one alone, are what Nareit points to when describing REITs' regular income, diversification, and long-term appreciation recordCITE:E6.
A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estateCITE:E1.
Most REITs are public companies whose shares trade on major stock exchanges, though other REIT types are also available to investorsCITE:E7.
To qualify as a REIT, a company's total assets and gross income must meet two separate 75% thresholds tied to real estate.
REITs must distribute 90% of their taxable income to shareholders every year in the form of dividendsCITE:E2. This requirement, documented by the U.S.
The REIT model works because its three defining constraints reinforce each other rather than standing alone. The 75% asset test and 75% income test force a company to keep its balance sheet and cash flow anchored in real property before it can even claim REIT status, and the 90% mandatory distribution rule then compels whatever taxable income that real estate generates to actually reach shareholders as dividends rather than sit retained. Combined with listing on a national securities exchange, this is what lets a REIT function as a liquid, income-generating proxy for real estate ownership rather than a passive holding company. The figure worth watching for any REIT under review is how close its qualifying real estate income sits to that 75% income-test floor — the tighter the margin, the less room it has before risking its own qualification.
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