REITS - are they good value?

[Zstar]

I got my usual daily seekingalpha email,today, and one of the contributors was punting REITs. I don’t see a lot of noise on here at the moment, but I’m wondering if so called real assets are undervalued at present and worth putting some money into vs the craziness of the stock market.

I’m not an expert on this asset class so looking for some ideas!

[essayer]

i'm not an expert either but it seems an absolutely disastrous time for landlords right now, aren't you essentially gambling whether they'll even survive?

[S7GVC]

Wouldn't agree with the above, but it will be interesting to see how commercial property fairs post-COVID

[CzechItOut]

Residential demand at the mercy of Brexit. Commercial demand at the mercy of WFH. Retail demand at the mercy of online.

I'd say it's a gamble.

[NMNeil]

Until recently I had one in my portfolio and they were paying a fairly regular 16% - 18% annual dividend. Last week they announced they would be cutting the dividend by 12%, so I immediately sold.
Until the virus is sorted I'm on the sidelines for anything real estate related.

[Zstar]

Just to be clear, I’m not thinking about residential/commercial REITs - I found MPW which invests solely in Hospitals for example. I’m just wondering if now is the time to buy when the asset is relatively cheap vs equities which are trading at very high levels

[NMNeil]

Not pumping a particular stock, but for what I believe would be a fairly safe REIT in the healthcare industry would be something like Welltower. NYSE: WELL
Market cap of about $36 billion and a 4% dividend. They specialize in senior living properties so there's a high demand that's unlikely to change in the future, and the potential for crippling lawsuits is less than a regular hospital.
Personally I moved away from stocks and now just trade option spreads, which seem to be working far better for me.
Just my thoughts but do your own DD.

[Zstar]

NMNeil said:

Not pumping a particular stock, but for what I believe would be a fairly safe REIT in the healthcare industry would be something like Welltower. NYSE: WELL
Market cap of about $36 billion and a 4% dividend. They specialize in senior living properties so there's a high demand that's unlikely to change in the future, and the potential for crippling lawsuits is less than a regular hospital.
Personally I moved away from stocks and now just trade option spreads, which seem to be working far better for me.
Just my thoughts but do your own DD.

Thanks Neil - that’s the kind of REIT I’m talking about. I suspect office and retail will struggle for some time still, but residential and other non consumer focussed real assets are potentially underpriced and still paying decent dividends. It’s easier for me to trade ETFs as I work in a bank and have to get approval each time I trade a stock, which is a PITA...