Employment scopes in any domain of public interest have seen a paradigm shift in the post-pandemic years. At the same time, people have started investing in traditional domains rather than new ones. Real estate is such a domain that is experiencing a large number of investments in recent years. Therefore, when contemplating the REIT industry, you should know how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts.
How many Jobs are Available in Real Estate Investment Trusts?
The real estate industry in recent decades has been booming. The income-generating properties it creates have made the REIT expand rapidly. This factor has inspired thousands of people to enquire about how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts. People are interested to understand how promising real estate is as a profession.
Once you know that many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts, you have to know the job roles. But before that, it’s essential to understand what REITs are and how they work.
What is REIT?
REIT or Real Estate Investment Trusts can be called a company, a corporation, or a vehicle for public investment. Over 225 REITs in the USA have more than $1 trillion combined market capitalization. The body, listed on the Stock Exchange, owns, manages, or finances real estate properties. The properties generate or produce income for them. The list of these income-producing properties includes everything from hotels to shopping malls. REITs trade these buildings, residential or commercial, to earn revenue.
The hospitals, resorts, or any such properties owned by REITs are used as a part of the investment portfolios. People love real estate properties as a passive income with the least risk factors.
Why is REIT a Good Platform for Investment?
Often, young aspirants opt to know if any jobs are available in real estate investment trusts. Reviewing the market lets them know there are tremendous opportunities in real estate sectors as it’s a booming industry. The reason is that people chose to invest in REITs over other mediums for several advantages. Those are the following:-
- There are ample opportunities in the REITs for investors to earn profits with small investments.
- Buying and selling properties are quick.
- Investors can generate revenues from this sector, spending lesser portions of their incomes.
- REITs offer indirect access for investors via mutual funds.
- REITs include real estate scale investments for investor groups which are not available otherwise.
- This sector is growing and diversified.
- It is preferred as an indirect and more significant investment. Real estate investment trusts offer better liquidity than traditional investments in the same sector.
- REIT investment is a trustworthy source of income with comparatively higher stability.
- Real estate has unlimited potential for higher income generation. It also creates the investment portfolio of an investor diversified.
Is Real Estate Investment Trusts a Good Career Path?
By now, you must have become curious to explore the job opportunities offered by this diversified industry. So, how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts? The perfect answer to the question is unlimited.
People keep asking, is real estate investment trusts a good career path? REITs have become an attractive sector for your career since the 60s. Choosing this profession allows you to enhance your professional experience to a great extent.
- As per the statistics, the real estate sector produced 2.9 million jobs in 2020 to generate $197 billion of labor income for the US economy.
- REITs employed over 3 lakh people in 2021 to earn $22.7 billion in labor.
- There are almost 326,000 full-time jobs available in the REITs, as of July 2022.
- The number of indirect jobs related to real estate investment trusts is also massive at 3.4 million.
Now you undoubtedly have an idea that many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts. But it’s also essential to know the types of employment or the job roles. To understand whether REITs are suitable for your career, you must learn how the sector works.
How does REIT Work?
Congress created a real estate development fund in 1960 to facilitate average citizens with the scope to invest in real estate.
REITs don’t purchase or resale real estate properties, unlike real estate firms. They are listed on the American Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ. This listing enables REITs to generate greater scope for liquidity in investments.
Companies and individuals can invest in real estate assets through REITs without owning them. If you buy into one of the REITs, you will invest in a company earning rental income from real estate properties. The company manages or operates real estate products, such as restaurants, apartments, and offices. The lease and rent payments allow the REITs to earn money from the properties. The investors earn a share of the profits the REITs gain through these payments.
A REIT firm can appoint you as their agent, or you can lead a REIT corporation.
A REIT corporation possesses various assets, including retail shops, hotels, and resorts, healthcare properties, etc. According to the law, the rents, sales, or interests account for 75% of the real estate investment trust corporation’s revenue. In turn, the investors gain profits for the shares they acquire in a property.
REITs pay 90% of their taxable incomes to the shareholders as per the law.
Types of REITs
Knowing how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts requires basic knowledge of REIT types.
Broadly, there are three types of REITs. One is publicly traded, the second is publicly non-traded and the third is private.
- Publicly traded REITs are those you can purchase through brokers. These are listed on the major Stock Exchanges and are more liquid. The US Securities and Exchange Commission regulates these REITs.
- Some REITs don’t trade on the major securities exchanges, despite being registered with the SEC. Market fluctuations can’t impact these REITs. They are more stable, less liquid, and not available for public trading.
- As the name explains, private REITs are for large financial establishments exclusively. These REITs have accredited investors. Private REITs have no SEC registration and listing in the stock exchanges.
Types of REITs based on Assets and Income
REITs can be classified according to the asset types and ways of income too.
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Mortgage
These types of REITs generate income by purchasing mortgaged assets or mortgage-backed securities. The interest in the investments generates revenue in mortgage REITs.
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Equity
These are the most common type of REITs generating revenue from rental earnings. They involve commercial real estates products like office buildings and rental apartments.
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Hybrid
Hybrid REITs are combined forms of the features and strategies of equity and mortgage real estate investment trusts. They earn revenues from both mortgages and rent.
The REITs based on the property types are categorized as the following:-
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Industrial
Industrial REITs manage facilities like distribution centers, warehouses, or cold storage. They focus on industry-specific properties and regions.
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Residential
These REITs manage residential buildings such as apartments and single-family homes. Residential REITs also work based on a specific property type and location.
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Office
Office REITs own or manage office buildings. They can be area specific, like New York or Los Angeles. Office REITs can also be based on tenant types, such as government agencies, logistics companies, or tech startups.
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Healthcare
Healthcare REITs manage healthcare-related real estates products like hospitals, nursing facilities, and medical offices.
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Hospitality
Hospitality REITs include hotels, resorts, and motels. These properties are usually run by third-party brands who lease or rent them. The accommodation fees generate income for the REITs.
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Diversified
Diversified REITs include various portfolios or a combination of different property types. They manage a mix of real estate properties like office buildings, residential properties, and retail assets.
Jobs Available in REITs
The answer to the question of how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts doesn’t only involve statistics. It’s not all about the number of job openings in the REITs. There are various roles, and they offer different remunerations. Overall, real estate investment trusts offer a wide range of job roles. Some of them are high-paying, even best-paying jobs.
The leading job roles in the REITs are based on your educational qualification, experience, and expertise.
Types of REIT Jobs
Real estate investor
Property manager
Real estate broker
REIT analyst
Property appraiser
Acquisition roles
Asset management
Investor relation
Leasing Consultant
Real estate attorney
Sales associate/agent/supervisor
Real Estate Investment Managers
People interested in REITs frequently search for how many jobs are available to investment managers. Well, real estate investment managers are of various kinds. There are real estate property managers, asset managers, and investor relations managers.
Real Estate Property Manager
Property managers oversee different operations like leasing, payment collection, and maintenance. There are no criteria as such to become a property manager in REITs. Handling different situations skillfully and efficiently in project management is required to get a real estate property manager job.
- A good property manager will have
- Marketing expertise
- Management skills
- Approach to solving problems quickly
- Customer management abilities
- Sound knowledge of finance
Real Estate Asset Manager
Asset managers take care of the REIT portfolios regarding financial health and operations. The asset manager manages his client’s assets, balancing them with their investment goals and preferences. Asset managers maintain, organize and develop client portfolios.
Moreover, he has to coordinate with accounts, acquisitions, and finance teams. Asset managers are also responsible for ensuring compliance with the REIT regulations and the SEC.
An inexperienced person looking for any jobs are available in real estate investment trusts can take up this role. Also, property managers or anyone from the acquisitions can start as asset managers.
Investor Relationship Manager
This department works with stakeholders to coordinate overall communications. Besides, they assemble data for arranging annual meetings.
An investor relationship manager manages to earn a moderate income. But he has to possess a basic knowledge of accounts and finance. An undergraduate degree is required for the job role.
Real Estate Broker
More than 150,000 people currently work as real estate brokers in the USA. Every year, 54,800 job openings are projected on average for this role. The average annual pay is $62,000.
Real Estate Investor
While many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts, being an investor is the highest-paying one among them.
It is a lucrative career path where you have to buy assets, resell them, and add value. Though it’s a profitable profile, there are difficulties too. Gaining profit demands a deep insight of the investor in dealing with properties, along with adequate market research.
REIT Analyst
The job of an analyst is to manage coordination with the real estate and finance departments. The REIT analyst’s role includes all the REIT functions, like property deals, financial assets, and the market.
An analyst employs various financial instruments to build financial models. These models are vital for assets and acquisitions. Therefore, a REIT analyst should possess the following abilities:-
- Comprehensive knowledge of the market, including micro and macro developments
- A bachelor’s degree in finance, real estate, economics, or any relevant field
- Organizing, research, and analytical skills
Property Appraiser
The property appraiser determines a property’s value. The value of a property depends on several economic and market factors, making it a complex task. A real estate appraiser has to look after each aspect before deciding on the worth.
An appraiser’s job involves a training course and a certificate of completion. Persons with having finance, economics, or real estate background fit the role perfectly.
Attorney Jobs
Real estate attorneys play crucial roles in the sector. They are the mediums for communication between clients, REIT firms, and sellers. The lawyers look after the contract signing and other legal tasks in the REITs. Moreover, they resolve any legal issue that occurs in the sector.
Leasing Consultant
If the real estate sector has a face, it is the leasing consultant. They assist clients in choosing real estate properties according to their budgets and needs.
If someone thinks, is real estate investment trusts a good career path or not, this is an excellent opportunity to start with. Beginning as a leasing consultant may lead you to a marketing director position too. But, you have to be fully aware of the real estate market. Additionally, you have to be efficient in promotion and advertising. If you have an experience in retail or hospitality, you will suit this job role perfectly. Working in those sectors helps develop various soft skills.
Acquisition Roles
Acquirers find new opportunities and evaluate potential. They play the leading role in the negotiation and structuring of transactions. A finance, business, or marketing degree with strong analytics skills and experience is ideal for the role. You can earn $80,000 annually from these jobs.
Still, many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts besides these roles. Some of those are the following:-
- Administrative assistant
- Sales supervisor
- Escrow officer
- Title examiner
- Financial analyst
- Tax accountant
- Portfolio manager
- Customer service representative
To Wrap it up
So, you don’t need to worry about how many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts. Just gather enough skill and abilities. The real estate sector is ready to grab you for any one of its plenty of job roles.
