Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Invest in Real Estate in India Through REITs

Profit By Investing in Indian Real Estate

If you're ready to get into the investing market and are looking for a great investment, have you considered foreign REITs? REIT stands for Real Estate Investment Trust. Essentially, this is a real estate management fund. As an investor you purchase shares into the fund for those running it to buy and maintain real estate interests. From commercial real estate to residential real estate, there are REITs in all sectors of the market.

When many people think of investing in REITs they think of investing in those that are based in the United States. But there are plenty of investment options around the world that you can take advantage of as well. For example, there is a lot of industrial growth happening in India. Industrialization in a country means that there are more focuses happening on the larger cities and more and more people are trying to move to those cities because that is where the jobs are.

This opens two markets for real estate investing. The first is residential real estate investing. The more people want to live in an area the more need there is for housing for those people. From apartments to houses there will be a major growth in the number of residential units that need to be built and managed, opening up possibilities for a number of Real estate investment funds. The other places that real estate interests will be trading strong is in commercial real estate investing. The more people are moving to the city to live and find jobs, the more businesses will want to open to support all of those people. From restaurants to stores and service companies, they will all need commercial real estate land and buildings to get up and running. This is where many real estate developers or real estate management companies are coming in and forming REITs, to offer that commercial space.

There are some important things to think about before you begin any investment in an international REIT. First, what do you know about that country and it's investment options? If you are like most people, you may be lacking in this arena. That's all right. That is why there are real estate broker firms like REITBuyer.com on the market. REITBuyer.com has a website that is filled with information and research to give you the knowledge you need to make a wise decision on investing in REITs in India.

In addition to having the latest news and analysis on real estate investing, they are also investing real estate brokers which means you will be able to do your research, pick your REITs and make the purchase all in one place.

There is one thing to keep in mind as you are purchasing any foreign REITs. Not all governments and construction schedules run like they do in the US. If you are getting in on the ground floor of a REIT, it may be a long wait to start seeing a return on your investment as often government slowdowns muck up the process.

That's not to say that this is not a good market, just that you need to keep in mind that your investments may take a little longer to pay you back, so you will need to be patient with your funds.

About Investing in China: Chinese REITs

Investing in Chinese REITs

If you like to be on the top of your investment game, it may be time to look east, Far East. There are a number of new markets for investing coming online in Asia.

China has now joined the REIT market. REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts are a way to allow you to be a shareholder in expansion and management of properties in China.

Consider the population of China. With over 1.3 Billion people living in China, there is always a need for homes and businesses. All those people need places to live, and they all need stores to get their essentials like groceries, clothes, etc, as well as services. That means there are plenty of residential and commercial real estate investments available in China.

If you add to this the fact that the Asian land prices had tumbled for a while then leveled out a few years ago, many believe the only way to go is up!

When many people think of investing in real estate, they think of purchasing a property outright and then owning it. That leads to a number of difficulties in this case. First, owning a property in China means you would have to be able to be there (at least periodically) to maintain it. That's a tall order if you live here in the US. Also, not all governments will allow foreigners to own properties, especially larger properties like apartments and businesses, so you may have a tough time getting through the legal hoops. And finally, it takes a lot of money to claim an ownership stake in a property.

This is why REITs have become so popular. REITs are a way in which you can put your money into an investment fund that will allow a real estate management group to purchase and manage properties in their area.

Since China has just come on the market for REITs more recently, there are a number of investment opportunities out there to choose from. This means you can really diversify. You can choose to purchase shares in REITs in each sector (commercial, industrial and residential) or focus on those that you know.

Michael Hart, head of research in Shanghai at Jones Lang LaSalle told the New York Times there is plenty of room for growth of international investments, "What we're seeing is just the first wave. Of the top 50 office buildings in Shanghai, only two or three are owned by foreign institutions."

As always it is wise to do your research before you begin. Here are a couple of things to consider

REITs in foreign countries are not the same as REITs in the United States. First, the rules of 90% of the profits being returned to investors do not hold up there. Instead, you need to research a REIT before you ever make a purchase.

Start by doing your research online. A website like REITBuyer.com is a great place to begin and once you find the properties that you want to buy into, you can make the purchase through them as they are also a full service investing real estate broker.