Why Warren Buffett Buys REITs Instead Of Rental Properties

seeking alpha2021-07-05

Summary Warren Buffett has a history of favoring REITs over rental properties. In past shareholder meetings, he explains that he dislikes private real estate investments for a number of reasons. Most...

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Comments

Tendollar
2021-07-06
Tendollar
Higher yield than Singapore REITs?
Yinasim
2021-07-05
Yinasim
Totally agree
JessHang
2021-07-05
JessHang
?
JessHang
2021-07-05
JessHang
[Strong]
ARIEL
2021-07-05
ARIEL
Yes
- CS52:
  ??
SP1980
2021-07-05
SP1980
Buy keppel DC REIT. SGX: AJBU.SI
- Mtan23:
  Yes

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}\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nWhy Warren Buffett Buys REITs Instead Of Rental Properties\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2021-07-05 10:48 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4437280-why-warren-buffett-buys-reits-instead-of-rental-properties><strong>seeking alpha</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Summary\n\nWarren Buffett has a history of favoring REITs over rental properties.\nIn past shareholder meetings, he explains that he dislikes private real estate investments for a number of reasons.\nMost...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://seekingalpha.com/article/4437280-why-warren-buffett-buys-reits-instead-of-rental-properties\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"BRK.B","symbol_name":"伯克希尔B","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://seekingalpha.com/article/4437280-why-warren-buffett-buys-reits-instead-of-rental-properties","article_id":"1154888582","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":null,"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1154888582","pubTimestamp":1625453334,"sourceInfo":null,"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Summary\n\nWarren Buffett has a history of favoring REITs over rental properties.\nIn past shareholder ","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"seekingalpha.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"BRK.B":"伯克希尔B","BRK.A":"伯克希尔"},"translate_title":"为什么沃伦·巴菲特购买REITs而不是租赁房产","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"BRK.A":0.9,"BRK.B":0.9},"content_text":"Summary\n\nWarren Buffett has a history of favoring REITs over rental properties.\nIn past shareholder meetings, he explains that he dislikes private real estate investments for a number of reasons.\nMost importantly, he has no edge in real estate, does not want to deal with the management, and finds it difficult to find opportunities.\nThat's why he favors REITs, which he bought as recently as last year.\nLooking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of High Yield Landlord get exclusive access to our model portfolio.Learn More »\n\nFeverpitched/iStock via Getty Images\nIn previousarticles, I have explained that despite having a background in private equity real estate investing, I chose to invest my capital into REITs because they're safer and more rewarding in most cases.\nREITs are safer because they're well diversified, professionally managed, liquid, and have better access to capital.\nThey're also more rewarding because they enjoy large economies of scale, faster growth, and investors pay much lower transaction costs:\nStudy shows that REITs outperform private real estate by ~4% per year:\n\nSource\nIn short, REITs combine the benefits of real estate (high income, inflation protection, appreciation) with the benefits of stocks (liquidity, low transaction cost, professional management, diversification) into one beautiful vehicle that provides better risk-and-hassle adjusted returns than rental properties.\nBut don't take it just from me.\nWarren Buffett could build a portfolio of rental properties, and yet, he chooses to invest in REITs instead. By reviewing past annual reports of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), we find that he has previously invested in Tanger Outlets (SKT), General Growth Properties ((now Brookfield (BPY)), Vornado (VNO.PK), Seritage Growth Properties (SRG), and STORE Capital (STOR) among others. As recently as last year, he doubled down on STORE Capital when it dropped following the covid market crash.\nWhy doesn't he buy rentals instead?\nThat's what we will explore in today's article. Warren Buffett has often discussed this topic in past interviews, and in what follows, we will discuss the five reasons why he favors REITs over rental properties:\nReason #1: Stick to Your Circle of Competence\nWarren Buffett popularized the motto: \"Know your circle of competence, and stick within it.\"\nHe explains that the size of that circle is much less important than knowing its boundaries.\nPut differently, you cannot be a jack of all trades and need to specialize in something to truly master it.\nFor Buffett, this was mainly consumer goods and the insurance business. Not surprisingly, he rarely invests in real estate (or even REITs) because that's out of his circle of competence.\nAt a shareholdermeeting, when questioned about investing in real estate, Buffett and Charlie Munger added that it's a sector in which they have no competitive advantage. They explain that REITs and large private equity firms would have better resources, expertise, scale, and relationships than them, putting Berkshire at a disadvantage if they tried to invest in real estate.\nThis is one of the main reasons why they rather invest in the shares of REITs. It aligns them with professionals who have better resources and expertise than them.\nAs an example, STORE Capitalis the leader in sale-and-leaseback transactions in middle markets. It's a strategy that they couldn't follow on their own.\nReason #2: Tenants, Toilets, and Trash\nIn the aftermath of the great financial crisis, Buffett famouslysaidthat if he had an easy way of managing rental properties, he would load up on them.\nBack then, property prices had recently crashed and there was a great opportunity to buy single-family houses.\nEven then, he didn't.\nWhy you might ask?\nHe explains that the management of rental properties is a nightmare. It's a relatively low margin business that does not scale nicely.\nImagine you own a rental that you rent for $1,000 per month. After you have removed all expenses, your NOI is (let's say) $700 per month, resulting in an annual cash flow of $8,400. All it takes is one unforeseen disappointment and your entire year's cash flow could be gone: A tenant who refuses to pay and won't move... a leaking roof that causes water damage... pipes that bust due to cold climate...\nUnless you enjoy large-scale, lowering your property management cost, it's difficult to consistently earn good returns, and on top of that, it's a big hassle that most people would rather avoid.\nWith REITs, you enjoy the benefits of scale and have professional managers handle everything for you in a cost-effective way.\nReason #3: No Corporate Income Tax\nInvestors commonly think that rental properties are more tax-efficient than REIT investments, but that's not always the case.\nREITs are very tax efficient when you really think about it:\n\nThey pay no corporate income tax.\nThey distribute 60%-70% of their cash, meaning that 30%-40% isn't taxed.\nA portion of the distribution is \"return of capital,\" which isn't taxed.\nThe portion that's taxed enjoys a 20% deduction.\nGenerally, REITs are more growth-oriented real estate investments, and therefore, more than half of the total return is tax-deferred appreciation.\n\nBerkshire is structured as a C-corp, and therefore, it must pay corporate tax on all its profits. For this reason, REITs are more tax efficient for Berkshire.\nPrivate rental properties enjoy higher yields, but slower growth.\nREITs enjoy faster growth, but lower yields.\nBerkshire would rather compound its capital via tax-deferred appreciation and avoid having to pay corporate taxes on the income generated by the investment.\nReason #4: Volatility Brings Opportunities\nUnsophisticated individual investors fear volatility. They're excessively short-term minded, fixate on daily quotes, and are quick to panic.\nFor these reasons, they often favor rental properties which give them a false sense of stability due to the lack of quotation.\nBut professional investors like Warren Buffett welcome the volatility and see it as a gift. It gives them the opportunity to make investments at a discounted price, which will ultimately result in higher returns in the long run.\nIn a previousinterview, Buffett explains that the real estate market moves slowly, and therefore, it's rare for large mispricing to occur. Most property owners are long-term minded and do a reasonably good job at pricing the risk and reward potential of various properties. It makes it harder for investors like him to earn abnormally strong returns.\nWith REITs, there are more frequent opportunities. As an example, back in 2017, STORE Capital produced new record results, but it dropped from $30 to $20 because the retail market was out-of-favor. What the market failed to realize is that STOR earns revenue from mainly service-oriented retailers that are resilient to Amazon (AMZN) and its leases were 10+ years long.\nThat was a great opportunity and Berkshire seized it. Chris Volk, former CEO of STORE Capital explains the background to this investment in the below video. Skip to the 8:55 section:\nBuffett was behind the idea and they build their position in STOR after it had dropped, taking advantage of the market volatility.\nShortly after, STOR recovered, earning them a return that easily beat what they would have gotten from a regular rental property.\nWhen you are long-term minded like Buffett, volatility is a big plus and it explains why he likes REITs.\nReason #5: Disconnect Between Public and Private Market\nFinally, it all comes down to the price you pay.\nToday, the housing market is booming with the average home appreciating by16%over the past year.\nOn the other hand, REITs (VNQ) are barely recovering from the crash they endured in 2020, and many individual REITs are still priced at a 20, 30, or even 40% discount to pre-crisis levels.\nPut simply, REITs offer better value than private real estate, and that explains why he favors REITs.\nLast year, Berkshire doubled down on STORE Capital, which has since then nicely recovered. They own $850 million worth of equity, representing 9% of the company.\nI bet that Berkshire would have made many more REIT investments over the past if it could. But given its large size and the strict ownership limits on REITs, most of them are too small for Berkshire.\nThat's one of the rare advantages that individual investors have over Buffett. You can freely invest in just any REIT, regardless of its size, and gain exposure to discounted and professionally managed real estate.\nClosing Note\nJust like Buffett, I favor REIT investments because they provide better risk-and-hassle adjusted returns in most cases.\nDuring the past 20 years, the average annual returns have been upward of 15%, with some individual REITs doing even better than that:\nCould I do better by buying private properties? I seriously doubt it.\nAnd even if I could, would it be worth it to accept much greater risk and hassle to earn a few extra points of return? Probably not.","kind":null,"is_publish_news":null,"is_publish_highlight":null,"is_publish_live":null,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":1},"commentList":[{"id":154845193,"gmtCreate":1625503379612,"gmtModify":1703742790629,"author":{"id":"3574249039232152","authorId":"3574249039232152","name":"Tendollar","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/f605c975630017596221e6b84fd5350f","vip":1,"crmLevel":4,"crmLevelSwitch":0},"htmlText":"Higher yield than Singapore REITs?","listText":"Higher yield than Singapore REITs?","text":"Higher yield than Singapore REITs?","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154845193","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":154387805,"gmtCreate":1625480453107,"gmtModify":1703742450918,"author":{"id":"3585236324784959","authorId":"3585236324784959","name":"Yinasim","avatar":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/fe636395860151da4253481e4a32fd0d","vip":1,"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0},"htmlText":"Totally agree","listText":"Totally agree","text":"Totally agree","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154387805","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":154029152,"gmtCreate":1625461747276,"gmtModify":1703742187647,"author":{"id":"4088394474156640","authorId":"4088394474156640","name":"JessHang","avatar":"https://static.laohu8.com/default-avatar.jpg","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0},"htmlText":"?","listText":"?","text":"?","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154029152","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":154067508,"gmtCreate":1625461631904,"gmtModify":1703742185851,"author":{"id":"4088394474156640","authorId":"4088394474156640","name":"JessHang","avatar":"https://static.laohu8.com/default-avatar.jpg","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0},"htmlText":"[Strong]&nbsp;","listText":"[Strong]&nbsp;","text":"[Strong]","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154067508","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"langContent":"EN"},{"id":154065974,"gmtCreate":1625461461798,"gmtModify":1703742181130,"author":{"id":"3584139497167025","authorId":"3584139497167025","name":"ARIEL","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/9a2dc10d9e1988ecb7e24480df14181f","vip":1,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0},"htmlText":"Yes","listText":"Yes","text":"Yes","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154065974","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5139835,"gmtCreate":1625582240301,"gmtModify":1631886907687,"authorId":3583594954663082,"author":{"id":3583594954663082,"authorId":3583594954663082,"name":"CS52","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/c6b239fe4af28aa7064b2a79d8f9e431","vip":1,"crmLevel":1,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":154065974,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"??","text":"??","html":"??"}],"langContent":"EN"},{"id":154035179,"gmtCreate":1625459306791,"gmtModify":1703742137623,"author":{"id":"3573379860144244","authorId":"3573379860144244","name":"SP1980","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/101a00da82e124351de89d6d885f76b9","vip":1,"hat":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/0a8758340a08196056f8bc1e54805193","crmLevel":4,"crmLevelSwitch":1},"htmlText":"Buy keppel DC REIT. SGX: AJBU.SI","listText":"Buy keppel DC REIT. SGX: AJBU.SI","text":"Buy keppel DC REIT. SGX: AJBU.SI","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":6,"commentSize":1,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/154035179","repostId":1154888582,"repostType":4,"isVote":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"tweetType":1,"comments":[{"id":5126337,"gmtCreate":1625466519814,"gmtModify":1663230545045,"authorId":3579572647008782,"author":{"id":3579572647008782,"authorId":3579572647008782,"name":"Mtan23","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/21a2ddfc414d0d3eab50e895e776bf23","vip":1,"crmLevel":5,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[]},"repliedAuthorId":0,"objectId":154035179,"type":1,"supId":0,"prevId":0,"content":"Yes","text":"Yes","html":"Yes"}],"langContent":"EN"}],"isCommentEnd":false,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":77,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.22.5","shortVersion":"4.22.5","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/1154888582"}