Types of real estate

investment
RESIDENTIAL
This is perhaps the most commonly known variety, involving
investment in property such as houses, flats and holiday home. Many
invest in houses and flats in which to live but also make a business out
of buying, renovating and leasing them. A common form of this
business model is student housing. As well as owning the asset, you
receive income from rent, thus making money.
COMMERCIAL
This bracket of investments generally includes office buildings. These
tend to be larger scale investments taken on by seasoned investors,
although consortiums do exist. Once owning or having made an
investment into an office building, you lease out individual levels or
spaces to companies and small business owners, who would pay you
rent to use the property.
INDUSTRIAL
• Another form of commercial property, this type of investment
generally includes real estate involving some form of service like
storage companies, petrol stations and warehouses. It includes
anything that generates sales from customers who temporarily use
the facility.
RETAIL
• Fairly self-explanatory, retail investments include things like shopping
centres, individual shops and restaurants. Again, this form of
investment generally includes payment of rent but in some cases, the
landlord also receives a percentage of sales generated by the shop in
addition to a base rent. This is a clever incentive to ensure they
maintain the property and keep it in good condition.
MIXED-USE
• This is a type of investment that combines any of the above
categories into a single project. As the real estate market develops,
this is a design increasingly seen in new developments, where you
find residential, retail and commercial units all in the same structure.
The fact that they span a range of sectors, makes them a valuable
asset, which might explain the trend. If one portion of the property
market dips, you have the other elements of the building to maintain
value.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS
• These work like stocks and involve a portfolio of underlying real estate
or real estate mortgages. They are a form of security, which invests in
property through bricks and mortar and mortgage loans.