In the current times, as returns from most investments are undergoing a phase of uncertainty, interest rates are in a delicate balance, the threat of inflation is rising along with drop in incomes, and multiple such challenges; the avenues for institutional as well as retail investors are increasingly limited.

Particularly, the retail investor is treading a very difficult path, as she weighs various fixed income products. At such a time, a REIT could be one of the viable alternatives. While there is no denying the fact that REITs could have its own challenges, a professionally managed and publicly traded REIT could still be a reliable choice.

In this paper, we provide a bird’s eye view of REITs with specific attention to retail investor’s interests. For example, the reader will find comparisons of REIT vis-à-vis other relatively stable products like the PPFs, FDs, Post office deposits, RDs, etc., or, even with the savings account interest income. These help to highlight how the past one year of REIT experience in India has presented the case.

There will be more REITs soon and in the long term in the country. In the current scenario, the equity REITs in the country will mostly operate based on the strength of underlying office real estate. We, therefore, present a brief picture of office markets as well, to help the reader develop a quick understanding of these markets. It is eventually a product that, like any other investment, has its own strengths as well as shortcomings. A due-diligence of any REIT will be needed prior to buying units in the hope of distribution yields and capital appreciation. As more REITs go for public listing, the investors will find greater choices and an entirely new set of derivatives to choose from. That, by itself, is a positive development in the post-COVID times.