Investing in REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts Hardcover – Illustrated, October 11, 2011

This book is better than excellent!!! I ordered it after I read some of the author's postings on the Motley Fool website and later learned that the author had passed away a few months ago. The book is written in a very understandable way and is very organized and has a great index and table of contents to help find specific information easily. The author is extremely qualified and experienced on the subject matter. Just Google his name and you can see how well respected he is in the business of REITs over the last 40 years or so.Some quotes I found at the REIT .com website "https://www.reit.com/news/articles/reit-industry-veteran-ralph-block-dies" include: Block served “as one of the REIT industry’s most eloquent, insightful and wise proponents” over the span of four decades. He helped explain the REIT approach to real estate investment with clarity and wit to one and all. NAREIT recognized Ralph for his many contributions with its REIT Industry Achievement Award in 2004.""Block “had a wonderful sense of humor, enjoyed reading and, of course, enjoyed writing, ... I will very much miss his friendship, wisdom and wit. ”Block practiced corporate and securities law in Los Angeles for 27 years before focusing on REITs." "From 1993 through 2003, Block was chief REIT portfolio manager with..." "Block began investing in REIT stocks in the 1970s, and he held a variety of professional investment and advisory positions in the industry..."

This book is an efficient way to become oriented to the Reit category of investment. I am happy with my purchase as a Kindle book. It has too many pages and too little value to be purchased as a real hard-cover book. It is a little too chatty to be a textbook or a reference, but its OK for a skim -- say on an airplane or similar place.This book is out of date, as of 2019, and it also has little to say about some important topics to contemporary investors, such as the interplay between Interest rates and Reit performance as stocks, and it also has almost nothing to say about international REITs. It needs someone to coauthor an updated version.

The earlier editions of this classic work have served as the bible for REIT investors for many years. Much of the material in those earlier versions applies even today. Now, with this new 4th edition we get additional perspectives -- for example, how REITs managed through the tumultuous events of the past few years, plus an especially informative new chapter on investing in global REITs.The writing is easy to follow even though the subject matter can be complex at times. Although it is written so a beginner can understand, it is not just for novices. This is a valuable reference work for seasoned REIT investors as well.The book is divided into four well-organized sections:1) The general characteristics of REITs, how they compare to other investments, how legislation has molded REITs (updated with the latest developments), and the types of REITS and the cycles they go through.2) The history of REITs and their performance, as well as some common myths about REITs debunked.3) Ways to value REITs and how to think about them in your portfolio. This section includes the invaluable new chapter on global REIT investing -- how the REIT revolution spread internationally, and the practicalities of investing outside the US.4) The risks of REIT investing and the author's vision of the future of REITs.If you are new to REITs and want to learn more about them, or if you are an experienced REIT investor looking for ideas, or if you are looking for the definitive REIT reference, this book offers a clear, concise, informative solution. Highly recommended!

This is the best book on Real Estate Investment Trusts and I recommend it without reservation. I read an earlier edition while researching my own book on income investing. It went through the history of REITs from 1960 to date, but of course didn't cover the most modern era.And of course the period from the real estate boom of thru 2007 through the financial crisis of 2008 and current "Great Recession" is of great interest to current investors. So I'm glad to see a new edition to bring REITs up to date.The crisis certainly hurt REITs in the short run, but in the past few years it's helped to show REITs are better able to function in a crisis than private real estate companies, because they cannot raise public equity cash.This is an important investment class for everyone who desires current income -- which keeps up with inflation -- rather than speculative capital gains that look increasingly improbable for years to come.Read this book closely and you'll practically be an expert on equity REITs in the United States. It does not cover mortgage REITs, because they are different kind of investment altogether.

Wished the intro material, historical material was briefer and the practical analysis simpler and more usable but it is a decent start for someone looking to begin investing in high-yield stocks that deal in real estate.

This text is nothing short of astonishing.How is it possible? True, this is the fourth edition of the text, and two other contributors are noted. Still, it seems almost impossible, firstly, that Mr. Block can provide so very much insight, both historical and present-day, into the workings of the REITs markets and, secondly, that he can provide so much detail to prospective REITs investors.I have only finished reading half of this book, along with parts of the appendices; and I have already learned "far" more than I learned from reading two other worthy texts and various articles. Mr. Block's writing style is concise and no-nonsense, which is another plus.If you want something anecdoctal-&-fun, well, this text is not for you. But if you really want to learn about REITs, then, like me, you will owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Block and his contributors