Connect the business to the numbers.
Read different property models, then follow the accounting bridge from property operations to common-share distributions.
Before you start
Understand the listed REIT structure, dividend yield and the basic layout of an annual filing.
What you will be able to do
Explain the key operating driver in each sector, distinguish NOI from FFO and AFFO, and calculate coverage on a consistent basis.
18 guides · Self-paced · Free access
Levels describe material difficulty, not a qualification or professional certification.
Your learning route.
- 01
Net-lease REITs: contracts, credit and the cost of growth
Understand triple-net leases, tenant credit, rent escalators and why long contracts do not guarantee stable shareholder returns.
- 02
Apartment REITs: rent growth is only half the story
Read apartment occupancy, concessions, resident turnover and supply alongside operating expenses and recurring property investment.
- 03
Industrial REITs: warehouses, rent resets and supply
Learn how logistics properties earn rent and why lease spreads, building specifications and development exposure need separate analysis.
- 04
Retail REITs: tenant sales, lease terms and redevelopment
Distinguish shopping centers and malls, then connect tenant sales and occupancy to the landlord's sustainable cash flow.
- 05
Office REITs: lease expirations and the cost of occupancy
Analyze office properties through lease rollover, tenant improvements, effective rents and the funding required to retain occupants.
- 06
Healthcare REITs: properties, operators and reimbursement
Separate healthcare property ownership from operating exposure and examine the different risks in senior housing, hospitals and medical offices.
- 07
Data-center REITs: power, capacity and capital intensity
Understand data-center leasing, power constraints, development spending and the difference between demand growth and shareholder returns.
- 08
Tower REITs: colocations, carrier concentration and ground leases
Examine tower revenue growth through tenant additions, amendments, cancellations and the obligations beneath the infrastructure.
- 09
Self-storage REITs: street rates, existing rents and turnover
Learn why storage occupancy and advertised move-in prices can send different signals about revenue and operating performance.
- 10
Hotel REITs: RevPAR, operating leverage and renovations
Connect hotel room pricing and occupancy with operating profit, brand obligations and the cash required to keep properties competitive.
- 11
Mortgage REITs: spreads, leverage and book-value risk
Understand why mortgage REITs require a financing and credit framework rather than the operating-property metrics used for equity REITs.
- 12
REIT ETFs: what diversification does and does not solve
Read REIT fund holdings, index rules, costs and distributions before assuming that a real-estate label defines the exposure.
- 13
NOI: separate the property from its financing
Build a property operating view and understand why positive NOI does not guarantee positive shareholder cash flow.
- 14
FFO: reading REIT performance beyond net income
Understand the FFO bridge, per-share growth, and why adding back depreciation does not make buildings free to maintain.
- 15
AFFO: useful estimate, nonstandard definition
Learn to audit recurring cash adjustments and compare AFFO definitions before comparing payout ratios.
- 16
Payout ratios: choose the denominator before judging safety
Compare FFO and AFFO coverage without confusing dividend policy with the REIT taxable-income distribution requirement.
- 17
Lease expirations: the calendar behind rental income
Read lease rollover exposure, renewal economics, downtime, and why long leases can be both protection and a constraint.
- 18
Same-store NOI: test growth inside the existing portfolio
Understand comparable-property pools, cash versus accounting growth, and the exclusions that can change the story.
The practical exercise.
Choose two property sectors. Compare who pays operating expenses, how quickly rents reset, and which capital costs sit outside a headline earnings measure. Rebuild one hypothetical FFO-to-AFFO bridge using the calculator.
Open the related calculator ↗Can you explain the difference?
This self-check is for learning, not an assessment of investing suitability. Answers stay in this tab and are not saved.