Land symbolized wealth and prosperity in humankind’s earliest times, long before the stock market existed. That hasn’t changed much. Real estate is a timeless asset and continues to generate fortunes for people today.
The difference now is that you don’t need to start with lots of money and know-how to benefit from owning properties. Instead, you can invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). These specialized companies acquire and lease real estate.
Since REITs must pay almost all of their taxable income to shareholders as nonqualified dividends, they tend to make fantastic dividend stocks. That goes double if you buy, hold, and reinvest those dividends.
Here are three world-class REITs investors can buy and hold for the long term.
This post originally appeared at The Motley Fool.