A friend asked me if S-REITs are bad investments now? Why are people selling down S-REITs?
He is somewhat concerned about his investments in S-REITs and was hoping that I will tell him what to do, I guess.
Well, I cannot and will not tell him what to do. He has to decide for himself.
Before he can decide for himself, he has to understand his motivations for being invested in S-REITs in the first instance.
If his motivation was for income, then, ask if S-REITs still do a good job of providing regular income.
If his motivation was for capital gain, then, he should have set a target and perhaps sold his investments when prices declined by 10% from the top, for example.
People get confused when they don't know what they want.
For me, my remaining investment in S-REITs is for income.
Apart from Saizen REIT which could see income distribution in S$ affected by the much weaker JPY, I do not see income being affected negatively in the other S-REITs I am vested in.
Well, at least not in the next few quarters.
So, why are people selling down S-REITs?
There are many explanations and there has been much said about how sensitive S-REITs are to interest rates.
An increase in interest rates will be bad for S-REITs in more ways than one.
This is all true.
However, we have to question also if an increase in interest rate is imminent and also if S-REITs will be immediately affected.
Personally, I do not think so.
Of course, Mr. Market does not care what I think. This is a good thing.
As Mr. Market goes into a manic depression, he is going to offer S-REITs at lower and lower prices.
This means distribution yields will go higher and higher, everything else remaining equal.
Could we see S-REITs trading below NAVs once again? I have no idea but it could happen.
If it should happen, we would have a chance to buy productive real estate at a discount once again. Guess what would I do then?
As S-REITs' unit prices climbed higher, I warned that we should be careful and not be too optimistic.
Now, as S-REITs' unit prices decline, I will remind everyone not to be too pessimistic.
Always ask the right questions and we will know what to do.
Related posts:
1. Wealth creation in the stock market.
2. Never lose money in S-REITs?
3. Be cautious when climbing the S-REIT tree.