A REIT CAN GO PUBLIC VIA REGULATION A, A+ or FORM S-11

A real estate investment trust (a REIT) is a special creature of the Internal Revenue Code. It provides that a company which primarily invests in real estate assets  and distributes most of its income to its shareholders is not taxed at the corporate level. There are three kinds of REITS:

Equity REiTs invest in and own property, and typically enjoy rental income.

Mortgage REITs deal in mortgages and financial instruments secured by real property, Their income is primarily interest on the mortgage obligations it holds. Many mortgage REITs are subject to interest rate risk, since the usually borrow money at low rates for the short term and invest in longer term instruments.

Hybrid REITS own both equity investments and mortgages.

The SEC has designated Form S-11 as the appropriate form for registering the shares of a REIT. It is similar to an S-1, but with specialized disclosure for real estate activities.

A REIT can also effect its IPO using Regulation A or A+. In fact, REITs have been the biggest users of the Regulation A+ process.