Higher interest rates are making business more difficult for healthcare real estate investment trusts (REITs) because higher rates narrow the spread between the interest REITs pay on their loans to buy properties and the rental rates they charge their tenants. It also makes it more expensive to grow their businesses.

Healthcare REITs are more stable than some other REITs because their tenants' businesses are less sensitive to an economic downturn. In general, healthcare is something people need, and there's only so much of it that consumers can go without. If you're looking to invest in real estate or are just looking for higher-yielding dividend stocks, healthcare REITs provide more security than some other REITs these days, such as office building REITs or cannabis REITs.

Among the top healthcare REITs, Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE: DOC) and Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: PEAK) appear to be better investments now than Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW), even though the former two haven't had the type of dividend growth that Medical Properties Trust has shown. 

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Source Fool.com