3 Top Small-Cap Stocks to Buy in Real Estate

Looking back over the past several decades, we can see the long-term growth power of well-run real estate investment trusts, or REITs. For example, leading healthcare REIT Welltower has produced a total return of nearly 79,000% over its 47-year history, and since its IPO in 1994, top net-lease retail REIT Realty Income has averaged a remarkable 16.4% annualized rate of return. Currently, both are huge companies, with market capitalizations of $26.5 billion and $15.8 billion, respectively.

While I still love both of those REITs as long-term investments, it's only natural to think, "Wouldn't it have been nice to get in on the ground floor of those opportunities?"

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Source: Fool.com