Real estate investment trusts (REIT) make investing in institutional-level real estate much easier for small investors. One of the key benefits is scale, which is hard to achieve in the property market without material amounts of money. In some ways, bigger is better for REITs, but Agree Realty (NYSE: ADC) believes its relatively modest size is a big benefit right now. Here's why.

The past year or so has been marked by a very big trend. Interest rates are increasing swiftly, thanks to a concerted push by the Federal Reserve to combat fast-rising inflation. This creates some problems for REITs as the property markets adjust to new dynamics. Generally speaking, lower rates allow property to be acquired at higher prices because lending costs are more reasonable. Higher rates make it more difficult to justify investment decisions, and property prices largely have to adjust lower before deals will get done.

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Source Fool.com