Important Announcement: What’s New for 2025

As we enter 2025, it is a good time to reflect on the progress we have made together over the past years. At High Yield Landlord, our goal has always been to provide the tools, research, and insights you need to make smarter REIT investment decisions, and we have worked hard to improve the service in ways that matter most to you.

The past years have been challenging for REIT investors. The pandemic coupled with the historic surge in interest rates and some sector-specific challenges have led to a multi-year bear market and tested the patience of even the most disciplined investors. As someone who is invested alongside you in every REIT that we recommend, I understand the frustration that comes with such market conditions. But that is also exactly why REITs are so incredibly cheap today and history shows us that these difficult periods are typically followed by highly rewarding periods, and I’m confident this time will be no different.

To ensure that we are best positioned to capitalize on the next recovery, we have planned and implemented several key improvements. Each year, we reinvest heavily into the newsletter, dedicating over $100,000 annually to research to equip ourselves—and you—with the best possible resources to seize upcoming opportunities.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the specific improvements we are planning and how they align with our shared goal of long-term success. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new.

(1) Release of our Book

I have been working on my own book for a few years now and I have now finally finished the first draft. It is not quite ready yet, but once it is, I want to give it to you for free. I will post another announcement later with a link to request the book and all members of High Yield Landlord will get it.

My book touches a lot on the temperament that a REIT investor needs to achieve long-term success. From my experience, this is even more important than technical skills on how to select the right REITs.

I have watched a lot of investors over the years get carried away by fear, often materializing their losses, when some discipline and patience would have earned them strong returns. The pandemic was the best example of that as REITs crashed by nearly 50% in just a few weeks. Unfortunately, some of our members lost all hope in REITs and sold their positions, only to see REITs fully recover and then some in the following year.

As Buffett famously said "The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect..." He added that "the stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient" and that "the stock market is a manic depressive."

Disciplined REIT investors are wealthy because they have learned that large and long-lasting market fluctuations are normal and that patience pays off.

Paul put it best in a recent comment on our chat board:

"If you decide to be a value investor, you get to enjoy the normal life of a value investor, with holdings normally underwater for long periods. Then they suddenly rise to sensible values, you sell, and you buy something else that will first proceed to drop. If you are not seeing red, you are not doing the job."

The book will help you better understand and apply this investment philosophy to stay calm and capitalize on opportunities during periods of market volatility.

The best time to invest is during bear markets and that's today.

(2) Foreign Trips & Management Meetings

Last year, we invested more on getting boots on the ground, meeting management teams, attending conferences, and it paid off.

As an example, we recognized in early 2024 that something big was potentially happening in Argentina and I flew there to investigate.

Milei had just won the election and was pushing major reforms that had the potential to attract new foreign investments and improve the market sentiment of the country.

Even then, their largest REIT, IRSA (IRS), still traded at a huge 70% discount to its net asset value. I toured their assets and talked to local professionals. The sentiment seemed to be finally turning and IRSA had catalysts to unlock value.

Less than a year later, we now sold our position and earned a 148% total return:

Encircle Photos

The lesson is that it pays to have boots in the ground when investing in REITs. I wouldn't have had the conviction to hold on to IRSA as it more than doubled in value had I not been there in person to see the assets and talk to local market participants.

With that in mind, I am now planning a trip first to Brazil to investigate Patria Investments (PAX), which is rapidly becoming one of our largest holdings. Just like IRSA, I think that it could earn us a 100-200% return in the coming years and I want to make sure that we aren't missing anything.

After that, I will also head to the US for a few months to tour assets, study markets, and meet local professionals. I will also make a post once I get there in case you want to meet me.

(3) Video Interviews

Last year, I began to conduct more interviews in a video format, and going into 2025, I plan to launch a new exclusive video series featuring interviews with REIT CEOs at High Yield Landlord.

Each video will also include a transcript for those who prefer a written format.

I believe that the video format will be a valuable addition. Sometimes, seeing the facial expressions and body language of the management team can provide additional clues. Plus, it allows you to absorb our content while you commute, jog, cook, or go about your daily activities.

(4) Portfolio Recycling

Finally, we will continue with our portfolio recycling program to concentrate our capital towards the best existing opportunities.

As we have noted many times in the past months, the recent REIT market rally has been very uneven with some REITs rising to new highs even as others were left stagnating behind.

A great example is our largest holding, Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT), which surged near all-time highs even as other REITs like Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR) completely missed out on the rally:

Data by YCharts

This presents an opportunity for us to do some capital recycling, selling some winners to reinvest in some of our recent underperformers.

We think that some of the REITs that failed to recover as interest rates were cut are today presenting an exceptional opportunity because we now have the benefit of hindsight, knowing how strongly they will likely recover in the coming years once they fix whatever temporary issue that they are dealing with.

Therefore, you can expect us to keep selling winners to strategically redeploy the proceeds towards the most undervalued REITs over the coming months.

There are now fewer opportunities so we plan to increase our concentration to maximize gains in the coming years.

Bottom Line

We think that these are great times to accumulate larger positions while REITs are undervalued and we are intensifying our efforts to ensure we leave no stone unturned. If you have any suggestions or recommendations on how we can enhance our service, please let us know by leaving a comment below or messaging me on the chat.

Thank you for your continued support!

Jussi

Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of all companies held in the CORE PORTFOLIO, RETIREMENT PORTFOLIO, and INTERNATIONAL PORTFOLIO either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. High Yield Landlord® ('HYL') is managed by Leonberg Research, a subsidiary of Leonberg Capital. All rights are reserved. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. The newsletter is impersonal and subscribers/readers should not make any investment decision without conducting their own due diligence, and consulting their financial advisor about their specific situation. The information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The opinions expressed are those of the publisher and are subject to change without notice. We are a team of five analysts, each contributing distinct perspectives. At times, we may use AI tools like chatgpt to assist with research and redaction. Nonetheless, Jussi Askola, the leader of the service, is responsible for making the final investment decisions and overseeing the portfolio. We do not always agree with each other and an investment by Jussi should not be taken as an endorsement by other authors. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Our portfolio performance data is provided by Interactive Brokers and believed to be accurate but its accuracy has not been audited and cannot be guaranteed. Our portfolio may not be perfectly comparable to the relevant index. It is more concentrated and may at times use margin and/or invest in companies that are not typically included in REIT indexes. Finally, High Yield Landlord is not a licensed securities dealer, broker, US investment adviser, or investment bank. We simply share research on the REIT sector.