Yes, you can certainly lose money investing in Real Estate Investment Trust exchange-traded funds. While REIT ETFs provide broad diversification across multiple real estate sectors—such as retail, residential, healthcare, and industrial properties—they are still traded on public stock exchanges and are subject to market volatility. The value of the underlying properties and shares can decline due to rising interest rates, economic recessions, tenant defaults, or poor sector performance. Furthermore, because REITs are required to distribute a high percentage of their taxable income to shareholders, they can be sensitive to macroeconomic changes that affect corporate earnings and property valuations. While they offer steady dividend income, capital losses can occur if the share price drops below your purchase price, meaning diversification reduces specific company risk but does not eliminate systemic market risk entirely.