A mortgage REIT (mREIT) provides financing for income-producing real estate by originating or purchasing mortgages and earns interest on these investments.

MREITs originate or purchase mortgages for both residential and commercial real estate. They do not own or operate assets directly, like an equity REIT.

A mortgage REIT is only one of the primary categories of REITs. The other types are equity REIT and hybrid REIT.