To begin

To begin investing in real estate ventures in the past, you would have needed a large sum of money. To identify the correct project to invest in, you'd also need to be able to study the deal flow. Those two are out of reach for most private investors, and even if you were able to discover the ideal project, placing a large sum of money into it won't help you diversify your portfolio significantly.
Investing in REITs, which are publicly traded on stock markets and provide indirect exposure to property portfolios, is a superior option. The fact that you can buy into an already diversified real estate portfolio managed by a professional makes this a little more efficient alternative. You will be paying the costs through an operational intermediary in this situation, and you will have no control over the outcome.