What’s the point of buying a real state ETF?

Hi! Newbie here. Like a lot of you, I want the dividends from my portfolio to cover my expenses someday and retire early, but I'm also in my mid-20s, so I know I should be focusing on total return first. I currently own only 6 holdings, and btw if you have any suggestions please let me know:

• An S&P500 ETF. It's SPLG.
• A dividend growth ETF. It's SCHD.
• An international stock ETF. It's VXUS.
• The Ares Capital Fund ARCC.
• The much loved Realty Income O.
• A carbon credits ETF. It's KRBN (that's just for curiosity sake).

Now, onto my question: I'm very interested in all things real state but no way I'm buying a property in this market, so investing in O gives me some exposure and a juicy dividend, but recently I was suggested to also buy XLRE, a low-cost REIT ETF, so that I can avoid the volatility of owning just O while also getting the huge dividend benefits that REITs offer.

So I want your opinion! Do you think this is a good idea? Do you have any other suggestions?