.png)
German (DE) 
English (US) 
Spanish (ES) 
French (FR) 
Hindi (IN) 
Italian (IT) 
Russian (RU) Sat, Aug 30, 2025, 9:16 AM 5 min read
-
Essex Property Trust has increased its dividend for 31 straight years.
-
Federal Realty Investment Trust is the REIT sector leader, having increased its dividend for 58 consecutive years.
-
Realty Income has raised its dividend for 111 quarters in a row.
Investing in real estate is a great way to make passive income. While you could buy a rental property, a more passive and lower-cost option is to invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT). These entities own portfolios of high-quality properties that generate rental income.
Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT), and Realty Income (NYSE: O) are three of the most reliable dividend-paying REITs. Here's what makes them super-safe options for those seeking to generate durable passive income from real estate.
Essex Property Trust is a residential REIT focused solely on the West Coast. Those markets benefit from durable and growing housing demand. While household incomes are high, homeownership costs are even higher, which drives demand for high-quality rental housing. That benefits Essex Properties Trust by keeping occupancy rates high across its portfolio while driving steady rent growth.
Over the past 20 years, Essex Property Trust's same-property net operating income has grown by 126%, which is significantly faster than the 103% average growth rate of its multifamily REIT peers. During the same period, Essex Property's core funds from operations (FFO) increased by 276%, outpacing the 126% peer average.
These growth rates have enabled Essex to raise its dividend at more than double the average pace of its peers -- 216% for Essex compared to 97% for the peer group. Since becoming a public company, Essex Property Trust has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years by a cumulative 516%.
Essex is in an excellent position to continue increasing its dividend. The company maintains a conservative dividend payout ratio and a strong balance sheet, providing it with the flexibility to continue investing in its growing portfolio by acquiring and developing new apartment communities. Add that external growth to continued rental increases, and Essex's nearly 4%-yielding dividend should keep rising.
Federal Realty Investment Trust is a retail REIT with a very narrow investment focus. It owns high-quality mixed-use properties and open-air shopping centers in first-ring suburbs of strategically selected metro markets. It seeks to own the best retail-oriented properties in areas with the best demographics (a high density of high-income earners).
Comments