Well-run real estate investment trusts (or REITs) can be some of the best dividend stocks in your portfolio. Realty Income (NYSE:O), LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC), and AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) pay monthly, so you get 12 checks a year instead of 4. They compound faster and align more naturally with people’s spending habits.

Plus, REITs are obligated to pay out at least 90% of their earnings as dividends.

REITs have single-tenant warehouses, grocery-anchored plazas, medical office parks, and more to lock in long leases with built-in rent bumps. They can then pass the cash through almost immediately.

Still, there’s a catch. Not all REITs are inherently safe. Only a few dozen can reliably keep paying you growing dividends and are worth investing in for the long run. We’ll be looking into three such monthly dividend REITs today.

And thankfully, the real estate sector has been far stronger than many would’ve previously thought. It has weathered record interest rate hikes and is set to benefit from the ongoing cuts.

Realty Income (O)

Realty Income should be your go-to monthly dividend stock, REITs or not. That’s not just because it is called “The Monthly Dividend Company”. Realty Income has a very long history of increasing dividend payouts and keeping its earnings stable. So much so that very few dividend stocks can match the reliability of O stock.

Why?

The tenants themselves are some of the most stable companies you can invest in.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) is the largest tenant, followed by Walgreens and then Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR). Recession-resistant tenants with deep pockets are unlikely to miss payments. Realty Income was tested in 2008, where it managed to keep the occupancy rate at 97%. Almost every other real-estate-linked company tanked.

O stock pays you a 5.51% dividend yield today. It is a steal below $60, considering the stock used to trade at $75+ in 2022. Once interest rate cuts make Treasuries less attractive, O stock is likely to gain.

LTC Properties (LTC)

LTC Properties is a REIT that specializes in senior housing and healthcare facilities. It shouldn’t take much explaining to understand why LTC could be lucrative long-term. Senior housing is facing a significant shortage as the elderly population is growing rapidly.

The 80+ population is beginning to materially outpace inventory growth. Between 2025 and 2030, the U.S. population aged 80+ is expected to grow by over 4 million people. This will put the total at 18.8 million. Unfortunately, there’s a massive gap between demand and capacity already, and not much is being done to alleviate it. The U.S. will add only 191,000 units by 2030, while the industry needs 560,000 new units to keep up with demand, creating a shortfall of nearly 370,000 units.

This is the “richest generation,” and LTC Properties is well-positioned to capitalize. Senior housing constitutes 62% of its gross real estate investments as of Q3 2025. It is selling older skilled nursing centers to focus on stabilized Seniors Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) assets.

You get paid a 6.52% dividend yield to wait for the eventual windfall.

AGNC Investment (AGNC)

AGNC Investment is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that provides capital to the U.S. housing market. It invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS). AGNC generates income through the net interest spread between the yield on its MBS investments and its funding costs.

AGNC stock isn’t the safest on this list, but the dividend yield of 14.17% more than makes up for it. If you want to adopt a barbell strategy, this is a perfect pick for your REIT portfolio. For example, $10k in AGNC can get you $117 a month. It would take $35k for a 4%-yielding REIT to do that.

The short-term outlook is quite good due to interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Mortgage spreads are favorable, and lower Treasury yields can make that juicy yield even more attractive.

You’d have to put up with potential dividend cuts once the pendulum swings the other way, but it should still yield much more than some of the highest-yielding REITs.

The outlook for AGNC’s MBS and net interest income remains positive into 2026. If the Fed keeps cutting as expected, expect upside plus the fat yield.

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