The Amateur Investor: REITs get you into the property business

REITs can be a reliable source of investment income, and you can get in on some of them for dirt cheap.

Published Apr 19, 2026  •  4 minute read

Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, a Vici property. Photo by Handout

There’s this one clip from the 1978 film Superman (far and away the best of the bunch) in which Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor says, “Stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good, but they will always need land, and they will pay through the nose to get it.” 

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And who am I to argue with Lex Luthor?

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Now in this real estate market, you may not (in fact, you’re probably not) able to buy your own property, but you can still get in by investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a publicly traded company that owns and operates properties. They’re bought and sold on the market, just like stocks, and you can often get in on them for dirt cheap.

REITs have several advantages. Many of them provide monthly instead of quarterly dividends at higher yields, giving the investor a solid and frequent source of income. They tend to be a good hedge in high inflation periods, when rents and property values tend to rise. But they have disadvantages too. Much like owning an actual house or condo, REITs are exposed to shifts in property values and interest and occupancy rates, but they are easier to liquidate should you find yourself in trouble. So here’s a look at a few of the most popular REITs on the Canadian and U.S. markets, what they invest in, and how analysts think they will do.

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(All numbers from end-of-market day Apr. 10)

RioCan Yonge-Eglinton Centre. Photo by CNW Group/Kramer Design Associates

RioCan ($REI.UN)
Share price: $20.18
52-week price range: $15.92-$20.20
Market Cap: $5.86 billion
Monthly dividend/Yield: $0.10/5.74%
Average analyst rating: Strong buy

RioCan is one of the largest REITs in Canada, focusing on commercial properties but is increasingly moving into residential properties. RioCan tends to focus on major Canadian urban centres, particularly along major transit routes. You might know them from The Well — a massive and trendy development along Front St. W. that includes 1.2 million square feet of office space, 320,000 sq.-ft. of retail and 1,700 residential units, or their Yonge-Eglinton Centre.

A CAPREIT property of townhomes in Don Mills, Ont. Photo by Jack Towie

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT ($CAR.UN)
Share price: $36.02
52-week price range: $35.10-$46.29
Market Cap: $5.53 billion
Monthly dividend/Yield: $0.13/4.30%
Average analyst rating: Buy

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (or CAPREIT) is the largest publicly traded rental housing company in the country. It owns and manages more than 45,000 rental properties across Canada and the Netherlands worth approximately $14.7 billion. And thanks to current housing market jitters, analysts say it’s a steal of a deal right now — currently trading at a 30% discount of its estimated fair value and offering what experts are calling an attractive and stable dividend for the long-term.

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A SmartCentres property in Scarborough. Photo by Jack Towie

SmartCentres REIT ($SRU.UN)
Share price: $27.64
52-week price range $23.56-$28.14
Market Cap: $4 billion
Monthly dividend/Yield: $0.15/6.69%
Average analyst rating: Buy

Like RioCan, SmartCentres owns and operates commercial and residential properties, but you might know them for their massive, sprawling plazas featuring the orange signs with the penguins on them. You might also notice Walmart commonly anchoring their properties — the U.S. retail giant is one of the REIT’s biggest tenants. Analysts like the strong monthly dividend and predict steady growth.

The fountains of the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Photo by Handout

Realty Income Corporation ($O)
Share price: $63.74 (U.S.)
52-week price range: $52.61-$63.76
Market Cap: $59.44 billion
Monthly dividend/Yield: $0.27/5.07%
Average analyst rating: Buy

Much larger the previously mentioned REITs, Realty Income is an S&P 500 company that Americans have been turning to for growing monthly dividends and quiet, dependable returns for decades. Though based in the U.S., Realty Income owns more than 15,000 properties that serve a number of industries across the globe. The company made news in 2023 with a $950M foray into gambling in 2023, joining Blackstone REIT and MGM Resorts International as co-owner of the Bellagio casino and resort in Las Vegas.

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U2 performs ‘Beautiful Day’ at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Photo by Sphere Entertainment

Vici Properties ($VICI)
Share price: $28.11 (U.S.)
52-week price range: $26.55-$34.01
Market Cap: $30.05 billion
Quarterly dividend/Yield: $0.45/6.34%
Average analyst rating: Buy

And if you’re gonna talk casinos, you gotta talk about Vici Properties, an S&P 500 company which owns one of the largest portfolios of casinos and entertainment properties in the world, most famously on the Las Vegas Strip (Caesar’s Palace, The Venetian, New York New York and the land under Sphere just to name a few). Vici makes its money by following the op-co/prop-co model: As the prop-co, it owns the real estate asset and leases it to the op-co — for example, Caesar’s Entertainment — which manages the daily operations. As the landlord, the prop-co gets income from the lease without exposing itself to operational risk. So if Caesar’s has a good month, Vici gets paid. If Caesar’s has a bad month, Vici gets paid. The gamblers may hit it big or bust out, but in this case, the house always wins, and at an over 6% dividend yield, they share the take with you.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this column is for informational purposes and is not intended to be investment advice or an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security. Brian Towie is not a certified financial adviser and encourages readers to do their own diligence before investing their money.

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