If you are looking for dividend income, you do not necessarily need to accept slow-growing payouts or overpay for quality. A few Singapore-listed REITs are currently offering yields of 6% to more than 8%, while trading significantly below the value of the properties they own.
I own these three REITs for one simple reason: they provide me with high, and potentially sustainable, dividend income today, while operating in relatively resilient sectors of the economy.
What I Look for in a Dividend REIT
I am not simply looking for the highest yield. I want a sustainable DPU, ideally one that is still growing.
I look at occupancy and rental reversions to see whether the REIT can actually raise rents. I also consider gearing and interest coverage, because high borrowing costs can quickly erode distributions.
Finally, I pay close attention to price versus NAV. All three REITs below trade meaningfully below NAV, giving me a margin of safety while I collect income.
Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — My Defensive Income Anchor
Lendlease Global Commercial REIT is my Singapore retail pick, with major assets including 313@Somerset, Jem and PLQ Mall. After completing the acquisition of the remaining 30% stake in PLQ Mall, Singapore assets now make up roughly 90% of its S$4.2 billion portfolio.
FY2026 DPU rose 3.0% to 3.70 cents. At around 57 cents per unit, that represents a yield of about 6.5%.
More importantly, portfolio occupancy was 95.3%, while the core retail portfolio was almost fully occupied at 99.7%. Retail rental reversions were also strong at +10.4% in 1H FY2026.
Gearing improved to 38.9%, although its 2.1 times interest coverage ratio remains something I would watch closely.
For me, the attraction is straightforward: established Singapore malls, strong occupancy and positive rental growth, combined with an attractive income yield.
United Hampshire US REIT — High Yield With Growing Distributions
United Hampshire US REIT gives me exposure to US grocery-anchored and necessity retail, together with climate-controlled self-storage.
Its tenants include businesses people continue to use through different economic conditions, such as supermarkets, pharmacies and home-improvement retailers.
FY2025 DPU increased 8.1% to 4.39 US cents, marking its third consecutive year of DPU growth. 1H FY2026 DPU increased another 3.4% to 2.16 US cents, full year is potentially 4.35 US cents
At a unit price of US$0.50, that translates into a trailing yield of roughly 8.7%.
The numbers I find particularly attractive are its 97.6% occupancy for the grocery and necessity portfolio, 7.9-year weighted average lease expiry and US$0.73 NAV per unit.
At current prices, UHREIT trades at roughly 0.71 to 0.73 times NAV. That is a substantial discount to the value of its underlying assets.
If the market eventually values it closer to NAV, that is when I would seriously consider taking profit.
NTT DC REIT — My Income Growth Pick
NTT DC REIT is the growth component of my portfolio. It is a pure-play data centre REIT backed by NTT Group, with properties across the US, Europe and Singapore.
Its latest quarterly results were encouraging. Net property income was US$27.9 million, 5% above its IPO forecast, while distributable income exceeded forecast by 10.6%.
Occupancy by IT load reached 95.9%, or 99.2% including committed leases, while rental reversion was a strong +13.4%.
The income-growth story is particularly interesting because 89.4% of leases carry fixed rental escalation clauses, with another 3.3% linked to CPI. Built-in rental escalation averaged 3.1%.
Its annualised FY2026/27 forecast DPU of about 7.80 US cents would imply a yield of roughly 8.4% at a US$0.93 unit price. However, this is a forecast, not an achieved distribution.
With gearing at only 29.2% and interest coverage at 4.2 times, I see considerable room for future growth.
Why I Am Not Simply Chasing the Highest Yield
A double-digit yield can look tempting, but a high payout means little if DPU is falling or the underlying portfolio is deteriorating.
I would rather own a REIT yielding 7% with growing income than one yielding 10% because its share price has collapsed and its distribution is heading lower.
For me, the attraction of these three REITs is the combination of income, relatively resilient assets and improving or sustainable rental income.
My Exit Discipline: Buy for Income, Sell When Value Catches Up
I do not have a fixed 10-year holding period for these investments.
My plan is to collect the distributions while the units remain attractively valued, monitor DPU, occupancy, rental reversions and NAV, and reassess when the market price approaches fair value.
For United Hampshire US REIT, that reference point is around US$0.73 NAV per unit. For NTT DC REIT, it is around US$1.14.
For Lendlease REIT yet, its NAV is SG$0.70 NAV per unit
NTT DC REIT NAV is US$1.14 per unit as at 31 March 2026. That is the level I would use as my reference point for reviewing the investment.
Reaching NAV does not automatically mean I will sell. If the fundamentals continue improving, I may continue holding.
But it is the point where I stop holding on autopilot and ask an important question: is my capital still earning the best return here, or is there a better opportunity elsewhere?
For me, dividend investing is not about buying the highest yield and forgetting about it. It is about finding a sustainable income stream at an attractive valuation, collecting the distributions while the fundamentals remain sound, and being willing to rotate when the market finally recognises the value I originally bought.
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