Real estate stocks are a great place to earn regular passive dividend income. When buying a real estate stock, you get all the liquidity of a public stock but the benefits of owning private real estate. This includes predictable streams of leased income that is normally distributed to unitholders monthly.
Plenty of ways to collect passive income with REITs
The best vehicle for buying publicly traded real estate is through a real estate investment trust (REIT). REITs come in all sizes with different sectors and varying geographic exposures. Different REIT segments include industrial, multifamily/apartment, retail, office, healthcare, seniors care, mobile homes, and even hotels.
Now, not all REITs are created equal. If you want a REIT to buy and hold for years of reliable passive income, it needs to have a strong balance sheet, great assets in good locations, smart managers, and opportunities to steadily grow its cash flows on a per-unit basis. If you are looking for some real estate stocks that meet these criteria, here are two that look attractive today.
Granite REIT: As solid as it gets for passive income
Just like its name, Granite REIT (TSX:GRT.UN) is a solid Canadian stock to hold for years of passive income. With a market cap of $5.5 billion, it is currently the largest industrial real estate stock in Canada. It operates nearly 59 million square feet of industrial space across Canada, the U.S., and Europe. It has another five million square feet of space being developed.
Granite’s average lease is over 5.7 years, which means it has a foreseeable sightline of leased cash flows. With 99% occupancy, demand for its properties continues to be strong. The best part is that Granite has an industry-leading balance sheet. With a debt-to-asset ratio of 30%, its debt is well managed, long dated, and relatively hedged to rising interest rates.
Granite stock yields 4% right now. Its payout ratio is only 78%, which means its distribution is sustainable. It has increased its dividend annually for 12 consecutive years, so it is a great bet for rising monthly passive income. It helps that this stock is trading at a near 15% discount to its assessed private value.
BSR: Undervalued, high-quality multi-family real estate
BSR REIT (TSX:HOM.U) is another stock to consider for exposure to multifamily real estate in the United States. With interest rates rising, home ownership has become much more costly. That makes BSR’s garden-style communities very attractive for young professionals and families.
Its properties are in top U.S. growth markets like Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, and Austin. With strong immigration and high demand, BSR has seen its occupancy rise to over 96%.
BSR has a solid balance sheet with a low 36% debt ratio. Today, 100% of its debt is fixed and it has $176 million of liquidity. Despite its high-quality portfolio, this REIT trades at a 35% discount to its net asset value (private market value).
Today, this real estate stock earns a 3.75% distribution yield. It raised its distribution last year by 4%. Given its low distribution payout ratio, another increase could be possible in 2023.
Insiders have a large stake in the REIT, so their interests to succeed are aligned with unitholders. If you are looking for value, income, and even growth, BSR is a great long-term stock to hold for passive income.
