The REIT sector may be under pressure, but solid REITs are still delivering consistent distributions to their unitholders.
The key is to look not just at the financials, but also observe the REIT’s operating metrics as well.
A strong REIT, backed by a reputable sponsor, can sail through rough waters and emerge relatively unscathed.
The upside is that they can provide you with a solid dividend yield while you wait for the headwinds to clear up.
Here are four REITs holding overseas properties that yield 8.3% or higher.
iREIT Global (SGX: UD1U)
iREIT Global is a retail and commercial REIT with a portfolio of five office properties in Germany, four office properties in Spain, and 44 retail properties in France.
The portfolio was valued at €857.3 million as of 31 December 2024.
For 2024, iREIT Global saw its gross revenue rise 16.3% year on year to €75.6 million.
Net property income (NPI) improved by 7.2% year on year to €53.5 million.
Distribution per unit (DPU) stood at €0.019, up 1.6% from the previous year.
Based on an exchange rate of 1 € to 1.44 Singapore dollars, iREIT Global’s 2024 DPU of S$0.027 means that the REIT offers a trailing distribution yield of 10.8%.
The REIT’s occupancy rate stood at 88.5% as of 31 December 2024 and it had a long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 5.9 years based on gross rental income (GRI).
iREIT Global also saw 100% of its rents paid while the portfolio enjoyed a rental escalation of 5.8% for 2024.
Gearing was at a moderate 37.6% with a low weighted average cost of debt of just 1.9%.
iREIT Global is planning to reposition the Berlin Campus into a multi-let, mixed-use asset with construction to commence in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q 2025) after the building permit is obtained.
Stoneweg European REIT (SGX: CWBU)
Stoneweg European REIT, or SERT, is an industrial and commercial REIT with a portfolio of 105 properties spanning countries such as Italy, France, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and several other European countries.
The REIT has more than 800 tenants and its portfolio is valued at around €2.2 billion.
For 2024, SERT saw gross revenue dip 1.6% year on year to €212.9 million.
NPI declined by 2.3% year on year to €131.1 million while DPU fell 10.1% year on year to €0.14106 mainly due to asset sales and higher interest costs.
At SERT’s unit price of €1.45, its shares offer a trailing distribution yield of 9.7%.
The REIT maintained a high portfolio occupancy of 93.5% and also saw a positive rental reversion of 2.8% for 2024.
Gearing stood at 40.2% with an all-in interest rate of 3.05%, with the trailing interest coverage ratio at a comfortable 3.3 times.
For 2025, SERT’s key priorities are to maintain its high occupancy and long WALE and progress on key developments and asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs) to deliver higher yields.
The REIT is also repositioned for growth with its new sponsor Stoneweg Icona Capital Platform supporting the strategy to pivot to logistics.
The sponsor also has a pipeline of assets and could utilise a right-of-first-refusal to SERT to help grow its portfolio.
Sasseur REIT (SGX: CRPU)
Sasseur REIT is a retail outlet mall REIT with a portfolio of four retail mall outlet assets in the Chinese cities of Chongqing, Kunming, and Hefei.
The REIT’s total rental income slipped by 0.4% year on year to S$124.5 million for 2024.
DPU fell by 2.7% year on year to S$0.06082.
The decline in the DPU was because of weak exchange rates and a higher retention sum to support future capital expenditures.
At a unit price of S$0.68, Sasseur REIT’s units offer a trailing distribution yield of 8.9%.
Portfolio occupancy stood high at 98.9% and the REIT had one of the lowest gearing levels among Singapore REITs at just 24.8%.
The REIT also has no further refinancing needs for 2025 after securing sponsor loans of up to RMB 430 million.
With China lowering its loan prime rate, Sasseur REIT hopes to increase the proportion of RMB-denominated loans to more than 60% to reduce borrowing costs.
The retail REIT also undertook AEIs last year for its Kunming and Hefei outlets costing RMB 8.4 million.
United Hampshire US REIT (SGX: ODBU)
United Hampshire US REIT, or UHREIT, is a US retail REIT with a portfolio of 20 grocery properties and two self-storage properties with a total value of around US$752.9 million.
Gross revenue crept up 1.4% year on year to US$73.2 million for 2024 but NPI dipped by 1.7% year on year to US$49.8 million.
DPU weakened by 15.2% year on year to US$0.0406 because of divestments and higher finance costs.
At a unit price of US$0.49, UHREIT’s units offer a trailing distribution yield of 8.3%.
The retail REIT saw a high overall occupancy of 97.5% for its grocery and necessity-based properties and 93.1% for its self-storage properties.
The portfolio also enjoys a high WALE of 8.1 years and saw a high retention rate of 92% as of 31 December 2024.
UHREIT’s anchor tenant sales remained healthy, registering year-on-year growth for large retailers such as Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ).
The majority of the leases at UHREIT have contractual built-in rental escalations of 5% to 10% every five to 10 years for anchor tenants and 1% to 3% for in-line tenants.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
