This Data Dispatch is updated monthly. The analysis includes publicly traded real estate investment trusts covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence that are based in the US or Canada and trade on the NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE American, Toronto Stock Exchange or TSX Venture Exchange.

Seventy-four US-based publicly traded real estate investment trusts declared increases to their regular dividend payouts in 2023, accounting for nearly half of the increases in the entire US equity REIT industry, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The industrial segment posted the highest proportion of dividend hikes relative to the sector's total, with nine of 11 industrial REITs, announcing increases in dividends during the year. The self-storage sector followed, with four of five REITs augmenting their dividends in 2023.

The retail segment had the highest number of REITs that announced dividend gains in 2023 at 19, or about 67.9% of all retail REITs.

Twelve Canadian REITs declared dividend hikes in 2023, six of which came from the residential sector, while four REITs were classified under the retail segment. The and diversified segments each had one REIT that announced higher dividends.

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Ryman Hospitality dividends quadruple

Hotel landlord Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. led the list of US REITs with year-over-year dividend payout hikes in 2023. It more than quadrupled its quarterly dividend throughout the year to $1.10 per share on Dec. 8, 2023, from a 25-cents-per-share dividend declared at the end of 2022. Its dividend payout also exceeded its pre-pandemic level of 90 cents per share.

Ryman Hospitality ratcheted up its dividends three times in 2023. The first was in Feb. 23, when the hotel REIT tripled its dividend payment to 75 cents per share, followed by another 33.3% hike to $1.00 per share on May 3.

Another REIT that massively boosted dividends in 2023 was hotel REIT RLJ Lodging Trust, which doubled its quarterly payout to 10 cents per share on Aug. 3 from 5 cents per share announced in December 2022. Despite the increase, its dividend still sits nearly 70% below the pre-pandemic quarterly payout of 33 cents per share.

The company with the third-highest dividend increase in 2023 was hotel REIT Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., which raised its quarterly dividend by 66.7% to 20 cents per share on Dec. 15. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Host Hotels frequently paid out a regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, along with a special dividend payment in the fourth quarter of each year. In 2023, including the special fourth-quarter dividend payment, dividend payments announced by the hotel REIT totaled 90 cents per share, higher than both the aggregate 53 cents per share paid in 2022, as well as the 85 cents per share for 2019.

During the last month of 2023, there were a total of 13 US REITs that declared dividend hikes. The latest announcement was made by multifamily-focused Veris Residential Inc., which upped its dividend by 5% to 5.25 cents on Dec. 18. The residential REIT earlier in 2023 reinstated its quarterly dividend, which had been suspended since September 2020, at 5 cents per share.

In Canada, diversified REIT H&R REIT announced the largest dividend gain during the year, upping its monthly payment to 5 Canadian cents per share compared to a 4.58 Canadian cents-per-share dividend at the end of 2022.

Shopping center landlord Primaris REIT was the sole Canadian REIT that announced a dividend hike in December 2023, raising its monthly cash distribution by 2.5% to 7 Canadian cents per share.

More than 70% of US REIT dividend increases in 2023 exceed pre-COVID levels

Fifty-two out of the 74 US REITs that announced higher dividends in 2023 also reported higher regular dividend payouts by year-end in comparison to their respective dividends in 2019. In contrast, 14 REITs were still paying lower dividends relative to their 2019-end dividend payments. Meanwhile, seven REITs in the analysis were either not yet trading on a major public exchange in 2019 or had incomparable or suspended dividends.

For Canadian REITs, seven out of 12 REITs had higher payouts by the end of 2023 than their 2019-end dividends, while diversified REIT H&R REIT and shopping center-focused RioCan REIT had lower dividends by the end of 2023 compared to their corresponding payouts in 2019.

Multifamily-focused Marwest Apartment REIT, manufactured home REIT Flagship Communities REIT and shopping center-focused Primaris REIT did not trade in 2019.