Best US Real Estate Stocks to Invest in for 2025

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are looking attractive as we head into 2025. With interest rates potentially easing and property markets stabilizing, REITs offer a way to invest in real estate without buying physical property.

We’ve rounded up 7 top US real estate stocks spanning diverse sectors – from warehouses powering e-commerce to data centers fueling the digital economy. Each of these picks blends total return potential, reliable income, growth prospects, and stability. Below, we list each REIT, why it’s a top pick, and a deeper dive into what makes it stand out in 2025.

1. Prologis (PLD) – Industrial Warehouse REIT

• Logistics powerhouse: World’s largest industrial REIT with a massive portfolio of warehouses in key distribution hubs.
• E-commerce demand: Online retail growth keeps its warehouses in high demand (Amazon is a major tenant).
• High occupancy & rising rents: Facilities stay ~95% leased, and limited new supply is driving rent growth.
• Stable income streams: Also earns fees from managing co-invested properties, adding steady cash flow.

What They Do:

Prologis specializes in logistics real estate – basically the huge warehouses and distribution centers that store and ship products for retailers and e-commerce. If you’ve received a package from an online order, it likely passed through a Prologis facility. The company owns and operates hundreds of millions of square feet of industrial space worldwide, focusing on areas near cities, ports, and transportation corridors. These warehouses are mission-critical for companies like Amazon, UPS, and Home Depot. Prologis makes money by leasing out this space; tenants sign long-term leases to use the warehouses for their supply chain operations.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

A big reason Prologis tops our list is the ongoing e-commerce boom and the push for more resilient supply chains. Even though e-commerce growth has normalized from its pandemic spike, it’s still rising, meaning retailers need plenty of warehouse space. Prologis, as the industry leader, is in a sweet spot to benefit. In fact, Amazon – Prologis’ largest customer – ramped up its warehouse leasing again in 2024 after a brief pause, and overall, online retailers made up roughly 20% of Prologis’s new leasing in early 2025. This underscores that demand for modern logistics facilities isn’t slowing down.

At the same time, new warehouse construction is cooling off due to higher costs and economic uncertainties. That’s actually good news for Prologis – less new supply means existing warehouses stay near full occupancy and landlords have more pricing power. Prologis was about 95% occupied as of early 2025, which is extremely high, and it has been able to raise rents on expiring leases (often significantly, since many tenants’ old leases were at lower rates). Essentially, there’s a rent growth runway built in: management noted that market rents are much higher than current lease rates, so as leases roll over, Prologis can increase rents and boost its revenue.

How It Makes Money:

Beyond collecting rent, Prologis has a unique side business – its Strategic Capital segment. Through joint ventures and funds, Prologis co-invests in properties with institutional partners and earns fees for managing those assets. This segment generates durable fee income that isn’t tied directly to occupancy and rent cycles. It’s like earning a management fee on top of the usual landlord rent, adding another steady stream of cash flow. This helps smooth out earnings during economic ups and downs.

Growth Outlook:

Prologis’ growth outlook for 2025 is solid. Warehouse space in prime locations is still scarce relative to demand. Companies are reconfiguring supply chains – holding more inventory closer to consumers and diversifying suppliers – which often means leasing additional logistics facilities. Prologis, with its presence in high-barrier markets (places where it’s hard to build new warehouses), is positioned to keep benefitting from this trend. The company’s own guidance and analysts project healthy earnings and cash flow growth in coming years, driven by those rent increases and high occupancy. In short, Prologis offers a compelling mix of stable income (from a diverse tenant base and 95%+ occupancy) and growth (from rising rents and e-commerce expansion). It also pays a respectable dividend (around ~3–4% yield currently) to reward investors while they wait for share price appreciation. For a beginner investor, Prologis provides exposure to the backbone of online shopping and global trade, wrapped in a relatively stable, blue-chip REIT package.

2. Digital Realty Trust (DLR) – Data Center REIT

• Data centers = digital gold: Owns 300+ data centers globally, serving 5,000+ customers from cloud and tech sectors.
• AI and cloud boom: Huge demand for server space thanks to cloud computing and AI growth.
• Record leasing backlog: ~$1.3 billion in signed leases waiting to commence (as of Q1 2025) underscores robust growth pipeline.
• Global diversification: Facilities in 50+ metro areas worldwide, spreading risk and capturing growth in many markets.

What They Do:

Digital Realty Trust is a REIT that provides the critical infrastructure of the internet: data centers. These are essentially giant server hotels – secure buildings filled with racks of servers, power backup, cooling systems, and super-fast networking. Digital Realty rents out space (and power and connectivity) to companies that need to house their IT equipment. Its client list includes cloud giants (like IBM, Oracle, even chunks of Amazon or Microsoft’s cloud operations), social media platforms, financial institutions, and any data-hungry enterprise. In a world where everything is moving online or to “the cloud,” Digital Realty’s facilities are where the cloud physically lives. The company charges rent and service fees for space, power, and connections in these data centers.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

If warehouses are the backbone of e-commerce, data centers are the backbone of the digital economy. Demand for data center space is surging – consider trends like streaming, 5G, artificial intelligence training, and companies migrating IT to cloud platforms. All that data has to live somewhere. In 2024, investors were laser-focused on AI in the tech sector, but by late 2024 and into 2025, they realized data center REITs are a great “picks and shovels” play on the AI boom. Digital Realty, being one of the two largest data center REITs (the other being Equinix), saw a lot of interest as it directly benefits from AI and cloud growth. The company noted that cloud computing, IoT, and AI trends are driving a “booming market” for data centers. In practical terms, this means Digital Realty’s spaces are filling up, and new projects get leased quickly.

A telling metric: Digital Realty hit an all-time high backlog of $1.3 billion in signed-but-not-yet-active leases as of Q1 2025. This means big customers have committed to contracts for future data center capacity – a strong indicator of confidence and future revenue. Many of these new leases are for power-hungry AI and cloud applications (including a lot of large 1-megawatt+ deals). High demand in top data center markets, combined with limited supply (due to constraints like land, power availability, and the time it takes to build these facilities), gives landlords like DLR pricing power. In some major markets, data center space is so tight that rents have been rising and new developments pre-lease quickly.

How It Makes Money:

Digital Realty’s model is leasing space (from a single cabinet to entire halls) in its data centers, often under long-term contracts. Beyond just floor space, it sells power and cooling (usually charging based on power capacity reserved) and offers rich connectivity options – clients in a DLR facility can connect directly to each other or to internet exchanges, which is a huge value-add. Because Digital Realty has a diverse tenant base (cloud, IT, finance, content, etc.) and a presence in over 50 metro areas globally, it isn’t overly reliant on one customer or region. This diversification helps stability: a downturn in one market or a customer bankruptcy wouldn’t be devastating. Also, many tenants view data center space as mission-critical – they sign multi-year leases and often expand over time. All this results in relatively predictable revenues. Digital Realty is structured as a REIT, so it pays out a dividend (~3% yield at recent prices) – not the highest yield, but a decent income considering the growth profile.

Growth Outlook:

The growth prospects for Digital Realty in 2025 are excellent. Tech industry analysts expect annual double-digit growth in data usage and strong expansion in cloud services and AI computing capacity over the next several years. Digital Realty is actively expanding to capture this: it’s developing new centers (for example, it just entered the Indonesian market via a joint venture and acquired land for future campuses in places like North Carolina and Atlanta). These moves position DLR to serve emerging demand in both established tech hubs and fast-growing markets. Also, the nature of the business brings a sticky customer base – once a company’s servers are in a data center, they’re not trivial to move, so renewal rates are high.

One thing to note: Digital Realty’s stock had a big run-up in early 2025 as investors piled into the AI/cloud theme, so its dividend yield is a bit lower now (~3%). But for long-term investors, the combination of reliable dividend and likely continued growth in funds from operations (FFO) is attractive. In Fidelity’s 2025 outlook, analysts highlighted data-center REITs as particularly exciting due to robust demand and constrained supply. Bottom line: Digital Realty offers a way to ride the megatrends of cloud computing and AI through real estate. It stands out for its scale and global reach in a high-barrier, high-demand niche, making it one of the best real estate stocks to own for 2025.

3. Simon Property Group (SPG) – Retail Mall REIT

• Mall leader: Largest retail REIT in the U.S. with top-tier malls and outlet centers nationwide.
• High occupancy: Properties are ~95–96% leased, reflecting strong retailer demand for Simon’s locations.
• Adapted malls: Focused on experiential retail – adding dining, entertainment, and mixed-use elements to keep traffic strong.
• Attractive dividend: Yields ~5% and is well-covered by cash flow (FFO covers the dividend with a comfortable margin).

What They Do:

Simon Property Group is the king of shopping malls. It owns and operates a portfolio of premier retail real estate – think super-regional malls, upscale outlet centers, and some international shopping centers. Simon’s malls are often the flagship ones in major metro areas (the kind with luxury stores, popular department stores, entertainment options, etc.). The company makes money by leasing space in its malls to retailers and charging rent (often with clauses that can earn Simon a percentage of store sales). They also generate revenue from things like mall advertising and sponsorships, parking, and merchandising. Over the years, Simon has expanded beyond pure retail; some properties include offices, hotels, or apartments (mixed-use) to enhance the live-work-play environment.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

A few years ago, the narrative was that “malls are dying” due to e-commerce. But Simon has shown that high-quality malls are very much alive. The key is that Simon’s properties are not your dilapidated dead malls; they’re destinations that retailers actually compete to get into. As of Q1 2025, Simon’s portfolio occupancy was 95.9%, up from the prior year – that’s a strong sign that brick-and-mortar retailers (and even many online-native brands opening physical stores) view Simon’s locations as essential. People have returned to in-person shopping post-pandemic, especially to malls that offer experiences you can’t get online. Simon has been savvy in this regard: bringing in restaurants, cinemas, fitness centers, and even residential or hotel components to its mall properties to drive foot traffic. Many Simon malls have been reinvented into community hubs where you might shop, dine, see a movie, and hang out, all in one place.

In 2025, consumer spending has been holding up, and retailers are expanding selectively in the best locations. Simon’s mall tenants have reported solid sales, which benefits Simon indirectly (happy tenants pay rent and renew leases) and sometimes directly through percentage rents. Additionally, Simon has diversified by investing in some retail brands (through partnerships with Authentic Brands Group) – for example, it took stakes in retailers like Brooks Brothers and Aeropostale during downturns. This means Simon can capture upside from retailers’ success too, though its core business remains property leasing.

Income Reliability:

One big appeal of SPG is its dividend. The stock yields about 5%, and management has been raising the dividend cautiously as the retail environment improved. Importantly, that dividend is well-supported by Simon’s Funds From Operations (FFO) – according to analysts, the payout is only ~65% of 2025 expected FFO, leaving a nice cushion. In plain English, Simon’s cash flow covers the dividend with room to spare, so the payout is on solid ground. They even hiked the dividend in 2025 (announced a raise to $2.10 per quarter) as a sign of confidence in their outlook.

Growth and Stability:

While malls aren’t a high-growth sector like data centers, Simon offers stability and a bit of growth. Its properties are in locations that often have high barriers to new competition (you can’t just build a new mall in a crowded city center easily). Thus, Simon’s A-grade malls enjoy quasi-monopolies in their trade areas. Occupancy has remained high, and rent per square foot has been gradually increasing (their base rents are among the highest in the industry, reflecting the quality of the centers). Simon is also redeveloping some of its malls – for example, repurposing old department store spaces into new uses like apartments or entertainment venues – which can boost traffic and rent.

For 2025, the outlook is that physical retail will continue its rebound. Consumers are showing up at malls for the experience – something e-commerce can’t fully replicate – and retailers are using stores as part of their omni-channel strategy (buy online, pick up in store, etc.). Simon’s high occupancy and rising tenant sales indicate its malls are thriving in this new retail landscape. Investors in SPG get a combination of a relatively high dividend yield and exposure to the top end of the retail real estate market. It’s a play on the idea that the best malls will keep thriving, even as mediocre malls struggle. Simon, with its scale, strong balance sheet, and quality assets, is positioned to potentially acquire weaker centers on the cheap or continue outperforming with its fortress portfolio. In summary, SPG stands out for turning the “mall apocalypse” narrative on its head and delivering both income and resiliency to shareholders.

4. Realty Income (O) – Net Lease Commercial REIT

• “The Monthly Dividend Company”: This nickname comes from its track record of paying dividends every single month and raising them consistently.
• Huge, defensive portfolio: Owns 12,000+ freestanding properties (stores, pharmacies, etc.) with stable, long-term tenants in mostly recession-resistant industries.
• Triple-net leases: Tenants pay property taxes, maintenance, and insurance, so Realty Income’s rental streams are very reliable and low-expense.
• Attractive yield: ~5.8% dividend yield, supported by 30+ years of annual dividend increases and strong occupancy even during downturns.

What They Do:

Realty Income is a REIT that focuses on single-tenant commercial properties under “triple-net” leases. Triple-net means the tenant is responsible for most of the property’s operating costs (maintenance, insurance, taxes), while Realty Income simply owns the building and collects rent. This model makes Realty Income more of a “check collector” with minimal landlord duties – which is great for efficiency and margin. The company’s properties are typically free-standing retail or commercial buildings – think your local Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Dollar General, or gym, even some industrial and warehouse properties. They have a highly diversified tenant base across retail (about 80% of rent comes from retail like convenience stores, grocery, drugstores, dollar stores, and quick-service restaurants) as well as some industrial, offices, and theaters. Realty Income’s scale is enormous; after a big merger in 2021 and continued acquisitions, it now owns over 12,000 properties across the US, Europe, and UK.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

For conservative investors or anyone seeking passive income, Realty Income stands out as a pillar of reliability. The company has declared 595+ consecutive monthly dividends over its 50+ year history and increased the dividend 100+ times. That’s a track record very few companies can match. It even qualifies as a Dividend Aristocrat, meaning it has raised its dividend every year for at least 25 years straight. In practical terms, if you invest in O, you can pretty much count on a monthly payout that tends to inch up over time.

The 2025 environment actually plays to Realty Income’s strengths: economic growth is modest and there’s some uncertainty, which makes steady income streams more appealing. Realty Income’s tenants are largely in defensive sectors – for example, convenience stores and dollar stores do well even if consumers tighten their belts, pharmacies and grocery stores are essential, and many locations are in suburban or small town markets with little direct e-commerce threat (you can’t get a haircut on Amazon, nor can Amazon replace your local gas station convenience store). According to analysts, about 43% of Realty Income’s rent comes from investment-grade rated tenants, and the overall occupancy has historically been 98%+ virtually every year. Even in 2020’s turmoil, occupancy barely dipped, underlining how resilient the portfolio is.

Triple-Net Advantages:

The triple-net lease structure is a huge plus. Since the tenant handles most property expenses, Realty Income’s profit margins are high and its earnings are very predictable. If property taxes or insurance costs go up, that’s the tenant’s problem, not Realty Income’s. This insulates O from inflation on those expenses. Meanwhile, leases typically have built-in rent escalations (small percentage increases or CPI-linked bumps), so revenue creeps upward organically. It’s a very low-volatility, steady business model.

Growth and Outlook:

Realty Income isn’t a rapid growth story, but it reliably grows through acquisitions. The REIT raises capital (debt or new equity) and buys more properties each year – often sale-leaseback deals where a retailer sells its store property to Realty Income and then leases it back for 10-20 years. This fuels modest growth in earnings and dividends. In 2025, Realty Income is continuing to expand in new areas; for instance, it has been acquiring properties in Europe (including some large casino properties and retail chains overseas). These moves diversify the portfolio further and open up new avenues for growth.

Investors can expect Realty Income to keep being a sleep-well-at-night stock: you likely won’t get explosive growth, but you get a chunky ~5-6% yield paid monthly, and that payout has a long history of climbing gradually. It’s basically the poster child for income investing in real estate. As Morningstar analysts note, Realty Income’s tenants and triple-net structure make it highly resistant to economic downturns, which adds to its stability. This is why it matters in a portfolio – it’s an anchor of dependable income. For 2025, with many predicting maybe slower economic growth or potential hiccups, owning a piece of thousands of essential retail locations via Realty Income can be a stabilizing force. It’s the kind of stock you can hold for years to compound those dividends, making it a top pick for long-term minded real estate investors.

5. AvalonBay Communities (AVB) – Residential Apartment REIT

• Premier apartment owner: Focuses on upscale multi-family communities in high-cost, high-job-growth coastal markets.
• Consistently high occupancy: Maintains mid-90% occupancy rates and healthy rent growth, thanks to strong housing demand.
• Rent vs. buy advantage: Sky-high home prices in its markets mean renting is often the only viable option – a big demand driver.
• Steady growth outlook: Expects continued rent increases (~3% in 2025) and low tenant turnover, supported by job and wage growth.

What They Do:

AvalonBay Communities is one of the largest and most respected apartment REITs in the U.S. It develops, owns, and manages apartment complexes, primarily class A (upscale) communities. Its portfolio is concentrated in coastal metro areas such as New York City, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Southern California, Seattle, and some expansions into the Southeast and Texas. These are markets where a lot of people want to live and work, but housing – especially homeownership – is very expensive or supply-constrained. AvalonBay provides rental housing in these areas, often with full amenities (pools, gyms, etc.), targeting young professionals, families, and downsizing baby boomers who prefer renting in a nice community. The company collects rent from thousands of tenants each month, which after expenses (like property maintenance, staff, etc.) turns into a steady stream of income that it passes to shareholders as dividends.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

The fundamentals for residential REITs like AvalonBay are strong going into 2025. Several trends are converging: job growth and wage growth have been solid, especially in many of AVB’s coastal markets, creating demand for housing. At the same time, the cost of buying a home (high home prices and higher mortgage rates) has made renting comparatively more attractive. In fact, AvalonBay’s management noted that in their core coastal cities, the rent-to-income ratios for tenants are actually lower (more affordable) than pre-pandemic, and the gap between the cost of renting an AVB apartment and the cost of owning a home in the same area is the widest they’ve ever seen. This means a lot of people who might have considered buying a house are remaining renters by necessity or choice – which keeps occupancy high and turnover low for AvalonBay.

AvalonBay has a history of maintaining around 95–97% occupancy in its communities, and as of late 2024/early 2025, that continues to be the case (mid-90s occupancy). When apartments are almost full, landlords have the ability to raise rents gradually. For 2025, AvalonBay expected effective rents to continue rising modestly (on the order of 3% give or take, depending on the market). That’s not breakneck growth, but it’s steady and above inflation in real terms. Importantly, new supply of apartments in AVB’s markets is limited – they forecast only about 1.4% increase in stock in coastal metros in 2025, which is much less than the new supply hitting Sunbelt markets. Less new competition makes it easier for AvalonBay to keep its buildings full and push rents a bit.

How It Makes Money:

AvalonBay’s income comes from monthly rents paid by tens of thousands of residents. Because it’s spread across many properties and cities, it has a naturally diversified stream – no single tenant (or small group) can make or break their revenues, unlike a commercial REIT that might rely on a few big leases. This makes apartments relatively low-risk in terms of cash flow. People always need a place to live, and if someone moves out, usually there’s another renter ready to move in, especially in high-demand cities. AvalonBay typically increases rents on renewal leases (existing tenants) and sets higher rents for new leases when the market allows, thereby growing its same-store revenue. Operating apartments is somewhat more management-intensive than something like triple-net properties because the landlord covers maintenance and amenities, but AvalonBay is very experienced at this and runs at efficient occupancy and expense levels.

Growth Outlook:

AvalonBay grows earnings through a combination of same-property rent growth and new development. They usually have a pipeline of new apartment projects under construction. For instance, AVB adds newly built communities each year (they had several hundred units under development as of early 2025). These developments, once leased up, contribute additional income. The company did moderate its new development pace when costs soared, but with construction cost inflation cooling, they could ramp up projects again carefully. Also, AvalonBay, along with other apartment REITs, saw some pressure in 2023 as a lot of new apartments flooded Sunbelt markets, but in 2025, supply in AVB’s core markets (Northeast, West Coast) is relatively constrained.

For investors, AvalonBay offers a combination of stability and moderate growth. Apartments are often considered one of the safer real estate sectors because housing is a basic need. AvalonBay’s focus on affluent areas means its renters are generally financially stable (its rent collections stayed high even during COVID). In downturns, people might double up or seek cheaper housing, but they still need housing; and in upturns, household formation (people moving out on their own, etc.) drives rental demand. The company currently yields around 3%+ in dividends, which is lower than some other REITs, but that’s the trade-off for growth and lower risk. It has a strong balance sheet (investment-grade rated), so it can weather higher interest rates or economic softness better than many landlords. Overall, AvalonBay matters because it is a play on the persistent housing shortage and affordability gap in top U.S. cities – trends that likely won’t resolve soon. As long as owning a home remains out of reach for many and city populations keep growing, AvalonBay’s apartments should have a steady pool of renters and generate reliable returns.

6. American Tower (AMT) – Specialty Infrastructure REIT (Cell Towers)

• Critical telecom infrastructure: Owns ~220,000 wireless towers worldwide that carriers use to broadcast mobile signals.
• 5G rollout and beyond: Ongoing 5G network expansion and ever-growing mobile data usage drive demand for tower space.
• Global growth: Diversified across 25+ countries, benefiting from mobile adoption in emerging markets and network densification in developed markets.
• Tech convergence: Even branching into data centers and edge computing, tapping new growth areas from cloud and AI trends.

What They Do:

American Tower is a REIT that might not immediately sound like “real estate” – but it is, in a way. The company owns and operates cell towers and related communications sites. These are tall structures (towers, rooftops, etc.) where wireless companies like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (or internationally, carriers like Vodafone, Telefónica, etc.) mount their antennas and equipment to create cellular networks. Rather than each carrier building and owning its own towers, companies like American Tower act as neutral hosts: they own the tower and lease vertical space on it to multiple carriers. So one tower might have, say, Verizon’s antennas at one height, AT&T’s at another, and Dish Network’s at another, each paying rent. American Tower also provides the ground space for the carriers’ equipment shelters at the base. Because multiple tenants share one tower, American Tower can collect several rent streams from one physical asset, making it highly profitable over time.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

Think about how glued society is to smartphones and wireless data – that’s the tailwind for American Tower. Every TikTok video, Zoom call, or streaming song on a phone goes through the mobile network, and a lot of that goes through infrastructure owned by American Tower. By 2025, 5G networks are still being built out and optimized. Telecom carriers are adding more antennas (often at higher frequencies that don’t travel as far, meaning more sites are needed for dense coverage). American Tower directly benefits as carriers lease additional tower space or even build small cells (mini-towers) that the company can also host.

Analysts in early 2025 noted that carrier activity was a bit slow in 2024 – telecom companies were digesting previous big 5G upgrades – but they expect a pickup in equipment upgrades and additions in 2025. Also, American Tower has an interesting growth angle: it bought data center operator CoreSite in 2021, and it’s integrating data center offerings for customers who want cloud infrastructure closer to end-users (so-called “edge computing”). The booming demand for data centers from AI and cloud services is a positive for AMT as well, because the company can offer a combination of tower sites and data facilities to help move data quickly. Not to mention, American Tower’s international business (in Latin America, Africa, India, Europe) provides exposure to regions where mobile phone usage is still growing rapidly. In some emerging markets, simply more people getting smartphones and 4G/5G service means carriers must lease more tower space, fueling American Tower’s growth.

Reliable Cash Flow:

One thing to love about the tower business is that it’s built on long-term leases (often 5-10 year initial terms with renewals) and those leases typically have built-in rent escalators (commonly around 3% annually or tied to inflation). American Tower’s tenants – big telecom firms – are generally very stable (though there are occasional risks, like a carrier bankruptcy, which happened in India). The company achieves an enviable ~98% operating margin on incremental revenue because once a tower is built, adding an extra tenant costs little. This means high incremental profit. It’s like building an apartment building that, once the debt is paid, costs almost nothing to maintain per extra renter. As a result, American Tower has been able to increase its dividend at a good clip. While the current yield is about 3% (lower than many REITs due to its growth orientation), they have grown that dividend every quarter for years. It’s a rare REIT that offers both growth and a solid (if not high) yield.

Growth Outlook:

For 2025 and beyond, mobile data usage is projected to keep climbing by double digits annually, thanks to video streaming, IoT devices, and whatever new app goes viral next. 5G technology also enables new use cases (like connected cars, AR/VR, etc.) that could further strain networks. Carriers will need to enhance capacity by adding equipment to existing towers (where American Tower can charge for additional or modified equipment) or by installing small cell nodes (American Tower also has a portfolio of these, especially after its 2019 acquisition of Coresite [Correction: acquisition of Crown Castle’s small cell assets didn’t happen – Crown Castle itself focuses on small cells; American Tower has done small cell deals too though] and others).

Moreover, American Tower’s global footprint is a source of growth. For instance, markets like Brazil and Nigeria have younger populations just coming online; as 4G and 5G expand there, carriers lease more tower spots. American Tower reported that it’s seeing particularly strong growth in regions like Latin America, and it’s actively investing in markets like Mexico and Africa. It did recently decide to exit the Indian market (where the business was challenging), which actually frees up capital to invest in higher-return areas. So management is actively optimizing the portfolio.

For investors, American Tower is a unique real estate play that’s tied into the tech and telecom world. It tends to behave a bit differently than other REITs (often trading more on tech trends and interest rates than on real estate cycles). In 2025, if interest rates stabilize or fall, and telecom spending picks up as expected, American Tower could see both its earnings and stock price climb nicely. It’s a way to bet on the ever-increasing demand for wireless connectivity. The reason it matters: no matter which phone carrier “wins” or what new mobile service comes out, they all need towers, and American Tower is often the landlord. It’s hard to envision a future that’s less connected, so the long-term secular trend for AMT is very favorable. In summary, AMT offers a combination of stable, inflation-protected rents and growth from technology upgrades – a top real estate stock for the long haul.

7. Public Storage (PSA) – Self-Storage REIT

• Storage market leader: World’s largest self-storage owner, with over 3,300 facilities across the U.S..
• Resilient demand: People need storage in good times and bad – foot traffic to Public Storage locations was still rising ~2% year-over-year in early 2025.
• High margins, steady cash: Simple business (renting units) with low overhead; consistently high occupancy around 90%+ keeps cash flow stable.
• Dividend + growth: ~4% dividend yield and expansion projects (new facilities and acquisitions) to drive moderate growth.

What They Do:

Public Storage is a REIT that owns and operates self-storage facilities – those places where individuals and businesses rent storage units to stash belongings. Chances are you’ve seen their facilities with bright orange doors; they’re ubiquitous across America’s suburbs and cities. As of 2025, Public Storage has more than 3,300 storage locations in the U.S., making it by far the largest self-storage company. The company rents units of various sizes on a monthly basis. Customers use them for all sorts of reasons: moving houses, storing furniture during life transitions (marriage, divorce, military deployment, college students, etc.), keeping business inventory, or just holding excess stuff when they run out of space at home. Public Storage’s income comes from these rental fees, plus ancillary revenues like selling locks, boxes, or insurance. The costs of the business are relatively low – a few staff and maintenance of units – so a lot of that rental income turns into profit.

Why It Stands Out in 2025:

Self-storage has been one of the most quietly successful real estate sectors over the past couple of decades. It has a reputation for being “recession-resistant.” Why? Because demand drivers cut both ways: in economic expansions, people buy more stuff and often need extra space; in recessions, people might downsize their living space or move back home, but they use storage to keep their belongings safe during the transition. Essentially, life changes drive storage demand, and those happen in all economic climates. Public Storage, in particular, has a strong brand and usually is the first choice for many storage renters.

In 2024, the self-storage market cooled slightly from the pandemic-era frenzy (when everyone was moving and needed storage), but it’s still on a growth trajectory. In fact, foot traffic data from early 2025 shows that visits to Public Storage facilities were up ~2.1% year-over-year in Q1 2025, which indicates demand is holding up well. Occupancy at Public Storage’s facilities remains high (around the low-90s percentage, which is considered essentially full given normal churn). The company did see a slight dip from the absolute peak occupancy during the pandemic, but that’s normalizing to a very healthy level. Importantly, Public Storage has been able to nudge rents up even as occupancy moderated a bit – its realized rental rates per square foot were slightly higher in 2025 than the year prior, reflecting pricing power.

Business Resilience:

Public Storage’s business is simple and resilient. The typical customer rents a unit for about 10 months (often intending a shorter stay but ends up keeping it longer). The company can adjust rental prices fairly quickly in response to demand. Also, unlike many REITs, Public Storage has month-to-month leases, which might sound like a risk (tenants can leave any time), but it also means the company can reprice units frequently. So if inflation is high or demand surges, they can raise rents on new customers or upon monthly renewals. During the high inflation of 2022, for instance, self-storage REITs raised rents aggressively. Now in 2025, with inflation easing, rent growth is more modest, but the industry isn’t suffering huge move-outs or anything; people tend to “sticky” in storage because moving stuff out is a hassle.

Growth and Outlook:

Public Storage grows through a mix of same-store performance and expansion. They are continuously on the lookout to acquire smaller competitors or individual facilities. The company made a bid to acquire a competitor (Life Storage) in 2023, which didn’t go through, but it showed they’re hungry to expand. Instead, a rival (Extra Space Storage) bought Life Storage, and interestingly, Public Storage took a stake in that combined entity – so PSA indirectly benefits from industry consolidation. Public Storage is also developing new facilities and expanding existing ones. As of early 2025, it had a development pipeline adding millions of square feet of new storage space. The self-storage industry still has a lot of fragmented ownership (many “mom and pop” operators), so Public Storage can keep consolidating the market, leveraging its brand and marketing power.

For 2025, the outlook is stable. If the economy slows, some people may downsize and use storage; if it’s strong, people might relocate for jobs or continue de-cluttering homes (in the work-from-home era, turning a spare room into an office often sends stuff to storage). The company’s finances are strong (it has a high credit rating and relatively low debt for a REIT). It also doesn’t have to spend huge amounts on tenant improvements or commissions like office/retail landlords do – you don’t renovate a storage unit between customers (maybe just sweep it out). This means most of the revenue drops to the bottom line, supporting a solid dividend. Currently PSA yields around 3.5–4%, and its dividend is well-covered by earnings (with a payout ratio around 75% of FFO).

Why it Matters for Investors:

Public Storage is a great example of a “Steady Eddy” stock. It might not be as thrilling as data centers or as high-yield as some retail REITs, but it’s proven to be dependable. Over decades, self-storage has delivered strong returns, and Public Storage, in particular, has a long history of dividend growth and stock appreciation. It offers exposure to a unique consumer-driven real estate niche. The one-liner is: as long as people have more stuff than space, Public Storage’s business will have a place. In 2025, with housing in flux and people continuing to value their belongings, PSA remains a top pick, balancing a good dividend, defensive characteristics, and a bit of growth from expansion. It’s like owning a slice of America’s attic – and charging rent for it.

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