All dividend-focused investors in Singapore are aware that real estate investment trusts (REITs) are one of the most favoured ways to generate passive income in the city-state. However, for REIT investors in the Lion City, it’s been a tough period to navigate since the US Federal Reserve (Fed) started hiking interest rates aggressively in 2022.
For investors who stayed patient, the wait was starting to feel like it might never end. Rising rates had hammered REIT valuations, financing costs climbed, and distribution per unit (DPU) figures fell across the board (the last thing you want as a dividend investor). But 2025 marked a meaningful turning point as the S-REIT sector delivered its best annual performance since 2019. And for the first time in years, investors could look at their REIT portfolios with something approaching relief. So, how exactly did the sector do? Let’s break it down.
The Headline Numbers
According to SGX Research data, the iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index delivered a full-year total return of 15.3% in 2025. That figure is a sharp reversal from 2024’s -7.3% total return, making 2025 easily the best year for the index since 2019. The CSOP iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index ETF (SGX: SRT), which tracks the index, posted a calendar-year total return of 14.4%, a figure that will feel very welcome to investors who have been holding since the rate-hike era began.
For context, the Straits Times Index (STI) still led all major local benchmarks with a total return of 28.6%, boosted by the strong run in Singapore’s banking stocks. But S-REITs’ double-digit gains represented something arguably more meaningful – a recovery built on improving fundamentals and not just a turnaround in sentiment. For the sake of global comparison, US REITs, as measured by the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index, returned just 1.7% in 2025, so Singapore’s REIT market comfortably outpaced that.
The gains were not confined to a handful of names, either. According to SGX REIT Watch, over half of the constituents in the iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index delivered double-digit total returns for the year, and by the end of 2025, all 30 index constituents were in positive territory.
Read More: How The US Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decisions Impact Singapore REITs (S-REITS)
What Drove The Recovery
The single biggest tailwind (and this is no surprise) was interest rates. The US Fed delivered three 25-basis-point rate cuts in 2025, with the first in September. Domestically, Singapore’s three-month compounded SORA fell from 3.02% at the start of January to around 1.53% by mid-September, representing a dramatic easing in local borrowing conditions. For REITs that had spent the previous two years fighting higher financing costs, this shift changed the calculus considerably.
With Singapore T-bill yields declining to around 1.7%-1.8% by late 2025, compared with roughly 3% at the start of the year, the yield spread offered by S-REITs widened markedly. That made the sector much more attractive, and it traded at a market cap-weighted forward dividend yield of around 5.7%, maintaining a roughly 4-percentage-point premium over 10-year Singapore Government Bond yields. That spread is historically significant and broadly explains why income-seeking investors rotated back into the sector later in the year, given the dearth of yield on offer locally.
Beyond rates, the underlying property fundamentals were genuinely solid, too. Occupancy rates across retail, office, and logistics assets held in the 95%-99% range for prime portfolios. Rental reversions were positive across most sub-sectors, meaning landlords could renew leases at higher rents as older, lower-rate contracts rolled off. Retail REITs, in particular, benefited from strong shopper traffic and rising tourism numbers, with suburban mall portfolios logging mid- to high-single-digit rent uplifts. Perhaps most importantly, DPU growth started to turn the corner, which mattered a lot to investors accustomed to seeing DPUs cut from 2022 to 2024. Most S-REITs returned to positive DPU growth in the second half of 2025 as financing costs peaked and revenue streams strengthened.
| REIT Name | Distribution Yield (%) | Total Returns 2025 (%) |
| Diversified REITs | ||
| CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (SGX: C38U) | 4.8% | +29.9% |
| Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU) | 5.5% | +29.2% |
| Suntec REIT (SGX: T82U) | 4.9% | +29.9% |
| Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (SGX: BUOU) | 6.0% | +21.0% |
| Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (SGX: JYEU) | 5.0% | +23.0% |
| OUE REIT (SGX: TS0U) | 6.2% | +35.9% |
| Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust (SGX: SET) | 8.3% | +12.6% |
| CapitaLand India Trust (SGX: CY6U) | 6.5% | +21.6% |
| CapitaLand China Trust (SGX: AU8U) | 6.6% | +15.6% |
| IREIT Global (SGX: UD1U) | 8.7% | +11.3% |
| Industrial REITs | ||
| CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U) | 5.3% | +16.7% |
| Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U) | 6.2% | +0.4% |
| Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) | 5.6% | +10.6% |
| ESR-REIT (SGX: 9A4U) | 8.1% | +11.9% |
| AIMS APAC REIT (SGX: O5RU) | 6.5% | +29.1% |
| Alpha Integrated REIT (SGX: M1GU) | 6.7% | +44.7% |
| Daiwa House Logistics Trust (SGX: DHLU) | 8.1% | +5.4% |
| Retail REITs | ||
| Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U) | 5.2% | +16.7% |
| Starhill Global REIT (SGX: P40U) | 6.1% | +27.7% |
| Sasseur REIT (SGX: CRPU) | 8.8% | +9.1% |
| United Hampshire US REIT (SGX: ODBU) | 8.0% | +18.0% |
| BHG Retail REIT (SGX: BMGU) | 1.1% | -5.5% |
| Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (SGX: D5IU) | N.M. | -31.5% |
| Office REITs | ||
| Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U) | 5.4% | +21.5% |
| Elite UK REIT (SGX: MXNU) | 8.4% | +34.2% |
| Prime US REIT (SGX: OXMU) | 1.2% | +18.3% |
| Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT (SGX: CMOU) | 2.1% | +14.6% |
| Manulife US REIT (SGX: BTOU) | N.M. | -20.2% |
| Hospitality / Lodging REITs | ||
| CapitaLand Ascott Trust (SGX: HMN) | 6.4% | +17.5% |
| Far East Hospitality Trust (SGX: Q5T) | 6.3% | +7.6% |
| CDL Hospitality Trusts (SGX: J85) | 5.7% | +3.0% |
| Acrophyte Hospitality Trust (SGX: XZL) | 4.9% | +37.1% |
| Healthcare REITs | ||
| Parkway Life REIT (SGX: C2PU) | 3.7% | +11.5% |
| First REIT (SGX: AW9U) | 7.9% | +17.3% |
| Data Centre REITs | ||
| Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) | 4.6% | +6.4% |
| Digital Core REIT (SGX: DCRU) | 7.1% | -6.2% |
Source: SGX Q4 2025 S-REITs & Property Trusts chartbook
Top 3 Best-Performing S-REITs in FY2025
#1. Alpha Integrated REIT (+44.7%)
#2. Acrophyte Hospitality Trust (+37.1%)
#3. OUE REIT (+35.9%)
Alpha Integrated REIT, formerly Sabana Industrial REIT, was the standout performer in FY2025, delivering an impressive total return of 44.7% over the year. The REIT owns a portfolio of 18 industrial properties in Singapore, anchored by New Tech Park at Lorong Chuan, and its rebranding to Alpha Integrated REIT was emblematic of a broader strategic repositioning that the market rewarded throughout the year.
In second spot was Acrophyte Hospitality Trust, formerly ARA US Hospitality Trust, which delivered a total return of 37.1% in FY2025. The trust owns a portfolio of upscale select-service hotels in the United States under the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands, and its performance reflected the broader recovery in US business and leisure travel through the year.
Rounding out the top three was OUE REIT, a Singapore-focused office and hospitality REIT, which delivered a total return of 35.9% in FY2025. Much of the gain was underpinned by a sharp improvement in its financials as financing costs fell.
Read More: How Much Dividends Do Stocks In The STI ETF Pay Out Each Year?
3 Worst-Performing S-REITs In 2025
#1. Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (-31.5%)
#2. Manulife US REIT (-20.2%)
#3. Digital Core REIT (-6.2%)
Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust was the worst-performing S-REIT of FY2025 by a considerable margin, delivering a total return of -31.5% over the year. The trust owns retail malls in Indonesia, and it has been one of the most persistently challenged names in the S-REIT universe for several years. The trust’s Indonesian assets face competition from e-commerce, while its lease structures have come under continued pressure.
In second place was Manulife US REIT continued its difficult stretch in FY2025, delivering a total return of -20.2% over the year. The REIT owns office properties in the US, a market that has experienced structurally elevated vacancy rates as remote and hybrid work has permanently reduced office demand in many cities. A partial divestment programme has been underway, but the fundamental challenge of selling US office assets into a weak buyer market has constrained progress.
Rounding out the worst three was Digital Core REIT, the only data centre REIT to deliver a negative return in FY2025, finishing the year down 6.2%. The trust’s portfolio of 11 data centres across the US, Germany, Japan, and Canada maintained a high occupancy rate of 98%. The drag on unit price was more financial than operational: its US-dollar-denominated structure and overseas-heavy portfolio made it more sensitive to currency movements and refinancing uncertainty than domestically-focused peers, such as Keppel DC REIT.
Read Also: What Falling SORA Could Mean For Home Loans, T-Bills And S-REITs In Singapore
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