Why does a 7.3% cap rate become only 4.0% in my hand?

Three layers of leakage: the asset earns 7.3% on property value; the REIT retains part for operations, reserves and growth, so the dividend yield is about 5.7% on the share price; and cross-border withholding takes 30% of that, leaving about 4.0%. Every layer has a legitimate reason, but marketing prints only the first. This site's rule: headlines use the in-hand figure for the reader's own jurisdiction.

Against US self-storage (entry No. 10), how do I choose?

Self-storage is an operating asset (graded cap rates of 5–6.9%, returns driven by operations and revenue management); net lease is a credit asset (returns driven by tenant creditworthiness and lease terms). The former has a higher ceiling and a lower floor; the latter's cash flow is bond-shaped while its price is equity-shaped. Singapore readers must take the same 30% cut from both before comparing.

Cap rates are still widening — should I wait?

Widening means the same rent gets cheaper tomorrow; for buyers without timing pressure, staged slow buying is the discipline. This site gives no timing call, only the directional fact: ADC's acquisition cap rate moved from 7.2% to 7.3% within a year, and the company is actively pruning lower-yield opportunities. Letting sellers finish the repricing is the correct posture in this sector today.

Opportunity rank #52 (cash-flow board) · United States

US single-tenant net-lease retail (listed route): asset cap rates of 7.3%, about 4.0% in hand for Singaporeans — a 30% withholding sits between

Our take: Do, with conditions

7.3% US net-lease REIT asset-level initial cash yield (filing basis) · Verified · Data as of: 2026-02-24

Composite-board score: 6.8 · Where it is strong: Net cash flow, Stability & rule of law · methodology

Data updated: 2026-11-08

This site prints the two numbers separately, because printing them merged is this category's marketing method. At the asset layer, net-lease REITs' acquisition cap rates are filing-grade hard numbers: Realty Income invested US$6.3bn in FY2025 at a 7.3% initial weighted-average cash yield (occupancy about 98.6%, rent recapture of 104.9% on renewals), and Agree Realty's acquisition cap rate moved from 7.2% to 7.3% with an 11.5-year weighted-average lease term and about two-thirds of rent from investment-grade tenants. At the shareholder layer, Realty Income's annualised dividend of US$3.240 makes a dividend yield of about 5.7% at a US$56–57 share price — and then comes the decisive cut for Singapore readers: Singapore has no income-tax treaty with the United States, so the 30% dividend withholding has no relief at all, leaving about 4.0% in hand (this site's computation). 7.3%, 5.7% and 4.0% are three layers of truth about the same investment, and omitting any layer is misleading. Verdict: do, on conditions — price it on the 4.0% in-hand basis, not the 7.3% headline, and think through three structural facts: cap rates are still drifting wider (no urgency to buy), long leases with low escalators erode real returns when inflation rises, and single-tenant retail's tenant-category risk (pharmacies, discount retail) surfaces at portfolio level only as leases roll. The channel itself is among the lightest on this site: NYSE shares, any amount, no approvals, no property burdens.

In short: four lines first

What it costs to get in

Listed shares, any amount

Roughly what it earns

7.3%（US net-lease REIT asset-level initial cash yield (filing basis)）

How much work for you

Very hands-off (listed route)

The biggest catch

The numbers that matter

US net-lease REIT asset-level initial cash yield (filing basis)

7.3%

Verified As of: 2026-02-24 Source: Realty Income (O) Q4/FY2025 results and supplemental (24 Feb 2026)

Why we think it makes money

The evidence grade is filing-grade: acquisition cap rates, WALTs, investment-grade shares and AFFO all come from company releases and supplementals — in the US section, its numbers sit in the first tier alongside self-storage.

The asset-layer business quality is real: 98.6% occupancy and 104.9% renewal recapture show tenants re-signing at higher rents — net lease's "long terms plus investment-grade tenants" is portfolio statistics, not a slogan.

It demonstrates this site's three-layer discipline: asset cap rate is not REIT dividend yield is not cross-border in-hand — the India InvIT's return of capital, CPNREIT's principal mixing and this entry's treaty-less withholding are the same lesson in different dialects.

How to actually get in

Listed route: buy net-lease REITs (such as Realty Income or Agree Realty — named for basis only, not recommended) or sector ETFs through any broker with US access, at any amount. Handle the standard tax forms (W-8BEN) and estate-tax exposure case by case with advice.

What it costs, what it earns

Entry amount: Listed shares, any amount
How much work for you: Very hands-off (listed route)

Costs & taxes, item by item:

Dividend withholding of 30% with no treaty relief: the largest line, structural and unoptimisable (switching holding vehicles introduces new costs — compute case by case).
Share-price sensitivity to long-end rates: stable distributions are not stable total returns.

Basis: this site uses full-cost net returns only — income minus vacancy, management, maintenance, taxes and insurance, then financing interest, with entry costs in the denominator. See the methodology。

Identity & tax

Status (residency / citizenship)

美国 EB-5（区域中心预留类别）/ 行政令金卡

This asset does not count toward the channel This asset leads to no status

Threshold: EB-5 乡村 TEA 800,000 美元起

在美国买物业或买生意本身不产生任何身份：EB-5 是独立的移民投资通道（且本站只讲项目机制、不指向具体项目）；普通房产、REIT 与小生意都不计入。另注意：绿卡 = 全球征税，身份与税务在本站的美国条目里永远成对出现。

Source: 美国移民局（USCIS）EB-5 项目页；Visa Bulletin

Tax (investor level)

外国房东的租金收入属美国来源 ECI：可选择按净额计税，否则按总租金 30% 预提；退出受 FIRPTA 约束。

净租赁租金对外国房东一般构成与美国贸易或业务有效关联的收入（ECI）：作出净额计税选择后按累进税率就净租金纳税并申报；不作选择则按总租金 30% 预提。州税另计。
出售美国不动产权益适用 FIRPTA：买方预提、卖方按资本利得申报，多退少补。
经营路线另有实体、雇佣与销售税问题，且非居民业主一般不能使用 SBA 贷款——本条目的外国可投路线以净租赁物业为限。

Double-tax treaties: 美国与新加坡没有全面所得税协定：新加坡居民的美国来源租金与股息预提无协定减免（股息 30%）；有协定国居民按各自协定。

Source: 美国国税局（IRS）FIRPTA 与 ECI 指引

This section is general information only — not immigration or tax advice. Program rules change frequently; before acting, rely on the official texts and a licensed adviser.

Risks: what could go wrong

The 30% withholding is a hard leak: for a Singapore individual, the same REIT pays 30% less dividend than to a US holder — before comparing any US dividend asset, take this cut first and compare afterwards. Every yield in this site's US entries requires the reader to perform this step. If these happen, our take changes: If Singapore and the US conclude an income-tax treaty (no negotiations are under way), the in-hand basis is recomputed.

Tenant categories are the slow variable: pharmacies and discount retail — core single-tenant categories — are under pressure, and portfolio occupancy reveals it only as leases expire; watch renewal recapture (currently 104.9%) and the investment-grade share's drift more than the current dividend yield. If these happen, our take changes: If renewal recapture falls below 100% (filing basis), the asset-quality judgment is downgraded.

Inflation erosion inside long leases: 10–15-year terms with low fixed escalators mean real rents shrink in inflationary periods — the widening cap rates are precisely the market repricing this, and buyers should be content to let the repricing run further before entering. If these happen, our take changes: None (pricing discipline).

What we have not verified yet

The following key figures have not yet been verified; the reason is noted for each item.

The roughly 4.0% in-hand figure is this site's computation from the dividend yield and 30% withholding: actual outcomes follow personal tax status and broker withholding; other holding vehicles produce different tax results and need case advice.
Sector ETF fees and composition: check per product; this page gives no individual product figures.

FAQ

Why does a 7.3% cap rate become only 4.0% in my hand?: Three layers of leakage: the asset earns 7.3% on property value; the REIT retains part for operations, reserves and growth, so the dividend yield is about 5.7% on the share price; and cross-border withholding takes 30% of that, leaving about 4.0%. Every layer has a legitimate reason, but marketing prints only the first. This site's rule: headlines use the in-hand figure for the reader's own jurisdiction.
Against US self-storage (entry No. 10), how do I choose?: Self-storage is an operating asset (graded cap rates of 5–6.9%, returns driven by operations and revenue management); net lease is a credit asset (returns driven by tenant creditworthiness and lease terms). The former has a higher ceiling and a lower floor; the latter's cash flow is bond-shaped while its price is equity-shaped. Singapore readers must take the same 30% cut from both before comparing.
Cap rates are still widening — should I wait?: Widening means the same rent gets cheaper tomorrow; for buyers without timing pressure, staged slow buying is the discipline. This site gives no timing call, only the directional fact: ADC's acquisition cap rate moved from 7.2% to 7.3% within a year, and the company is actively pruning lower-yield opportunities. Letting sellers finish the repricing is the correct posture in this sector today.

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Data dates are marked per metric; page updated 2026-11-08. This site publishes information and is not investment advice; the corrections channel is in the Disclaimer。