While much attention often falls on the sector's larger players, a trio of smaller Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts is standing out this September by rewarding unitholders with increased payouts.

Each of these trusts successfully delivered year-on-year growth in distributions per unit for the first half of 2026.

An increasing distribution is certainly a welcome outcome for investors.

However, the more pressing question is whether such performance can be sustained in the coming periods.

A Diversified Landlord with Strong Hospitality Momentum

OUE REIT (SGX: TS0U) manages a varied portfolio that includes six office, hospitality, and retail assets in Singapore alongside a commercial property in Sydney.

Its unitholders received their latest payouts on 3 September 2026.

The trust’s DPU for 1H2026 jumped 28.6% to S$0.0126, a growth rate that easily surpassed the other trusts featured here.

This impressive performance was fuelled by a robust rebound in the hospitality sector, where segment net property income rose 12.3% to S$45.1 million, helped by a 10.7% climb in revenue per available room to S$258.

Additionally, finance costs were trimmed by 16.6% to S$37.8 million, and contributions from joint ventures grew by 30.6% to S$8.2 million.

The acquisition of a 19.9% interest in Sydney’s Salesforce Tower in March 2026 also contributed S$2.2 million via its share of associate results.

On the operational front, occupancy at its Singapore office assets eased slightly to 91.5%, a dip of 3.7 percentage points from the previous quarter, while Mandarin Gallery maintained a healthy 94.7% occupancy with a positive rental reversion of 5.6% for the second quarter.

The Sydney property continues to be fully leased, and aggregate leverage stood at 41.5% at the end of the period.

Looking forward, the manager has proposed the divestment of Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for S$500 million, a move announced in late June.

If unitholders give their approval, this sale could lead to a special distribution of S$20.0 million, separate from the usual operational payouts.

An Outlet Retailer with Record Sales

Sasseur REIT (SGX: CRPU) owns four outlet mall properties located in the Chinese cities of Chongqing, Hefei, and Kunming.

Unitholders are set to receive their 1H2026 distribution on 24 September 2026.

DPU advanced 10.2% year on year to S$0.03366, even as the manager opted to retain 10% of distributable income.

This growth was underpinned by a record first-half outlet sales performance of RMB 2.3 billion, which was up 7.4% year on year, alongside a 20.7% surge in footfall to 9.8 million visitors.

Distinct from most of its peers, Sasseur REIT operates under an Entrusted Management Agreement structure instead of collecting traditional net property income.

Under this arrangement, EMA rental income grew 4.3% year on year to RMB 350.7 million.

Converted into Singapore dollars, this translated to a 6.8% increase to S$65.4 million, aided by a stronger yuan against the Singapore dollar.

Its balance sheet is notably lean, with aggregate leverage at just 25.6%, providing about S$865 million in debt headroom and giving it one of the lowest gearing ratios among S-REITs.

The weighted average cost of debt fell to a record low of 3.7%, down from 4.4% at the end of 2025, and the manager has successfully extended its onshore loan tenor out to 2031.

As all borrowings are denominated in RMB, the trust enjoys a natural currency hedge against fluctuations.

Operationally, portfolio occupancy remained robust at 97.2%, although specific rental reversion figures were not released.

At its Hefei outlet, the manager is repurposing a former cinema space, with 11 of 13 new units already pre-committed.

A broader brand clustering initiative is anticipated to launch from the third quarter of 2026.

US-Focused Portfolio with Solid Occupancy

United Hampshire US REIT (SGX: ODBU), or UHREIT, holds a collection of 21 grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail properties in the United States, along with two self-storage facilities.

The payout date for its unitholders is scheduled for 28 September 2026.

DPU edged up 3.4% year on year to US$0.0216 for 1H2026.

Distributable income itself grew at a faster clip of 5.8% to US$13.7 million, with slight dilution stemming from an expanded unit base.

Total units issued increased to 608.2 million as of 30 June 2026, up from 596.9 million a year earlier, due to issuances from its distribution reinvestment plan and payments of manager performance fees.

Net property income ticked up 6.4% year on year to US$25.5 million, while gross revenue expanded 5.8% to US$37.8 million.

Occupancy for its grocery and necessity assets stood at a solid 97.6%, while self-storage occupancy jumped 430 basis points to 93.5%.

During the period, the manager retained 90% of expiring tenants and signed over 260,000 square feet of new and renewal leases.

Growth was driven by fresh leases, built-in rent escalations, and initial contributions from its Dover Marketplace and Wallingford Fair properties.

The latter was acquired in Connecticut in January 2026 for US$21.4 million, representing an 8.2% discount to its independent valuation.

It is worth noting that UHREIT reports its figures and pays out its distributions entirely in US dollars.