When markets turn volatile and investors start getting nervous, there's a predictable flight to safety. And for many people, that safety comes in the form of dividend-yielding stocks. These are typically companies sitting on substantial free cash flows who choose to share the wealth with shareholders rather than hoarding every penny.
The real estate sector has always been a natural home for dividend seekers, and right now there are three names catching the attention of Wall Street's most accurate analysts. We're talking about companies offering yields well above 7%, which in today's environment is nothing to sneeze at.
Here's what the analysts with the best track records are saying about these high-yielding real estate plays.
RLJ Lodging Trust: An 8.25% Yield in the Hospitality Space
RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) is delivering the highest yield of the bunch at 8.25%, which reflects both the opportunity and the challenges facing hospitality-focused real estate investment trusts.
Gregory Miller from Truist Securities maintained a Hold rating on September 5, 2025, while bumping the price target from $7 to $8. Miller has built a solid 66% accuracy rate on his calls. Meanwhile, Austin Wurschmidt at Keybanc kept an Overweight rating but showed less optimism on March 24, 2025, slashing his price target from $14 down to $12. Wurschmidt's track record shows a 61% accuracy rate.
The divergence in price targets tells you something about the uncertainty surrounding lodging REITs right now. On November 5, RLJ reported mixed quarterly results, which probably didn't help clarify the picture for anyone trying to figure out where this stock is headed.
Easterly Government Properties: Betting on Uncle Sam as a Tenant
Easterly Government Properties Inc (DEA) comes in just slightly behind with an 8.23% dividend yield. The company specializes in properties leased to U.S. government agencies, which theoretically means you're dealing with one of the most reliable tenants imaginable.
Michael Lewis at Truist Securities maintained his Hold rating on November 24, 2025, though he trimmed the price target from $25 to $24. Lewis has proven himself with a 68% accuracy rate. Joe Dickstein from Jefferies took a more cautious stance on October 13, 2025, downgrading the stock from Buy to Hold and cutting his price target from $26 to $20. Dickstein also sports a strong 67% accuracy rate.
The interesting thing here is that despite the analyst caution, Easterly Government Properties actually posted upbeat quarterly results on October 27. Sometimes the market is forward-looking and sometimes analysts are pricing in concerns that haven't shown up in the numbers yet.
Highwoods Properties: Office Real Estate with Growth Moves
Highwoods Properties Inc (HIW) rounds out the trio with a 7.53% yield, the lowest of the three but still substantially higher than what you'd find in many other sectors.
Joe Dickstein from Jefferies downgraded this one too on October 13, 2025, moving from Buy to Hold and slashing the price target from $34 to $30. His 67% accuracy rate gives that call some weight. Michael Lewis at Truist Securities maintained a Hold rating on September 3, 2025, but showed a bit more optimism by raising his price target from $32 to $33. With a 68% accuracy rate, Lewis has earned the right to be heard.
What's notable about Highwoods is that the company isn't just sitting around collecting rent. On November 17, the company announced it's acquiring 6Hundred at Legacy Union in Charlotte's Uptown CBD for a total expected investment of $223 million. That's a significant acquisition that signals management's confidence in strategic growth, even as office real estate continues to face questions about long-term demand.
The Big Picture on High-Yield Real Estate
What ties these three stocks together is that they're all offering meaningful income to shareholders at a time when that income looks increasingly attractive. But the analyst ratings tell you something important: high yields often come with high uncertainty. You're being compensated for taking on risk, whether that's exposure to hospitality cycles, government budget politics, or the ongoing evolution of office space usage.
The analysts covering these stocks have proven track records, with accuracy rates consistently in the 60% to 68% range. That's not perfect, but it's significantly better than random chance, and it means their views deserve consideration. The fact that most of these analysts are maintaining Hold ratings or have recently downgraded suggests a cautious approach is warranted, even as those dividend yields continue to look tempting.
For investors chasing yield in today's market, these three real estate stocks represent interesting opportunities. Just remember that dividends are only valuable if the company can sustain them, and that requires looking beyond the yield percentage to understand the underlying business fundamentals and what the smartest analysts on Wall Street are actually saying about the path forward.