ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, February 24, 2004—Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), The Monthly Dividend Company®, (NYSE:O) today announced it has filed a shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the periodic issuance of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, with a total offering amount of up to $800 million. The shelf registration allows Realty Income to register a variety of securities without specifying the amount or type of securities it plans to issue. Any offering of these securities would be made solely by Realty Income and would represent new financing for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, property acquisitions and the repayment of the Company's acquisition credit facility.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but has yet to become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities law of the state.

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. To date the Company has paid 402 consecutive monthly dividend payments throughout its 35-year operating history. The monthly income is supported by the cash flow from over 1,400 retail properties owned under long-term lease agreements with leading regional and national retail chains. The Company is an active buyer of net-leased retail properties nationwide.

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