ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, March 15, 2001 — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), "The Monthly Dividend Company," (NYSE:O) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the Company's common stock monthly dividend to $0.18625 per share from $0.185 per share. This is the 14th consecutive quarter in which the Company has increased the amount of the monthly dividend. The dividend is payable on April 16, 2001 to shareholders of record as of April 2, 2001. The new monthly dividend amount represents an annualized rate of $2.235 per share. The Company continues its long-term policy of declaring common stock dividends on a monthly, as opposed to a quarterly, basis.

Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income commented, "We are very pleased to have been able to increase the amount of the monthly dividend again this quarter. Our goal continues to be to produce consistent performance results for our shareholders, and increasing the dividend on a regular basis is the best evidence we can provide of our progress towards this goal."

Realty Income, "The Monthly Dividend Company," is a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The monthly income is supported by the cash flow from 1,062 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.