ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 27, 2000 — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), "The Monthly Dividend Company," (NYSE: O) today announced operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2000.

SUMMARY OF FIRST QUARTER ACTIVITIES:

• The monthly dividend was increased, for the tenth consecutive quarter, to $0.1813 per share or $2.175 on an annualized basis
• Funds from Operations (FFO) increased 3.1% to $16.5 million
• Funds from Operations per common share increased 3.3% to $0.62
• Revenue increased 18.3% to $28.4 million
• Realty Income repurchased 123,200 shares of its securities for $2.5 million (through April 26, 2000).

FFO is a widely used measure of REIT performance that excludes gains or losses on the sale of assets and non-cash charges for depreciation of real estate assets. FFO is one measure of a company's cash flow and of its ability to pay dividends.

Net Income Available to Common Stockholders for the Quarter ended 3/31/2000
Net income available to common stockholders for the quarter increased 6.1% to $10.5 million as compared to $9.9 million for the same quarter in 1999. On a diluted per common share basis, net income available to common stockholders increased 5.4% to $0.39 per share as compared to $0.37 per share for the same period in 1999.

Revenue Increases for the Quarter ended 3/31/00
Realty Income's total revenue, for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, increased 18.3% to $28.4 million as compared to $24.0 million for the same period in 1999. The Company's portfolio of quality retail real estate owned under 10-20 year net leases continues to perform well and provide dependable lease revenue supporting the payment of monthly dividends.

Same store rents on the 923 properties leased during both the three months ended March 31, 2000 and 1999, increased 1.4% to $23.34 million compared to $23.02 million in 1999.

Sources and Uses of Funds for Investment during First Quarter, 2000
Realty Income primarily utilized excess cash flow, after the payment of dividends, to repurchase shares of the Company's securities. The Company also utilized borrowings under its acquisition credit facility to acquire properties during the quarter. Total investments in new properties and share repurchases were $9.6 million.

Property Acquisitions and Dispositions
Through March 31, 2000, the Company had invested $8.7 million in two new properties and properties under development with an initial contractual lease yield of 10.7%. The new properties are 100% leased with an initial average lease length of 15.0 years. The Company's portfolio of retail properties now consists of 1,077 properties located in 45 states, leased to 72 retail chains doing business in 23 different retail industries.

During the quarter, Realty Income also began to focus on harvesting its real estate assets with an eye toward generating additional capital for investment or enhancing the credit quality of its real estate portfolio. Through March 31, 2000 Realty Income sold one property for $1.4 million and identified approximately $42.9 million in properties to be offered for sale with the proceeds to be reinvested into additional properties during the second and third quarters of 2000.

Share Repurchase Activity
In January 2000 Realty Income announced a $10 million securities buyback program. Pursuant to that announcement, through March 31, 2000, the Company had repurchased 32,300 shares of common stock at an average price of $20.90, and 14,300 shares of is Class B preferred stock at an average price of $19.27, for a total investment of $950,500. Through April 26, 2000, the Company had invested a total of $2.5 million in the repurchase of 123,200 shares of Realty Income securities.

Dividend Information
During the quarter, Realty Income announced the tenth consecutive quarterly increase in the amount of the monthly dividend on shares of its common stock. The amount of the dividend was increased to $0.1813 per share from $0.1800 for an annualized dividend of $2.175 per share. The Company also paid three monthly dividends totaling $0.54 per common share during the quarter.

Realty Income also paid three monthly dividends totaling $0.5937 per share on its Class C preferred stock and one quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.5859 per share on its Class B preferred stock.

Commenting on the Company's activities, Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Officer, stated,

"We are pleased with the progress we have made during the first quarter of 2000. We have initiated a number of plans to provide for sources of investment capital during the year, as well as providing for the continued growth of your company. In addition to managing a billion dollar real estate portfolio generating sizeable lease revenue, we have implemented asset disposition, share repurchase and subsidiary task force programs focused on uncovering new business opportunities that should afford new investment capital and new sources of cash flow on an ongoing basis. During 2000 we anticipate increases in funds from operations, similar to 1999 levels, that should be achieved through a combination of rental increases, share repurchases and incremental increases in revenue from the addition of new retail properties. We also anticipate modest growth in the size of our real estate portfolio during the year and plan to utilize proceeds from asset sales to fund acquisitions. Toward that end, we have identified a number of properties that fit our criteria for property sales and plan to make progress in this area throughout the year."

Other Activities
Crest Net Lease, Inc., a subsidiary focused on marketing net-leased investments for sale, was formed in January 2000. Realty Income invested $2.8 million in this company to fund investing opportunities and operating costs. Crest Net Lease began actively pursuing properties for investment during the first quarter. Through March 31, 2000 Crest Net Lease had invested $3.1 million in real estate to be marketed for sale. Crest Net Lease has also made commitments to invest an additional $16.2 million for the purchase of several other retail properties that will also be actively marketed during 2000.

Forward-Looking Statement
Statements in this press release, which are not strictly historical, are "forward-looking" statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the Company's actual results in the future to differ materially from expected results. These risks include, among others, the profitability of the Company's subsidiary, Crest Net Lease, general economic conditions, local real estate conditions, and the availability of capital to finance planned growth, as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, such forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as reflections of the Company's current operating plans and estimates. Actual operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in this press release.

Realty Income is "The Monthly Dividend Company," a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The monthly dividend is supported by the cash flows from 1,077 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.

Note to Editors:
Realty Income press releases are available at no charge by calling our toll-free investor hotline number: 888-811-2001, or through the internet at http://www.realtyincome.com.

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Statements of Income For the three months ended March 31, 2000 and 1999 (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

	2000	1999
REVENUE
Rental	$ 28,330	$ 23,948
Loss from unconsolidated subsidiary	(70)	--
Other revenue from unconsolidated subsidiary	36	--
Interest and other	59	38
	28,355	23,986
EXPENSES
Depreciation and amortization	6,748	6,090
Interest	7,158	5,880
General and administrative	1,684	1,646
Property	515	441
	16,105	14,057
Income from operations	12,250	9,929
Gain on sales of property	662	--
Net Income	12,912	9,929
Preferred stock dividends	(2,428)	--
Net income available to common stockholders	$ 10,484	$ 9,929
Basic and diluted per share information for common stockholders:
Income from operations	$ 0.37	$ 0.37
Net income	0.39	0.37
Funds from operations (FFO)	0.62	0.60
Cash dividends paid	0.54	0.51
Weighted average number of shares used for:
Basic per share computation	26,815,391	26,822,382
Diluted per share computation	26,816,928	26,825,412

FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS For the three months ended March 31, 2000 and 1999 (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

	2000	1999
Net income available to common stockholders	$ 10,484	$ 9,929
Plus depreciation and amortization	$ 6,748	$ 6,090
Less:
Depreciation of furniture, fixtures and equipment	(33)	(21)
Gain on sale of property	(662)	--
Funds from operations	$ 16,537	$ 15,998
Distributions paid to common stockholders	$ 14,484	$ 13,679
FFO in excess of distributions	$ 2,053	$ 2,319

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS For the three months ended March 31, 2000 and 1999 (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

	2000	1999
ASSETS
Real estate, at cost:
Land	$ 351,708	$ 350,517
Building and improvements	718,416	711,962
	1,070,124	1,062,479
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(201,520)	(195,386)
Net real estate	868,604	867,093
Investment in unconsolidated subsidiary	2,780	--
Cash and cash equivalents	2,103	773
Accounts receivable	3,180	3,407
Goodwill, net	18,822	19,053
Other assets	15,403	15,078
Due from affiliates	829	--
Total assets	$ 911,721	$ 905,404
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Distributions payable	$ 4,856	$ 4,828
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	6,206	12,792
Other liabilities	3,841	3,753
Lines of credit payable	136,900	119,200
Notes payable	230,000	230,000
Total liabilities	381,803	370,573
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock and paid in capital, par value
$1.00 per share, 20,000,000    shares authorized, 4,125,700 and 4,140,000     shares issued and outstanding in 2000     and 1999, respectively	99,403	99,679
Common stock and paid in capital, par value
$1.00 per share, 100,000,000    shares authorized, 26,793,470 and    26,822,164 shares issued and outstanding    in 2000 and 1999, respectively	636,002	636,611
Distributions in excess of net income	(205,487)	(201,459)
Total stockholders' equity	529,918	534,831
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 911,721	$ 905,404

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our properties classified according to the business of the respective tenants (dollars in thousands):

Annualized(1) Rent
(As of March 31, 2000)
Industry	Rental Revenue	Percentage of Total	Percentage of Total Revenue
			1999	1998	1997
Apparel Stores	$2,799	2.4%	3.8%	4.1%	0.7%
Automotive Parts	10,107	8.6	8.6	7.8	9.1
Automotive Service	6,645	5.7	6.6	7.5	6.4
Book Stores	450	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.5
Business Services	124	0.1	0.1	*	--
Child Care	28,323	24.2	25.3	29.2	35.9
Consumer Electronics	5,717	4.9	4.4	5.4	6.5
Convenience Stores	9,815	8.4	7.2	6.1	5.5
Crafts & Novelties	425	0.4	0.4	*	--
Drug Stores	235	0.2	0.2	0.1	--
Entertainment	2,293	2.0	1.2	--	--
General Merchandise	687	0.6	0.6	*	--
Grocery Stores	719	0.6	0.5	*	--
Health & Fitness	3,966	3.4	0.6	0.1	--
Home Furnishings	6,085	5.2	6.5	7.8	5.6
Home Improvement	4,274	3.6	3.6	*	--
Office Supplies	2,476	2.1	2.6	3.0	1.7
Pet Supplies & Services	1,673	1.4	1.1	0.6	0.2
Private Education	1,695	1.4	1.2	0.9	--
Restaurants	14,349	12.2	13.3	16.2	19.8
Shoe Stores	890	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.2
Theaters	2,406	2.1	0.6	--	--
Video Rental	4,510	3.8	4.3	3.8	0.6
Other	6,501	5.5	5.7	6.0	7.3
Totals	$117,164	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

* Less than 0.1%

(1) Annualized Rent is calculated by multiplying the monthly contractual base rent as of March 31, 2000 for each of the properties by 12, and adding the previous twelve month's historic percentage rent, which totaled $1.7 million, (i.e., additional rent calculated as a percentage of the tenant's gross sales above a specified level). For the properties under construction, an estimated contractual base rent is used based upon the estimated total costs of each property.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our properties as of March 31, 2000, classified according to the retail business types and the level of services they provide (dollars in thousands):