ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, May 02, 2001 — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), "The Monthly Dividend Company," (NYSE: O) today announced that a public offering of 2,850,000 shares of the Company's common stock has been priced at $27.80 per share and is expected to close on May 7, 2001. All of the shares are being sold by the Company. A copy of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from the following managing underwriters: Merrill Lynch & Co. (book running manager), Salomon Smith Barney, Credit Suisse First Boston, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., First Union Securities, Inc., and Tucker Anthony Sutro Capital Markets.

The proceeds from this offering will be used to repay a portion of the amount outstanding on the Company's $200 million unsecured acquisition credit facility and for other general corporate purposes.

Commenting on the offering, Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are pleased to have been able to access the capital markets with this offering of common stock. The timing of the offering, when many shareholders are seeking income investments and attractive yields, resulted in strong demand for our shares. The additional capital will allow us to continue to increase the size of our real estate portfolio and the revenues supporting the payment of monthly dividends."

The shares of common stock will be issued pursuant to a Registration Statement that has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares are only offered by means of the prospectus included in the Registration Statement and the prospectus supplement related to this offering. 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 offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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 1,061 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.