I
nvesting in real estate can be an excellent way to generate passive income, and the good news is that you don't need a lot of money to get started. While buying a rental property can be expensive, other real estate investments have lower initial costs.

    Real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer some of the lowest investment minimums. For example, it costs less than $60 to buy a share of Realty Income or W.P. Carey, which both offer attractive passive income streams. You can buy more shares as you have additional cash to invest, slowly building your passive dividend income.

    Realty Income is one of the largest REITs in the world, owning over 15,000 properties across the US and Europe. Its diversified portfolio features retail, industrial, gaming, and other properties, with a focus on net leases that provide stable rental income. The company's net leases require tenants to cover all property operating expenses, including routine maintenance, real estate taxes, and building insurance.

    At its current stock price of around $57 per share, Realty Income offers a 5.5% dividend yield. This means you'd collect about $3.16 in dividend income each year from one share. A $1,000 investment would produce around $55 in dividend income annually.

    Realty Income has steadily increased its dividend over the years, raising it 127 times since going public in 1994. The company is on track to invest $3.5 billion in acquiring new properties this year and has already bought fellow REIT Spirit Realty for $9.3 billion.

    W.P. Carey is another large REIT focused on net lease real estate, with a diversified portfolio of high-quality properties that are operationally critical to its tenants. Its stock price is also around $57 per share, offering a 6.1% dividend yield and quarterly dividends of $0.875 per share. The company has been rebuilding its portfolio and shareholder payout after selling or spinning off its office properties last year.

    W.P. Carey has completed nearly $1 billion in new property investments this year and has more than $500 million in additional deals in the pipeline. It expects to continue raising its dividend as it adds more properties to its portfolio and grows its rental income.