How often does VNQ pay dividends?

VNQ currently distributes every quarter, based on its recent payment history. Its most recent ex-dividend date was Sep 23, 2026 at $0.8046 per share.

When is VNQ's next ex-dividend date?

Based on its recent schedule, VNQ's next ex-dividend date is estimated around Dec 24, 2026. This is an estimate. The fund's announcement sets the actual dates.

What is VNQ's dividend yield?

Over the trailing 12 months, VNQ paid $3.41 per share, a trailing 12-month yield of 3.8% at the current share price. The recent payout yield, from the latest payments annualized, is 3.8%. The two yields differ when recent payments are larger or smaller than a year ago.

What is VNQ's total return with dividends reinvested?

A $10,000 investment in VNQ on Sep 27, 2021 would be worth about $10,638 on Sep 28, 2026 with all distributions reinvested (+6.4%). Share price alone moved -12.4% over the same period.

What kinds of real estate companies does VNQ hold?

As of June 30, 2026, the fact sheet groups VNQ's common stock into subindustries that include health care, retail, industrial, data center, telecom tower, multi-family residential, self-storage, single-family residential, and hotel and resort REITs, plus real estate services companies.

The Vanguard Group advises the fund through its wholly owned subsidiary, Vanguard Portfolio Management, which handles portfolio management. Gerard C. O'Reilly has managed Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund since its inception in 1996, co-managing it since 2016. Chris Nieves and Jena Stenger have co-managed the fund since 2025.

How are VNQ distributions taxed?

The summary prospectus says the fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. Special tax rules apply when the shares are held in a tax-advantaged account such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan.

What makes up VNQ's expense ratio?

The prospectus fee table lists total annual fund operating expenses of 0.13%. Management fees are 0.11%. Other expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses add 0.01% each, and there is no 12b-1 distribution fee.

When did VNQ start paying distributions?

The earliest distribution in Dividend Stacker's record has an ex-dividend date of December 22, 2004. The ETF share class's inception date is September 23, 2004.

Vanguard ETF

VNQ Dividend: Next Ex-Date, History & Total Return

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Price: $90.59
Trailing 12-month yield: 3.8%
Recent payout yield: 3.8%
Next ex-date: Dec 24, 2026; Estimated

52-week range $87.00–$100.95 · -0.5% over 12 months · Data as of Sep 29, 2026

Next VNQ Dividend

EstimatedQuarterly payer

Estimated next ex-dividend date

Dec 24, 2026

Estimated pay date

—

Estimated amount per share

$0.8300

Estimated from VNQ's recent distribution schedule (last actual ex-date: Sep 23, 2026 at $0.8046/share). Amounts vary each period — confirm with the fund's official announcement.

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VNQ Dividend History

88 distributions since Dec 22, 2004 · trailing 12-month total $3.41/share (3.8% of current price)

Ex-dividend date	Pay date	Amount per share
Sep 23, 2026	—	$0.8046
Jun 24, 2026	—	$0.8554
Mar 24, 2026	—	$0.9457
Dec 22, 2025	—	$0.8005
Sep 24, 2025	—	$0.8716
Jun 26, 2025	—	$0.8678
Mar 25, 2025	—	$0.9319
Dec 23, 2024	—	$0.8555
Sep 27, 2024	—	$0.8128
Jun 28, 2024	—	$1.03
Mar 22, 2024	—	$0.7324
Dec 21, 2023	—	$1.07

Total distributions by year

2026 (3 payments)

$2.61/share

2025 (4 payments)

$3.47/share

2024 (4 payments)

$3.43/share

2023 (4 payments)

$3.49/share

2022 (4 payments)

$3.23/share

2021 (4 payments)

$2.97/share

2020 (4 payments)

$3.33/share

2019 (4 payments)

$3.14/share

2018 (4 payments)

$3.53/share

2017 (4 payments)

$3.51/share

2016 (4 payments)

$3.98/share

2015 (4 payments)

$3.12/share

2014 (4 payments)

$2.92/share

2013 (4 payments)

$2.79/share

2012 (4 payments)

$2.34/share

2011 (4 payments)

$2.05/share

2010 (4 payments)

$1.89/share

2009 (4 payments)

$1.96/share

2008 (4 payments)

$3.00/share

2007 (4 payments)

$3.11/share

2006 (4 payments)

$3.25/share

2005 (4 payments)

$3.56/share

2004 (1 payments)

$1.27/share

Amounts are adjusted for any share splits or reverse splits, so payments before a split can differ from the amounts the fund announced at the time.

If You Invested $10,000 in VNQ

Sep 27, 2021 to Sep 28, 2026, using actual prices and distributions

Show cash-dividend line

End value with DRIP

$10,638

+6.4%

End value, dividends as cash

$10,431

+4.3% · $1,671 cash collected

Share price alone

-12.4%

excluding all dividends

Annualized (DRIP)

+1.2%

over 5.0 years

Historical performance. Reinvestment modeled at the closing price on the first trading day on or after each ex-dividend date. Past results do not predict future returns.

VNQ Income Goal Calculator

How much you would need invested today to reach a monthly income target, at the trailing 12-month payout rate

Target monthly income

Investment needed

$159,574

Shares needed

1,762

at $90.59

Effective yield used

3.8%

trailing 12 months

Based on the trailing 12-month distributions per share. Future distributions can be higher or lower; this is not a guarantee of income.

About VNQ

Seeks a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation by tracking an index of publicly traded equity REITs and other real estate-related investments.

Income: Dividends from REITs and other real estate stocks

Underlying: MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index
Expense ratio: 0.13%
Inception: Sep 23, 2004
Payout: quarterly

What VNQ Owns and How It Tracks Its Index

Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF Shares (VNQ) is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund, and it seeks to provide a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation. It uses an indexing approach designed to track the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index, made up of large, mid-size, and small U.S. real estate companies. Under normal circumstances, VNQ invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in the stocks of that index.¹

The index draws on the real estate sector as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), which is made up of equity real estate investment trusts (REITs), including specialized REITs, and real estate management and development companies. REITs do not have to pay income taxes if they meet certain Internal Revenue Code requirements. VNQ attempts to replicate the index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the index stocks, seeking to hold each in approximately the same proportion as its index weight. It pays distributions quarterly.^1,2

VNQ's Index History and Fund Structure

VNQ began tracking the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index as its target index on July 24, 2018, and that index has an inception date of September 1, 2016. As a comparison benchmark, the prospectus shows a Real Estate Spliced Index, which reflects the MSCI US REIT Index through February 1, 2018, the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Transition Index through July 24, 2018, and the 25/50 Index thereafter.¹

As a fundamental policy, VNQ concentrates its investments, meaning it invests more than 25% of its assets, in issuers whose principal business activities are in the real estate industry. It may hold index stocks directly or through a wholly owned subsidiary, the Underlying Real Estate Fund, a registered investment company in which it may invest a portion of its assets.¹

VNQ's Payment Record Since 2005

Dividend Stacker's record of past payments shows VNQ making 4 distributions in every completed calendar year from 2005 through 2025. The annual total was $3.56 per share in 2005. The record's per-share amounts are adjusted for any share splits.³

The steepest decline came in 2009, when the total fell 34.5% from 2008 to $1.96 per share. After a further 3.7% dip in 2010, the total rose every year from 2011 through 2016, and the largest annual increase in the record was 27.3% in 2016, which brought the total to $3.98.³

Since then the annual total has moved in both directions, with declines of 11.6% in 2017, 11.0% in 2019, 11.1% in 2021, and 1.7% in 2024. The 2025 total was $3.47 per share, up 1.1% from 2024.³

Key Risks of Owning VNQ

VNQ's heavy investment in real estate ties its performance to the general health of that sector. Property supply and demand, interest rates, economic conditions, and the strength of industries that rent properties are among the factors that can hurt these companies. Real estate companies may rely on leverage, which magnifies losses as well as returns.¹

Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the properties they own. Rising interest rates can make financing harder and costlier, which could restrict cash flows, and REIT stock prices overall may decline during those periods. Losing qualified REIT status with the IRS would hurt a REIT's overall returns.¹

VNQ is considered nondiversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in particular issuers than diversified funds, and relatively few securities or even a single one may hurt its performance. Its index also includes small- and mid-cap companies, which the prospectus says historically have typically been more volatile because of changing economic conditions.¹

Because VNQ generally seeks to track its index regardless of how the index is performing, its results may be lower than they would be under active management. Its performance may not match the index, and this tracking error risk may be heightened during volatile or other unusual market conditions.¹

VNQ shares trade on NYSE Arca at market prices, which may at times differ significantly from net asset value (NAV). Only a limited number of Authorized Participants can create or redeem shares with the fund, and they are not obligated to. If none step forward, the shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.¹

Sources

1. Summary prospectus (SEC Form 497K, filed 2026-05-28), VANGUARD SPECIALIZED FUNDS, accessed Sep 29, 2026
2. VNQ fact sheet, Vanguard, accessed Sep 29, 2026
3. VNQ distribution history, Dividend Stacker, accessed Sep 29, 2026

Written from the sources above and checked claim by claim against them. Last reviewed Sep 29, 2026. Figures that change, such as yield and price, appear in the live sections of this page.

VNQ Dividend FAQ

How often does VNQ pay dividends?: VNQ currently distributes every quarter, based on its recent payment history. Its most recent ex-dividend date was Sep 23, 2026 at $0.8046 per share.
When is VNQ's next ex-dividend date?: Based on its recent schedule, VNQ's next ex-dividend date is estimated around Dec 24, 2026. This is an estimate. The fund's announcement sets the actual dates.
What is VNQ's dividend yield?: Over the trailing 12 months, VNQ paid $3.41 per share, a trailing 12-month yield of 3.8% at the current share price. The recent payout yield, from the latest payments annualized, is 3.8%. The two yields differ when recent payments are larger or smaller than a year ago.
What is VNQ's total return with dividends reinvested?: A $10,000 investment in VNQ on Sep 27, 2021 would be worth about $10,638 on Sep 28, 2026 with all distributions reinvested (+6.4%). Share price alone moved -12.4% over the same period.
What kinds of real estate companies does VNQ hold?: As of June 30, 2026, the fact sheet groups VNQ's common stock into subindustries that include health care, retail, industrial, data center, telecom tower, multi-family residential, self-storage, single-family residential, and hotel and resort REITs, plus real estate services companies.
Who manages VNQ?: The Vanguard Group advises the fund through its wholly owned subsidiary, Vanguard Portfolio Management, which handles portfolio management. Gerard C. O'Reilly has managed Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund since its inception in 1996, co-managing it since 2016. Chris Nieves and Jena Stenger have co-managed the fund since 2025.
How are VNQ distributions taxed?: The summary prospectus says the fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. Special tax rules apply when the shares are held in a tax-advantaged account such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan.
What makes up VNQ's expense ratio?: The prospectus fee table lists total annual fund operating expenses of 0.13%. Management fees are 0.11%. Other expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses add 0.01% each, and there is no 12b-1 distribution fee.
When did VNQ start paying distributions?: The earliest distribution in Dividend Stacker's record has an ex-dividend date of December 22, 2004. The ETF share class's inception date is September 23, 2004.

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Data as of Sep 29, 2026 (quotes delayed 15+ minutes). Data is refreshed daily from market sources. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Estimates (next dividend date, amounts, breakeven timelines) are derived from historical distributions and can differ from actual fund announcements. See how these numbers are calculated.