There's been a silver lining to the bear market in the stock market over the past year and a half. As stock prices fall, the yields on dividend-paying stocks rise. That's providing income-focused investors with more opportunities to boost their passive income.

Many stocks currently yield over 4%, which is more than double the dividend yield of the S&P 500. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE 0.05%), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP 2.82%) (BIPC 0.84%), VICI Properties (VICI 1.18%), and Kinder Morgan (KMI 2.53%) are among the standout higher-yielding options. Here's why they're great buys for income-seeking investors right now. 

Healthy demand for this office space

Shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities have plunged more than 30% from their recent high. That has pushed the office REIT's dividend yield up to 4%. That's an attractive rate for one of that beaten-down sector's few bright spots.

Alexandria focuses on owning and developing specialized lab space for the life science sector. Demand for this space has been robust since the pandemic. As a result, occupancy across Alexandria's portfolio remains strong (93.6% in the first quarter). Meanwhile, market rents are skyrocketing, enabling Alexandria to capture much higher rates as existing leases expire. It signed over 1.1 million square feet of renewal leases in the first quarter at an average rental rate increase of 48.3%. Meanwhile, the strong demand for space enables the company to invest in new developments and redevelopment projects. 

Those growth drivers are enabling Alexandria to increase its dividend. It has grown its payout by 5% over the past year and at a 5.4% pace since 2019. That dividend growth should continue in the future. 

Growing briskly

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners currently yields 4.4%. That payment is on a very sustainable foundation.

The global infrastructure company generates very stable and growing cash flow. Its funds from operations (FFO) increased by 12% in the first quarter. Organic growth drivers like inflation-linked contract rate increases, higher volumes on its transportation networks, and recently completed expansion projects drove a 9% growth rate. The company supplemented it by completing $2.4 billion of acquisitions over the past year. 

Those drivers should continue powering its results. Brookfield recently completed a major expansion project, has another big one on track to wrap up next year, and agreed to acquire Triton International. Growth drivers like those support Brookfield's plan to increase its dividend by 5% to 9% per year over the long term.

Delivering sector-leading growth

VICI Properties currently offers a 4.9% dividend yield. The experiential property REIT is delivering sector-leading growth to support and expand that big-time payout. Its FFO per share was up nearly 19% during the first quarter and is on track to grow at a double-digit pace this year. 

Powering that growth is the company's recent shopping spree. It acquired a fellow gaming REIT and purchased several other gaming and non-gaming properties over the past year. These deals give it lots of momentum to continue growing in the near term. Meanwhile, it's building new relationships to drive its next growth wave, which could see it expand further internationally and into other non-gaming sectors.

VICI's growing portfolio should enable the REIT to continue increasing its dividend. It gave investors an 8% raise last year and has increased its payout in all five years since its formation. 

On a very sustainable foundation

Kinder Morgan's dividend currently clocks in at 6.8%. The natural gas pipeline giant recently increased its payout by another 2%, its sixth straight year of dividend growth. 

Kinder Morgan generates lots of stable cash flow to support its big-time dividend. It pays out slightly more than 50% of that money via dividends. It retains the other half to fund its continued expansion, repurchase shares, and maintain a strong balance sheet. That puts its big-time dividend on a rock-solid foundation. 

Kinder Morgan currently has $3.7 billion of expansion projects under construction, which should help grow its stable cash flows. Almost all that capital spending is on lower carbon projects, including natural gas pipelines, renewable natural gas production facilities, renewable fuels projects, and carbon capture and storage. That puts the company in a solid position to continue generating sustainable cash flows to pay dividends for years to come.

Excellent options to boost your passive income production

Lower stock prices are a boon for passive income seekers. It's enabling them to lock in higher yields on high-quality dividend stocks. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, VICI Properties, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, and Kinder Morgan are great options. They pay high-yielding dividends that should continue rising in the coming years, enabling them to supply investors with loads of passive income.