High Dividend REITs Continue to Perform

REITs have continued to perform well this year as the U.S. housing market is finally showing signs of a long-awaited recovery. Record-low mortgage rates, lower prices, and an improving job market appear to be encouraging many potential buyers. The Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ), which tracks and measures the performance of publicly traded equity REITs, is up over 7 percent year-to-date. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for diversified REITs and provides equity research on Newcastle Investment Corp. NCT +1.74% and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. NRF +0.57%.

According to a recent Associated Press article the past winter was the best for sales of previously occupied homes in five years, and permits to build new homes and apartments in February rose to the highest levels since 2008. "People feel much more confident," said Steve Brown, co-owner of real estate company Irongate Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, who says sales jumped more than 16 percent for the first two months of 2012 over the same period last year. "There's no question there's a good feeling in the marketplace."

Source: Market Watch

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