Karen Schenone: Looking at the iShares app on my iPad this weekend, I was surprised to discover that the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has been a top performing fund year-to-date.  While past performance is certainly not indicative of future returns Read more…

NYSE:CMBS, NYSE:MBB, REM, REZ, RTL

Eric Dutram: Over the past month, markets have been under severe pressure as weak job growth in the U.S. has combined with worries over European debt to send stocks lower across the globe. Most segments of the stock market were impacted Read more…

NYSE:ICF, RTL, RWR, SCHH

I had a brief exchange with Andrew Butter on Seeking Alpha that I thought might warrant a broader audience here. Specifically, Andrew asked about the FTSE NAREIT Residential Plus Capped Index Read more…

NYSE:FIO, REZ, RTL

Back in April 2009 in Commercial Real Estate Sub-Sectors ETF to Watch, I highlighted three commercial real estate sub-sector REIT ETFs, discussed their composition and included a Read more…

NYSE:FIO, REZ, RTL

In trading on Tuesday, the iShares MSCI Ireland Cppd Invstb Mkt Idx (EIRL) is outperforming other ETFs, up about 4.24% on the day. Also up on the day is the iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund Read more…

NYSE:EIRL, NYSE:EWP, NYSE:EWT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:XLYS, RTL

In midday trading Thursday, the S&P SmallCap Health Care ETF (NASDAQ:XLVS) is outperforming other ETFs, up about 2.4% on the day. And underperforming Read more…

NYSE:XLVS, RTL

The best-performing exchange-traded funds signal a bottoming in two key areas of the U.S. economy: real estate and commodities. The ETFs also point to a bottom-fishing expedition in value stocks.

After excluding the 20 ETFs that use leverage, 10 of the 25 best-performing funds in April invest in real estate.

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes rose in April for the second month in a row, showing buyers are locking in prices that are cheaper than at any time in a generation. Add to that a gain in construction spending bolstered by commercial and government stimulus projects, and the foundation is laid for an upturn.

Of the real estate funds, none performed better than the iShares FTSE NAREIT Retail Capped Index Fund (RTL Quote). The fund returned 51% as four of its holdings more than doubled in value, including 236% from CBL & Associates (CBL Quote), 180% from Macerich (MAC Quote), 118% from Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PEI Quote) and 106% in Cedar Shopping Centers (CDR Quote).

Full Story:  http://www.thestreet.com/story/10496526/1/best-performing-etfs-invest-in-real-estate.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN

PEI, RTL