Real Estate Mutual Funds Riding High

"Mutual funds that specialize in real estate are still flying high, benefiting from their exposure to commercial property through holdings in real estate investment trusts. Slower home sales [means] more people opt to rent, pushing rents higher and boosting profits at apartment REITs... Investors look to real estate to diversify their portfolios. For that reason, real estate fund managers typically try to generate returns that have a low correlation to the equity market... [The] only concern about apartment REITs is that they are overvalued. Overseas real estate investments are more attractive."