Charles Bissell, managing director, Integra Realty Resources, Dallas, tells GlobeSt.com Southwest Bureau Chief Connie Gore he sees REITs as "a safe harbor" for money coming out of drooping tech stocks. REIT stock prices and returns aren't near their peak or historical highs, "but as long as tech stocks and telecommunications stocks continue to take a bath, we'll see continued growth in REITs," Bissell says.

Craig Prophet, vice president, Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities, Berkeley, CA, tells Gore REITs are popular again because most have improved their image. "It's not a new phenomenon," he says. "It's only new in the sense that (most) REITs never had this level of high-quality real estate and high-quality management" in their startup 1980s days.

Texas-based REITs with Texas holdings are holding up, often surpassing other regional REITs in stock prices and returns, Prophet says.