Real estate funds got pounded, but a few are worth a look

— -- Owning a real estate fund last year was a bit like buying a dream house — provided your dreams included a three-headed dog in the basement and a toaster that shrieks at midnight.

This year, however, real estate funds seem to have exorcised their demons. But commercial real estate still has a ways to go before it climbs out of purgatory.

The average real estate fund plunged 39.6% in 2008, and 29.6% from January through March, according to Morningstar, which tracks the funds. Although most funds were clobbered last year, real estate funds were particularly shocking.

After all, real estate funds invest primarily in real estate investment trusts, which, in turn, invest in commercial property: office buildings, apartments, shopping malls. By law, REITs have to pay out nearly all of their income to investors. Wall Street often viewed REITs as tame dividend plays, best suited for conservative, income-oriented investors.

No longer. REIT share prices tumbled, and many slashed their dividends. As the credit crunch intensified, investors worried that some REITs wouldn't get the financing they needed for continuing operations. "The whole REIT story — low volatility, high dividends, stable cash flows — has been shot to heck," says Sam Lieber, manager of Alpine U.S. Real Estate fund.

In recent months, however, REITs and the funds that invest in them have been going like a house on fire, soaring 29.5% in April, their best monthly gain since Morningstar started tracking them in 1985. One reason REITs have done well: Several have managed to raise capital, says Paul Curbo, manager of AIM Real Estate fund. A REIT that can raise fresh cash can, potentially, start looking for bargains in the beaten-up commercial real estate market.

The question becomes whether there is value in the ruins of commercial real estate. The current nationwide office vacancy rate is about 16%, according to consultant Torto Wheaton Research. That's a lot of empty space, and it means that landlords must slash rents to get new tenants. High vacancy rates and lower rents, in turn, could spell doom for some commercial landlords.