ETF Daily News'  Instablog

Real Estate has been one of the best investments for decades, until the real estate bubble burst.  The crash in real estate has tightened lending and put a damper on new home sales which in turn increased inventory. 

The government’s stimulus is propping the industry once again and inventory seems to be moving well.  The eight thousand dollar tax credit has first time home buyers eager to purchase a home.  Real Estate investors are buying up foreclosures at bargain basement prices.

The National Association of Realtors reported U.S. existing-home sales grew 7.2% in July from June, with new-home sales adding 9.6% for the same period.   The promising data has investors flocking to housing related ETF’s and ETN’s.   ”The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund (ITB) and the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) were among the 10 best performing real estate funds, rising 7.2% and 6.8%, respectively,” Kevin Baker Reports From The Street.

Here are some other housing related ETF’s and ETN to consider, ETN MacroShares Housing UP (UMM), iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate (IYR), and Ultra Real Estate ProShares (URE).  Take a look at some of the top holdings within these ETF’s below: