Rejoice REIT firms: Last year's laggards may be becoming this year's darling. The WSJ reports that the average REIT lost 14 percent in 2007, but this year so far the average REIT has gained 5.6 percent.

"The Cinderella story for the year is REIT funds coming back," Lipper senior anaylst Tom Roseen told WSJ's Daisy Maxey.

Keith Pauley, CIO of LaSalle Investment Management, attributed the funds' new popularity to improvement in the credit markets and strong earnings in Q1 for certain REITs.  

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