Wise investors have traditionally headed for real estate investment trusts (REITs) for their regular, sizeable dividends. Over the past two years, we have grown accustomed to bi-annual payments of 6%, 8% or even 10% of share price.

What if I could tell you one REIT is currently paying over 350%? You would think it is too good to be true.

Of course, you would be right. General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP), with its $0.43 share price and last dividend payment of $2 per share, may pop up on the screens of investors looking for a big dividend, but there is absolutely no way you should expect to see any dividend from this REIT, let alone anything close to a double-digit payout.

Desperate for cash

General…

Real estate is a buyers market these days. But selling is a nightmare. If you can afford to hold onto your existing property, Andrew Snyder says it’s better to rent it out until the market recovers. It may require some belt-tightening in the short term, but the concrete gains from waiting will be worth it.

With the election now over, focus will turn back to what ails the economy. And front and center will be the continuing housing crisis. Foreclosure rates keep going up and the $700 billion bailout has yet to spur lending.

Mortgage insurers are hardly popular among investors at the moment. But Andrew Snyder says MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) is likely to survive the real estate meltdown. And as shares are already down 95% from their peak in March 2007, further downside potential is limited.

Amid the real estate market woes, reverse mortgages are a hot product says David Fessler. He says they offer older investors a chance to earn monthly income while they wait for the housing market to stabilize. Just don’t be fooled into thinking this isn’t another form of debt…

Yesterday, Ben Bernanke warned of a drawn-out slowdown for the economy. He also said the housing market “continues to be a primary source of weakness in the real economy.” Andrew Snyder says this “weakness” is really a strength.

Think about it this way: we could soon be facing a housing shortage.

Falling property prices and tighter credit markets are putting a stop on construction activity. Buildings — especially in the commercial and industrial sectors — take a long time to put up. So this industry will be the laggard when the economy recovers.

If you don’t own land, Andrew says real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a great way to play the bounce.

But you have to cherry pick.

The retail sector is a nightmare now, but health…

Andrew Gordon at Investor’s Daily Edge says “the crap is about to hit the fan” for homebuilders.

If you had all the money in the world, where would you invest it?

For sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), the answer is commercial real estate. These mega funds are homing in on the sector right now, according to emerging markets expert Irwin Greenstein.

We keep hearing about the real-estate meltdown. But as of the end of September, REITs have been up about 2% for the year — a far cry from the wreckage of other markets.

Once of the biggest casualties in the financial crisis has been REITs. Globally, these made astonishing gains during the property boom. But they’ve taken one heck of a beating since.

Eric Roseman says the US REIT sector is likely to recover first. That’s because Europe and Asia are behind the US in the credit crunch cycle and have further to fall.

Pending home sales index bounced 7.4% in September. And government-auctioned foreclosures create great property bargains. Eric says iShares Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IYR) is one good way of playing this recovery.

Data released today reveals an unexpected 7.4% jump in the pending home sales index. Andrew Snyder says the housing market is at or close to a bottom now. This means it could be the perfect time to buy a dream property on the cheap…