Securities Carried at Fair Value

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Securities Carried at Fair Value [Abstract]

Securities Carried at Fair Value

6. Securities Carried at Fair Value

Securities carried at fair value are summarized in the table below (in thousands):

	June 30, 2012				December 31, 2011
	Cost		Fair Value		Cost		Fair Value
REIT Preferred shares	$	—	$	—	$	2,067	$	4,277
REIT Common shares		26,775		34,079		21,492		24,579
		26,775		34,079		23,559		28,856
Loan securities		1,661		5,385		1,661		5,309
	$	28,436	$	39,464	$	25,220	$	34,165

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, securities carried at fair value and loan securities carried at fair value were sold or paid off for total proceeds of approximately $312,000 and $4,614,000, respectively. The gross realized gains on these sales and payoffs totaled approximately $15,000 and $41,000, in the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively.

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, securities carried at fair value and loan securities carried at fair value were sold or paid off for total proceeds of approximately $15,144,000 and $35,029,000, respectively. The gross realized gains on these sales and payoffs totaled approximately $7,000 and $131,000 in the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively.

For purpose of determining gross realized gains, the cost of securities is based on specific identification. For the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, the Trust recognized net unrealized gains on securities carried at fair value and loan securities carried at fair value of $4,217,000, and $3,010,000 respectively, as the result of the change in fair value of the financial assets for which the fair value option was elected.

For the three months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, the Trust recognized net unrealized losses of securities carried at fair value and loan securities carried at fair value of $879,000 and $689,000, respectively.