In a sign of the U.S. rental market’s strength, shares of real estate investment trusts that own apartment buildings — Equity Residential, Apartment Investment & Management and UDR — are near their highest levels in a year, according to CNN Money. Storage facility REITs, including Public Storage, Sovran Self Storage and U-Store-It Trust are also performing remarkably well. Analysts say that with the job market improving, these types of companies, which offer short-term leases, have seen demand grow, allowing them to raise their rental rates even as the housing market stagnates. [more]