REITs as a sector declined during this period, with MAC following the market trend. The decline was due to macro-economic factors including rising interest rates and the global credit crunch. In late January the Fed began to cut interest rates, simultaneously increasing investor optimism, easing credit limitations slightly, and leading investors to switch to instruments with a higher yield, such as REITs, increasing MAC's price. See http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20080109&ID=7987949&Symbol=US