While real estate investment trusts performed well as a whole in 2005, with total returns topping 8 percent and besting other market benchmarks, mortgage REITs took a pounding. According to the National Association of REITs, the composite total return on mortgage REITs fell by 23 percent in 2005. The big problem for mortgage REITs was a sharp drop in stock prices, with investor returns due to price appreciations equaling a 30 percent loss for the…