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, mortgage REITs posted a composite total return of 23.2 percent in 2005. The big problem for mortgage REITs was a sharp drop in stock prices, with investor returns equaling a 30 percent loss for the year. Analysts reported mortgage REITs…