Investors Real Estate Trust Declares Regular Quarterly Common Share Distribution, and Declares Series A Preferred Share Distr...

Investors Real Estate Trust (Nasdaq:IRET) (Nasdaq:IRETP) announced today that the Board of Trustees has declared a regular quarterly distribution of 13.00 cents per share/unit payable on January 16, 2012, to common shareholders and unitholders of record at the close of business on January 3, 2012. The distribution reinvestment price will be the volume-weighted average NASDAQ share price on January 16, 2012, less a discount of 5%. The Company has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register the number of common shares necessary to meet distribution reinvestment elections.

This 13 cents per common share/unit distribution represents the 163rd consecutive quarterly distribution paid by IRET since its inception in 1970. The previous regular quarterly distribution, of 13.00 cents per common share/unit, was paid October 3, 2011.

Investors Real Estate Trust's Board of Trustees also declared today a distribution of 51.5625 cents per share on the Company's Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares (Nasdaq:IRETP). This distribution will be payable January 3, 2012 to Series A preferred shareholders of record on December 20, 2011.

Access information for IRET's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, December 13 at 9 a.m. Central Time is as follows:

USA Toll Free Number: 1-877-317-6789

International Toll Free Number: 1-412-317-6789

Canada Toll Free Number: 1-866-605-3852

Webcast: www.iret.com, Earnings Calls, 2 Qtr Fiscal 2012 Earnings Call

About Investors Real Estate Trust

Investors Real Estate Trust is an equity real estate investment trust. Its business consists of owning and operating income-producing multi-family residential and commercial properties located primarily in the upper Midwest. Investors Real Estate Trust is based in Minot, North Dakota, and has additional offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Omaha, Nebraska.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in interest rates, the effect of government regulations, the availability of capital, changes in general and local economic and real estate market conditions, competition, our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel, and those risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2010 Form 10-K. We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

CONTACT: Lindsey Knoop Anderson
         Director of Investor Relations
         3015 16th Street SW, Suite 100
         PO Box 1988
         Minot, North Dakota 58702-1988
         phone: [phone]
         fax: [phone]
         email:[e-mail]