Investors Real Estate Trust Announces Increase in Regular Quarterly Common Share Distribution, and Declares Series A Preferred Share Distribution

Investors Real Estate Trust announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared a regular quarterly distribution of 16.20 cents per share/unit payable on or about April 1, 2005, to common shareholders and unitholders of record at the close of business on March 18, 2005. The distribution reinvestment price will be the closing NASDAQ share price on April 1, 2005, 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 16.20 cents per common share/unit distribution represents the 136th consecutive quarterly distribution paid by IRET since its inception in 1970, and represents an increase of .05 cents or .3% over the previous regular quarterly distribution of 16.15 cents per common share/unit paid January 27, 2005.

Investors Real Estate Trust's Board of Trustees also declared today a distribution of 51.56 cents per share on the Company's Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares . This distribution will be payable March 31, 2005 to Series A preferred shareholders of record on March 15, 2005.

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

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