OPX Opteum Inc.

Opteum Inc. (NYSE: OPX), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates an integrated mortgage-related securities investment portfolio and mortgage origination platform, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share on the Company's Class A and Class B Common Stock for the quarter ending June 30, 2006. The dividend is payable July 7, 2006, to stockholders of record on June 21, 2006. The Board of Directors estimates that this dividend will be paid entirely from REIT taxable earnings and that this payment represents no return of capital. Additionally, based on the Company's current earnings estimates, REIT taxable income for the second quarter of 2006 is expected to be approximately $0.35 per share. As of June 1, 2006, no capital gains or losses have been recorded for the REIT during the second quarter of 2006. This dividend announcement and REIT taxable earnings estimate does not take into account operating results from the Company's taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS), Opteum Financial Services. At this time, the Board of Directors has elected to retain any earnings that may be recorded at the TRS. An earnings call will be announced at a later date. Commenting on the announcement, Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey J. Zimmer, said, "We are extremely pleased to be reporting a solid dividend in what continues to be a very tough operating environment. The Company's portfolio allocation strategy of investing in short duration assets, particularly adjustable rate mortgage backed securities (ARM's) which have coupon reset frequencies that are one year or less, has enabled the Company to increase its dividend this quarter over the previous two quarters. The ARM assets have increased in yield due to two factors. First, adjustable rate mortgage indices have gone up following the increases in short term rates orchestrated by the Federal Reserve which has increased the coupons on many of the mortgage loan pools the Company owns. Second, prepayment rates on the Company's portfolio of ARM's have been slower than originally projected by the Company at the time of purchase. As a result, the Company has extended the period over which the premium price paid over par is amortized, thereby causing the yield the Company projects on the ARM portfolio to increase. "However, we recognize that this level of dividend may not be sustainable if increases in the Federal Funds Target Rate persist. In particular, while yields on our adjustable rate assets will ultimately move in response to movements in short term rates, they have most recently done so at a rate slower than the increase in the cost of our funding rates." Operating results for Opteum Financial Services, the Company's residential mortgage origination platform and taxable REIT subsidiary, will be available at the time of the quarterly earnings call. About Opteum Opteum Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT), which operates an integrated mortgage-related investment portfolio and mortgage origination platform. The REIT invests primarily in, but is not limited to, residential mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). It earns returns on the spread between the yield on its assets and its costs, including the interest expense on the funds it borrows. Opteum's mortgage origination platform, Opteum Financial Services, originates, buys, sells, and services residential mortgages from 34 offices throughout the United States and operates as a taxable REIT subsidiary. Statements herein relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and on management's good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences are described in Opteum Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Opteum Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Opteum Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements.