FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Norden Peter R   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Opteum Inc. [OPX] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Senior Exec. Vice President (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O OPTEUM INC., 3305 FLAMINGO DRIVE 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 02/24/2006 (Street) VERO BEACH, FL 32963 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Class A Preferred Stock 02/24/2006   J   109,175 D (1) 386,142 D   Class A Preferred Stock 02/28/2006   J   57,950 D (1) 328,192 D   Class A Common Stock 04/28/2006   C   328,192 A (2) 1,351,088 D

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Class A Preferred Stock

(2)

04/28/2006

C

328,192

04/28/2004

(1)

Class A Common Stock

328,192

(2)

0

D

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Norden Peter R C/O OPTEUM INC. 3305 FLAMINGO DRIVE VERO BEACH, FL 32963	X		Senior Exec. Vice President

Signatures

Peter R. Norden		05/03/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	N/A
(2)	The Reporting Person's 328,192 shares of Class A Redeemable Preferred Stock were converted into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis.
Remarks: Attached hereto is a power-of-attorney granting Jeffrey J. Zimmer and Robert E. Cauley authority to sign on behalf of the Reporting Person as attorney-in-fact for all future SEC filings on Form 3, 4, 5 and 144 in respect of the securities of the Issuer.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.

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