Global property produced a total return of 11.5% last year down 3.2% on 2006, according to the latest figures from the Investment Property Databank.
In its first ever Global Property Index released this morning, IPD said the fall in local currency total returns reflected ‘deceleration’ or a ‘continuing decline’ in all of its five largest contributing markets - the US, UK, Japan and France - with Germany alone improving on its 2006 result, despite a further fall in capital values.
IPD said the strongest markets across the globe included South Africa, which returned 27.7%, and the ‘Pacific Rim’ including Korea and New Zealand.
It said most European markets has passed their peak level of return ‘with the UK showing a dramatic dive into property recession — and a negative overall performance, even with the mitigating impact of income’.
Offices provided the strongest return among the property sectors covered by the global index with a total return of 14.2%. IPD accredited this to ‘buoyant’ growth levels of business services providers in 2007. Retail provided the weakest return, at 8.6%%
