Insurance News Archive

Commercial and residential property investments see strong returns

Both commercial and residential investment markets saw strong returns during 2006, according to a report by Property Executive.

The report indicated that the commercial property market is in healthy state, as businesses continue to find worthwhile investment opportunities.

Following three years of deceleration, residential investment returns were in line with those on equities and only slightly shy of those on commercial property.

Over the last year, the statistics show that residential and commercial property delivered returns of almost 14 per cent, significantly higher than equities and bonds.

According to Ian Cullen of the Investment Property Databank: "These impressive 2006 returns reflect the performance of a small group of specialist residential investors".

As of 2007, the commercial property market was opened up to normal investors, with the advent in the UK of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits). These trusts are already widely used in the US, France and Japan.

25 Apr 2007