Insurance News Archive

Property investment 'remains strong'

The case for investing in property remains a strong one, according to the head of performance analysis and research at Legal & General Property.

Rob Martin believes the property market will recover in the second half of this year and total investment returns will turn positive once more.

He said property has always been an "excellent asset class" because of its ability to generate income and because it is not directly tied to the performance of the stock markets.

The second half of 2007 and the first few months of 2008 have seen a correction in capital values. Indeed, UK commercial property values fell by 1.3 per cent in February according to data from the real estate advisor CB Richard Ellis.

But Mr Martin predicts that the market will pick up again as the year progresses and that "the fundamental attractiveness of the asset class" will re-assert itself prompting institutional and overseas funds to increase their buying activity.

20 Mar 2008