Shares continue to outperform property

Shares are continuing to deliver stronger investment returns than residential prop-erty, according to research from a Rothschild/Assirt study.

Shares are continuing to deliver stronger investment returns than residential prop-erty, according to research from a Rothschild/Assirt study.

The Rothschild/Assirt All Housing Accumulation index for the quarter to June 1999, shows national housing investment returns outperformed shares, but shares continued to outclass property as a long-term investment.

The Housing Accumulation Index rose by 1.9 per cent in the quarter, with shares returning 0.8 per cent.

Rothschild says the modest performance of the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index was driven by rising bond yields and a downgrade of earnings expectations im-pacting on industrial shares.

However long-term figures showed shares almost doubling housing returns, with a 13.2 per cent average annual increase since December 1991 compared to 7.1 per cent for housing.

And for the year to June 30, 1999, Australian shares returned 15.3 per cent com-pared to 4.8 per cent for housing.

Rothschild Australia Asset Management head of adviser services Stephen Karrasch says the continued long-term outperformance by Australian shares was luring in-vestors from the Australian icon of bricks-and-mortar investment.

The Housing Accumulation Index reflects the total return on residential property over time, taking into account rental income and average outgoings for property in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Perth continued to deliver the best return on a quarterly (3.2 per cent) and long-term basis, while Adelaide had made a recovery, returning 2.9 per cent for the quarter. Sydney returned 2.3 per cent, Brisbane 1.3 per cent and Melbourne just 0.4 per cent.