Unlisted property remains strong


The unlisted property sector has delivered a standout performance over the last five years with annualised return of 21%, according to data released by Zenith Investment Partners, MSCI, the Property Funds Association and the Property Council of Australia.
From the last 12 months as of September, 2019, the sector delivered 12.3% returns while, at the same time, Australian equity markets delivered an annual return of 13%. Following this, Australian real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) returned 15.7%, global equites stood at -1.9% and cash delivered 1.9% over the same period.
According to Dugald Higgins, head of property and listed strategies at Zenith Investment Partners, although capital growth remained broadly positive, momentum across sectors continued to slow with mixed results.
The additional headwinds were nimble international retailers, competition from online retailers, high rental costs, and slowing economic data.
“Office markets are benefitting from strong rental growth in key markets while growth in e-commerce continues to drive up demand for modern logistics facilities,” he said.
Additionally, the low cash environment continues to underpin momentum for capital seeking assets with attractive yields which is driving strong returns for investors in unlisted property funds, as according to Mark Lumby, head of commercial property at Australian Unity.
“As commercial properties generally have medium-to-long term leases which are indexed every year to CPI or have fixed increases in place, the sustainability of income from property becomes more attractive to investors,” he said.
Recommended for you
Selfwealth has provided an update on the status of its scheme implementation deed with Bell Financial Group as well as whether rival bidder Svava remains in the picture.
Magellan Financial Group has reported its first half FY25 results while appointing a new chief financial officer and promoting Sophia Rahmani to chief executive.
Schroders Australia has launched two active ETFs and plans to further expand its listed range over the year ahead.
Platform Netwealth has reported its financial results for the first half of FY25, reporting an 80 per cent increase in net flows, with its CEO viewing a “huge opportunity” from private assets.