Property investing is still as safe as houses

property

Investors say they want as much as 37% of their pensions in property while the current figure is well below 10%. However, with new vehicles and demand from pension funds, the asset class looks set to continue its outperformance

In the past five years, property has achieved strong returns of more than 10% per year. In 2000, following 20 years of decline, fund weightings in property started to move up. Against a backdrop of equity market falls and the much publicised pension crisis, commercial property is increasingly favoured for its high and stable income returns, low volatility, diversification and medium to long-term outperformance. Recent research provides evidence for the strong performance of property. In 2003, the British Property Federation estimated that pension funds would be £44bn richer had they mainta...