What’s the outlook ahead for property stocks?

With interest rates spiking, the real estate investment trust (Reit) market has been hammered this year as the yields provided by these equity instruments lost their relative shine, compared with their clear appeal in the previous low-rate environment spanning more than a decade.  The growth of Reits is driven mainly by acquisitions on cheap debt. As financing gets more expensive, this growth path becomes less compelling. To add, Reit managers depend on occupational management to ensure that sustainable rental income is flowing through. Given the current concerns over a global economic slowdown, that puts further pressure on rental income and, by extension, distribution yields. That said, the Endowus Investment Office continues to believe that the real estate market brings diversification potential to an equity and fixed income asset mix. The table below shows the correlations between three market indices — the FTSE EPRA...