Trends and Insights from the 2015 IPD® Global Annual Property Index. Global property held directly by private investors delivered a total return of 10.7% in 2015, marking the sixth consecutive year of positive performance since the global financial crisis (GFC). Global performance edged modestly upward from 10.0% in 2014, to reach its highest level since 2007. Ireland continued to lead other countries, though returns moderated from near 40.0% in 2014 to 25.0% in 2015. Ireland’s performance...

Income is the principal foundation of real estate investment returns. For most markets and over the longer term, the vast majority of the real estate return comes through income rather than appreciation. The income generating nature of real estate has become even more relevant in an era of ultra-low interest rates, and in the context of the search for yield. Given the importance of income to investors, increasing attention is being placed on the monitoring of real estate cashflows in order to...