During July, both Asia Pacific and global property stocks were beneficiaries of the Brexit vote as investors sought out yield and safe-haven investments amid uncertainty about the vote’s impact, and ever-lower global government bond yields. The result of the July upswing was a 6.0 percent and 4.6 percent return for Asia Pacific and global real estate stocks, respectively.

Once again, after a period in which property stocks struggled in response to the potential for higher interest rates, when that view shifted — as was the case around Brexit — the sentiment shifted in turn, and property stocks showed strength. In addition, with the second-quarter earnings in process, property stock earnings are looking relatively strong compared with other stocks, given the more insulated nature of property company earnings (particularly REITs) and the resultant current yield stability. So far, the net of these swirling factors is a solidly-positive year-to-date return (8.5 percent) for