The IPD U.S. Quarterly Property Index recorded a total return of 2.1 percent in first quarter 2016, according to MSCI, a decrease from 2.6 percent in the previous quarter and 3.2 percent in first quarter 2015.

“The decline in acquisition activities may be a signal of investors’ prudence — that investors to some degree viewed capital values have risen beyond what is in line with market fundamentals,” Simon Fairchild, executive director at MSCI, said in a statement. “However, global investors continued to show eagerness to acquire prime real estate in choice markets. As a result, we also saw historical high prices even as the rate of growth slowed. And this had the effect of creating a widening gap between markets and, within markets, a widening gap between assets.”

The income return, at 1.2 percent, remained steady compared with the previous quarter, while capital values gained only 0.9 percent — down from appreciation of 1.5 percent in the previous quarte