After closing out 2015 in decently-strong fashion, Asia Pacific and global property stocks started 2016 in a downward slide, amid concerns over the extent of the impact China’s slowdown and lower oil prices were having on the global economy. With investors already anxious about the stability of the economy, these heightened concerns once again drove them into risk-off, safe-haven mode, resulting in the subsequent collapse in the stock markets. Unlike January 2015, however, when real estate stocks were the beneficiaries of the flight to safety, economic concerns overwhelmed even real estate stocks; Asia Pacific property stocks were down 8.7 percent for the month. This trailed global property stocks at –6.4 percent, which declined primarily because of the swoon in Hong Kong stocks resulting from that market’s direct linkage and proximity to China (based on SNL Financial data, with quoted returns in local currency).

The regional performance would have been even worse if Ch