Whether it is China posting better than expected GDP growth, France helping propel the European Union’s growth, or the United States at near record-low unemployment, the world economy is humming in concert. In addition, with capital ample across many sources, merger and acquisition activity among listed real estate companies is increasing. Both items are providing tailwinds to real estate fundamentals and valuations. With the exception of the US property sector that was crushed by higher interest rates in January, most property stocks performed reasonably well to start 2018. Specifically, the Asia Pacific property sector returned 7.4 percent in January, well ahead of global property stock returns of a more modest 2.6 percent during the month (with returns based on S&P Global Intelligence data, with quoted country returns in local currency, and regional indices quoted in US dollars). Overall, Asia Pacific property sector returns compare well with global stock total returns of 3