REAL ESTATE – IPD, the global independent research company, has released its first quarterly index report for the UK property market.

The new index reflects the performance of more than 7,000 properties valued at close to £100bn (€146bn) in 173 funds.

According to IPD founding director Ian Cullen, the quarterly index will eventually supersede the IPD annual index as the definitive industry standard record of UK property investment returns.

This is expected to occur within the next year to 18 months.

According to IPD, no other property investment market outside the US has a larger index reported on a quarterly basis, and it is the only such index for a major global market in which every asset is fully re-valued each quarter.

“It is anticipated that, given its frequency and depth of market coverage, the Quarterly Index will quickly become the standard information base for the newly emerging property derivatives market,” said IPD.

It added that there would be full and definitive market reporting within a calendar month of each quarter end.

“This release represents the culmination of a major three-year project at IPD, and sets a new global standard for independent property investment market reporting,” said Cullen in a statement.