Italy saw the number of real estate funds increase by 167% in 2006 from 58 to 155, and this figure is seen coming close to the 200 threshold by the end of 2007, according to Mario Breglia, chairman of Italy's independent institute for analysis and research Scenari Immobiliari. Listed retail funds in the country turned in the best performance in Europe last year, with 7.9%, an increase of 26% year-on-year.
Italy saw the number of real estate funds increase by 167% in 2006 from 58 to 155, and this figure is seen coming close to the 200 threshold by the end of 2007, according to Mario Breglia, chairman of Italy's independent institute for analysis and research Scenari Immobiliari. Listed retail funds in the country turned in the best performance in Europe last year, with 7.9%, an increase of 26% year-on-year.
Real estate assets have increased from EUR 1.4 bn five years ago to EUR 26.4 bn at the end of last year, Scenari Immobiliari's sixth annual report on real estate funds said. This figure is forecast to reach EUR 30 bn by the end of this year. Real estate has become the largest asset class in the Italian private sector, overtaking the insurance sector (EUR 24 bn) and banks (EUR 8.5 bn). In 2001, Italian property funds represented 1.3% of European assets, whereas at the end of 2007 they are seen exceeding 8%, recording the highest growth in Europe.
'Real estate funds are now an effective and mature product, both for savers and investors, and have a central role to play in the real estate market', said Breglia. 'It is the financial market, instead, that still has to understand them, as is shown by the discount on the NAV that is excessive compared with funds abroad.'
On a global level, 2006 was the year of real estate investment vehicles (real estate funds and real estate investment trusts - REITs). These asset classes have now over EUR 1.2 tln of assets. In Europe this sector is worth about EUR 480 bn, of which 65.7% is owned by real estate funds and the remainder largely by REITs.