Asia-Pacific REITs, as tracked by the GPR/APREA Composite REIT Index, closed 9.7% higher. Similarly, the rebound was led by the sectors that had been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Retail REITs clocked the highest gains, followed by those in hospitality, as both sectors are likely to benefit the most from the rollout of a vaccine. Office REITs also rose on the back of a rotation to economically sensitive stocks. Industrial REITs were notably left out of the rally.
The GPR/APREA Listed Real Estate Composite returned 11.4%, outperforming the region’s equities market. Property stocks across most of the region, particularly those in emerging south-east Asia, rose. Thailand shrugged off continued civil unrest to post the region’s largest returns; those in Australia gained on easing lockdowns in the state of Victoria. Hong Kong and China also rode higher on upbeat data signalling continued recovery in the world’s second-largest economy, with consumer spending picking up steadily and industrial output rising faster than expected in October. The country’s central bank had in November pumped more liquidity into the financial system to maintain momentum.
