Insights

Chirs Bedingfield and Morningstar's Lex Hall discuss the global property environment.

The year 2020 will be remembered for many events. Besides COVID-19, there were the Australian bushfires and US political turmoil. 

With the spectre of COVID-19 now diminishing in the wake of new vaccines, some investors are rightly refocusing their attention on longer-term risks and fundamentals.

Recent market-sensitive events, including the outcome of the US presidential election and Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine announcement, have resulted in some significant swings in market prices across global equities and listed real estate.

Chris Bedingfield addresses some of the myths and misconceptions of retail property to establish whether today’s depressed prices represent an opportunity or a trap.

"It’s easy for us to say shopping centres are a chore. But for a lot of people, they’re not. They’re actually a day out – a way to catch up with friends, get something to eat, see interesting stores and products."

In June, we provided an update on the real estate market and some early observations regarding the impact of COVID-19

We are in the midst of a one-in-100-year pandemic, and unemployment has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression. And while market observers continue to marvel / scratch heads regarding the surge in global equity prices, some truly unexpected real estate metrics continue to emerge.

Last month, we published a paper of the 10 most interesting charts right now. One chart, which suggested the Federal Reserve does not influence long-term stock market returns, garnered the most attention.