Demand for unlisted property funds spiked in the past two months as term deposit rates dropped and investors searched for yield, a property executive said yesterday.
“We have had the most demand we’ve had for a very long time,” Centuria Property Funds chief executive Jason Huljich told InvestorDaily.
Huljich said the firm was receiving a lot of interest from new groups that had been sitting in cash through the global financial crisis.
He said falling rates for term deposits and investor demand for yield had sparked the increased interest.
“We’re seeing a lot of investors and a lot of big planning groups looking to put their clients back into property,” he said.
“We’re really seeing demand increasing and interest in the sector increasing. Most of that interest is in commercial rather than retail [property funds]. Probably just because of the sentiment around retail at the moment.”
Commercial property opportunities in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane were attracting the most demand, he said.
“People realise that the property market probably has bottomed so there are some really good opportunities out there,” he said.
In July, the company said it intended to build its property business over the next six to 12 months through corporate and organic acquisition.
Plans to make $100 million worth of acquisitions by December are still on track.
