Urban regeneration and property investment performance

Investors need to have confidence in the maturity of the market in terms of transparency of returns and risks. Information on property returns is normally available for prime markets whereas urban regeneration locations to varying degrees are characterized by an opaque rather than a transparent market, inadequate information on returns and risks, barriers to the availability of finance and uncertainty regarding the liquidity of assets. This paper presents findings of an empirical investigation into the development of a total returns index designed to measure investment performance of property in regeneration areas. Results show that over the long-term returns for regeneration property exceed national and local benchmarks. This finding has important policy considerations for regeneration and messages for the property investment sector.