South African investors are still chasing yield, judging by the hefty R11bn in fresh capital raised by the listed property sector year to date through rights offers and private placements. Most of the money invested in the sector has gone to offshore property counters. The largest capital raisings successfully concluded so far in 2017 have been by Greenbay Properties, which owns shopping centres in Slovenia and Portugal, Polish-focused Echo Polska Properties, MAS Real Estate and Investec Australia Property Fund (read the table). The uptick in support for real estate listings that generate 100% of their earnings offshore suggests investors are becoming increasingly cautious about the outlook for local property stocks. Property analysts said on Friday SA’s credit downgrades, the weak economic growth outlook and ongoing political uncertainty had prompted renewed interest in rand hedge counters of which JSE investors now have close to 20 to choose from. Ten years ago, South Africans who...
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