The Investment Property Databank (IPD) has launched a new pan-European property fund index which will reveal the cross-border performance of real estate funds.
Set to be released quarterly, the index is made up of 18 cross-border funds in the region, which represent approximately 82 per cent of the total market, Property Week reports.
Cameron McVean, head of fund services at IPD, said that the new index would help to increase transparency across the European property market. He added that investors would also be able to get a cross-border benchmark relating to how their funds are performing.
"It establishes a cross-border benchmark for managers, providing a means by which to develop a more informed view of market performance when making peer group comparisons," he said.
The news provider noted that European cross-border pooled property funds saw an annual total return of around five per cent last year, compared to -17.2 per cent over the previous 12 months.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment in Central and Eastern Europe is improving, with the first two months of 2011 seeing EUR 1.2 billion spent on commercial acquisitions, CB Richard Ellis said.