In the coming two weeks, investors' attention will be focused on the fact, figures and real estate investment trust directors' narratives about the half-year that was and, more importantly, the outlook for the coming few months leading into the end of the 2015-16 financial year.
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With the exception of GPT Group, Scentre Group and Westfield, which report a full year, the REITs will report for the six months ended December 31.
It has been a period characterised by historically low interest rates, huge volumes of overseas cash inbound, big-ticket sales and the odd takeover.
But it has been a double-edged sword for investors. The volatile sharemarket has seen investors divert their money into the safe haven of direct property, but that volatility has also had an impact on the prices of the listed REITs.
According to the experts, the coming few months will be more of the same with takeovers, sales and overseas cash vying with the locals for assets.
UBS says perceived safe havens such as REITs, gaming, utilities and healthcare have outperformed their revision trends. The average earning per security growth for the REIT sector is forecast about 4 per cent, according to the brokers.
In January, the analysts at Credit Suisse said the Australian REIT index generated a 1.1 per cent total return, or 654 basis points above the equity markets' negative 5.5 per cent return.
According to CS analysts, in terms of breadth, four names advanced while 13 names declined. Westfield was the top performer (up 4.1 per cent) while Cromwell was down 5.7 per cent.
At Macquarie Equities the analysts have retained a high level of confidence in their near-term earnings forecasts for the REITs due to the fixed nature of rental increases and a high proportion of pre-sales in development businesses.
"In addition, with the sector now offering a 5.2 per cent one-year forward dividend yield, this represents a 250 bps premium to the current 10-year bond (2.7 per cent). The long-term average spread is 185 bps that is 65 bps wider," Macquarie Equities said.
"Whilst we expect some of this excess spread to be competed away from an eventual rise in the long bond, value has crept into the sector."
On the other side of the ledger are the direct property markets, which are the reason investors buy REITs. They are the windows into the economy and good indicators that things are moving along.
If white-collar employment is low, it shows in higher office vacancies. If the housing market is booming so, too, are retailers as consumers buy up to furnish their new homes. Even the humble shed can give an insight into online shopping – warehouses store all the things we buy online.
And judging by recent data, all sectors seems to be firing on most cylinders.
Certainly, the office market is riding high with the latest Property Council of Australia stats showing very low vacancies, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.
The figures also reflect the rise in the tech industries such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, which are all snapping up traditional core CBD offices that were once the domain of banks and insurance companies.
While retail has its ups and downs, demand for the bricks-and-mortar malls remain strong as the landlords can generate cash not just from tenants, but advertising around the general areas and the car parks.
Residential will be the one area that will be heavily scrutinised as the rate of price growth declines. All the developers, Mirvac, Stockland and AV Jennings, in the listed space have been issuing warnings since last year; investors could take fright when they see the cold hard facts.
