OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2015. As noted yesterday (click here), the 20 most active trusts in Singapore’s Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Sector make up a total of almost S\\$50 billion in combined market capitalisation. In comparison, the 20 most active stocks of the Real Estate Management and Development Sector account for almost S\\$80 billion in combined market capitalisation.

Since 2003, the Asia Pacific Real Estate Sector (excluding REITs) has experienced more cyclicality than the broader Asian equity market in terms of business returns and price swings. This has been particularly evident from year-end ROEs for the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index and its parent, the Bloomberg World Asia Pacific Index. As illustrated in the chart below, the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index has seen more variance in its end-of-year ROE than the Bloomberg World Asia Pacific Index.

Return on Equity

ROE measures net income relative to shareholders’ equity in percentage terms. This ratio analyses two key aspects of a stock – the recent net income generated by the company (the return) and the value of the common shareholdings of the company (the equity) – over the same period of time.

From a performance perspective, the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index has outperformed the Bloomberg World Asia Pacific Index over the past 12 years. As illustrated below, there was some similarities in the performance of the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index and Bloomberg World Asia Pacific Index between 2003 and 2015 year-to-date. The difference, however, was more noticeable in the performance swings between 2005 and 2013.

Normalised Performance Returns

The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index has declined 2.8% on a total return basis. In comparison, the 20 most active Real Estate Management and Development stocks have averaged a 7.1% in total return in the year thus far, with the median return amounting to a decline of 3.3%.

On a median basis, the 20 stocks are trading 23.0% below their 12-month highs, and 7.8% above their 12-month lows. The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index currently trades at a P/E ratio of 10.7 and maintains a dividend yield of 2.5%, while the 20 most active Real Estate stocks of the past three months currently average a P/E of 12.1 and generate a dividend yield of 2.9%.

The full list of the 20 most active Real Estate Stocks are detailed in the table below. Note that clicking on a stock will direct you to its page on StockFacts.

20 Most Active Real Estate Stocks of the Past Three Months

Name SGX Code Mkt. Cap. in S\\$ mm Price vs. 12M High % Price vs. 12M Low % 3M Trd. Val. in S\\$ mm 3M Trd. Vol. in mm 1 yr Volatility in % Div. Ind Yld. in %
Global Logistic Properties MC0 9,931 -28.3 5.1 62.6 27.49 mm 23.0 2.6
CapitaLand C31 11,950 -26.1 4.9 39.6 12.72 mm 20.5 3.2
Hongkong Land Holdings H78 22,389 -22.5 6.6 26.0 2.5 mm 21.6 2.7
City Developments C09 7,356 -26.1 1.9 11.9 1.31 mm 18.1 1.0
UOL Group U14 4,841 -24.9 4.1 8.2 1.26 mm 17.4 2.5
Sinarmas Land A26 1,795 -31.0 40.5 2.0 3.35 mm 36.3 0.9
Yanlord Land Group Z25 2,046 -19.2 16.7 1.9 1.88 mm 26.3 1.3
Wing Tai Holdings W05 1,327 -20.6 9.0 1.8 0.99 mm 22.0 1.8
Yoma Strategic Holdings Z59 632 -49.7 21.7 1.8 4.55 mm 38.4 N/A
Debao Property Development K2M 47 -54.4 250.0 1.6 26.47 mm 167.3 N/A
Perennial Real Estate Holdings 40S 1,204 -18.0 3.3 1.0 1 mm 69.2 N/A
Ascendas India Trust CY6U 767 -12.6 15.3 0.8 0.96 mm 20.4 5.9
Croesus Retail Trust S6NU 448 -10.8 10.2 0.6 0.65 mm 15.2 7.4
GuocoLand F17 2,098 -22.9 10.5 0.5 0.22 mm 23.2 2.7
Ying Li International Real Estate 5DM 399 -45.3 31.1 0.5 2.78 mm 39.9 N/A
Frasers Centrepoint TQ5 4,400 -20.8 5.2 0.4 0.24 mm 18.3 5.7
China New Town Development Company D4N 571 -43.7 23.4 0.4 5.86 mm 60.3 N/A
United Industrial Corporation U06 4,412 -14.4 4.3 0.3 0.1 mm 11.6 1.0
Bukit Sembawang Estates B61 1,212 -17.0 3.5 0.3 0.05 mm 15.1 0.9
Wheelock Properties (Singapore) M35 1,825 -23.2 4.1 0.2 0.14 mm 15.1 3.9

Source: SGX StockFacts (data as of 21 Sep 2015)

Amongst the 20, three stocks with the highest three-month trading values were Global Logistics Properties, Capitaland and HongKong Land Holdings, while those with the lowest three-month trading values were Bukit Sembawang Estates, United Industrial Corporation and Wheelock Properties (Singapore).

Of the 20 stocks, almost half have generated positive total returns in the year thus far. These were Debao Property Development, HongKong Land Holdings, China New Town Development Company, Guocoland, Wing Tai Holdings, Ascendas India Trust, Yanlord Land Group, Sinarmas Land and Croesus Retail Trust.