Australian Listed Properties Trusts Offer Diversified Real Estate Portfolios

Much of the prime real estate in Australia is owned by Listed Properties Trusts, the equivalent of real-estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States. Like REITs, LPTs pay regular cash distributions to their shareholders. Holdings in LPTs include office, industrial, commercial, residential, retirement and hotels properties.

The table below includes ten of the LTPs found in the streetTRACKS S&P/ASX 200 Listed Property Fund, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds twenty of the top Australian-based Listed Properties Trusts. You may download a list of the fund's holdings.

The shares prices of the entire group were down significantly in January 2007, with some LPTs dropping thirty to fifty percent. Investors were jittery after Centro Properties Group, a Melbourne-based U.S. shopping mall owner, failed to refinance a major debt and was forced to cut its cash distribution.

Like any investment, individual LPTs carry risk so complete your due diligence before investing.

10 Australian Listed Properties Trusts
LPT & Web Site	Quote	Properties	Dividend Yield 2/1/2008
Westfield Group	WDC.AX	Shopping malls in Australia, New Zealand, U.K. and U.S.	5.51%
Stockland	SGP.AX	Office, retail, industrial, apartment, residential and retirement.	6.05%
GTP Group	GPT.AX	Retail, office, hotel/tourism and industrial/business park in Australia and seniors housing in U.S.	5.52%
Goodman Group	GMG.AX	Office parks, industrial estates, business parks and warehouse/distribution centres.	0%
Mirvac Group	MGR.AX	Residential, commercial, retail and hotels.	3.24%
DB RREEF Trust	DRT.AX	Office parks, industrial estates, business parks, warehouse/distribution centres and shopping malls in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Europe.	7.18
CFS Retail Property	CFX.AX	Shopping centres in Australia.	5.37%
Macquarie Office Trust	MOF.AX	Office properties in Australia, Japan, U.S. and western Europe.	4.83%
Commonwealth Property	CPA.AX	Office properties in Australia.	7.03%
Valad Property Group	VPG.AX	Commercial, office, industrial, retail (bulky goods), residential and retirement properties in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.	9.58%
Note: Dividend yields from www.reuters.com as of February 1, 2008.

Posted February 4, 2008.