The S&P/ASX 300 Property Trusts Index is a sector index of the S&P/ASX 300 Australian shares index comprising diversified exposure to property trusts listed on the Australian share market. At the end of last year, the S&P/ASX 300 included 32 stocks, with the largest five stocks representing more than 64 per cent of the index.

Westfield Group alone accounts for 28 per cent of the index. This demonstrates the amount of consolidation and concentration that has occurred in the Australian market over the last ten years. Having said that, diversification within the underlying investment properties remains strong with more than 2,000 properties represented across the retail, diversified, office, industrial and hotel and leisure sectors of the index.

Another feature of the Australian listed property market is its large exposure to international assets, reflecting the shortage of investment quality domestic property assets available. Currently, over 40 per cent of property trusts listed on the Australian market are located overseas.

Australians just can't seem to get enough property, whether direct or listed. Listed property trusts have had an extraordinary run over the last 10 years returning 16.1 per cent per annum. Over this period, the market capitalisation of the sector has grown from $21 billion to $105 billion.