The London-based Investment Property Databank, which compiles the Irish Property Index, is now conducting a similar study of the performance of the Netherlands's investment market. The first results show that the total return from the Dutch market in 1995 was 9.9 per cent, compared with 12.7 per cent in Ireland and 4.1 per cent in the UK. Net income return of 7.3 per cent on Dutch property compared favourably with 7.2 per cent in the UK and 8.5 per cent in Ireland.

The Netherlands databank is dominated by residential property, which accounts for more than half the assets. This contrasts with the UK and Ireland, where it is rare for institutional investors to hold residential property. Despite having the lowest income return, the Dutch residential sector provided the best total return of 11.5 per cent.