The sector fared particularly well overall, with nearly 15% of companies which performed in the top 50 for ‘profit after tax’ and ‘growth over ten years’ being listed property companies. Furthermore, 13 of the top 100 companies over the past five years comprise listed property companies.

“These results demonstrate that listed property companies have fared well over the short and the long term,” says Norbert Sasse, chairman of the Property Loan Stock Association (PLSA) and CEO of SA’s largest listed property company Growthpoint Properties.

Listed property has outperformed equities and bonds over the last 10 years, according to Grindrod Asset Management, notching up cumulative total returns of 25.1% per annum against equities at 16.1% and bonds at 12.1%.

“Given this performance and the sector’s strong representation amongst SA’s best listed investments, any serious investor - retail or institutional – should regard meaningful exposure to listed property as an asset class as fundamental.”

The Top 100 companies survey acknowledges those companies that have delivered the most wealth for their shareholders. The rankings are determined as follows: the share price performance of every company listed on the JSE is measured on the basis of R10,000 invested over five years (from October 2005 to September 2010). Companies are then ranked according to their share price performance, as calculated by I-Net Bridge.