UK institutions were badly burnt by the collapse in the property market, after values collapsed by about a half from their market peak in mid-2007. So this graph from Legal & General would suggest that they now feel that the worst has passed. It shows that after nine consecutive quarters of UK institutions selling real estate, they finally returned as net buyers in the final three months of last year.

The graph was published at a press briefing last week, where Robin Martin, head of research at L&G Property, said that 2010 would be marked by selective risking taking, after 2009 had been characterised by the avoidance of risk.