Investors who want exposure to commercial property could also look at funds that invest in property companies – or real estate investment trusts (Reits) – rather than bricks and mortar.

Adrian Lowcock at Bestinvest, the adviser, says property equity funds tend to run ahead of those that hold physical property.

“Prices fell further earlier this year and these funds are more likely to be the ones to recover first, although they do tend to be more volatile,” he says.

Edison Investment Research this week identified the funds or companies in the FTSE small cap real estate sector that it believes are best positioned to weather the rest of the downturn and preserve value for shareholders.

Edison assessed the strength of the funds’ management; financial structure and debt funding; property portfolios and tenant quality and their dividend income.

Its favoured stocks include AXA Property Trust, ISIS Property Trust, ING UK Real Estate Income Trust and Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust. These have dividend yields of between 8 and 14 per cent and are still trading at wide discounts to net asset value.