But almost inevitably the improvement in the property market, particularly in residential, has seen the government simultaneously bring in new restrictions on property lending through the Mortgage Market Review, to try and dampen any signs of another property bubble.

In addition Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, pointed to the housing market in a recent speech at Mansion House as he warned: “The economy is still over-levered. The housing market is showing the potential to overheat.”

However, these concerns do not seem to worry UK retail investors, with IMA statistics showing property as the third best-selling asset class in April with £446m of net retail sales. Daniel Godfrey, chief executive of the IMA, notes: “Property, in particular, has been seeing consistent growth in sales over the past year.”

Performance of the IMA Property sector has also been relatively steady, with an average return of 8.26 per cent for the year to June 12 2014, although as a sector it still lags behind the equity sectors, including the UK, North America, Europe and Global, meaning it is not quite the star performer some might think it is, at least for now.

The question, of course, is whether the dampeners that are being applied to the residential market in the UK will also filter through to commercial property, particularly London office space.

Andrew Allen, head of global property research and strategy at Aberdeen Asset Management, points out that there are both positive signs for the UK property market in the form of occupational rates, but also reasons to be cautious.

“It is good that the economy is picking up and occupational markets are improving and strong, but the economy is not red hot and not all occupational markets are strong. It is all about doing local research in getting property right; it is specific buildings in specific markets,” he explains.

“As an investor you can’t just buy the entire sector. If you are buying a listed property product you have to understand what these guys are doing and if you’re buying into a fund, it is the same thing. You have to have confidence in the underlying assets and strategies these people are putting together. It doesn’t really matter the structure through which people invest, property is a local game at the end of the day. It is about getting the right buildings in the right locations with the right tenants.”

Property may be attracting investors’ favour once again, but it will be interesting to see how long the effects last should the economic and monetary policy situations change.

Nyree Stewart is features editor at Investment Adviser