CNBC reports that Sean Darby, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies. said that global real estate prices have largely held their own in the face of an unprecedented economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s been perhaps one of the most fortunate events for policymakers in that we’ve not really seen any significant declines in global property prices,” Darby told CNBC.

Underlying demand in places such as the U.S., U.K. and China have been “very strong,” Darby pointed out.

This has served as a “huge backstop” for policymakers as they grapple with the economic meltdown of the pandemic, he said. “Importantly, it has really allowed the domestic banking system to be relatively unimpaired by asset deflation.”

He said Australia has been an exception and property prices there have seen a “modest decline.”