Property Investments In Asia Pacific Rose 30% In First 3 Quarters Of 2021
ASIA PACIFIC – Data from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) showed that real estate investment volume in the region increased by 30 percent year-on-year during the first 9 months of 2021, reported The Business Times on Thursday afternoon (21 October, SGT).
The property consultancy noted that investors had deployed funds into more income-resilient assets in the logistics and office markets to the point that year-to-date real estate transactions hit US$125 billion, which only translates to a 6 percent dip from volume seen in 2019.
In Q3 2021, property investment volume grew 10 percent to US$39.5 billion on a yearly basis. While deals contracted 23 percent quarter-on-quarter as several regional markets were impacted by a resurgence of COVID-19 and the ensuing government imposed curbs, office investments continued to rebound and accounted for 55 percent of the transactions amidst stabilising occupancy rates and office rents.
JLL’s chief executive for capital markets for Asia Pacific, Stuart Crow, believes that the region’s commercial property sector remains appealing and resilient despite ongoing uncertainty.
“Throughout 2021, investor interest in the region has remained extremely high as capital becomes more active and volumes approach pre-pandemic levels across the region, which we expect will continue into the fourth quarter,” he said.
Also, JLL’s Head of capital markets research for Asia Pacific Regina Lim, forecasted that commercial real estate investment volumes in the region would increase by 15 percent to 20 percent for the whole 2021, with further recovery in 2022.
“We expect portfolio re-allocation to remain a major theme into 2022 with investors facing stiff competition for income-resilient assets including office and logistics, as well as in more niche sectors such as self-storage, residential and data centres.”
On the other hand, Colliers in its quarterly market report that was published on Wednesday (20 October), said that most of Southeast Asia’s commercial property markets are facing difficulties.
In Singapore, market activity was driven by Lendlease Global Commercial REIT’s larger investment in mixed-use project Jem, while private funds acquired industrial properties.
However, the city-state’s office sector was “relatively quiet with only 1 sale of a major office building and some strata office floor transactions recorded”, noted Colliers.
In contrast, the commercial property markets of other parts of Asia Pacific, like Australia and China, are projected to flourish.
