Commercial real-estate investment volumes in the Asia-Pacific increased by 8 per cent in the third quarter of this year to US$29.6 billion ($38.4 billion), according to DTZ Research.
The real-estate research house said that volume growth would remain strong for the remainder of this year – and into next year, with investment predicted to hit US$145 billion next year. That would be a 12-per-cent increase on the expected volume of US$129 billion for the whole of this year.
The established markets of Australia and Hong Kong both recorded 40 per cent jumps in third quarter investment – to US$4.3 billion and US$1.7 billion, respectively.
Volumes in Japan also increased 25 per cent quarter-on-quarter to US$4.7 billion.
Meanwhile, investment volumes in Malaysia reached a record high of US$1.9 billion in the third quarter, representing a 233-per-cent improvement from the second quarter. The growth was led by large acquisitions of retail property assets by domestic real estate investment trusts.
In Singapore, volumes surpassed the US$3 billion mark last seen in 2008 as the world’s fastest-growing economy boosted investor confidence.
The Chinese market, however, registered a 21-per-cent decline from the previous three months to US$11.9 billion because of the steps taken by Beijing to curb property market excesses in the country.
However, China still remains the most liquid market in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 40 per cent of overall activity in the third quarter.
Mr David Green-Morgan, head of DTZ Asia Pacific Research, is optimistic about the outlook for Asia-Pacific property investments, with capital and rental values predicted to increase across almost all markets next year.
He said he expected institutional investors, especially sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, to become increasingly active in the region’s property markets.
Source : Today – 22 Oct 2010