Market Outlook

Demand for office and industrial assets supports growth across key Asia Pacific markets

HONG KONG, 27 April 2022 – Leading diversified professional services and investment management firm Colliers (NASDAQ and TSX: CIGI) has today released its Asia Pacific Market Snapshot Q1 2022 report, which highlights how major Asia Pacific real estate markets continue to build on a recovery led by gains in the office and industrial segments and are looking forward to a pick-up in dealmaking across segments in the upcoming quarters.

In Australia, easing restrictions brought a return to work and travel, spurring deals worth over USD1 billion in Sydney and Melbourne’s office markets. China too saw demand surge for office space, including in business parks, with key cities witnessing the finalisation of deals worth a combined RMB11 billion (USD1.7 billion). In India, the residential market saw sales surpass pre-2020 levels while strong economic fundamentals triggered an influx of foreign capital. In Singapore, policy measures intended to cool the residential market spurred investments in commercial properties. Japan saw active investment led by REITs across multiple segments, including large office and logistics properties as well as industrial and hotel assets. The report, which examines the previous quarter’s performance of property markets in 16 Asia Pacific countries and territories, also provides forecasts for the current and upcoming quarters.

 
A megatrend that emerged from the last decade and continues to gain momentum is the pivot by investors to non-traditional forms of real estate. The onset of the pandemic has notably accelerated the focus on new economy assets, including those that provide vital infrastructure to the digital economy, such as data centers and logistics. Another powerful trend is the move towards ESG initiatives.

APREA took the opportunity to convene a panel of experts during the association’s annual Asia Pacific Market Outlook 2022 conference to explore how investors are leveraging on these shifts in their investments.

• Two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Asia Pacific hotel sector as more markets across the region ease border restrictions in an attempt to reboot business and leisure travel.

• CBRE expects improvements in visitor arrivals and room occupancy to begin to emerge in Q2 2022, with Southeast Asian leisure markets set to outperform as tourists seek out open-air environments.

• Other key trends anticipated to emerge this year include consumers gravitating to trusted hotel brands, taking longer trips and placing a stronger emphasis on hotel ESG performance.

• This year will also see a further improvement in hotel investment volume as newcomers and experienced investors seek greater exposure, with the weight of capital chasing Asia Pacific hotels now at an all-time high.

This report was originally published in https://apacresearch.cbre.com/en/research-and-reports/Asia-Pacific-Hotel-Market-Outlook_Trends-to-Watch-in-2022

Read on for the full updates from APREA’s Q4 2021 Advocacy Bulletin, which includes the latest industry and regulatory developments from Hong Kong, China, India, and Singapore.