Knowledge Hub

• New data centre supply in the four tier I Asia Pacific markets (Greater Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong SAR) totalled 305MW in H2 2021. This marked the highest total for a six-month period since CBRE’s records began. 
• The record volume of new supply pushed up net absorption in the four Asia Pacific tier I markets to over 280MW in H2 2021. Hyperscale cloud providers remained the main demand driver, with many groups exhibiting requirements for bigger facility sizes and multiple-site deployments.
• Asia Pacific direct data centre investment turnover totalled US$4.8 billion in 2021, an increase of over 100% from the previous year. Data centre operators completed several acquisitions; capital-raising remained strong; and more investors are setting up operational platforms.  
• Large populations of internet users, solid economic growth, government support for industry 4.0 and 5G development continue to drive interest in data centre development in emerging Southeast Asia, with Indonesia and Malaysia the largest markets at present.

Bernie Devine, Senior Regional Director, Yardi

“If I can track my pizza on my phone, why can’t I expect a fast and frictionless rental experience?”

This question – or various iterations of it –is being asked by an entirely new generation of renters who have very different expectations of customer service than their parents once did.

In an era of instant information, where ecommerce allows us to shop from anywhere and anytime, renters no longer want to spend their Saturdays pounding the pavement or filling in dozens of rental application forms. They don’t expect to deal with real estate agents and property managers that operate in an analog world. And they don’t understand why paying their biggest monthly expense – their rent – is not a positive and personalised interaction.

Whether virtual tours or AI-enabled customer service bots, technology can make the process of renting better. Despite rapid advances in real estate technology, many property companies operate in an analog world; and that means from the start the discovery process to the day they move out, the renter is beset by pain points.

Within the office sector, occupiers can focus on higher-quality assets that possess green and sustainable features and establish a roadmap to adopt an ESG agenda from green buildings to energy audits, to green leases. Meanwhile, landlords can invest in smart and green buildings, including retrofitting older stock and prepare for new ESG requirements by embedding sustainability into every stage of the building life cycle. In the industrial and logistics sector, a paramount trend to watch is the sharper focus on ESG criteria, evident from 67% of occupiers believing that green or sustainability features will be more prominent in logistics facilities in the future in CBRE’s 2021 APAC Logistics Occupier Survey.

This report was originally published in https://apacresearch.cbre.com/en/research-and-reports/Asia-Pacific-Real-Estate-Market-Outlook-2022

535 Asia Pacific-based investors participated in the survey, which asked respondents a range of questions regarding their buying appetite and preferred real estate strategies, sectors and markets for 2022. Investment sentiment towards Asia Pacific commercial real estate remains positive. A key finding is that investors continue to regard the incorporation of ESG criteria into investment strategies as critical to fulfilling regulatory requirements, preserving future asset value, protecting the environment and enhancing brand image. As a result, ESG criteria continue to gain traction among investors. Approaches include incorporating ESG into AEI and consulting external rating parties like GRESB when assessing potential acquisitions. More investors are also leveraging green financing for ESG upgrades as additional costs are required. These include developers, REITs and fund managers. 

This report was originally published in https://apacresearch.cbre.com/en/research-and-reports/Asia-Pacific-Investor-Intentions-Survey-2022