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Overview
Asia Pacific equities declined by close to 5% in July to surrender all its gains this year, weighed down by the Chinese government’s regulatory crackdown on the education, internet and property sectors. The tech heavy total return index, as tracked by MSCI, fell to its lowest since November last year. While property related counters were not spared, it fared relatively better as the region’s REITs, with a more diverse geographical base, supported real estate indices. Risks were also firmly on the downside as the rapid rise in infections intensified in the region, clouding the prospects of an economic recovery. The Fed’s decision to maintain interest rates at near zero was largely priced in but the lack of any clear conviction to taper its bond purchases propped up markets, indicating that a monthly pace of US$120 billion will be maintained until substantial further progress had been made on employment and inflation.
Listed Real Estate
The wider GPR/APREA Listed Real Estate tumbled in July, as double-digit declines notched by regional heavyweight, China, proved too much of a drag. Hong Kong stocks were not spared. Support from the region’s other major markets of Australia and Japan were scant this time round as the resurgence of infections in the region hit sentiment.
India’s stocks, however, bucked the regional trend to rise by over 8%. A steady dip in Covid-19 cases rising vaccination rates and relaxation of curbs boosted sentiment on Indian stocks. The pandemic, which have underscored the importance of homes amid the remote working trend, leading to a rise in the demand for apartments, as buyers hunted for upgrades. Favourable regulations, such as RERA and the Model Tenancy Act, and the lowest home loan interest rates in years as well as stamp duty reductions in certain states also fueled a rally for the country’s realty stocks.
REITs
Asia Pacific REITs rose in July, with the GPR/APREA Composite REIT Index building on its rally to record a ninth consecutive monthly rise; the benchmark rose above its January peak last year for the second month running. As expected, the resurgence in infections has boosted the Industrial sector to register another strong month while Retail made up the negative end of the spectrum. Regionally, industrial and logistics REITs are outperformers as investors continue to pursue a flight-to-safety trend.
Across markets, gains were registered by most of the regional heavyweights, with Singapore leading the pack. Rapidly increasing vaccinations rates on the island have provided visibility to the government’s plans to gradually open its economy. However, Australian REITs declined as the renewed lockdown in several cities snapped a four-month winning streak for the country.
Meanwhile, Filinvest REIT Corp is set to become the third REIT to list in the Philippines, having set the final subscription price for its IPO at PHP7.00 per share. The stock is slated to debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange by mid-August. The region continues to boast an impressive pipeline of potential REIT listings, with 8-10 expected for the rest of the year.
Outlook
As base effects wane, rising caseloads across several countries in the Asia Pacific have dimmed the outlook for the regional economy. However, REITs have continued to remain resilient, backstopped by the Industrial sector as well as markets that have progressively clocked higher vaccination rates which will make the easing of restrictions more tenable. With long-dated treasury yields at their lowest since February, markets are now more inclined to believe that the specter of surging inflation will be less likely for now. The state of play has clearly shifted to policy risks in China as well as the threat from the fast-moving Delta variant. With central banks and the Fed likely to stick with its easy monetary policies due to a choppy recovery, there will invariably be sustained interest in dividend-rich stocks. As long as the pandemic continues to linger, investors will also continue to seek out the structural plays of the industrial and logistics sectors.
Download the Report Read MoreTo know more about the report, download it below.
This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/
Download the Report Read MoreThis report provides insights to investors into real estate transactional volumes as well as the emerging trends and opportunities in the Asia Pacific commercial real estate markets. So far, we’ve received very good feedback about the report’s content from our audience.
Some key takeaways of the report:
COVID-19 induced lockdowns have exposed the weaknesses of income-producing properties around the world. As a result, two-tiered markets have formed, with more resilient prime assets continuing to hold their values, while non-prime assets are seeing their values deteriorate. In response to this, we are witnessing massive moves to repurpose assets and bring them to relevance in the evolving landscape across the region.
There are five demand drivers consisting of both the pull and push factors influencing the Great Asset Repurposing of the Decade.
This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/
Download the Report Read More“Despite operating under the shadow of the pandemic, warehouse markets across the region have remained largely stable, driven by sustained demand from the e-commerce sector. Recent events that have impacted commitments to customers have put the development of supply chain resilience into focus and major occupiers are responding by re-configuring their strategies through building out inventory buffers and expanding urban distribution nodes. This will have positive knock-on effects for demand to strengthen for logistics spaces. Developers in the region remain on the hunt for opportunities to capitalise on growth trends, indicating sustained confidence in the region’s warehouse markets.”
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