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Singaporeans are expected to be Asia Pacific’s third most active outbound property investors this year behind the Chinese and South Koreans, based on a new report from CBRE.
According to its 2015 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey, 32 percent of the respondents expressed interest in looking for investment opportunities in Asia Pacific. South Koreans are expected to be the most active for outbound investments accounting for the 69 percent of these respondents, followed by the Chinese who ranked just ahead of Singaporeans with almost 40 percent.
“The strong economic recovery in the US is prompting some investors to shift their focus from Western Europe to North America. Nevertheless, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) continue to attract a high volume of Asian capitals,” said Ada Choi, Senior Director at CBRE Research Asia.
Notably, those from Singapore and Hong Kong displayed the strongest intention to buy property amongst Asian investors. This bullish sentiment is bolstered by the sustained low interest rate in their home country and their eagerness to expand their portfolio in foreign markets.
On the other hand, the Chinese were the only group in Asia Pacific with greater intention to sell rather than acquire. In fact, Chinese property companies disposed US$5.3 billion (S$7.38 billion) worth of real estate last year.
Meanwhile, China, Japan and Australia remain as the top property investment destinations in the region for 2015, while Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and South Korea rose in the rankings.
By asset category, the office sector continues to be the most favoured sector for investment followed by the industrial and logistics segments. As for the hospitality sector, it saw a surge in interest of 12 percent from just 1 percent in 2014 thanks to Asia Pacific’s thriving tourism scene.
It is noted that CBRE’s poll was carried out in January 2015 and involved more than 300 respondents, 80 of which are investors in Asia Pacific. It covers a wide range of property buyers, including banks, institutional investors, private property firms, fund or asset managers and real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg.
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