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Australia remains as a popular investment destination for Singaporeans in 2016, according to CBRE’s latest Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey.
According to the report, cross-border investors continue to focus on Australia, Japan and China, as these markets collectively account for about 60 percent of the respondents’ interest. Singaporeans and Chinese buyers particularly prefer Australia for their investments.
Also, more cross-border investors have set their sights on Southeast Asia. Compared to just 17 percent last year, 20 percent of the respondents said they are keen to buy assets in the region, particularly in Singapore (31 percent) and Vietnam (36 percent).
By asset type, offices are the most preferred type of property to invest in, with 32 percent of respondents saying so. Logistics took the second spot (17 percent) while hotels and resorts landed on the third place after interest surged from 1 percent in 2014 to 14 percent in 2016.
Overall, buying intentions among Asia Pacific property investors remain positive, with around 80 percent of respondents indicating they plan to invest at a similar level in 2015 or surpass last year’s figure.
Although the majority of respondents still expect to buy more than sell this year, the proportion of those who plan to acquire more declined to 42 percent in 2016 from 54 percent in 2015 and 64 percent in 2014.
“As the region’s real estate market has seen an active couple of years, which saw record-breaking investment turnover and big ticket portfolio transactions, we are starting to see softening investor sentiment in 2016,” said Ada Choi, Senior Director of Research at CBRE Asia Pacific.
“This is most likely due to increased concerns over the regional and global economy, high asset prices and also limited availability of assets for sale.”
According to 58 percent of the respondents, the domestic and global economy poses the greatest threat to APAC’s real estate market this year versus 29 percent in 2015.
There is also a growing concern on asset pricing as 38 percent identify this as the biggest obstacle to acquiring assets, up from 31 percent in 2015.
Nevertheless, Asia Pacific investors are demonstrating a stronger appetite for outbound investment this year, with 42 percent of respondents intending to invest outside the region compared to merely 31 percent in 2015.
Singaporeans have the second most positive attitude towards outbound investments, after South Koreans.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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