More than $17 billion in transactions were recorded in Q2 2012, an increase of 54 percent on the Q1 figure, according to CBRE.
According to CBRE’s Asia Pacific Capital Markets report, the increase is due to a ‘rebound’ in cross border investment, and an increase in $250 million-plus transactions.
Investment activity increased across most Asia Pacific markets, according to the report, with the biggest increases in China, Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand.
The office market, particularly in Australia and Japan, saw strong interest – comprising 47 percent of total investment turnover.
According to the report, there has been an increase in investment demand for retail assets in China and Hong Kong over the past 12 months. It says current high yields in the industrial sector also appeal to investors.
The CBRE Asia Pacific Office Capital Value Index increased by 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, while the retail index increased by 2 percent and the industrial index was up by 2.3 percent.
Nick Axford, CBRE Asia Pacific head of research, says CBRE expects real estate investment activity to remain steady in the second half of 2012, barring any dramatic negative developments in the United States and Eurozone.
“The availability of prime assets will remain tight across the region and investors are expected to take longer to reach decisions given the sizable gap in price expectations between buyers and sellers,” Axford says.
