By Nikki De Guzman:
Direct global commercial property investments soared to US$105 billion (Bt3.1 trillion) in Q1 2013 — the highest Q1 transaction volume since 2008, according to a new report from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).
A total of US$27 billion from this overall amount was invested in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The amount was about the same as that of the previous quarter but translated to a 26 percent gain from the same period last year. APAC was also the only region that did not record a decline in volumes from Q4 2012.
The biggest share amounting to US$20 billion came from domestic deals, while the remaining US$7 billion was made up of cross-border investments – a decline of 11 percent quarter-on-quarter and 24 percent year-on-year.
Apart from boosting liquidity, continued quantitative easing across key countries had also slashed borrowing costs in the Asia-Pacific. As a result, real-estate assets across the region were more accessible to investors, said Stuart Crow, Head of Capital Markets (APAC) at JLL.
He also said that moving forward, JLL will “maintain [their] expectation of an increase in transaction volumes in Asia-Pacific to US$110 billion for 2013, which will be about 12 percent up on last year, and we think that Japan is going to be the ‘one to watch’ this year.”
“We expect a lift in investment activity in the country, as positive signs are emerging following announcements about stimulus measures targeted at reflating the Japanese economy,” added Crow.
Nikki De Guzman, Junior Reporter at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@allproperty.com.sg
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