Japanese investors favor Australia for outbound CRE investment

Japanese investors’ strong appetite thus far in 2024 for commercial real estate investment in Australia is set to surpass their capital flows into U.S. real estate for the first time in at least 10 years, according to Cushman & Wakefield, citing data from MSCI.

Year-to-date, Japanese investment in Australian property assets has reached $1.76 billion, topping the $1.31 billion recorded for the United States.

Speaking at a Cushman & Wakefield event in Tokyo on Oct. 22, Gordon Marsden, the firm’s head of capital markets, Asia Pacific, said that while the United States and European markets remained front-of-mind for Japanese investors, especially given recent interest-rate adjustments, their actual deployment of capital signaled something different.

“The appetite for outbound investments from Japanese investors has surged in recent years, particularly since 2023, as they seek higher yields and diversification,” Marsden said. “Notably, the APAC regi