Asia Pacific investment activity weakens

Investment activity in Asia Pacific has weakened amid growing economic uncertainty, reported CBRE.

Transaction volume registered $26.3 billion in the first quarter, a decline of 4.5 percent year-over-year. China saw an uptick in investment, led by overseas buyers, while Korea continued to see sustained purchasing activity. Cross-border investment rose by 8.9 percent year-over-year to $6.3 billion on the back of increased intra-regional investment by Asian buyers.

Tech firms and co-working operators continued to drive office space take-up but net absorption declining by 1.5 percent quarter-over-quarter to 10.8 million square feet. Rents increased by 0.8 percent quarter-over-quarter.

New retail supply this year is estimated at around 55 million square feet, an increase of 8 percent year-over-year. Rents edged up by 0.1 percent quarter-over-quarter. And logistics’ net absorption in Asia totaled 12.5 million square feet. Vacancy was unchanged while rents increased