Asia Pacific investment volumes down 30% in Q1 2023

Real estate investment volumes in Asia Pacific contracted 30 percent year-on-year, to $27 billion, in first quarter 2023 on the heels of interest-rate hikes and as repricing efforts continued to weigh on global direct investment, according to JLL’s Asia Pacific Capital Tracker 1Q23.

But Japan was a bright spot amid the macroeconomic uncertainty, given its stable market conditions, loose monetary policy, and favorable rate and currency environment, notes the report. The nation’s $8.9 billion in transaction volume outperformed the region, with Japan’s office sector seeing “considerable volume uptick, propped up by headquarter building disposals from Japanese corporations, and a flurry of acquisitions by J-REITs.”

Meanwhile, at $2.5 billion, South Korea recorded the lowest quarterly volume since 2016. The acute contraction was due to the country’s elevated credit margins and lack of both equity and debt financing, states the report.

To read