Asia Pacific: The negatives, the positives and the unknowns

With COVID-19 now a major global pandemic, questions have arisen regarding the fate of real estate investment in Asia Pacific. In a new Special Report, CBRE has provided an up-to-date assessment of how Asia Pacific commercial real estate markets have responded so far, evaluating which markets and sectors have performed better — or worse — than expected, and identifying the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The negatives are led by an impending recession triggered by the imposition of lockdown measures and other restrictions, a sharp decline in occupier and investor demand, and an overriding focus on rent abatement and other concessions.

The positives comprise the gradual easing of restrictions and resumption of economic activity in most regional markets, the rollout of massive monetary and fiscal stimulus to alleviate the impact of lockdown measures, and a resilient logistics sector supported by a surge in e-commerce demand.

The unknowns include t