Commercial transaction volumes in Asia Pacific hit US$53 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 8 percent year-on-year, according to research from Knight Frank Asia Pacific released in May. South Korea, Singapore and Australia led the first-quarter momentum with an estimated 33 percent, 80 percent and 53 percent increase, respectively.

“Even with macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, investors have sustained their allocations to real estate in the last quarter,” said Christine Li, Knight Frank’s head of research, Asia Pacific. “The fundamentals of [the] investment market are sound, although growth rates are moderating on the back of higher borrowing cost and inflationary pressure. Acquisitions by Asia Pacific REITs [that] are facing pressure to scale up will drive momentum in the coming year, and we expect activity to strengthen in the second half of 2022.”

Transactions in the office sector dominated, with about 41 percent of total investment volume, su