Despite economic and political concerns, Asia Pacific investors still find commercial real estate attractive, with 81 percent intending to maintain or increase their purchasing momentum in the region in 2019, down from 91 percent in 2018, according to CBRE’s Asia Pacific Investment Intentions Survey 2019, released in March.

“Asset diversification will be a strong driver of investment activity, with real estate providing attractive risk-adjusted returns compared to other asset classes, including equities and US corporate bonds over the past 15 years,” states the survey.

Asset pricing, however, remains the biggest obstacle to making real estate purchases in the Asia Pacific region, with 58 percent of respondents citing it as an issue (up from 44 percent in 2018 and 35 percent in 2017). Asia Pacific office capital values, for instance, are now 50 percent higher than at the previous cyclical peak in 2008, even though office rents are unchanged over the same