Rarely, if ever, have Far East and Asian institutional property markets — and stock markets, with their real estate components — been so attuned to the actions of regional and major global central banks.

Apart from investing in more-liquid sectors such as REITs, investing in real estate typically is viewed as a long-term strategy

While March performance was relatively flat for both global and Asia Pacific property stocks, returning –0.2 percent and 0.0 percent, respectively, property stocks closed out the first quarter of 2015 with performance that paced broader equities. 

In yet another move by an Asian investor to diversify its portfolio and enhance returns through investment in alternative assets, Taiwan’s US$92 billion Bureau of Labour Funds issued RFPs in March for global real estate securities and infrastructure securities mandates for the organisations it oversees.

The Asia Pacific region experienced a temporary economic lull in 2014 but is expected to gain momentum in the next five years, according to a recent report published by Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management. 

Peter Verweris chief executive of APREA, the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association. Verwer recently spoke with Jonathan Schein, senior vice president, managing director of business development, with Institutional Real Estate, Inc, about APREA’s latest projects, as well as the organisation’s collaborations with industry bodies and national governments to help improve the Asia Pacific real estate marketplace.