Outbound commercial real estate investment surges 164% to $43.41b

Singaporean capital led Asian outbound real estate investment rebounds in 2021.

Commercial real estate firm CBRE reported Asian outbound commercial real estate investment surged 69% year-on-year (YoY) in 2021 to $6.24b (US$4.6b), surpassing 2019's pre-pandemic volume.

The $43.41b (US$32b) deployed by Singapore-based investors marked 164% YoY growth, with the US as the top country for outbound investment from Asia.

Hong Kong investors also stepped up purchasing as the second most active source of Asian outbound capital with US$6.7b invested in 2021, representing a 60% YoY rebound.

"Investors from Singapore and Hong Kong were the most active due to the size of their markets and available liquidity. The United States was the preferred international market for Asian investors due to attractive US dollar hedging costs and its robust economy relative to Asia as business travel normalises,” said Asia Pacific head of capital markets, Greg Hyland.

The top destination markets for Asian investors also included Australia, Mainland China, the UK, and Japan. The UK was the only European market to record a significant inflow from Asian capital in 2021, with more investors shifting their emphasis back to the Asia Pacific region, where they can rely on stronger networks and local expertise to execute and evaluate deals.

US$1 = SG$1.36