According to recent data from JLL, investment volumes into the Asia Pacific have hit a record-breaking USD 81 billion in the first half of 2018, up 30 per cent year-on-year (YOY), with Hong Kong leading as the region's most active city. 

Stuart Crow, Head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets at JLL says, "Asia Pacific's property markets continue to perform well despite global political and economic uncertainty.

"Globally, the pace of deal-making in Asia Pacific has raced ahead of Europe and the US., as transaction volume growth in this region is being supported by a continued cyclical recovery in developed markets such as Hong Kong, Australia and Japan," Crow added.

In the first half of 2018, transaction volumes in Hong Kong grew to USD 14.6 billion compared to USD 5.8 billion during the same period in 2017.

As a result, Hong Kong has also jumped to third place on the list of the world's most liquid markets after London in the first place, and New York in second. JLL attribute the change in ranking to the sale of the 73-storey office tower The Centre for USD 5.1 billion. According to JLL, the sale was not only the largest single-asset transaction of the year so far but also the world's most expensive real estate transaction ever. 

"Prices in Hong Kong's central sub-market have been pushed up due to a combination of tight vacancy rates, robust occupier demand and a lack of new supply.

"Coupled with an influx of Chinese occupiers and investors, these factors have accelerated an increase in real estate prices," says Joseph Tsang, Head of Capital Markets, JLL Hong Kong. 

"Despite the rising prices, investor appetite remains resilient," says Tsang. "Between 2015 and 2017, mainland buyers spent an average of USD 2.1 billion per year on offices in Hong Kong. This year is set to exceed that figure given that, to date, there has been more than USD 2 billion worth of office acquisitions already transacted."

For more information about investment volumes in the Asia Pacific, email Stuart Crow Head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets, JLL or Joseph Tsang Head of Capital Markets, JLL Hong Kong via the contact details listed below. 

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