Outbound real estate investment grows 60% to $52.42b

Hong Kong was second in 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 $36b (US$4.6b), surpassing 2019's pre-pandemic volume. Hong Kong investors stepped up purchasing as the second most active source of Asian outbound capital with $52.42b (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 United Kingdom 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 = HK$7.82