Hong Kong ranks fifth amongst APAC's Living investment markets

About 85% of investors plan to increase Living investment over the next five years.

Hong Kong ranked fifth amongst Asia Pacific’s (APAC) preferred Living investment destinations in Cushman & Wakefield’s inaugural APAC Living Investor Survey 2026, with investors increasingly pursuing student accommodation, repositioning, and conversion opportunities.

Nine in 10 respondents said they are actively considering repositioning or change-of-use opportunities, highlighting the growing role of conversion-led strategies in addressing supply constraints in the city’s Living sector.

Since 2021, Hong Kong has recorded $12.8b (US$1.63b) in student housing conversion-related transactions across 24 deals.

Of that total, $5.8b (US$739.9m) came from 10 deals completed in the first seven months of 2026, involving a broad range of investors.

Across APAC, 85% of investors surveyed plan to increase Living investment over the next five years, with respondents collectively indicating an estimated $260.28b (US$33.2b) of Living-sector deployment during the period.

The survey found Living is becoming a larger real estate allocation across the region, supported by demand fundamentals and investor preference for stabilised, income-producing assets.

One-third of respondents with diversified real estate portfolios expect Living to account for more than 30% of their real estate portfolio within five years.

Australia/New Zealand and Japan ranked as the region’s most preferred Living investment destinations, followed by Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

The survey said deployment in the latter group remains constrained by scale, regulation, and pricing.

Half of respondents said recent market volatility has increased their preference for stabilised assets, although the availability of institutional-grade stock remains limited across much of APAC.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents said they are actively considering repositioning or change-of-use strategies, whilst joint ventures emerged as the most likely deal structure over the next one to three years.

The survey also identified office and hotel conversions as an increasingly important source of Living supply in markets including Singapore and Hong Kong.

The gap between buyer and seller expectations was identified as the leading investment challenge by 44% of respondents, followed by development viability at 29%.

Respondents also cited limited transaction evidence and inconsistent market transparency as barriers to pricing assets accurately and deploying capital efficiently.