According to CBRE’s latest In and Out Report, offshore property investors have upped the ante in the Asia Pacific region, accounting for 41% of the $15.6b in office, retail, industrial and hotel property transactions finalised in the first half of this year.

CBRE report author Tom Broderick noted that Australia dominated Pacific transaction activity, accounting for $14.6bn of the $15.6bn first half total. This was significantly up on the $10.8bn in sales recorded in the comparative period in 2020.

The proportion of offshore buyer activity was even higher in Australia at 43%, up from 37% at the same time last year. Broderick also noted that Singaporean investors led the charge into Australia, accounting for $3.2bn of the sales in the region, with $3bn spent in Australia.

The majority of investment in Australia was in the Industrial & Logistics (I&L) sector. CBRE Pacific head of industrial capital markets Chris O'Brien, said: “The I&L sector is on track to experience a record year in 2021 from an investment perspective. Foreign investors are continuing to drive strong pricing as they seek to expand their portfolios. These groups have identified that the Pacific region remains behind many other developed countries from an e-commerce perspective, which is expected to fuel continued growth in demand for I&L space.”