Apartment investments in Asia Pacific triple in first half of 2020, thanks to Japan

Japanese apartments are now considered as the most sought-after asset class this year 

Since the onslaught of the pandemic, warehouses nabbed the property investment spotlight across Asia Pacific. But since major businesses began to venture into more traditional asset classes in the first half of the year, Mingtiandi revealed that the transactions for rental apartments more than tripled, which enabled it to reclaim its glory.

Among the major acquisitions were conducted by Allianz Insurance, AXA Investment Management and Blackstone that helped Japan amass some USD4.9 billion in rental apartment investments from January to June, according to a report by Real Capital Analytics (RCA). 

In the first half of 2020, the influx of cash into the multi-family assets of Japan drove investments in rental apartments in Asia Pacific to USD6.5 billion, a 157 percent growth compared to the same period a year before. 

In that same period, however, transactions in the industrial sector declined by four percent in the region, while the volume of office deals dropped by 44 percent, added RCA. 

More: Greater Niseko welcomes a new property cycle as demand for condos drops

“There has been a continued trend of institutional and core investors seeking exposure to the Japanese residential sectors, given the stability of income and the relative high cash-on-cash yields,” said Stuart Crow, the chief executive at JLL APAC.  

As for the Alpine destination Greater Niseko, where a rising number of international hotel brands have started to pop up, this development will eventually lead to a growing number of tourists, which will raise apartment demand for people either working in the area or moving there for good. 

Seeing as the area will soon be welcoming a new property cycle that will support locals, we have decided to introduce the first-ever PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Greater Niseko) to honour pioneering developers, developments and designs that have paved the way for a brighter tomorrow for Niseko. 

 Winners of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Greater Niseko) will be announced on 4 December 2020. To find out which developers or projects will receive prestigious distinctions, visit asiapropertyawards.com/en/award/asia-property-awards-greater-niseko/.