With market sentiment dwindling down, investment volumes fell 42 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2012, according to CBRE’s latest report.
“Market sentiment remained subdued in Q1 2012 although concern over the impact of the Eurozone debt crisis on the global economy eased to a certain extent,” the report noted.
Altogether, the region recorded a total of US$11.6 billion (S$14.769 billion) worth of investments for Q1.
The slowdown was attributed to the slow start of the year, following the New Year holiday in January. In addition, the high investment volumes in H2 2011 removed many assets from the market.
Fortunately, Hong Kong’s investment volume rose by 100 percent quarter-on-quarter, backed by the improved lending environment.
Buying activity was dominated by Asian Reits, domestic private investors and end-users. These sectors jointly accounted for 55 percent of total investment turnover, a rise from 44 percent in Q4 2011.
“Many individual investors acquired strata-titled space or small sized buildings, a trend most evident in Hong Kong and Singapore. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) in China acquired several office properties for self-use whilst another noteworthy trend was the return of Australian superannuation funds to their domestic market,” said the report.
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