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• Economic Rent and New Office Development: Increasing construction costs, rising land values, and asset repricing are leading investors to scrutinise theoretical rents more closely when planning new office developments. Investors are looking more closely at ‘economic rents’, which measure the rental income needed to justify development costs and are reassessing office developments across the region. 
  
  
• Regional Variations:  Most markets in Asia Pacific have reported significant growth in economic rents over the past five years, led by Australia. In Asia, Singapore, Seoul and Beijing have seen the greatest growth.

• Postponed New Office Developments: CBRE expects Asia Pacific office developments will continue to be postponed as investors find it difficult to justify commencing work on new schemes. This will constrain the supply pipeline in the medium term. As a result, the region’s office markets will adjust to the tighter supply-demand imbalance, which will help rental growth align with the change in construction and land costs.

• Office Investment Hotspots: With the office outlook improving and pricing at the top of cycle in most APAC markets, investors are expected to continue to target acquisitions of existing stock. Markets with strong rental prospects such as Australia, Japan, India, and Korea, will attract investment demand in H2 2025.

The Asia Pacific region is witnessing a transformation in its REIT landscape as structural shifts, driven by digitalisation, demographic change, and sustainability imperatives, are reshaping how capital is allocated and where future growth lies.

In our latest issue of APREA TrendWatch, find out how REITs in the region are now pivoting towards emerging, high-growth sectors, such as data centres, life sciences, logistics, and rental housing.

In Singapore, investment remains buoyant despite operating performance normalising along with new supply; Indonesia hotel performance mixed as investment liquidity remains a challenge; Strong tourism growth in Vietnam boosts hotel performance and lures new investors.

Sentiment remains positive in Singapore but conditions diverge across eastern and western markets; Solid regional demand and domestic consumption underpin firm leasing demand in Japan; In Australia, transaction activity remains stable as Sydney continues to outperform.