This in-depth report offers a comprehensive analysis of the five largest REIT markets in Asia: Japan; Singapore; Hong Kong, China (“Hong Kong”); the Chinese mainland; and India.

Key Highlights:

• In 2023, the India REIT market saw the steepest rise in total market value, up 31% year-on-year.
• Singapore’s REIT market expanded by 4%, with an average total return of 7.0%.
• Combined value of the Asia REIT market stood at US$252 billion, dominated by Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
• The industrial / logistics and multifamily REITs, displayed superior risk resilience, while data center and healthcare sectors continued strong performance.
• New policy initiatives in the Chinese mainland led to the issuance of seven new REIT products in the first four months of 2024.
• India’s combined office REITs portfolio is projected to reach 180 million sq ft by 2025, with Nexus Select Trust planning to double its portfolio size over the next five years.

Cushman & Wakefield’s 2022-2023 Asia REIT Market Insight report investigates the growing Real Estate Investment Trust market in Asia, examining the primary drivers and state of play in key markets including Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, mainland China and India.

Overall, the Asia REIT market has experienced declines in stock prices and overall market values in 2022, predominantly due to the influence of the U.S. interest rate hikes. Despite this, the Asia REIT market has still performed better than its U.S. and European counterparts.

Key highlights:

• At the close of 2022 the combined value of the Asia REIT market was at US$263.8 billion, down 14.7% y-o-y. The mainland China REIT market value surged 80% on the back of new product offerings, but the remaining Asia markets all experienced declines in market value.
• Industrial/logistics, healthcare, and data center assets have been favored by investors as new growth drivers in recent years.
• A total of 17 new products were introduced into the China REIT market in the period from March 2022 to June 2023.
• REITs have also proven popular with investors in India. Consequently, we estimate that more than 20% of Grade A office stock in India will be held by REITs by the end of 2024.

China’s first REITs were launched in 2021, following earlier exploration of real estate securitization. As of March 2023, 27 REITs have been listed in China, covering various real estate infrastructure types. The sector is transitioning from volatility to a more stable market, and opportunities for private real estate investment funds in China are expanding.

Looking ahead, Chinese REITs are expected to diversify their assets, improve valuation techniques, enhance management structures, and optimize leverage restrictions. China aims to build a REITs ecosystem based on international standards, with collaboration between local and international stakeholders playing a crucial role in its development.

The last decade was marked by an aggressive expansion of the region’s real estate markets. APREA’s Asia Pacific Market Outlook 2023: Onward and Upward held a session with REIT stakeholders on their business strategies around Covid, e-commerce, changing monetary policies, geopolitics, and new priorities (ESG) and the next set of challenges and opportunities.