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In APREA’s Real Assets, Real People, we talk to a leader in the real assets industry to gain insights on their experiences and strategies for success.
Here’s Vikram Garg, Head of Real Estate Asset Management Asia, Blackstone
Summary: Logistics rents across the Asia-Pacific region declined marginally by 0.4% YoY in H1 2025 due to cautious occupier sentiment and shifting supply chain strategies. Despite the overall slowdown, India and Brisbane showed strong rental growth, while most Chinese markets continued to face pressure from rising vacancies and oversupply.
Outlook for H2 2025 includes slower leasing, more tenant-favourable conditions, and growing focus on strategic, resilient logistics hubs across the region.
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.
GARBE’s ROOTS development in Hamburg raises the bar for sustainable urban design as Germany’s tallest timber hybrid high-rise. Completed in Q1 2024 in HafenCity, the 19-storey building combines prefabricated timber with a concrete core, achieving a balance between structural safety, material efficiency, and carbon reduction. With a mixed-use programme and innovative use of natural materials, ROOTS offers a blueprint for high-density, low-carbon living and reflects the growing role of timber in sustainable construction.
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.
Leasing demand in Vietnam remains strong amid influx of new entrants from mainland China; Demand holds firm in Singapore as retailers expand cautiously in anticipation of slower consumption; Leasing market in India improves after slow start to year, backed by positive domestic consumption.
Continued investment momentum in India driven by large private equity deals; Investment activity strengthens in Hong Kong SAR, driven by key transactions and distressed asset sales; Driven by industrial transactions, investment activity in Taiwan picks up as sentiment improves.
Competition between landlords intensifies in Mainland China as leasing demand remains under pressure; Centralisation and flight-to-quality drives leasing demand in Australia; diminishing high quality options spurs higher renewal rates; Tight office availability in the Middle East prompts occupiers to proactively review real estate strategies, generating more pre-leasing demand.
Kemmu Kawai joined Longevity Partners Japan in September 2022 as the Country Director. Based in Tokyo, he oversees all operations and activities in Japan, the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. He brings him more than 16 years of experience in finance where he specialised in real estate and credit investments. Before joining Longevity Partners, he served as a Portfolio Manager at Norinchukin Bank and as Investment Manager at Center Point Development.
Kemmu Kawai
Managing Director
Longevity Partners
