Real Estate

Investors are attracted by strong occupier demand for logistics properties, and higher yields relative to other forms of traditional real estate.

In Asia Pacific, drivers of growth for logistics and warehousing space include demand from third-party logistics operators and e-commerce companies.

Direct real estate transaction volumes in the industrial sector totaled US$13.8 billion in 2016, based on data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

Five markets (Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China) accounted for over 80 per cent of industrial investment volumes regionally in the 2011-2016 period. In comparison, India and emerging Southeast Asia accounted for less than three per cent of volumes.

Logistics stock in Asia Pacific more than US and Europe combined

Growing logistics stock presents more options for investors, and enables easier entry into or exit from a market.

Based on ou…

With growth in its core real estate business tied to the country’s economic growth, the company is targeting a larger international presence and a bigger lifestyle play to fulfil its ambitions of becoming a global brand.

“We looked for partners that can help Sansiri grow further, partners that we could learn from in terms of hospitality, lifestyle, technology, innovation, and even in terms of new target audience,” says Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin.

“Importantly, all six investments are in high-growth sectors in global markets which offer new sources of revenue beyond Thailand.”

Of the announced $80-million investment, around $58 million will go towards US-based boutique hotel chain Standard International and its mobile booking application, One Night. The remaining is earmarked for Tyler Brûlé’s lifestyle magazine Monocle, London’s Airbnb management firm Hostmaker, Asia’s co-working space JustCo and smart indoor farm technology firm Farmshelf.

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Property developers across Thailand are experiencing are increasingly attracted by hotel branded residences in order to spur price premium points and buyer demand.

Currently there are 29 new hotel residence projects countrywide with nearly 90% of these located in resort areas.

New research by consulting group C9 Hotelworks has pinpointed that the top 3 locations for completed and pipeline projects in their Southeast Asia Hotel Residences Market Trends report are Phuket (26 properties), Pattaya (10 properties) and Bangkok (9 properties).

With nearly 100 mainstream hotel residence projects and over 21,000 units completed, the next three years will see sector boldly expanding into new territory.

The reports states that between 2018 and 2020 new completed units will represent a massive 83% increase over existing supply.

Viewing how Thailand ranks in terms of competitiveness in the sector, with 41 completed projects to date, this accoun…

In the newly released biannual Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) 2018 by property consultancy firm JLL, Thailand is ranked 34th, an improvement from the 2016 edition of the Index where the country was ranked 38th.

Compared to the other six countries from Southeast Asia covered by the Index, Thailand is ranked the 3rd most transparent real estate market in the sub region followed by Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar that were ranked globally 42nd, 48th, 61st and 73rd respectively.

This 10th edition of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) contains the most comprehensive country comparisons of data availability, governance, transaction processes, property rights and the regulatory/legal environment around the world.

The 2018 Index covers 100 countries and 158 city markets, and the number of individual factors covered has increased by 36% to 186 factors.

Mrs. Suphin Mechuchep, Managing Director of JLL, says …

Brand, intellectual property and real estate will be the key stores of wealth in the future. The question for investors is where and what to buy to store wealth for the next 10 years.

Rana Foroohar, from the Financial Times, gave that insight in her keynote speech at the ANREV conference late last year, causing a happy stir in the audience.  Institutional investors in real estate are well placed to provide a home for savings and incomes in the future.

In a world where the real US 10-year government bonds rates have delivered roughly 1% per annum over the last 10 years, Asia Pacific office total returns have averaged 9.6% per annum over the same period.  Although not directly comparable, it is pretty compelling.

The question for investors is where and what to buy to store wealth for the next 10 years.

At the start of 2018 we are observing a globalised economic recovery with all three regions growing. This year we should start to see a quickening o…

Real estate investment trusts are growing in popularity around the world, as investors seek new ways to access an increasingly institutional market. REITs are listed as private funds which are tax-transparent, so investors are only taxed on their dividends.

This puts them on a level playing field with those who hold real estate directly. The Trusts are required to distribute the majority of taxable net income to shareholders and must adhere to certain restrictions on its operations, organisation and ownership.

The security of an institutional regime, low barriers to entry and more liquidity than direct property investment, offer an attractive option for investors. In Russia for example, REITs are attracting high levels of interest as the property market recovers, following a slump in 2014-2016.

Collective investment including REITs schemes have become more popular in Russia as macroeconomic conditions have improved, says Olesya Dzuba, Head of Research, …

JLL Spark, a division of JLL, announced today the creation of JLL Spark Global Venture Fund, which plans to invest up to $100 million in companies focused on leveraging technology to improve everything from real estate development and management to leasing and investing, while enhancing the experience of those who occupy it.

The fund will also help entrepreneurs and their companies by connecting them with JLL’s business lines and clients for insightful feedback and distribution of their products.

“Having been entrepreneurs ourselves, we know how hard it is to bring a new product to market, especially in an industry that has been slow to adopt new technology.

That’s why our goal is to partner with entrepreneurs, and help them tap into the resources of JLL’s business lines so they can succeed in rapidly growing their companies while we also create value for JLL’s clients,”

said Mihir Shah, Co-CEO at JLL Spark. Read more

Rising prices and dwindling land banks, combined with improved transport connectivity, are changing the shape of Bangkok’s condominium market as new projects move away from the city’s centre; however, oversupply in some areas could continue to weigh on sales.

With the expansion of bus and rail transport improving connectivity in the capital, mid- and upper-range property developments are set to migrate away from traditional downtown areas, according to international real estate consultancy Colliers International Thailand.

Around 60,000 condominiums will be added to existing stocks this year, building on the 300,000 units that have entered the market since 2013, Phattarachai Taweewong, senior manager of the firm’s research department, told local press in April.

The extension of the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Blue Line connecting Tha Phra to Bang Sue, which is close to completion, has accelerated development in the city’s west. An estimated nine condomini…

While China’s biggest corporates are increasingly flexing their global muscle as the country’s economic and geopolitical influence accelerates, Bangkok is the 10th most popular destination for mainland firms expanding overseas.

Bangkok also ranks 3rd in terms of the volume of Chinese corporate leasing activity over the last three years, according to ‘China12: China’s Cities Go Global’, a new report from real estate consulting firm JLL.

The report analyses 12 mainland cities and their transformation into major hubs of innovation and global interaction. It also dives into the country’s emerging wave of influential corporates and the impact that this group of dynamic Chinese companies have beyond their domestic market.

“The China12 are home to a growing group of highly dynamic and ambitious new generation firms that will drive the next wave of globalisation,” says Jeremy Kelly, Director of Global Research, JLL.

“We’re already seeing a higher…