The Chinese property market saw USD $5 billion-worth of investment transactions take place in the second quarter of this year says the latest edition of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Asia Pacific Capital Markets Bulletin, with Australia coming out as the region’s favourite destination for cross-border residential buyers.

“Sound domestic demand for real estate by occupiers and investors, combined with relatively strong corporate/household sector and high savings rates is expected to drive continued short term real estate markets’ performance to the remainder of the year,” JLL told OPP this week.

“With domestic deals chalking up USD $11.2 billion alone” across the Asia Pacific region, says the report, “cross-border Asia money accounted for USD $4.5 billion while inter-regional funds made up the total at USD $3.3 billion.”

Stuart Crow, Head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle told OPP that “investors who are interested in diversification of their portfolios are likely to be attracted to real estate in the region, based on cash flow from rent with the potential to keep pace with inflation.”

Australia emerged as a top favourite for inter-regional investors, says JLL, not least because it is “one of two AAA-rated countries in Asia Pacific, with good fundamentals of transparent real estate markets and economic links to the rest of Asia.”

Jones Lang LaSalle has been based in the Asia Pacific property sector for more than 50 years and has 20,800 employees operating in 77 offices in 13 countries across the region.

Source: Overseas Property Professional