According to the WiseTong Financial APP, data and analysis from Jones Lang LaSalle show that in the third quarter of 2024, commercial real estate investment in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 28% to 38.8 billion dollars (USD, the same below) year-on-year, setting the highest quarterly investment amount in the Asia-Pacific region since the start of the rate hike cycle in 2022, and achieving continuous growth for four consecutive quarters. From the beginning of the year to the present, the total amount of commercial real estate investment in the Asia-Pacific region has reached as high as 96.3 billion, an 82% increase from the same period last year. In the first three quarters of this year, Hong Kong's total commercial transactions amounted to 3.1 billion dollars, a 3% decrease year-on-year, with the third-quarter investment amount reaching 1.3 billion dollars, 58% higher than the second quarter.

In the Asia-Pacific market, apart from residences, the transaction volume in all major real estate sectors has increased, with robust performance in cross-border investments totaling 14.5 billion yuan since the beginning of the year, a 6% increase from the same period last year.

Japan remains the most active market in the Asia-Pacific region, driven by record-high tourist numbers, with several large hotel asset portfolio acquisitions recorded, pushing the transaction volume in the third quarter to 8.4 billion dollars. The Singapore market also performed well, with a transaction volume of 4.4 billion dollars in the third quarter, 1.18 times higher than in the third quarter of 2023, mainly benefiting from strong demand from institutional investors for industrial and retail assets.

Chen Guozhang, head of Jones Lang LaSalle's Hong Kong capital markets department, stated that so far this year, there has been relatively active trading in industrial buildings and logistics centers in Hong Kong, while transactions involving shops and office buildings have remained quiet. Hong Kong has followed the United States in interest rate cuts twice, which has had a positive impact on the Hong Kong property investment market. It is expected that commercial property transactions will increase in the fourth quarter of this year, especially as the Hong Kong government will introduce policies to encourage the conversion of commercial properties and hotels into student accommodation, resulting in an expected increase in transactions for entire commercial buildings and hotels.