Asia Pacific
When the SARS epidemic surfaced in China in 2003, the impact on domestic real estate was severe but fairly short-lived, with rents and prices rebounding quickly once the outbreak had peaked. The fallout from COVID-19, however, promises to be more profound, as shrinking global demand for Chinese products turns the screw on firms that have only recently restarted operations, said industry experts working in the region.
Kenneth Rhee, executive director of ULI China Mainland, spoke with ULI leader Vincent Lo, chairman of Shui On Land, about his thoughts on the near-term impact of COVID-19 on China’s real estate market and how the urban environment and real estate industry will change.
The Punggol Digital District, set to launch in 2023, will form a fresh nexus between higher education and industrial innovation, with its two anchor institutions being the Singapore Institute of Technology and a new business park developed by JTC Corporation, an industrial property developer and manager.
At the 2020 ULI Singapore Conference, which was held virtually, panelists discussed how hotels have started to offer takeout and delivery to nonguests, in addition to working with the local government to house those under quarantine orders.
Many countries in Asia have successfully mitigated the spread of COVID-19 through a range of strategies that include universal mask use, testing, sophisticated technology for contact tracing, and strict government quarantine and cleaning protocols, according to leading real estate professionals participating in a recent ULI webinar. The participants described impacts on their real estate businesses, and how the real estate industry has been enlisted in the fight against the coronavirus.
Real estate investment in the Asia Pacific region has been on a downward trend since 2019, and market uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, said speakers at a recent ULI Singapore event held virtually.
The Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) has prepared a 40-year vision for connecting and rebalancing growth and development in Greater Sydney, one of the fastest-growing regions in the developed world. In an event organized by ULI Australia and Urbis, GSC chief commissioner Lucy Turnbull presented the keynote, outlining how land use, transport, and infrastructure planning for the growth areas have for the first time been prepared concurrently.
Niche strategies and development are high on the agenda for investors looking to hit their return targets in South Korea. A group of private-equity real estate managers gathered at the ULI South Korea Annual Conference, held in Seoul in January to discuss capital markets in Korea and further afield.
China is a nation of more than 1 billion “digital-first” consumers, Jeffrey Towson, managing partner at Towson Group and a Peking University professor, said at a recent ULI event in Shanghai. Because these consumers are starting to act like an interconnected network—influencing each other and generating fresh ways of doing transactions—they are shaping how almost all companies do business.
Improved connectivity leads to better cities and more profitable buildings, and data can play a crucial role in analyzing that connectivity and planning to maximize it, said a keynote speaker at the ULI Asia Pacific Leadership Convivium in Singapore.
Singapore
One of Singapore’s most vibrant districts demonstrates how public/private partnerships and the community can shape the built environment.
Governments, businesses, and communities need to collaborate to reduce carbon emissions to ensure that decarbonisation is not just a buzzword.
Although market dynamics are changing in countries across Asia, new opportunities are opening up in real estate investment
Hong Kong
We are late in the current cycle, and real estate investors are focusing on the potential risks as much as, if not more than, the rewards on offer, according to investors and investment managers discussing global capital markets at the 2018 ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Hong Kong.
Growing cities such as Hong Kong are at the epicenter of what Richard Florida has dubbed “the new urban crisis,” with the city’s success sending house prices soaring out of reach of the average resident. The author and urbanist, who is director of cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, spoke at the 2018 ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Hong Kong.
While investment volumes in commercial real estate in Hong Kong were up strongly last year, flagship office buildings and prime development sites are beyond the reach of all but a handful of players. For most investors, more interesting opportunities lie in other, less-visible parts of the market. Rather than waiting for (and possibly missing) the next correction, investors who are willing to roll up their sleeves may find opportunities away from the spotlight.