WINNING IN GROWTH CITIES

TODAY’S MARKET Global property investment rose 0.5% in the year to June but volumes for income producing assets fell and the market has clearly paused for breath after a busy 2015. Indeed, with the scale of change underway in the macro environment, (from war to disease to Brexit to Trump), many investors are now struggling to decide what comes next and where they should look for value.

While the year started with fear over a hard landing in China, Europe and the UK have taken over as a bigger cause of uncertainty while concerns over the US election also now loom large. Nonetheless, in such a volatile environment, more investors are turning to the stable cash flow and inflation hedging merits of real estate, particularly given that the fundamentals of the market on the occupier side are generally holding up well.

The globalisation of the market has continued meanwhile with cross border capital gaining market share and more investment also going direct into local platforms. The top five global investors have been the USA, China, Singapore, Canada and Qatar. Other key groups include South Korea, Hong Kong, the UAE and Germany.