Commercial property investment across the world reached $94 billion (£61.3 billion) in the first three months of the year, according to new figures by property firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
The data, which looks at 60 different countries, saw that volumes were actually eight per cent higher than this time last year, with Asia Pacific leading the pack for interest by investors. This did not stop all regions seeing a healthy rise however, as the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Europe all say rises of between seven and eight per cent.
Arthur de Haast, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s international capital group, said: “Volumes of almost $100 billion (£65.2 billion) in the first quarter of the year, in what is historically a quieter period, demonstrate the desire investors continue to have for direct real-estate investments. Encouraged by a slowly improving global economic environment and rising property values, especially in core cities, the number of assets for sale continues to increase.”
The boost in Asia Pacific was primarily driven by a 30 per cent rise in volumes across Japan, whilst performance was also relatively strong in both Hong Kong and Singapore. Analysts have suggested that this bodes well for the rest of the year, as the commercial sector continues to attract more and more investors across the globe.
This improvement in consumer confidence was also seen in the US and Germany, both countries having experienced an increased demand for commercial real estate, especially with secondary properties that have a higher risk value.
In total, Jones Lang LaSalle has predicted that global volumes for 2013 will be between $450 and $500 billion (£293.6 and £326.2 billion), but this estimation will only be clearer once the official figures for the year’s second quarter are announced.