Real estate investment markets are showing the first signs of resumption, following a global pause as investors assessed the full impact of the COVID-19. As economic green shoots appear in some markets, capital deployment is top-of-mind with investors eager to release approximately $40 billion of dry powder capital into the region.

In this podcast, our host, Art Patnaude, has a dialogue with JLL’s Tim Graham, Head of Capital Strategies, Asia Pacific, speaking to us from his home office in Singapore.

The topic at hand - How is COVID-19 influencing real estate investment strategies in Asia Pacific.

Tim explains investor sentiment, “Conversations have shifted away from the initial understanding of what the impact has been to their portfolios on COVID-19, to spotting new opportunities and new deals."

Investors have been quick to see defensive and diversification advantages in both logistics and data centres. Over the past three months, approximately $6 billion in capital has been committed to these strategies – and more deployment is expected.

“COVID-19 has certainly accelerated existing megatrends, which will drive greater diversification at a sector and country level,” says Tim. “As a result, we expect many investors will increase weightings in logistics and data centres within their portfolios.”

Despite many divergent views on the future of the office sector globally, Tim notes the Asia Pacific office market will continue to hold widespread appeal for investors. In part due to the strength and resilience of the region’s growing cities.