Ms Zheng noted that while there was a continued trend for investors to look for safer investments and sustained interest in ESG and logistics, the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing deep economic recession has cast a new lens for investors. Considerations that had come to the forefront are adaptive use of buildings and re-mapping of the stakeholders such as employees and tenants.

Mr Tang remarked that while trends were in resonance with his observations, the report had not covered how risk-pricing has shifted significantly over the course of the year. That being said, he believed that there was still a healthy level of investment interest who were keen to capitalise on new opportunities in the region, with large property deals being made in Taiwan and the removal of discounts in markets like Japan. When Mr Dunn took a straw poll by show of hands from the audience, majority agreed that real estate capital flows would continue to grow.

Mr Lombardo believed that gateway cities would demonstrate resilience and that they would bounce back especially given large amounts of liquidity in the market. The real estate revenue-based model was also evolving to incorporate time savings offered to tenants and building visitors with the rise of 20-minute neighbourhoods. COVID-19 has helped to highlight this value to the public as they appreciate time savings in commute when working from home. The pandemic also nudged policy makers to re-look at supporting flexibility in land use, presenting more investment opportunities. Ms Zheng and Mr Lombardo agreed that last mile distribution within the 20-minute neighbourhoods would continue to grow in importance. Ms Zheng said while application of technology has greatly accelerated recently with the use of robotics and digitalisation of services, these were implemented because of the greater emphasis on human centricity in real estate. Shopping malls were no longer viewed as sales centres. Rather, malls were increasingly regarded as generators of economic activity between people, evidenced by new businesses such as co-working and co-living.

Mr Dunn brought to attention that in terms of investor preference, Seoul had risen from its 10th position last year to fourth in ranking after Singapore (1), Tokyo (2) and Sydney (3). Mr Tang explained that real estate investments were largely driven by asset managers who were compelled to invest and had opted to focus on the domestic market rather than international. Adding to the commentary about rankings, Ms Wanshi highlighted that Ho Chi Minh remained in top five unlike the other emerging economies, which was indicative of its growth prospects in the market.

To find out more about the report or to join ULI for future knowledge-sharing discussions, please email [email protected].

ULI Singapore thanks its panel of speakers and members for their contributions and support.

Further reading in UrbanLand Magazine
Asia’s Resilient Real Estate Market Braces for Correction, says ULI and PwC’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Report