Real estate investment still in a ‘strong position’
Australian real estate remains attractive for Asia-Pacific investors driven by strong population growth and geopolitical stability, the property industry’s peak body said.
AUSTRALIA’S population growth, transparency and geopolitical stability make the country’s real estate market a continued target for Asia-Pacific investors, according to Property Council of Australia national president Carmel Hourigan.
But the country’s “complex web of taxation and regulation” was holding the market back from reaching its full potential,” Hourigan told a major property conference last week.
Speaking at the 2025 Perth Property Congress, Hourigan said Australia continued to stand out as a compelling destination for APAC real estate investment.
“When you start to overlay things like the population growth that we’re seeing in the Australian market versus other countries around the world, geopolitical risk, transparency – I think, on a relative basis, that puts us in a strong position,” she said, according to the council’s website.
“Asia PAC has really been under invested in some of those global portfolios and Australia is going to be seen as one of the big foundation investments,” Hourigan added.
Also at the conference, Brookfield Properties president Danny Poljak said global capital viewed Australia as one of the top destinations to invest, with demographic fundamentals “shaping demand and opportunity”.
Similarly, Aveo CEO Tony Randello described Australia as a standout in APAC.
“As long as returns are good and there’s enough scale, Australia is a good place to invest,” he said. “Of the last 50 deals, 70% in Asia PAC have been in Australia and Japan.”
Sydney ranked second behind Tokyo as a target for cross-border real estate investment in APAC, according to CBRE’s latest Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey.
It pointed to asset repricing and the potential for decreasing debt costs as helping to drive interest in Sydney opportunities, while investors were taking a selective view on other Australian markets such as Melbourne and Brisbane.
Industrial properties were the most sought-after asset class for investors in APAC, with office and data centre assets also seeing increased interest, the survey found.
