If the Covid-19 pandemic peaks in the first half of 2020, there will be a rapid recovery in sentiment in the second half of the year, offering investors the opportunity to buy assets now, says Colliers International in its report titled “Covid-19: Impact on APAC Real Estate Capital Markets”.
The report focuses on five countries — China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Australia. Colliers notes that the pandemic will sharply lower this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China and Hong Kong, and adversely affect the rest of Asia, but less so in Australia.
Colliers assumes the pandemic will peak in the first half of the year but that the spread beyond Asia will raise the possibility of longer-term disruption.
Investment property sales may weaken across Asia in the first half, although a US$4.4 billion (RM19.2 billion) investment by Hongkong Land in Shanghai shows some key real estate players are already looking beyond the likely downturn.
