"Asia Pacific Real Estate: Navigating Growth Slowdown and Rising Costs" is part of a new series of short blogs authored by ANREV members, offering focused perspectives on specific real estate markets and sectors across Asia Pacific. Each paper provides timely insights into investment themes and strategic considerations, drawing on the deep expertise of industry practitioners. Further publications in the series will follow, with timelines to be confirmed.

As higher interest rates, rising costs, and weaker growth expectations weigh on confidence, real estate markets across Asia Pacific are entering a more challenging phase. In this second blog of ANREV’s new series, Hanna Safdar from AEW shares insights on how investment activity is slowing, underwriting assumptions are being reset, and select markets remain resilient.

The piece highlights how Singapore retains its safe-haven status on the back of solid fundamentals and currency stability, while Japan continues to attract domestic confidence in income growth, though cross-border capital is growing more selective. It also explores how rising construction costs are constraining development activity, prompting larger contingencies and more conservative lease-up assumptions in a softening demand environment.