Tri-market Insights: Why Are Asia-Pacific REITs Becoming the New Focus for Global Capital?

After experiencing an 11.6% surge in housing prices in 2025, Australia’s real estate market is entering an adjustment phase. Analysts predict that housing price growth will slow to around 5.0% in 2026, primarily due to pressure on borrowing capacity caused by the Reserve Bank of Australia resuming interest rate hikes. [1]

However, opportunities arise even amidst adjustments. An Oliver Hume report reveals a surprising reversal: Melbourne, once one of the most expensive cities in Australia five years ago, has now become the cheapest major city for land prices nationwide, attracting a large number of interstate investors 'heading south to buy the dip,' with industry forecasts predicting a potential 20% surge in transaction volumes. [2] The Commonwealth Bank of Australia predicts that Perth could still see a strong 15% growth this year, while Brisbane may reach 12%. [3] For REITs, this means some high-quality properties have fallen to attractive levels, providing long-term holders with a buying opportunity.

Although the Bank of Japan has initiated an interest rate hike cycle, its economy is moving towards a 'wage-inflation' virtuous cycle, with commercial real estate conditions continuing to improve. A CBRE report highlights that the homeownership rate in Tokyo's 23 wards is below 50% and declining. As interest rates rise, the threshold for home purchases increases further, prompting more households to opt for rental housing, which provides structural demand support for the rental market.

The inflow of foreign populations is injecting new momentum into rental demand. In 2024, the number of foreigners entering Japan reached 660,000, with approximately 40% moving into 21 major cities, and 60% aged between 15 and 39 years old, showing a leasing rate of over 50%. With Japan’s ongoing labor shortage, the trend of attracting foreign talent is expected to continue, leading to steady growth in rental demand. For Japanese REITs holding large amounts of rental properties, this represents an important fundamental positive.

In 2025, Singapore’s private residential market performed remarkably, with new property sales surpassing 10,000 units for the first time since 2021. Strong demand continued into 2026, with the first-quarter launch of River Modern achieving 90% sold at launch; Coastal Cabana EC and Newport Residence also sold 66% and 57%, respectively.

According to an ERA Real Estate report,22 new private residential projects are expected to be launched in 2026,providing over 11,800 units (including 2,300 Executive Condominium units), with about 71% located outside the Central Region (OCR), catering to the upgrading housing needs of homebuyers. The National University of Singapore (NUS) Real Estate Sentiment Index shows developers remain optimistic about both the high-end residential and suburban housing markets, with more than half of respondents expecting moderate price increases in newly launched properties.

Through a single transaction, the fund allows investors to diversify across three key Asia-Pacific markets, capturing stable income and potential capital appreciation opportunities across different cycles:

Australia (Approx. 30%)
The market is gradually adapting to the rising interest rate environment, showing structural divergence. Valuations in prime locations such as Melbourne have retreated to attractive levels, providing a value window for long-term positioning.

Japan (Approx. 30%)
Benefiting from low home ownership rates and an influx of foreign residents, rental demand enjoys strong support. Real estate trusts offer stable returns, with rental income displaying defensive characteristics.

Singapore (Approx. 26%)
Robust sales performance in new developments reflects strong market confidence. An active property market provides REITs with high-quality underlying assets, supporting long-term growth potential.

Source:

[1] CAFIS Futures Financial Network (17/3/2026)

[2] HouGarden (17/3/2026)

[3] The Nightly (9/3/2026)

[4] CBRE (2/3/2026)

[5] ERA Real Estate (12/3/2026)

• Investment involves risks; past performance is not indicative of future results. Fund prices can go up as well as down, and investors may suffer all or significant losses. Investors should not make any investment decisions based solely on this material.

• The Samsung Asia Pacific High Dividend REIT (excluding New Zealand) ETF is a sub-fund of Samsung ETF Trust II. Its investment objective is to provide investment performance that closely tracks the S&P High Yield Asia Pacific ex-New Zealand REIT Select Index ("Index") before fees and expenses.

• The main risk factors faced by the Samsung Asia Pacific High Dividend REIT (excluding New Zealand) ETF include general investment risks; currency risks; concentration risks in the Asia-Pacific real estate market; risks associated with investing in real estate funds (including real estate market risks, operational and management risks, interest rate risks, liquidity risks, regulatory risks, leverage risks, etc.); Asia-Pacific market risks; securities lending transaction risks; new index risks; multi-counter risks; other currency distribution risks; risks of distributions from capital or effectively from capital; passive investment risks; tracking error risks; trading risks; risks of trading differences; termination risks; reliance on market makers and liquidity risks, among others. Please note that the above list of investment risks is not exhaustive. Investors should carefully read the product prospectus, product key facts statement, and related sales documents before making any investment decisions to fully understand details such as product features, risk factors, and distribution policies.

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