Singapore investors lead return of Asian capital to Australian real estate

SYDNEY – Singapore billionaire Chua Thian Poh’s A$318.5 million (S$285 million) swoop on a vast Queensland landholding has emerged as one of the clearest signals that Asian capital is flocking back into Australia’s recovering property market.

The deal by Mr Chua’s Ho Bee Land – its largest in the country – promises to expand the group’s long-term land bank in one of Australia’s key growth regions.

It also highlights a broader revival of offshore capital inflows in recent months, led by Singaporean, South Korean and Japanese investors taking advantage of repriced assets.

Cross-border investment in Australian commercial real estate surged to A$19.2 billion in 2025, nearly double the A$10.5 billion recorded the previous year, according to global property manager Cushman & Wakefield.

Singapore investors alone deployed A$7.1 billion in the segment in the 12 months to January 2026, up from just A$1.6 billion in the same period a year earlier, Ray White data shows. Japanese buyers contributed A$2.4 billion, while South Korea also emerged as a major source of capital with A$4.1 billion in investment.

The surge marks a shift in Asian property investment flows, with deep-pocketed institutions increasingly attracted to Australia’s safe-haven status and chronic housing undersupply, even as Chinese developers have largely exited the market amid a cash crunch that prompted a widespread sale of foreign assets.

Ho Bee’s latest acquisition forms part of a broader buying spree that has seen the Singapore-listed developer deploy more than A$800 million in Australian land since 2020. The group now controls approximately 5,000 to 6,000 residential lots across 14 projects in Queensland and Victoria.

In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, Ho Bee said the acquisition is in line with the group’s strategic objective of expanding into a large-scale, long-term land bank in its key markets across Australia. Its Australian unit did not respond to queries from The Straits Times.

The Moreton Bay deal, which could deliver up to 1,400 homes plus commercial and industrial components at the 181ha site, reflects growing institutional interest in south-east Queensland, where strong interstate migration, infrastructure spending and the lead-up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are lifting investment expectations.

“It’s really a matter of Australia’s fundamentals, which remain incredibly appealing to offshore investors,” said Ms Lucy Mallick, international capital lead for Australia at investment manager Colliers. “We have fantastic population growth, and when you pair that with economic and political stability, that makes for a very investable destination.”

Living sector boom

Much of the renewed activity has been concentrated in assets linked to population growth and long-term demand, such as residential development, build-to-rent housing, student accommodation, logistics and data centres.

Foreign investors have also re-entered Australia’s office and retail markets as higher interest rates forced a sharp reset in asset values over the past two years.

In Melbourne’s office market, offshore investment jumped 34 per cent from 2024, underpinned by large transactions such as the A$383 million sale of the 10-storey office building at 750 Collins Street to Singapore-based Trust Capital – the city’s largest Central Business District office deal in more than three years.

In retail, offshore deals have included Keppel REIT’s joint purchase of Top Ryde City shopping centre in Sydney for A$525 million, alongside MA Financial Group. Keppel declined to comment for this story.

Ms Vanessa Rader, head of research at real estate agency Ray White, told ST: “If you think of it as a property clock, a lot of asset classes are in that trough phase, or have just moved out of that, and it looks like an ideal time to purchase. A lot of offshore buyers are looking at that.”

One group expanding is Singapore’s Mapletree Investments, which in late 2025 marked its entry into Australia’s student housing sector with a planned 835-bed student accommodation development in Perth.

Australia’s large international student population, undersupply of purpose-built accommodation and strong university demand fundamentals underpinned the investment decision, Mapletree said at the time.

Build-to-rent has proved equally attractive for Asian capital.

The Australian government’s 2023 decision to halve the residential build-to-rent Managed Investment Trust withholding tax rate from 30 per cent to 15 per cent has created a favourable environment for institutional investors, analysts say.

Structural shift

In its latest market review, Cushman said the three months to December 2025 was the third consecutive quarter – and the first time since 2022 – when rolling annual investment volumes crossed A$50 billion, signalling that investor confidence has continued to rebuild from the 2023 trough.

The momentum appears structural rather than cyclical, and investment firms are responding accordingly.

Colliers relocated Ms Mallick to its Singapore office in early 2024, specifically to service growing demand from Asia-Pacific capital seeking Australian real estate opportunities.

Offshore investors do face some challenges typically associated with foreign investment, such as currency fluctuations, regulatory risk and compliance requirements, as well as levies such as an absentee owner land tax surcharge in Victoria state. Foreign investors also face strict restrictions on acquiring residential property in Australia, although they can buy commercial property.

Still, Australia’s stable regulatory environment, transparent legal system and population-driven demand are seen as differentiating factors at a time when some global markets face political or economic headwinds.

While global uncertainty and higher funding costs remain as constraints, industry executives expect overseas interest to build steadily in 2026, particularly from institutional investors with long investment horizons. Investment is expected to be driven by Japan, the US and Singapore, as well as investors from Hong Kong and Thailand.

“It’s early February, and I already have a sense that the momentum is tangibly increasing for the year ahead,” said Ms Mallick.

“My phone has been ringing constantly,” she added.