In 2017, Asian investors will focus heavily on the commercial markets of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Commercial property investors are allocating more money to real estate globally, according to a recent JLL survey, with Asian investors responsible for five of the top ten cross-border spenders. In the second quarter of 2017, interregional investment totaled $19.5 billion, up 71% from the same timeframe the previous year. qatar properties for sale

China, behind Germany and the United Kingdom, was the third largest recipient of cross-border capital into real estate in the first half of the year, with $6.2 billion. Hong Kong ($4.9 billion), Singapore ($4.1 billion), South Korea ($1.9 billion), and Japan ($1.6 billion) were Asia’s biggest spenders after China. Almost all of their money went into the world’s three most liquid real estate markets, with the US earning $10 billion, the UK $6 billion, and Germany $2 billion.

China is the region’s top performer.

In May, Chinese conglomerate HNA paid $2.21 billion for 245 Park Avenue, a Midtown office tower, in what could be the year’s biggest single asset transaction. Mr. David Green-Morgan, JLL’s Global Capital Markets Research Director, adds, “The acquisition highlights the continued prominence of Chinese capital in global real estate markets amid capital controls.” “Since this is the first wave of Chinese capital to go global, it is concentrated in the world’s largest and most liquid markets.”

Although Asian investors are looking for opportunities abroad, they are also looking for deals closer to home, with interest in office and logistics assets continuing to grow across the country. In Asia Pacific, domestic investments totaled $49 billion in the second quarter. The Chinese real estate market is still primarily driven by domestic demand, but foreign buyer interest is increasing, accounting for a third of total transaction volumes in Q2.

“With capital controls making it more difficult to invest outside of China,” Mr. Green-Morgan says, “domestic investors will seek to invest more within China.” “As they continue to deploy surplus money, domestic developers can become a new pool of buyers for existing properties. With prices in Tier 1 cities increasing, investors are turning their attention to Tier 2 cities in China for good retail and logistics properties, as well as those with conversion potential, such as retail space converted to office space or hotels converted to serviced apartments.”

The industrial sector is expected to be the next big thing.

Looking internationally, the office sector remains the most popular investment option; however, the industrial sector has emerged as the second most popular asset, with $24 billion invested in Q2 — a 28 percent increase over Q2 last year.

Mr. Green-Morgan explains, “There is a tremendous need for scale in the manufacturing and logistics sector globally.” “The more developed economies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Japan, appear to have that.”

Total transaction volumes in Asia Pacific reached $31 billion in Q2 2017, up 6% from Q1. In the first half of 2017, investment volumes in the area totaled $61 billion, up from $54 billion in the first half of 2016.

In Q2 2017, global real estate transaction volumes totaled $153 billion, up 7% from Q1. The sum for the first half of 2017 was $297 billion, up from $290 billion in the previous year’s same stretch.