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Singapore ranks third in global survey for real estate demand

By Charlene Chin

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

January 9, 2020 2:57 PM SGT

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Singapore has been ranked as one of the top three prime real estate cities in the world, which boast strong demand from tenants, owners and consumers. The ranking is by global real estate investment management firm Heitman.

London has retained top spot in the rankings, despite a gradual fall in cumulative score due to economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit. New York trails in second place, followed by Singapore in third place.

While the US boasts seven cities in the top 30 rankings (see chart), major continental European cities experienced the largest upward movements. These include Amsterdam in seventh place, and Frankfurt in ninth place, moving up four and five spots, respectively, from 2018’s ranking. Heitman attributes the improvement in rankings to the impact that Brexit is anticipated to have on European cities.

Meanwhile, New York, in second place, and Los Angeles, in eighth place, remain among the top 10 global prime markets due to their size and diverse economies.

Top 30 real estate market rankings by Heitman (Source: Heitman Real Estate Securities Group)

China’s two largest cities – Beijing, ranked 25th; and Shanghai, ranked 23rd – dropped four and five spots, respectively, as the trade dispute between the US and China continues, and doubt over the cities’ environmental sustainability grows.

Commenting on the prime real estate markets, Jerry Ehlinger, Heitman senior managing director and head of global real estate securities, says: “These gateway markets tend to be supply-constrained both by high land costs and difficult permitting and planning regimes.

“As a result, ‘prime’ real estate assets in these markets are consistently in high demand from investor capital from across the globe due to locational advantage, prestige, attractive leases to credit tenants, stable income, and stable or increasing value.”

The rankings are part of the screening process that Heitman Real Estate Securities Group uses to identify cities, investee companies and REITs for potential inclusion in the firm’s “prime strategies”. The latter was launched in 2014 to give investors access to a real estate securities portfolio comprising shares of public companies that own top-tier properties across the world’s main cities.

The results of the ranking were obtained from findings across 150 published surveys and indices.

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