Hotels and the whole travel industry have been the worst hit during the pandemic with major lockdowns and health concerns restricting the number of visitors.

Office workers worldwide are trickling back to the office as corporations make plans for hybrid working arrangements.

Asia Pacific’s commercial real estate market transacted more than $34 billion in direct investment in the first quarter of 2021, down less than 1 percent year-on-year.

According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in Singapore, new private apartments sales have more than doubled in the past month, and home prices have also been increasing at a rapid rate.

According to Colliers International, a 50 percent surge in investment activity is expected in the second half of 2021, driven by a broad-based renewal of confidence in the property market due to vaccine developments and sustained government stimuli.

The sharp fall in interest rates across Asia Pacific over the last year has created a conducive environment for real estate investments with support for capital values across the region.

Forecasts of house prices in Australia continue to be revised upwards, with the latest forecast by ANZ projecting a 17 per cent increase in 2020, up from 9 per cent previously.

In what is easily the largest hotel acquisition to come from the pandemic so far, Extended Stay America, is being acquired by private equity players Blackstone and Starwood.

Office occupancy rates in Adelaide were steady at 69 per cent in February, showing support that the office market is slowly regaining its health.

Acquisitions and expansions continue to pick up pace as Airbnb, who had laid off 25% of its workforce early last year when the pandemic hit, went public at the end of 2020 and resumed plans to establish a technology hub in Atlanta.

South Korea has emerged as the winner not just in Asia, but globally as the most-actively traded retail property market and second-most liquid office market.

The Year of the Ox is off to a roaring start for the property market as funds and property firms turn up the gears on acquisitions.

With the economy anticipated to recover, along with optimism regarding the COVID-19 vaccination, the property investment market is poised for a pickup in 2021.

With 2021 well under way, expectations are for a strong showing in real estate markets this year. In Singapore, the real estate sector is looking set for a recovery.

Real estate activities are very dependent on the local economy conditions, which may make the price fluctuations differ in their response to the pandemic situation compared to the rest of the world.

The beginning of the year 2021 offers a glimmer of hope to the real estate industry in certain countries; from the continuing rise in property investment in China to recovery signs in the UAE market.

2020 had been an extraordinary year for all. The pandemic left hardly any business or industry untouched, but real estate was front and centre for many of the biggest shifts.

Real estate markets globally still find themselves in a positive trend towards the new year especially in the residential sector.

Investors remain confident in the real estate as a sought-after defensive asset with warehouses proving to be a hot commodity now as e-commerce drives up the need for further expansion.

Global markets have recovered as quickly as the pandemic hit and these include the real estate market which has surprisingly performed better than expected

Despite the increase in price and limited supply of houses, with the purchase activity increasing, this could be a sign for a good year in the real estate industry.

Optimism rises across the markets with hopes of a vaccine coming near. The global real estate markets have become relatively predictable with hot growth in the residential sector.

Global real estate has seen liquidity beginning to recover, although the impact on the property market due to COVID-19 could be temporary or more structural.

Real Estate Investment looks up to a new dawn after a long tiring night of Coronavirus gloom starts to fade away, with potential new hopes and opportunities.

While hospitality, office, and prime retail spaces remain battered, the rest of the property sectors are pointing upwards in momentum.