# APAC living sector investment near-triples to US$21 billion

- **Source:** Real Estate Asia
- **Published:** 2026-07-27T23:04:16.000Z
- **Author:** Staff Reporter
- **Original:** https://realestateasia.com/residential/in-focus/apac-living-sector-investment-near-triples-us21-billion
- **Topics:** Government & Policy, Transactions & Deals, Investment & Capital Markets

## Featured rationale

Growing cross-border participation and capital deployment beyond Japan signal institutional maturation, potentially supporting broader platform investment across multifamily, BTR, PBSA, co-living and seniors housing.

## AI summary

Asia-Pacific living-sector investment nearly tripled between 2016 and 2025 to US$21 billion, with 2025 volumes increasing 49% year-on-year.

## Original article

This is for tracked investment volumes from 2016 to 2025.

Asia-Pacific's living sectors are rapidly evolving from a niche investment strategy into a core component of institutional real estate portfolios, supported by resilient demand, improving market maturity and growing cross-border investment, according to Knight Frank.

In its latest Asia-Pacific Living Sectors Hotspots Report, Knight Frank said the region's living sectors - spanning multifamily housing, build-to-rent (BTR), purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), co-living and seniors housing - are increasingly being viewed as long-duration, income-generating assets amid heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Knight Frank noted that investment volumes in Asia-Pacific living assets nearly tripled between 2016 and 2025 to reach US$21 billion. Activity accelerated sharply in 2025, with investment volumes rising 49% year-on-year as financing conditions improved and stronger cross-border participation helped support pricing discovery. While investment volumes in the first half of 2026 were about 10% lower than the same period a year earlier, the consultancy expects transaction momentum to strengthen through the remainder of the year.

According to Knight Frank, investors are increasingly attracted to the sector's defensive characteristics, underpinned by needs-based demand drivers including urbanisation, demographic change and housing affordability pressures. The firm said investment in living assets has consistently exceeded pre-2018 levels since 2019, reflecting stronger investor confidence and improved underwriting transparency.

The report also highlighted a broadening of investment opportunities beyond Japan, historically the dominant market for the asset class. Japan's share of regional living sector transactions declined from around 70% historically to 43% in 2025, as capital was deployed more widely across Asia-Pacific.

Knight Frank said investors are also shifting away from treating individual living sectors as standalone investments, instead building integrated operating platforms across multifamily housing, PBSA, BTR, co-living and seniors housing to capture operational efficiencies and deploy capital more effectively.

Despite Asia-Pacific accounting for around 60% of the world's population, the region attracted just 12% of global funds allocated to living sectors in 2025, suggesting significant room for further institutional investment. Knight Frank said the varying maturity of markets across the region presents opportunities for investors to benefit from yield compression as sectors develop and institutional participation increases.

The consultancy added that fundraising for Asia-Pacific-focused real estate funds fell 5.9% in 2025, according to Preqin data, but capital specifically targeting the region's living sectors increased 12.2%, underscoring continued investor appetite for the asset class.

Looking ahead, Knight Frank expects Asia-Pacific's living sectors to play an increasingly important role in global real estate portfolios, supported by stable income, long-term demographic trends and the continued institutionalisation of the market, although success will depend on careful market selection, strong local partnerships and operational expertise.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok

### 亚太居住板块投资额近增两倍至210亿美元

亚太地区居住板块正迅速从小众投资策略演变为机构房地产投资组合的核心组成部分，得益于

这是对2016年至2025年跟踪投资额的统计。

据莱坊（Knight Frank）称，亚太地区居住板块正迅速从小众投资策略演变为机构房地产投资组合的核心组成部分，背后有韧性需求、市场成熟度提升以及跨境投资增长的支撑。

在最新《亚太居住板块热点报告》中，莱坊表示，该地区居住板块——涵盖多户住宅、建租一体（BTR）、专用学生宿舍（PBSA）、联合居住及乐龄住宅——在宏观与地缘政治不确定性加剧之际，正日益被视为长期、可产生收入的资产。

莱坊指出，2016年至2025年间，亚太居住类资产投资额几乎增至三倍，达210亿美元。2025年活动明显加速，投资额同比上升49%，融资环境改善及更强的跨境参与有助于价格发现。尽管2026年上半年投资额较上年同期低约10%，该咨询机构预计全年余下时间交易动能将增强。

据莱坊称，投资者日益被该板块的防御性特征所吸引，其需求基础包括城镇化、人口结构变化及住房可负担性压力等刚需驱动因素。该机构表示，自2019年以来，居住类资产投资一直高于2018年前水平，反映出投资者信心增强及承销透明度改善。

报告还指出，投资机会正从历史上占主导地位的日本市场向外拓宽。日本在区域居住板块交易中的占比从历史上约70%降至2025年的43%，资本在亚太地区部署更为广泛。

莱坊表示，投资者也正从把各居住子板块视为独立投资，转向构建涵盖多户住宅、PBSA、BTR、联合居住及乐龄住宅的一体化运营平台，以获取运营效率并更有效地配置资本。

尽管亚太地区约占全球人口的60%，该地区在2025年仅吸引了全球配置于居住板块资金的12%，显示机构投资仍有显著空间。莱坊称，区域内市场成熟度参差不齐，为投资者在板块发展、机构参与度提升过程中受益于收益率收窄提供了机会。

该咨询机构补充称，据Preqin数据，聚焦亚太的房地产基金募资在2025年下降5.9%，但专门针对该地区居住板块的资本增加了12.2%，凸显投资者对该资产类别的持续兴趣。

展望未来，莱坊预计亚太居住板块在全球房地产投资组合中将扮演日益重要的角色，受益于稳定收入、长期人口趋势及市场持续机构化；不过，成功将取决于审慎的市场选择、强有力的本地合作伙伴关系以及运营专长。