Hong Kong back as a top choice for foreign commercial property investors, study says

Hong Kong commercial real estate is the Asia-Pacific region’s fifth most favoured investment destination for cross-border capital this year, underscoring an improved outlook for the city’s battered property market, according to a CBRE report.Hong Kong also recorded the second-highest number of luxury residential property deals among 12 super-prime markets worldwide in the last quarter of 2025, sustaining a recovery that began in the second quarter, a report from Knight Frank showed.After a period outside the top 10, Hong Kong ranked fifth in CBRE’s 2026 Asia-Pacific investor intentions survey, with the improvement coming on the back of growing investor interest, particularly from mainland Chinese investors, according to the consultancy.“The living and hotel sectors are top targets, with 2025 witnessing several deals for repurposing underutilised hotel assets into student accommodation for the growing student base, a trend expected to continue this year,” CBRE said.Compiled between November and December, the survey included 422 responses from investors such as private equity funds, developers, insurance companies, banks, sovereign wealth and pension funds, family offices and high-net-worth individuals in markets including Japan, Australia, Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and India.Tokyo retained the top spot as the preferred market for cross-border investment for a seventh consecutive year, followed by Sydney, while Singapore and Seoul tied for third.