"Seoul Rises to 3rd Place in Asia-Pacific Commercial Real Estate Investment Preference, Marking All-Time High"[Real Estate AtoZ]

CBRE Surveys 422 Asia-Pacific Investors
Seoul Jumps from 8th Last Year to Tied 3rd with Singapore
Market Expands Beyond Offices to Logistics and Data Centers
88% of Greater Seoul Logistics Transactions Involve Foreign Capital

Seoul has achieved its highest-ever ranking, placing third among the most preferred cities for commercial real estate investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Analysts attribute this to the diversification of investment assets, with global capital flowing in as the market expands beyond its traditional office-centric focus to include data centers and logistics facilities.

According to the “2026 Korea Investor Intentions Survey Report” released on March 21 by global real estate services firm CBRE—which surveyed 422 investors across the Asia-Pacific region, including 77 Korean investors—Seoul ranked third this year in the Asia-Pacific investment preference ranking, following Tokyo and Sydney. Seoul shares the third spot with Singapore. This represents a jump of five spots from last year’s eighth place, marking its best ranking since the survey began in 2020.

Cover of the '2026 Korea Investor Intention Survey Report'. CBRE

CBRE identified diversification of investment asset classes as the key driver behind Seoul’s rise. The market, which was previously focused primarily on offices, has broadened to include data centers, logistics centers, and hotels, making Seoul increasingly recognized as a market where foreign investors can build diverse portfolios.

CBRE stated, “The core-plus strategy (enhancing value for core assets) and the value-add strategy (actively improving assets to increase returns) were cited as the primary investment strategies for Seoul,” adding, “This suggests that Seoul is now perceived as a market capable of generating active returns, rather than merely serving as a safe haven asset.”

In fact, the inflow of capital has been accelerating rapidly. Last year, approximately 6.5 trillion won in foreign capital entered Seoul’s commercial real estate market, setting a new record high.

Yearly Overseas Capital Investment Amount in Seoul (above) and Scale of Overseas Capital Investment. CBRE

This surge was especially evident in the Greater Seoul logistics center market, where foreign capital was heavily concentrated. The total transaction volume for the Greater Seoul logistics market last year reached about 4.4 trillion won, with foreign investors acquiring 3.9 trillion won—representing 88% of the total. In contrast, there was only one transaction in which domestic capital participated as the sole buyer. Industry observers interpret this as foreign investors actively acquiring large, high-quality assets while domestic investors remained on the sidelines, citing underperformance of existing assets as a reason for their cautious approach to new investments.

By region, Incheon led with a commanding 1.8 trillion won (five transactions) in large-scale logistics center deals, while strategic hubs such as Icheon, Anseong, and Gwangju also saw active trading.

Data centers are also emerging as major investment targets. Among Korean respondents, 88% predicted that data center prices would rise this year, the highest level of expected appreciation among all asset classes. This optimism reflects expectations that barriers to entry—such as the need for large-scale initial investment and secure power supply—will be eased, given that 50 trillion won of the 150 trillion won public-private National Growth Fund is slated to be invested in infrastructure finance for AI data centers and power grids.

Domestic Investors’ Buying Intentions Reach Record High

Net Purchase Intention Trends of Asia-Pacific Investors. CBRE

Investor sentiment has also rebounded. Eighty-three percent of domestic investors said they plan to increase their real estate investment allocation this year, with their willingness to increase purchases reaching its highest level since the survey began.

The net buying intention (the difference between purchase and sale intentions) stood at 31%, which is 14 percentage points higher than the Asia-Pacific average. The main drivers for increased investment were interest rate stabilization (31%), asset price adjustment (24%), and opportunities to invest in distressed assets (15%), in that order.

However, the central bank’s pace and direction of rate cuts (45%), widening price gaps between buyers and sellers, and rising labor and construction costs were still cited as major hurdles for the investment market.

Choi Sunghyun, Executive Vice President and Head of Capital Markets at CBRE Korea, projected that the scale of commercial real estate investment in Seoul in 2026 would decline by 5–10% compared to the previous year, due to the base effect of last year’s record-high results (approximately 34 trillion won) and the impact of conservative monetary policy.

He further noted, “Rather than experiencing sudden price fluctuations, the market is entering a period of gradual adjustment, with a focus on selective investments in high-quality assets and the advancement of income structures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.