The stronger economic growth, forecast for the coming year and the availability of debt capital are expected to drive global capital flows in 2017, with $US1.7 trillion of "dry powder" available to deploy in real estate this year, according to the CBRE Global Investor Intentions Survey 2017.
The 2017 global survey reveals investors have ample capital and a strong motivation to invest in real estate because of its relatively high income yield. North America is the preferred region for investors, with London, Los Angeles and Sydney the most popular cities in each of the major regions.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Sydney is once again the top destination, with Tokyo second by some distance and Melbourne also rates well. Australia's cities remain highly popular with APAC investors because of their liquidity, transparency and positive long-term prospects. Seoul has dropped out of the top six and Hong Kong has moved in.
Office is the preferred sector for investors, by 26 per cent, and logistics at 22 per cent is also popular.
CBRE global president capital markets Chris Ludeman said that a year ago investors were "reeling from the volatility in world stockmarkets, now they are seeing equities reach record highs and economic sentiment is positive".
"Although there is uncertainty about the direction that economic policy will take, there is also a growing anticipation that changes will unlock growth," Mr Ludeman said.
"While there are some clouds on the horizon – emerging-market debt looks problematic as does Greece's financial situation – economic momentum, alongside the yield advantages of property as an asset class, should ensure another year of substantial capital flows into global real estate."
One area of demand is in retail, with the latest listing being the Lakeside Shopping Centre, which is a Coles-anchored neighbourhood mall on the Central Coast of NSW.
Agents advising from Colliers International and Stonebridge said it was set on 2.14 hectares and has a staged Development Application (DA) that has recently been approved for residential, hotel and retail accommodation.
"Lakeside Shopping Centre's strong underlying property fundamentals provides "value add" investors and developers a rare opportunity to unlock the full potential of this DA-approved 2.14-hectare town centre site on the NSW Central Coast," said James Wilson, director NSW retail investment services at Colliers International.
"As the dominant neighbourhood shopping centre in the area, Lakeside Shopping Centre offers about 5042 square metres of total retail space with a fully leased holding income of about $1.86 million," Mr Wilson said.
Colliers International national director development sites Guillaume Volz said the scale of the site and flexible zoning also provided for a significant staged redevelopment opportunity, and purchasers can still benefit from the security of a consistent income stream throughout the development.
Stonebridge director Carl Molony said the shopping centre and surplus development land had been strategically amalgamated during a 27-year period.