In the run-up to the financial crisis, many large investors concentrated more on the value-added and opportunistic parts of their portfolios. But that has changed.  As core real estate reassumes its traditional prominent place among large institutional investors, competition for properties has increased, leading to very high prices and very low cap rates in some major gateway cities.  As investors search for safety and value, will the developing Asia Pacific core market soon have a place in more of their portfolios?

The current craving for more safety and less risk certainly makes sense. After licking their wounds in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and in light of continuing economic uncertainty worldwide, many large institutional investors have been shifting from riskier, opportunistic plays to stable, income-producing core properties.  In their search for safety, these investors are getting back to basics and focusing on the fundame