Global real estate investment manager Hines has made its first investment in Japan’s multifamily sector via the firm’s flagship Asia-Pacific core-plus fund.
The Hines Asia Property Partners (HAPP) fund has invested an undisclosed amount to acquire 11 multifamily properties.
The 14,000sqm portfolio, located in Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka, consists of more than 400 units.
Hines said the deal marks HAPP’s “living aggregation strategy” for Japan, which is targeting to scale up to $1bn (€961m) of asset value in three to five years.
Chiang Ling Ng, Asia CIO at Hines, said: “We have seen an increased demand for multifamily properties in Asia-Pacific, so we have identified strategic opportunities like these to deliver high-quality products to the rental market.
“These acquisitions in Japan should help increase Hines’ growing portfolio in the region, while also expanding our investors’ exposure to the vibrant and increasingly popular multifamily sector across Asia-Pacific.”
In May last year, Cadillac Fairview, the real estate investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, backed Hines with a $400m commitment to launch the HAPP fund.
HAPP is expected to be a multi-sector, open-ended, diversified vehicle targeting top-tier markets in Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and China, including Hong Kong.
HAPP intends to invest in logistics, office, living, retail and “select niche sectors to build a diversified portfolio targeting core-plus returns and balancing yield and growth”, Hines said at the time.
Hines already has a presence in the region. The company first entered China over 25 years ago. Since 1996, Hines has expanded throughout 13 cities across Australia, China, including Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, with $5.3bn.
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