Hines has acquired five new multifamily properties in Japan to tap into increasing demand for “quality rental options”, the global real estate company said.
The purchase of the 290 units, totalling more than 9,300sqm, was made by Hines Asia Property Partners (HAPP), the firm’s flagship commingled Asia Pacific core-plus fund, and takes the total number of multifamily rental assets in its portfolio to 16. This latest deal builds on the previous 11 acquisitions made by HAPP in 2022 for 14,000sqm and more than 400 units in Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka, which also represented the first multifamily investments for HAPP in Asia Pacific.
“The multifamily rental sector in Japan is a resilient non-discretionary sector in the Asia region and contributes as a stabiliser in a blended core-plus strategy,” said Chiang Ling Ng, chief investment officer Asia, at Hines. “It is anticipated to be defensive in an inflationary cycle and with positive leveraged yields, these new acquisitions should continue to add to our growing footprint in the region, allowing us to deliver a high-quality portfolio to our investors.”
The latest acquisitions are part of the continued effort of HAPP’s living aggregation strategy for Japan, which aims to scale up to $1bn of asset value in three to five years. Targeting urban dwellers in major Japanese cities, the properties are managed under the firm’s Cavana brand which focuses on sustainability initiatives and plans to implement tenant-engagement schemes to encourage them to conserve water, recycle materials and reduce their carbon footprint.
“The Japan multifamily market remains an attractive investment strategy due to its resiliency of income, stable yield, large number of available investable assets and attractive risk-adjusted returns,” said Jon Tanaka, country head of Japan at Hines. “Our latest assets are in central locations across Tokyo and Kyoto, have good accessibility to the main CBDs and sustain our strategy of being extremely selective with high-quality acquisitions.”
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