Home and away(2)

According to Colliers, Asian investors are no longer limited to residential property investments.

"Whereas Asian investors concentrated on residential opportunities when they started buying overseas in the past, the gradual economic recovery and growing investment demand have begun to increase the popularity of commercial real estate," says Colliers in an article on its website.

"In fact, offices have now become the favorite sector among Asia outbound investors. Statistics show their percentage increased from 45 percent in 2001 to 60 percent in 2013."

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have become major draws for investors, not only in residential but commercial real estate as well, according to analysts. They say the political unrest in Thailand has done little to dampen investor interest in property in the "Land of a Thousand Smiles".

Thailand is now the sixth most popular destination in Asia for Chinese property buyers, according to data published by Juwai.com. "Thailand is currently getting a lot of attention from investors in many countries, and China is certainly no exception," the website says.

The impact of the introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 is thought to be one driving factor for Chinese buyers in Thailand, allowing them wider access to Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets through the purchase of Thai property.

ASEAN envisions the AEC as a single market and production base in the region.

"A small number of real estate agencies in Thailand now have Chinese-speaking staff to cater to the increasing number of inquiries they are receiving from mainland and Hong Kong buyers," according to Juwai.com.

In Singapore, buyers from China are holding up in a tough market, analysts say. Lee from DTZ says the city-state's political stability, ease of doing business, strong currency and transparent legal framework are also important factors that attract Chinese buyers and developers.

"For example, Chinese developers have been increasingly active in the tender for GLS (government land sales) sites in Singapore－because the process is transparent and there are no barriers to entry for foreign developers."

Lee says some of the Chinese mainland buyers investing in Singapore "have business links here or are planning to send their children here for education".

"They are attracted by the similarity in the culture with our majority Chinese population, and Singapore continues to offer a stable and secure environment for their investments."

Malaysia's growing attractiveness to Chinese investors is essentially influenced by the same factors as Singapore.

"Malaysia hosts a vast Chinese community and has policies that attract foreign buyers, so it has become a new investment destination," Zhang Yuliang, the chairman of State-backed Greenland Group, told Reuters.

Last year, Chinese institutional and retail investors poured $1.9 billion into Malaysian real estate, exceeding the $867 million invested in Hong Kong and $1.8 billion invested in Singapore, according to real estate consultancy Savills.

Zhang also told Reuters that Malaysia's stable economic growth, large population demand in Johor Bahru－the southern city where the Greenland Group is investing－its proximity to Malaysia's major cities and Singapore, as well as the country's established immigration policies, are reasons for the company to invest.

Luxury residences in Malaysia sell for between $2,300 and $5,600 per square meter, much lower than $27,600 to $33,700 in Singapore and $43,700 to $53,500 in Hong Kong, Reuters said, citing data from real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Average rental yields are also more attractive in Malaysia, at 4 to 6 percent compared to 3 percent in Singapore and 2.5 percent in Hong Kong.

In Australia, Chinese investors are being blamed for forcing up property prices, mainly in Sydney and Melbourne, although there is no evidence to support those claims.

A survey by HSBC Bank found that more than one-third of affluent Asians own overseas property and Australia is their number one destination.

Of the wealthy mainland Chinese surveyed, 9 percent owned property in Australia, while 10 percent of the respondents in Hong Kong had acquired Australian property. Among those surveyed in Singapore, the corresponding figure was 18 percent, and Malaysia, 26 percent.