Property market may witness 50% surge in global investment in 2021: Colliers
- Mindcept
- Jan 22, 2021
- 3 min read
Colliers research points to a broad-based renewal of activity in the property market in 2021, as investors look to deploy pent-up capital in high-potential markets and sectors.

With investors sitting on substantial amounts of dry powder and looking to make up for lost ground, Colliers expects total investment activity to increase by up to 50% in 2021. According to Colliers International’s new Global Capital Markets 2021 Investor Outlook, 98% of investors across all regions aim to expand their portfolios this year, with around 60% looking to expand by more than 10%, including 23% who want to expand by 20% or more.
Colliers research points to a broad-based renewal of activity in the property market in 2021, as investors look to deploy pent-up capital in high-potential markets and sectors. To provide some context, 1% of global assets under management equates to around $1.65 trillion, which was the annual average global investment total from 2015-2019. With 2020 volumes falling to around $1.3 trillion and allocations to real estate continuing to expand, the weight of capital is potentially capable of doubling global investment volumes should market conditions allow.
The roll out of COVID-19 vaccines will have a very positive impact on markets and global geo-political stability, courtesy of a Brexit trade deal and a US election result, provide much needed certainty. These factors will help drive market growth in 2021. Although a large proportion of investors are looking to get out of the blocks early and identify acquisitions in Q1, Colliers experts believe the rebound in activity will gain strength from Q2 onwards due to lingering uncertainty over travel in the first quarter.
With the pandemic weighing on activity for much of last year, many investors are sitting on record cash piles and expect significant opportunities to emerge in commercial real estate, especially with continued stimulus likely to make yields on equities and bonds comparatively less attractive. Across regions, a clear majority of investors are planning to expand their real estate portfolios in 2021, in many cases by double digits.
“The investment climate in India is very buoyant with interest from global investors to invest in real assets getting stronger. This is because global interest rates are at historic lows and India has emerged among the preferred destinations for investments in real estate that generate higher returns against the quality of assets available.
The resilience of the Indian real estate markets is also evident from the continued positive sales performance across various markets in residential projects and the stable office occupancy post the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Piyush Gupta, Managing Director, Capital Markets & Investment Services (India), Colliers International.
The report drew nearly 300 respondents including major institutional investors, listed property companies, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, family offices and third-party money managers.
EMEA Investors asset class & strategy preferences for 2021

Comments