Apac logistic occupiers more cautious, but most still looking to expand: CBRE survey
CBRE’s questionnaire even revealed a switch amongst occupiers in the direction of even more cost-driven realty strategies. Respondents rated reduced rental fees and better lease terms as the top factors influencing relocations and lease renewals, whilst numerous are also seeking closeness to transportation hubs, consumer bases, and supply chains to boost functional effectiveness.
According to CBRE, Singapore remains to attract attention amongst logistics occupants, particularly for hi-tech production and life technologies markets. “Singapore remains to draw worldwide occupiers, due to its reputation as a strategically established, neutral, and steady logistics hub,” claims Graeme Bolin, CBRE’s Singapore head of occupier and leasing for industrial and logistics business.
Logistics tenants in Asia Pacific (Apac) stay positive in continued business prospects, regardless of expanding cautiousness amid recurring trade regulation unpredictability. According to CBRE’s 2025 Asia Pacific Logistics Occupier Survey, near-term confidence amongst inhabitants has decreased this year, with 69% anticipating business performance to improve in the next two years, compared to 81% in 2023.
Despite the unclear international trade setting, numerous occupants are looking beyond short-term industry volatility, claims CBRE. Some 76% of its poll participants indicated strategies to increase their realty account scale in the next 3 to 5 years, signalling positive outlook across the tool- to long-term outlook and a solid cravings for development, the firm includes.
The study, that collected answers from over 380 business around Apac between March and April, discovered that occupants in China mainly drove the more mindful sentiment, due to prospective negative influences from tougher US trade laws. Just about 70% of participants in mainland China assessed trade unpredictability as their leading difficulty in the following 2 years.
In general, 44% of CBRE’s poll respondents showed trade-related regulative difficulties as a major concern, up from 32% in 2023. Nonetheless, respondents continued to rate economic uncertainty and expense acceleration as the two biggest difficulties encountering occupiers in the next 2 years, at 60% and 56%, specifically.
Graeme includes that government-led framework investments, integrated with development by top-tier logistics competitors and robust resources inflows into modern logistics assets, are reinforcing Singapore’s role in the international supply chain.
However, growth appetite varies across individual markets. Based on the survey answers, India, the Middle East and Korea recorded the highest net expansion interest at 66%, 49% and 40%, respectively. Vietnam (34%), Singapore (33%) and the Philippines (33%) registered the next-highest attention levels, followed by Thailand (28%) and Australia (25%).
