LaSalle, Greystar, Savills to Explore China Multi-Family Investment on Thursday

Mingtiandi’s APAC Residential Forum moves ahead Thursday with a look at mainland China’s booming rental housing market and its resonance for global investors in a panel discussion streamed exclusively on the MTD TV video platform.

Selena Shi, managing director of acquisitions and RMB fund at LaSalle Investment Management, joins Charles Ma, managing director for China investment at Greystar, and James Macdonald, head of China research at Savills, for a one-hour session hosted by Mingtiandi founder Michael Cole.

The panellists will examine the forces creating opportunities for investors in China’s rental residential sector after multi-family deal volume in Asia’s biggest economy surged 30 percent last year to $1.94 billion, according to MSCI Real Assets.

The presentation, which is sponsored by Yardi, begins at 10am Hong Kong time and will feature a live Q&A session after the chat for attendees to quiz the speakers on their outlooks for the multi-family space. Viewers can register their attendance here.

Scope for Growth

Despite the upswing in transactions during the past year, China’s multi-family market remains just a fraction of regional leader Japan’s, with the $1.94 billion in mainland deals equal to just 30 percent of 2023 volume in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Among the global investors seeking to tap China’s growth potential is LaSalle, which has opened two rental housing projects in Shanghai under its newly established COZI brand, with another on the way next month.

LaSalle’s Shi joined the Chicago-based investment manager in 2015 and is responsible for the firm’s acquisition and asset management of commercial properties in China. Her real estate career includes more than $3 billion in investments across the residential, industrial, commercial and multi-family sectors in China and Australia.

Ma heads the Greater China business of US apartment giant Greystar. The South Carolina-based developer achieved a $450 million first closing of its China multi-family fund in 2019, the same year it acquired its first Shanghai asset, the Belvedere.

Greystar plans to launch its second project in the third quarter of this year as Shanghai’s first institutional purpose-built rental housing development. The 580-unit complex in Jing An district is aimed at the same resilient mid-premium consumer base as the company’s existing LIV’N 833 project in Changning district, according to Ma.

Macdonald, meanwhile, has led China research for London-listed Savills since 2007, advising clients and stakeholders on the trends and opportunities shaping the world’s biggest real estate market.

Regional Tour Continues

The APAC Residential Forum resumes next week with a one-hour panel discussion covering the Japanese multi-family sector, the region’s busiest last year with $6.3 billion in deals.

The Tuesday session will feature Akira Kosugi, managing director for Japan investment at Greystar; Laurent Fischler, head of investments for Asia Pacific at Ivanhoe Cambridge; Christopher Handte, managing director for Japan at Tokyo Trust Capital; and Chedli Boujellabia, managing partner and CEO of Alyssa Partners.

The four guests will share their views on a market where strong demand from tenants for well-located properties and rental growth in major cities have attracted global investors seeking downturn-resistant returns.