logo redirect pin user minus plus fax mobile-phone office-phone data envelope globe outlook retail close line-arrow-down solid-triangle-down facebook globe2 google hamburger line-arrow-left solid-triangle-left linkedin wechat play-btn line-arrow-right arrow-right solid-triangle-right search twitter line-arrow-up solid-triangle-up calendar globe-americas globe-apac globe-emea external-link music picture paper pictures play gallery download rss-feed vcard account-loading collection external-link2 internal-link share-link icon-close2
Korea
  • Global
  • United States
  • Angola
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Bahrain
  • Baltics
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Egypt
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Korea
  • Kuwait
  • Latin America
  • Luxembourg
  • Mainland China
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Morocco
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Panama
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • South Eastern Europe
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
English
  • English
  • Korean
+822 2170 5800
Log In
  • Global Intranet
  • myCBRE
  • Services
    • Business Lines
      • Advisory & Transaction Services
      • Capital Markets
      • Global Workplace Solutions
      • Investment Management (CBRE Global Investors)
      • Property Management
      • Valuation & Advisory Services
    • Industries & Specialties
      • Office
      • Industrial & Logistics
      • Retail
      • Hotels
      • Sustainability
      • Flexible Workspace
    • Services for Investors
      • Capital Advisors
      • Construction Management & Advisory
      • Consulting
      • Host
      • Institutional Investments
      • International Investments
      • Leasing & Advisory
      • Property Management
      • Property Sales
      • Valuation & Advisory
    • Services for Occupiers
      • Enterprise Facilities Management
      • Host
      • Leasing & Advisory
      • Occupier Consulting
      • Portfolio Services
      • Project Management
      • Transaction Management
      • Valuation & Advisory
      • Workplace
  • Research & Reports
    • About Research
      Korea Research Archives
      Asia Pacific Research
      Global Research Gateway
      Global Research Gateway Support
  • People & Offices
    • Korea Office
      Leadership Team
  • About CBRE
    • Corporate Information
      Corporate Responsibility
      Case Studies
      Investor Relations
      Media Centre
      Asia Media Centre
      Client Tools
      Careers

Previous

Press Release
CBRE Ranks #1 in Korea for Commercial Real Estate Investment Sales in 2020

Next

Press Release
CBRE: ‘Total transaction volume to reach 17 trillion won this year, roughly on par with last year’
  • Home
  • About CBRE
  • Media Centre
  • 2020 Q4 MarketView

CBRE: ‘Despite COVID-19, commercial real estate transaction volume reaches record 17.5 trillion won in 2020’

Korea | March 3, 2021
  • Email
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share

GettyImages-928446470 copy

- Local buyers account for more than 90% of investment volume over the year
- Investor demand for core office buildings and logistics facilities expected to remain solid

March 3, 2021 (Seoul, Korea)
– CBRE, a global commercial real estate services company, announced that according to its 2020 Q4 Marketview report, investment volume in Greater Seoul reached 5.37 trillion won in Q4 2020, bringing the full-year total to 17.5 trillion won, a record high. The figure surpassed the previous record set in 2019 of about 16 trillion won.

Don Lim, Managing Director of CBRE Korea, said, “Despite the pandemic, investment volume increased compare to last year. Cross-border investment inevitably declined due to pandemic-related obstacles such as travel restrictions and an inability to perform site inspections. However, this was more than offset by active purchasing by local buyers, which accounted for more than 90% of investment volume over the year.”

Office, logistics and retail volumes recorded similar or higher levels than in 2019, while deals for hotels declined significantly. Nine major logistics investment deals totaling 710 billion won were closed in Q4 2020, bringing full-year transaction volume to 2.34 trillion won, a similar figure to 2019. The number of logistics deals rose by 50% to 27 in 2020.

Claire Choi, Head of Research at CBRE Korea, explained, “In Q4 2020, the average yield for Seoul Grade A offices was 4.4%, while the average yield of prime logistics centers in Greater Seoul stood at 5.7%. With the pandemic expected to continue in 2021, investor demand for core office buildings and logistics facilities will remain solid, leading to additional compression in average yield.”

Office
Q4 2020 saw the completion of Samil Building and Yeouido Post Office Building, which brought full-year Grade A new supply to 717,000 sq.m. in 2020. Despite the addition of new supply, average vacancy remained unchanged from the previous quarter. Leasing activity was driven by domestic companies with those in the manufacturing and financial industries especially prominent. But vacancy in Yeouido Business District (YBD) – in which 60% of new office supply in 2020 was located – rose by just 1% q-o-q. Strong leading demand continued to provide support to average effective rents.

Retail
Due to COVID-19, occupancy and sales of offline retail operations such as duty-free, department stores and small- and medium-sized properties declined sharply in 2020. However, online retail sales remain upbeat. The projected 2020 online sales total of 160 trillion won would represent 43% of total retail sales. Retail operations were negatively impacted during the Christmas period due to the introduction of restrictions to contain a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. On the other hand, demand for luxury goods and home furnishing has held up well despite the pandemic. The development of large shopping malls and outlets is shifting to the outskirts of the metropolitan area to cater to demand for lower density and conveniently located retail environments. New additions in Q4 2020 included Hyundai Premium Outlet Namyangju Space1 and Shinsegae Starfield Anseong.

Logistics
Four new Grade A logistics properties providing a total of 222,000 sq.m. came on stream in Q4 2020. Full year new supply totaled a record high 1.75 million won. Robust demand from e-commerce platforms and third-party logistics (3PL) providers helped pull down logistics vacancy to 3.2% in H2 2020, a 2.5%pt drop from H1 2020. Rents increased by 1.2% in H2 compared to H1 due to the addition of new supply with higher asking rents. The y-o-y rent increase was 0.6%.

Investment
Investment volume reached 5.37 trillion won in Q4 2020, bringing the full-year total to a record 17.5 trillion won. Major transactions completed in YBD and Gangnam Business District (GBD) included Parc One Tower 2, the Pinnacle Gangnam, Platinum Tower and WeWork Tower. Transactions for retail properties accounted for 17% of total investment volume in Q4 amid steady purchases of small- and medium-sized properties by individuals and corporates. In the logistics sector, nine transactions were completed in Q4, mainly by local institutional investors.

download report

Disclaimer:

Neither CBRE nor its affiliated companies make any warranties or claims on the implied accuracy of the information contained herein.

About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2020 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at https://www.cbre.com.

Media Contacts

Kayla Ryu
Kayla Ryu
Senior Manager
Korea
Marketing & Communications
+82 2 2170 5850
  • Corporate Information
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Media Centre
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • People & Offices
  • Leadership Team
  • Investor Relations
  • Contact Us
  • Global Web Privacy and Cookie Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Naver /-/media/images/social/custom/naver-social-meida-icon.png