Cross border capital did not focus on any particular sector in 2015, acquiring fewer properties than that of one year ago in all sectors.
For instance, cross border capital acquired USD 660 million of Japanese hotels in 2015, declining by about 30% y-o-y. Though Japanese hotels recorded the highest occupancy rates through 2015 with nearly 20 million foreign visitor arrivals to Japan, cross border capital did not rush to acquire Japanese hotels.
The risk-off sentiment was particularly noticeable in the office sector which was mainly invested in by institutional investors. Cross border capital acquired USD 4,300 million of Japanese offices in 2015, declining by about 20% y-o-y. Cross border capital had become stagnant since the equity market plunge, and the volume of acquisitions stood at only USD 600 million over the four months through the end of 2015.
Moreover, cross border capital acquired USD 1,020 million of Japanese residential properties, declining by more than 60% y-o-y. The volume of acquisitions shrank significantly because Blackstone had acquired a huge residential portfolio totaling USD 1,440 million in 2014. However the volume of acquisitions in 2015 fell short of even that of 2013.