Key Takeaways
- • The Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (Aprea) reports that family offices are moving beyond trophy assets toward living sectors, logistics, digital infrastructure, and private credit, seeking stable cash flows and long-term demographic and technological exposure.
- • Capital is flowing into residential, co-living, student housing, hospitality, self-storage, and operational real estate, according to Aprea and a Knight Frank family office survey that found strategies becoming more targeted and thematic.
- • Ho Group's Ninghao Ho highlights private credit backed by first mortgages on high-end Sydney residential developments, citing elevated interest rates, conservative lending and a chronic shortage of premium housing in Australia.
- • Singapore and Hong Kong remain the preferred family office hubs in Asia Pacific, per CapitaLand Investment's Yvonne Siew, citing regulatory clarity and deep professional ecosystems.
- • Successful cross-border investing hinges on governance, due diligence and aligned partnerships, with sustainability and return generation viewed as complementary objectives.
Summary
Family offices are evolving from wealth preservation vehicles into cross-border investors with growing influence over global real estate markets, according to a recent trend report from the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (Aprea). Affluent families are adopting a more institutional approach, backed by professional investment teams, governance structures and global networks, and a new generation of leaders is looking beyond passive holdings and prestige properties in premium locations toward operationally driven opportunities.
Aprea's report identifies rising capital flows into living sectors, including residential, co-living, student housing, hospitality and self-storage, as well as digital infrastructure, logistics assets, private credit and operational real estate. CapitaLand Investment's Yvonne Siew, managing director and head of product development and wealth markets at private capital markets, said family offices are balancing growth with resilience, pairing living and experience-driven assets with themes such as digital infrastructure, AI and healthcare. Logistics real estate, essential infrastructure and private credit remain core holdings because they provide steady cash flows and diversification. A Knight Frank family office survey reached similar conclusions, with respondents favoring data centres, value-add projects and operational real estate, and citing student accommodation, logistics and healthcare-linked real estate as examples.
In Southeast Asia, family offices are seeking growth across multiple markets rather than concentrating in one country. Knight Frank's latest wealth report, released in April, projects that the region's ultra-rich population will grow more quickly over the next five years, driven by entrepreneurship, maturing capital markets and expanding domestic economies. Goh Wee Ping, chief investment officer of Wee Hur Holdings and CEO of its fund management arm Wee Hur Capital, said a new generation of leaders with international education and global networks is reducing barriers to cross-border investment. Ho Ninghao, group managing director of Ho Group, said sustainability, operational excellence and return generation can reinforce one another.
In Australia, Ho Group sees opportunity in private credit backed by first mortgages, particularly loans financing high-end residential developments in Sydney. Ho attributed the attractiveness of this segment to elevated interest rates, conservative lending structures and a chronic shortage of premium housing, and described Australia as one of the most compelling markets in Asia Pacific for family office capital given its transparent, liquid, institutional-grade property market and political stability.
Siew noted that Singapore and Hong Kong remain the preferred family office hubs in the region because of regulatory clarity, investor-friendly policies and deep professional ecosystems. Ho cautioned that cross-border partnerships require shared investment philosophies, compatible risk appetites and transparent decision-making, and are not suitable for every family office.
Aprea's report identifies rising capital flows into living sectors, including residential, co-living, student housing, hospitality and self-storage, as well as digital infrastructure, logistics assets, private credit and operational real estate. CapitaLand Investment's Yvonne Siew, managing director and head of product development and wealth markets at private capital markets, said family offices are balancing growth with resilience, pairing living and experience-driven assets with themes such as digital infrastructure, AI and healthcare. Logistics real estate, essential infrastructure and private credit remain core holdings because they provide steady cash flows and diversification. A Knight Frank family office survey reached similar conclusions, with respondents favoring data centres, value-add projects and operational real estate, and citing student accommodation, logistics and healthcare-linked real estate as examples.
In Southeast Asia, family offices are seeking growth across multiple markets rather than concentrating in one country. Knight Frank's latest wealth report, released in April, projects that the region's ultra-rich population will grow more quickly over the next five years, driven by entrepreneurship, maturing capital markets and expanding domestic economies. Goh Wee Ping, chief investment officer of Wee Hur Holdings and CEO of its fund management arm Wee Hur Capital, said a new generation of leaders with international education and global networks is reducing barriers to cross-border investment. Ho Ninghao, group managing director of Ho Group, said sustainability, operational excellence and return generation can reinforce one another.
In Australia, Ho Group sees opportunity in private credit backed by first mortgages, particularly loans financing high-end residential developments in Sydney. Ho attributed the attractiveness of this segment to elevated interest rates, conservative lending structures and a chronic shortage of premium housing, and described Australia as one of the most compelling markets in Asia Pacific for family office capital given its transparent, liquid, institutional-grade property market and political stability.
Siew noted that Singapore and Hong Kong remain the preferred family office hubs in the region because of regulatory clarity, investor-friendly policies and deep professional ecosystems. Ho cautioned that cross-border partnerships require shared investment philosophies, compatible risk appetites and transparent decision-making, and are not suitable for every family office.
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