THE credit crisis in the United States has turned out to be an opportunity for the Asian property market, rather than slowing it down.

Cash flow into Asian property from outside the region is accelerating, according to a global report published yesterday.

The Financial Times (FT), quoting data from the study, said that property investment in Asia grew 27 per cent to US$121billion (S$165.8 billion) last year, and it continues to grow.

Credit problems and declining real estate prices in the US and Europe have prompted investors to focus more on Asia, both for long-term returns and opportunistic investments.

Most Asian markets recorded direct real estate returns above the global average of 10 per cent last year, FT reported.

This growth is expected to continue, according to the report, although at a lower rate.

Still, the outlook in Asia is more optimistic than that of Europe and North America, where investments slowed dramatically in the second half, said FT.

The report, published by KPMG, the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, and index provider FTSE, came at a time of aggressive fund-raising activity for new global property funds.

FT said many of these funds are raising their investment allocations to Asia to tap into economies that are relatively shielded from the credit crisis in the US.

MGPA, the private equity fund manager part owned by Australia's Macquarie Bank, for instance, launched a global fund this week that will invest mostly in Asia. The fund, of which 40 per cent came from North American investors, has already committed US$2.2 billion to investments in Singapore, Japan, China and Thailand.

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