Foreign investment in the Australian office sector has reached a record high, according to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
CBRE research showed 70 per cent of all top-end sales totalling $2.4 billion were from offshore buyers in the past 12 months.
About 49 per cent of buyers were from Asia, while 20 per cent of purchasers were from Europe.
Interest from domestic real estate investment trusts (REIT) and super funds to acquire large office investments was building. However, those onshore groups still lacked the conviction of the international funds, CBRE regional director Rob Sewell said.
"We suspect many wish to see some real signs that the leasing markets have truly recovered and the growth predictions are real rather than a promise," Sewell said.
He said it was very complicated for domestic REITs to buy assets valued at $100 million or above because they were largely trading on discounts to net tangible assets.
"However, with the Australian unlisted funds attracting fresh capital, a number of these groups were becoming very serious about onshore acquisitions," he said.
