Brisbane retail returns stronger than Hong Kong and Singapore: Chart of the week

Prime Brisbane retail property on Queen Street Mall offers signficantly stronger returns to investors than the more glamourous shopping strips of Singapore and Hong Kong, research by DTZ reveals.

The graph below shows the gap between Brisbane and its Asian rivals, which looks set to remain in place until at least 2017, although it is forecast to narrow.

The graph is included in the latest DTZ Foresight Asia Pacific Fair Value report for the first quarter of 2013.

"Despite anticipated rate hikes, borrowing costs currently remain low across the region due to lingering global uncertainties, weak regional recovery and volatile international capital flows," reported DTZ.

"At the same time, investors’ perception of risk has reduced again this quarter; the combination of low borrowing costs and lower risk premiums is making property attractive relative to fixed-income returns."