The View | How AI helped Asia’s real estate sector pass the tariff stress test

Home to many of the leading companies that supply components for the AI buildout, Asia’s export-oriented economies are among the biggest beneficiaries of the AI super cycle. Tariff exemptions for semiconductors and other electronic products contributed to a tripling of Asian technology exports this year, causing tech exuberance to reach a different level in 2025, according to JPMorgan.

In Asia’s real estate industry, the impact of the AI boom is plain to see. A cursory glance at commercial property transaction volumes this year shows that data centres were the stand-out performer. In the third quarter, there were US$6.5 billion worth of deals, more than in the retail sector and up 739 per cent in annualised terms compared with a 25 per cent increase for income-producing properties across all sectors, data from MSCI shows.

Not only were data centres the preferred sector for cross-border investors in Asian commercial property this year, but investment activity for the year as a whole is on track to surpass last year’s record of more than US$20 billion.

The craze for AI is part of a broader theme of resilience in sales and leasing activity in commercial and residential real estate across the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, what is striking is that some of the markets where geopolitical, economic and financial vulnerabilities are most acute performed the strongest in 2025.