Real estate transactions in the Asia Pacific region have declined by 28 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, according to new figures from JLL.

The global professional services and investment firm attributes the decrease to a slowdown in China and Japan.

“Quarter-on-quarter, every market in the region is down on the first half of 2015, leaving volumes fifteen per cent lower year-on-year,” according to the firm.

Global transactions also slowed by twelve per cent in the second quarter of 2016, and half-year volumes for 2016 declined by thirteen per cent when compared to the first six months of last year.

The global slowdown is expected to continue throughout the second half of 2016, with investor uncertainty stemming from the unexpected referendum vote in the UK and upcoming elections in the US.

“2016 looks likely to be a year that politics will play a major role in determining investor sentiment and, subsequently, global market activity,” says David Green Morgan, Global Capital Markets Research Director, JLL.

“While this is certainly not a repeat of 2008 – rather an adjustment to the strong growth we’ve seen in previous years – we do see an unsettled picture in terms of investor sentiment; with many finding reasons to pause their investment decision making,” he said.

Despite the declines, JLL's Director of Research for Asia Pacific Capital Markets, Myles Huang, expects some improvements in Asia in the second half of 2016.

"We should remember the current lull came off the back of exceptionally strong investment activity over the past few years."

"Judging from factors such as deal availability, participation of foreign investors and yield trends, we believe India and Singapore should see stronger momentum in investment activity over the next 6-12 months. Steady activity will be seen in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. Australia and Japan should see stable momentum but has the potential to surprise on the upside," he said.