Monthly Archives: May 2013
Singapore Property Investment
Here is a totally different angle on Singapore property investment
BY ALEXANDER KNIGHT
Have you ever considered capitalising on the wealth in Singapore but have shied away due to the high price of property, then we have an idea: invest in property where Singaporeans take their holidays.
It’s no secret that the average price of property in Singapore is one of the highest in the world, and there have in fact been no less than seven rounds of cooling measures implemented in recent years by the government in order to prevent a fully-fledged bubble from forming.
In fact, thanks to such cooling measures, foreign investors are paying more and more for their Singaporean property investments and, because they are generally not allowed to purchase land (except for the exclusive and stratospherically-priced Sentosa Cove), are strictly limited to condominium apartments.
Yet the sheer volume of wealth in the city state means savvy investors from all over the globe are looking to Singapore for investment strategies.
Singapore has the highest GDP per capita in the world, and according to a report from..
Read more: http://sbr.com.sg/residential-property/commentary/here-totally-different-angle-singapore-property-investment
Related articles
- Singapore buyers splash cash on student property (sharonanngoh.com)
- 6 in 10 Singaporeans unsatisfied with property measures (moneyiq.sg)
- Singaporean’s confidence in Iskandar at a new high (investjohor.wordpress.com)
Asia Sees Office Rents Spike
Asia Sees Office Rents Spike
Asia’s office rental market is experiencing significant price jumps that are challenging some businesses that choose to keep office space in select cities, according to a report from Knight Frank. Hong Kong now ranks first in cost among all major international business hubs, with London’s West End and Moscow rounding out the top three spots on the list. Beijing skyrocketed from 25th to 12th place, and Singapore continues to climb. Experts believe the difference in pricing may result in relocations and Germany now appears to offer some of most competitive rents. In the U.S., San Francisco and Manhattan both moved up in the rankings. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
Offices in leading cities in Asia have risen rapidly up the rankings of global office rents in the last five years, according to new research from Knight Frank.
Hong Kong now has the most expensive office rents in the world. London’s West End is in second place, falling from the first place it occupied in 2007, with Moscow third, Tokyo fourth and Paris five.
Knight Frank says that the traditional business centers retain their global status despite the recession. However Asian locations are catching up. Beijing has been the biggest riser in the last five years, moving from 25th place in 2007 to 12 in 2012.
‘In a startling leap up the rankings, Beijing has moved from…
Read more: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/asia-sees-office-rents-spike-60820.aspx
Parallels between the U.S. and Asian property markets
Parallels between the U.S. and Asian property markets
U.S. home prices are on an upswing. What does this mean for the Asian property market?
American homeowners might never forget the pain inflicted by the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2009, but recent economic numbers have injected a little optimism. According to the February 2013 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices, home prices across 10 selected cities rose an average of 8.6 percent compared to February 2012. When expanded to 20 cities, the figures were even better: up 9.3 percent.
“The numbers both reflects a general recovery, and is instrumental in that general recovery,” explains Susan Wachter, Professor of Real Estate and Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “The economy is recovering slowly, not robustly, but nonetheless it is recovering, and that is the major fundamental that’s supporting the housing market along with historically low interest rates.”
Wachter adds, “But then again, the recovery is aided by the housing market price increases which brings…
Read more: http://smu.edu.sg/perspectives/2013/05/29/parallels-between-us-and-asian-property-markets#.UadIRUBmB50
Australia – The Economist is wrong…
The Economist is wrong to argue that Australia’s property market is overvalued: Michael Matusik
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Australia has moved from fifth to fourth most overvalued global property market but the overall risk of a housing bubble has subsided, according the very debatable The Economist magazine’s 2013 global housing index.
On a personal income housing affordability measure, Australia ranks fourthbehind France (34%), the Netherlands (33%) and Canada (32%) while on a rents measure, Australia ranks third behind Hong Kong (81%) and Singapore (57%).
The Economist calculates that Australian house prices are overvalued 24% (28%per cent last year) against average personal disposable income and 44% (38%per cent last year) against rents.
What a load of rubbish! Read here what we wrote about this stuff last time around.
I believe The Economist has an issue with…
Read more: http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/the-economist-is-wrong-to-argue-that-australia-s-property-market-is-overvalued-michael-matusik-michaelmatusik/2013053061789
Related articles
- Australia is the Most Overvalued (yelnick.typepad.com)
Malaysia Johor – 3rd link to Singapore
New ferry connection to create 3rd link to Singapore
Posted on December 19, 2012 – Property News.
Marina at Puteri Harbour
A new customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex and ferry terminal is currently being completed in Puteri Harbour, in the Iskandar region of Johor. This complex will serve ferries which will ply between Puteri Harbour and Singapore.
UEM Land Holdings CEO Dato’ Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim referred to this complex at the recent “Living Nusajaya” media tour: “The ferry terminal will be completed [by mid-January] but it’s got to be fitted and our new CIQ complex has got to be occupied by the Malaysian Customs and Immigration department.”
“We’ve just about appointed the operator for this terminal. The operator is now making his leads to all the various ferry operators. You can expect that by the end of…
http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/property-news/new-ferry-connection-to-create-3rd-link-to-singapore/
Hong Kong Is Not Worried If Home Prices Will Drop 20%, TVB Says
Hong Kong Is Not Worried If Home Prices Will Drop 20%, TVB Says
By Stephanie Tong & Billy Chan – May 29, 2013 5:43 PM GMT+0800
A 20 percent decline in Hong Kong property prices won’t “worry” the government, TVB news reported yesterday, citing an unidentified government official.
Even if property prices fall 40 percent in the long run, the government is confident that there won’t be a large amount of negative-equity cases like in 1998 and 2003, the report said.
A shortage of housing, low mortgage costs and a buying spree by mainland Chinese have led home prices to more than double since the beginning of 2009, shrugging off repeated attempts by the government to curb gains amid an outcry over affordability. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who took over in July as head of the government, on Feb. 22 imposed his toughest yet property curbs by doubling the stamp duty on all property transactions higher than HK$2 million ($257,609).
Hong Kong home prices have fallen 2.3 percent since the February measures, according to an index compiled by Centaline Property Agency Ltd. Mortgage lending has declined to a “trough,” He Guangbei, chief executive officer of BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd., the city’s largest home loan lender, told reporters yesterday.
“We do not comment on reports attributed to sources,” Leo Law, a spokesman for transport and housing bureau, said by telephone today.
Extended Decline
The official’s comments underscore that the government was unlikely to…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-29/hong-kong-is-not-worried-if-home-prices-will-drop-20-tvb-says.html
Malaysians and foreigners can still find good bargains for properties in Johor
Malaysians and foreigners can still find good bargains for properties in Johor
Posted on May 29, 2013 – Property News.
farhaan@thestar.com.my
Impressive: Wong (left) and Rehda members looking at the layout plan of a new housing project during Mapex held at City Square shopping complex in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: Property prices in Johor are still reasonable compared with those in Kuala Lumpur and Penang despite the spill-over from booming development in Iskandar Malaysia.
Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) committee chairman K.K. Wong said the prices of new houses were still under RM400,000.
“The price of new housing projects in the state is quite affordable, with prices ranging from RM400,000 downwards, while an apartment is sold for between RM400 and RM1,200 psf depending on the location.
“This is a good time to invest as the property market in Johor is growing. Now that the general election is over, we expect both Malaysians and foreigners to take advantage of this by buying properties here,” he told reporters after launching the Johor Mapex 2013 expo at City Square shopping complex here.
The good ties between Singapore and Malaysia had also…
http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/property-news/malaysians-and-foreigners-can-still-find-good-bargains-for-properties-in-johor/
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- Malaysia – A new era in governance in Iskandar Malaysia (boomtownasia.wordpress.com)
Philippines Real Estate Boom Expected To Continue In 2013
Wednesday 29 May 2013 – theexpat.com
If there is one industry that posted a stellar performance in 2012, it is real estate.
Players are optimistic that 2013 will be a banner year for the industry as well.
Cebu Holdings Inc. president Francis Monera said the real estate industry recorded a revenue growth rate of 18.8 percent in the third quarter in 2012, making it the fastest growing of all industries.
Jose Soberano III, chief executive officer of Cebu Landmasters Inc, said the real estate industry experienced “unprecedented growth” in 2012 in terms of new projects being launched and completed, increases in booked sales and rental income due to higher volume turn-over, and upward price movements.
“This actually continued the growth pattern already seen in 2011 but with a more frenzied take-up rate,” he said.
Remittances sent home by Filipinos working abroad and the booming outsourcing industry were major factors behind the growth of the industry. The liquidity in the market propped by available credit and financing support from the banking sector also fueled real estate’s performance in 2012.
“At no time in our economic history was credit so readily available for medium and long-term housing needs that it opened an influx of buyers from the low to medium strata of our economy,” Soberano said.
In the residential front, Monera said strong and steady influx of remittances, complemented by a healthy investing environment and low interest rates have encouraged more Filipinos to buy property.
Cash remittances in…
Philippine Central Bank Ready To Start Cooling Measures
Wednesday 29 May 2013 – theexpat.com
The Philippine central bank is reviewing property loans data to determine whether cooling measures are needed to avert a bubble, Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla said in an interview.
“Our source of concern is the rapid growth of credit,” Espenilla said in his office on April 24. “The central bank is very mindful of seeing the foundation of an asset bubble that can burst and create dislocations in the economy.”
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which yesterday cut the rate on its special deposit accounts for a third time this year, is monitoring the property market after bank loans and investments surged to a record, based on the most recent central bank data. Rising prices have spurred developers including Ayala Land Inc. to build more homes.
Property loans and investments rose 18.9 percent to a record 561.6 billion pesos ($13.6 billion) at the end of the first half of 2012, according to
Read more: http://theexpat.com/philippines/2013/05/06/philippine-central-bank-ready-to-start-cooling-measures/
Related articles
- Philippines Ready to Act on Property Loan Surge: Southeast Asia – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Indonesia Studying Tighter Mortgage-Loan Rules, (boomtownasia.wordpress.com)
China – Can foreigners take out mortgages
Can foreigners take out mortgages
Not an official link. Just some interesting discussion.
http://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/1f6gpu/can_foreigners_take_out_mortgages_in_china_to_buy/
Boom Town Asia 