Australians say too many property investors are coming over to their country and pushing up property prices out of reach of ordinary Aussies. In response, Canberra is tightening investment laws.
Nearly 5000 property purchases worth USD14.9 billion were made by foreigners in 2009, with Victoria attracting most investment, followed by Queensland and New South Wales. Singaporeans led the foreign investor pack followed by Americans and Britons in 2008/09.
UAE buyers had been the third biggest group of foreign buyers in 2007/08 before Dubai's debt crisis broke. Britons and Americans were the biggest buyers in that year.
Eighty per cent of foreign investment last year went into brand new flats and houses, 20 per cent into existing homes. From now on, the approval process will be more stringent and foreigners who leave Australia must sell their homes. Critics want tighter curbs, so if you want to buy a place down-under do so fast before more restrictions come in.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Friday 25 June 2010
MALAYSIA CUTS PROPERTY TAXES
The Malaysian government has made capital gains tax rules less onerous for foreign investors - they now only pay this levy if they sell a property within five years of purchase. Estate agents have welcomed the change saying it would draw more long-term, overseas investors to the country's property market.
In a separate move, Malaysia's Foreign Investment Committee is planning to deregulate investment guidelines to make it easier for overseas purchasers to come to the country.
Malaysia has steadily opened its doors to foreigners over the past decade. It runs a Malaysia My Second Home programme which allows non-Malaysians to buy a property and take up residency for up to ten years in the country. Foreigners can buy any property valued at M$250,000 or more, and can own up to two homes.
Analysts say Malaysia has made these changes, because it fears its own property market will be eclipsed by that in resurgent Singapore.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
In a separate move, Malaysia's Foreign Investment Committee is planning to deregulate investment guidelines to make it easier for overseas purchasers to come to the country.
Malaysia has steadily opened its doors to foreigners over the past decade. It runs a Malaysia My Second Home programme which allows non-Malaysians to buy a property and take up residency for up to ten years in the country. Foreigners can buy any property valued at M$250,000 or more, and can own up to two homes.
Analysts say Malaysia has made these changes, because it fears its own property market will be eclipsed by that in resurgent Singapore.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
Monday 21 June 2010
ASIAN BUYERS TARGET LONDON NEW BUILD
East Asian investors have bought one-fifth of all new build homes sold in central London over the past twelve months an estate agency's report reveals. Combined, investors from Hong Kong, the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East Asia bought about 1,500of the 7,579 new homes sold in the British capital's 11 central boroughs during the year to March, according to Knight Frank's International Project Marketing 2010.
Their combined £761 million investment has encouraged developers to raise sales prices, according to Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank. "There are three times as many Asian buyers as there were this time last year, but even that could be understating it," Bailey said. "Most buy homes for their children studying in Britain and then rent them out afterwards."
Six out of 10 buyers of central London new-build homes were owner-occupiers, the remainder investors, the report says. Half of investors were from East Asia (Hong Kong, the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East Asia), 37% from Britain, and the remainder from the rest of the world, including other parts of Asia such as India, with 3.3%, and the Middle East, with 3.5%.
Hong Kong and mainland buyers were the biggest group of overseas investors - 11% of the total.
Not only are East Asian buyers becoming more numerous, they are spending more money. They now bid on properties with asking prices of between £500,000 to £600,000, on average, compared to £200,000 two years ago, Bailey said.
A combination of the increased wealth of Asian buyers and a favourable exchange rate had increased their spending power, he said. These factors - and the relatively low price of London homes for dollar-denominated buyers, compared to two years ago following falls in the value of sterling - encouraged them to invest.
"But the key determining factor is currency. Price falls and currency falls combined mean that prices are presently 30 to 35% below the peak of the market in late 2007 and early 2008."
Asian buyers dominate demand at some residential projects.
Housebuilder Barratt Homes said 25% of its London homes were being bought by Hong Kong, mainland and Singaporean purchasers.
At Pan Peninsula, a twin tower development near Canary Wharf, East Asian investors have bought 110 apartments. At NEO Bankside, a development of 197 apartments near the Tate Modern art gallery, 30% of sales have been made to East Asian investors to date.
Hong Kong and other East Asian buyers are also making a strong impact on the top end of the market according to Ed Lewis, head of new London homes for Savills.
Lewis said his firm sold 27 central London new-built homes priced at £5 million or above in the past four months, and nine of the buyers came from Hong Kong, the mainland and Singapore.
Russell Hunt, managing director of London-based buyers agency, Property Hunt, said 60% of his clients were Asians and Asia-based British expatriates. "Quite a few investors are sitting on the fence asking the question 'should I buy now or wait for the sterling to weaken a bit more?'," he said.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot
Their combined £761 million investment has encouraged developers to raise sales prices, according to Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank. "There are three times as many Asian buyers as there were this time last year, but even that could be understating it," Bailey said. "Most buy homes for their children studying in Britain and then rent them out afterwards."
Six out of 10 buyers of central London new-build homes were owner-occupiers, the remainder investors, the report says. Half of investors were from East Asia (Hong Kong, the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East Asia), 37% from Britain, and the remainder from the rest of the world, including other parts of Asia such as India, with 3.3%, and the Middle East, with 3.5%.
Hong Kong and mainland buyers were the biggest group of overseas investors - 11% of the total.
Not only are East Asian buyers becoming more numerous, they are spending more money. They now bid on properties with asking prices of between £500,000 to £600,000, on average, compared to £200,000 two years ago, Bailey said.
A combination of the increased wealth of Asian buyers and a favourable exchange rate had increased their spending power, he said. These factors - and the relatively low price of London homes for dollar-denominated buyers, compared to two years ago following falls in the value of sterling - encouraged them to invest.
"But the key determining factor is currency. Price falls and currency falls combined mean that prices are presently 30 to 35% below the peak of the market in late 2007 and early 2008."
Asian buyers dominate demand at some residential projects.
Housebuilder Barratt Homes said 25% of its London homes were being bought by Hong Kong, mainland and Singaporean purchasers.
At Pan Peninsula, a twin tower development near Canary Wharf, East Asian investors have bought 110 apartments. At NEO Bankside, a development of 197 apartments near the Tate Modern art gallery, 30% of sales have been made to East Asian investors to date.
Hong Kong and other East Asian buyers are also making a strong impact on the top end of the market according to Ed Lewis, head of new London homes for Savills.
Lewis said his firm sold 27 central London new-built homes priced at £5 million or above in the past four months, and nine of the buyers came from Hong Kong, the mainland and Singapore.
Russell Hunt, managing director of London-based buyers agency, Property Hunt, said 60% of his clients were Asians and Asia-based British expatriates. "Quite a few investors are sitting on the fence asking the question 'should I buy now or wait for the sterling to weaken a bit more?'," he said.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot
Friday 18 June 2010
SINGAPORE'S PROPERTY BOOM
Singapore wants more foreigners to live there, a policy that is bound to buoy up property prices for years to come. Today, one in five of Singapore's 4.7 million residents are not Singaporean, and its government wants to expand the population by one-third over the next 40 to 50 years, mainly by immigration.
Estate agency, DTZ, says 40 per cent of luxury home buyers come from overseas, with numbers from India and China growing particularly strongly, because they are drawn to Singapore's mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures. By increasing immigration levels the government wants to bring in new talent and expand the local market for goods and services to boost the economy.
Foreigners are allowed to buy condominium units on Singapore island and property with land on Sentosa Island. Most condo units are on 99-year leases. Singapore banks will lend 70 per cent of a property's purchase price.
http://globalpropertyguide.blogspot.com
Tuesday 8 June 2010
GLOBAL PROPERTY RECOVERY
The global housing bust is over. Website, Global Property Guide’s latest survey of official house price statistics shows home prices rose in 29 out of 36 countries during the year to April 2010.
In countries where prices continued to fall, like Switzerland, Croatia, Slovakia and The Netherlands, rates of decline slowed. And fewer countries were in severe crisis - only Ireland, Bulgaria and Thailand show no signs of recovery the website says, each country suffering double digit falls.
The website's statistics are inflation adjusted to give a more realistic picture than that available from nominal price changes, the data preferred by estate agents.
Hong Kong topped the website's list of high risers, enjoying a 27 per cent increase in home values. The website says eastern Europe's slump is easing, but warns a possible bubble is forming in east Asian markets where huge Chinese investment is driving up prices.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
In countries where prices continued to fall, like Switzerland, Croatia, Slovakia and The Netherlands, rates of decline slowed. And fewer countries were in severe crisis - only Ireland, Bulgaria and Thailand show no signs of recovery the website says, each country suffering double digit falls.
The website's statistics are inflation adjusted to give a more realistic picture than that available from nominal price changes, the data preferred by estate agents.
Hong Kong topped the website's list of high risers, enjoying a 27 per cent increase in home values. The website says eastern Europe's slump is easing, but warns a possible bubble is forming in east Asian markets where huge Chinese investment is driving up prices.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
Thursday 3 June 2010
THAI HOLIDAY HOMES MARKET DOWN
Thailand's political turmoil is bad for its property market. Estate agency, Savills, says it is property management arm has received requests from residents to beef up security at premises in central Bangkok following anti-government protests last month, when the Red Shirts fought running battles with the police.
The estate agency says images of political street violence broadcast around the world has put off potential holiday home buyers from overseas from coming to popular resorts like Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui.
The agency insists the political situation is better than the media makes out, that violence is localised. It says the market for homes bought by Thais is “performing exceedingly well”.
However, the agency concedes hotel occupancy levels are likely to fall, because of the violence. This means anybody looking to let out their holiday home will find tenants tougher to find. Oh well, at least there will be more room on the beach.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
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