Ipoh: A premier investment destination for foreigners

Dec 6, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Despite being one of the major cities in Malaysia, Ipoh has been overlooked for almost 20 years, in terms of property investment and development.

However, Peter Chan, Co-Principal of The Haven Sdn Bhd, said Ipoh’s property market has been growing in confidence, especially in 2011, with many new launches taking place.

“It helps that the quality of life is high and prices are among the lowest in Malaysia,” he said.

One good example of property investment and development in the area is The Haven, a new luxury condo project comprising three 26-storey blocks of high-end condo units. The development sits on a 5.44 ha site that features a 1.6 ha lake and is surrounded by nature parks.

“We were confident enough to launch three blocks at the project in one go, instead of the usual one block, which has been the case for Ipoh properties in the past,” noted Chan.

The project was showcased at the recently concluded Malaysia Property Showcase in Singapore and serves as a viable option for retirement or vacation homes for foreigners.

The Haven is priced at almost one-tenth the prices of private properties in Singapore. Currently, prices start from S$185 psf (RM456), with 20 percent of buyers comprising foreigners.

Chinese investors prefer funds to property

Dec 28, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Many Chinese investors favour funds and other investment products over property, according to the People’s Bank of China quarterly survey.

In a survey of 20,000 individuals in 50 cities across mainland China, only 16.5 percent listed property as their primary investment choice, a decrease of 7.1 percentage points from Q3.

Around 22.5 percent chose funds and other investment products, while 16.4 percent opted for bonds.

The survey also revealed that 46.2 percent of the respondents expect property prices to stay flat next year, while another 20.8 percent believe that prices will fall. Only 19 percent predicted home prices would increase.

Meanwhile, about 28.5 percent of respondents from Beijing expect the capital’s flat prices to drop, while 26.8 percent in Shanghai are bearish.

Only 13.9 percent of respondents across China stated that they will purchase a flat in the next three months.

PropertyGuru appoints three more heavy hitters

Dec 23, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

PropertyGuru, the number one property portal in Asia, has appointed three industry heavyweights to key regional positions within the company.

The new senior hires include Douglas Gan, ‘Strategy Guru’, Andrew Batt, Regional Group Editor (pictured) and Sarah Baker, Regional Head of Products, who will all play crirtical roles in shaping the company’s success in the region.

Sarah brings 10 years of digital media experience to her new post at PropertyGuru. Previously, she was Head of Entertainment in Digital Media at Network TEN Australia. Prior to that, she worked at Yahoo!7 in Australia and at Yahoo! UK & Ireland, as well as LineOne, a British Telecom and United News & Media joint venture as the Money Editor.

Andrew has nearly 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. He was previously the Publishing Director for Ensign Media and was responsible for editorial matters for Property Report South East Asia magazine and Thai language edition of Bloomberg Businessweek. He has also worked at Guardian Media and Haymarket Business Publishing.

As for Douglas, he is the co-founder and ex-CEO of ShowNearby, a regional online/mobile location-based advertising business. In 1999, he founded web-hosting business PureHostings.net, and the youth community website OhGenki.com in 2006.

“I’m delighted to welcome three ‘A star players’ into the PropertyGuru family. The impressive track record and experience brought by Sarah, Andrew and Douglas will further support our continued rapid growth and market leading traffic, content, customer services and innovation,” said Steve Melhuish, Group CEO of PropertyGuru.

REDAS, stakeholders assess cooling measures

Dec 27, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Looking into the impact of the latest round of property cooling measures, the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS) has engaged in series of meetings with various industry players, according to The Business Times.

REDAS met recently with stakeholders such as property consultants, lawyers, developers and brokerage analysts to discuss the intended objectives and consequences of the latest cooling measures, which include the 10 percent additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) for foreigners.

The report noted that several suggestions over a more “calibrated” approach were raised at the meetings, including some proposals set to be presented to the authorities.

One idea that emerged was identifying “hot spots” for foreign investments using the postal district codes and applying tiered stamp duties.

Almost 29 percent of private homes in the Core Central Region (CCR), including Marina Bay, Sentosa Cove and prime districts 9, 10 and 11, have been purchased by foreigners, according to a recent CBRE analysis of URA’s caveat data lodged from January to November 2011.

On the other hand, only 14 percent in the Outside Central Region (CCR) were sold to foreigners.

Industry players also suggested that the authorities could give more incentives to support PRs and Singapore citizens by providing more generous subsidies to first-time homebuyers, for instance, instead of singling out foreigners.

On whether the ABSD will be permanent, Joseph Tan, Executive Director for Residential at CBRE, said that “these measures are unlikely to be a permanent feature because of the nature of Singapore's highly open economy.”

CapitaLand completes acquisition of Indian company

Dec 27, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s largest property group, announced that it has completed the acquisition of the remaining 60 percent interest in Rattha Somerset Whitefield Hospitality Private Ltd, which owns a site in Bangalore that will be developed into new serviced residences.

The acquisition comes after CapitaLand said in March that it plans to expand its Indian portfolio by acquiring full ownership of four joint venture (JV) companies, which own sites in different cities across India.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Whitefield has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand.