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Australia beckons
Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 26, 2009
Australia is reappearing on investors’ radar screens, with homes there looking more affordable to overseas investors now that the Aussie dollar has weakened from a year ago.
‘Australia’s banks are still well capitalised and in a global economy with a lot of high-risk investments, the Australian market is comparatively low-risk, which is what many investors are looking for right now,’ said IP Global managing director and founder Tim Murphy.
But the window of opportunity may not last. After Lehman Brothers collapsed, the Aussie dollar fell to below par against the Singapore dollar, fetching about 92 Singapore cents. One Aussie dollar now fetches some S$1.065, compared with S$1.27 a year ago.
‘Analysts are predicting the Australian dollar will become stronger as investor risk appetite returns, making it important to borrow in the currency you are buying in and let the rental service the mortgage payments,’ said Mr Murphy.
MLG Australia managing director Marcus Gilmore said there has been a major influx of activity this year and mostly in the lower end of the property market, thanks largely to first-time home buyers’ grants. (The high-end market has slowed considerably.)
‘Any product under A$500,000 (S$530,750) in Sydney should be seen as good value. One-bedroom apartments are great value under A$400,000 but rare…In the fringe and outer suburbs, you should be looking at between A$375,000 and A$450,000,’ he said.
Experts cautioned that foreigners - who are allowed to buy only new properties directly from developers - should buy only properties that have a resale market.
Mr Gilmore reckoned that investors should always look for re-development zones, particularly as the Australian government is now encouraging infrastructure spending. ‘Investments in early stages of re-development zones always see great rewards in the long term.’
Better rental yields
Investors may also want to consider buying smaller units as these offer better rental yields and are easier to resell, said Colliers International associate director for international projects Edwin Layson.
What they should be cautious about, said Mr Gilmore, are the tourism markets, as the resale markets are flooded with properties, and bank funding for these markets is hard to obtain at the moment.
Savills Western Australia managing director Paul Craig said the Western Australia market remains attractive due to record low interest rates, tight rental vacancies, rental growth, government stimulus and home buyer grants, against a backdrop of Western Australia’s strong economic links to China.
Said the firm’s residential sales and investments manager Shane Smedley: ‘Potential investors should be focused more on rental yields than capital growth in the current market as the days of high capital growth are behind us for the moment.’
Although the Western Australian economy may contract this year, Mr Craig said Savills expects it to be short-lived. ‘The long-term outlook for our property market remains prosperous given our strong links with China.’
Mr Murphy, though, is keen on Sydney and Melbourne as these cities continually have limited new supply of homes and high occupancy rates. For instance, the rents in Sydney rose by 15.4 per cent year on year in 2008 according to Australian Property Monitors data, he said.
The data also shows that Sydney apartment prices fell by 3.8 per cent last year, although they had remained relatively flat in the fourth quarter of the year. In Melbourne, apartment prices fell 1.5 per cent last year.
Investors should know that property prices have not come off as much as that in other markets when buying prime location properties in Sydney and Melbourne. Also, borrowing costs will more than likely rise in the medium term, said Mr Murphy.
‘However, one must also take into account that the currency depreciation and low borrowing costs mean real prices are much lower than they were 12 months ago.’
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
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Plus points for NZ: lovely scenery and cheaper loans
New Zealand may not be the first place that springs to mind for property investment, but the depressed market makes it a good time to look at the land of snow-capped mountains and golden beaches.
Ms Sue Charlesworth, marketing manager at Southern Lakes Real Estate, told The Sunday Times: ‘The prices have certainly come down from the levels of 18 months ago…plus the New Zealand dollar isn’t very strong at the moment, hence overseas investment becomes more feasible.’
A year ago, the kiwi dollar was worth S$1.07 but it is now down more than 20 per cent to 85 Singapore cents.
Ms Charlesworth said the reduced cost of lending in New Zealand is also helping to make property investment at any level very accessible.
Prices are expected to remain relatively stable for the next few years,
buoyed by increasing migration to New Zealand but capped by rising unemployment.
Residential property expert Andrew King, of Andrew King Property Management Services in New Zealand, believes that it could be a good time for investors to consider putting down money, as ‘cashflow is good while interest rates are low’.
‘An investment in New Zealand property would be a long-term hold as prices are not expected to increase for at least three years,’ he added.
Several New Zealand ‘island-like properties’ are being advertised on the website of Vladi Private Islands, which markets islands worldwide.
There are national sensitivities involved in the acquisition of such rare locations and they are protected by rules and regulations.
But the New Zealand government is planning to overhaul the Overseas Investment Act this year. This regulates the acquisition of ’sensitive land’ by overseas investors.
Reforms may make it easier for foreigners to buy property.
Bayleys Real Estate managing director Mike Bayley suggested some unique locations Singaporean investors can consider.
‘For personal investment and for use as holiday homes, there are properties scattered throughout the country in locations ranging from islands, remote beaches and lakes through to snow-capped mountain lodges.’
He said most international investors are in the main cities of Auckland and Wellington, where there are large-scale residential investments.
In Queenstown, a small town by a picturesque lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains in South Island, Ms Charlesworth said an investor would need at least a NZ$250,000 (S$210,000) deposit for a managed apartment.
Such properties are rented out to visitors most of the year and are managed by a property company.
For a high-quality residential property, which is considered to have solid, predictable returns, at least NZ$450,000 would be needed.
More expensive residential investments generally require considerably less capital investment as a percentage of the total purchase price than managed apartments. This is because banks are more willing to offer loans for these types of properties.
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
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London (homes) calling
London property may be among the most coveted in the world, but it has still not been immune to the global economic fallout.
But while falling prices are giving home owners sleepless nights, they spell good news for buyers who have always yearned for that London address.
Experts point to a couple of reasons why homes in the British capital are calling out to investors all over the world, particularly Singapore:
For starters, London prices have plunged about 20 per cent to 30 per cent since their peak, says property consultancy Knight Frank in a recent report.
And the Singapore dollar has appreciated by 20 per cent to 30 per cent against sterling in the past year or so, giving investors more bang for their buck.
Mr Nicholas Barnes, Knight Frank’s partner of residential research in London, told The Sunday Times that two trends will emerge in the first half of this year:
One is that the balance of power has moved from sellers to buyers, while the number of sales will start to rise as more owners accept that the downturn is not going to be followed by a quick rebound.
There is already evidence that buying opportunities are emerging from the slide in prices and some buyers are biting despite the recession.
Ms Jacqueline Wong, head of residential, Singapore, at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), said the firm tested the waters in Singapore last weekend by launching two projects with a leading London mixed-use developer, St George.
The launches attracted ‘very good response’ and saw more than 80 visitors, with 12 units sold, she said.
One project, 14-storey Aquarius House, part of the St George Wharf development in Vauxhall, offered 85 one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 364 to 851 sq ft and will be completed early next year.
Prices start from £399,950 (S$880,000), which works out to about S$2,417 psf - comparable to prime properties in Singapore such as Ardmore Park.
This is a 15 per cent discount on prices launched at the peak of the market, said Ms Wong.
Another firm, DST International, is also tapping the current sentiment and will be launching a London project in Singapore next month.
On offer is The City Peninsula, a 20-storey project at Greenwich, one stop from Canary Wharf, which is offering one- to three-bedroom units ranging from 495 to 840 sq ft.
Prices start at £250,000, which works out to about S$1,111 psf, which is comparable to city-fringe home prices here.
DST’s London specialist Doris Tan said that as Greenwich is one of the main destinations of London’s 2012 Olympics, properties at that location have the potential for capital appreciation.
For buyers looking at super- prime properties, locations like Belgravia, Mayfair, Chelsea and Knightsbridge offer some of ‘the world’s most attractive urban environments’, says Knight Frank.
Emerging property hot spots include Marylebone - it recently pushed past the £1,000 psf mark but is still far cheaper than neighbour Mayfair - Bloomsbury, Paddington, Bayswater and the South Bank.
Knight Frank is also marketing 1,024 sq ft flats at Canary Wharf in East London for S$880,000 upwards each. A year ago these were going for more than $1.2 million each.
Mr Barnes said the worst of the price slide is over. But analysts are ‘not yet sure where and when the bottom of the market is’. Also, there is a possibility that the pound may weaken over the next six to 12 months.
JLL’s director of residential investments, Mr Julian Sedgwick, said he anticipates a strong medium- term residential price recovery, led by London, from next year.
It might pay to wait a little longer before investing, although JLL’s Ms Wong cautioned that trying to time purchases with the bottom of the market could mean all the choice units will be gone.
She pointed out that London property has always been a good investment proposition: ‘There is no (capital) gains tax, there’s a lot of transparency and it is a location popular with many Singaporeans due to its top universities.’
One more thing to note is that London still offers strong rental yields of up to 7 per cent currently, as the capital values of stock have fallen further than rental rates, said Hong Kong-based property investment firm IP Global’s managing director, Mr Tim Murphy.
‘It is important to factor in the yield of a property as well as its potential capital gains when considering an investment,’ he said.
Knight Frank’s Mr Barnes thinks the prime residential market will bottom out this year, remain fairly flat for much of next year and begin to tick upwards towards the end of next year.
‘We do not, however, foresee a significant ‘bounce’ in values - rather we think a steady and more sustainable uplift over the medium term is more likely.
‘We also believe that prime will emerge from the recession ahead of the general market.’
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 26, 2009
Australia is reappearing on investors’ radar screens, with homes there looking more affordable to overseas investors now that the Aussie dollar has weakened from a year ago.
‘Australia’s banks are still well capitalised and in a global economy with a lot of high-risk investments, the Australian market is comparatively low-risk, which is what many investors are looking for right now,’ said IP Global managing director and founder Tim Murphy.
But the window of opportunity may not last. After Lehman Brothers collapsed, the Aussie dollar fell to below par against the Singapore dollar, fetching about 92 Singapore cents. One Aussie dollar now fetches some S$1.065, compared with S$1.27 a year ago.
‘Analysts are predicting the Australian dollar will become stronger as investor risk appetite returns, making it important to borrow in the currency you are buying in and let the rental service the mortgage payments,’ said Mr Murphy.
MLG Australia managing director Marcus Gilmore said there has been a major influx of activity this year and mostly in the lower end of the property market, thanks largely to first-time home buyers’ grants. (The high-end market has slowed considerably.)
‘Any product under A$500,000 (S$530,750) in Sydney should be seen as good value. One-bedroom apartments are great value under A$400,000 but rare…In the fringe and outer suburbs, you should be looking at between A$375,000 and A$450,000,’ he said.
Experts cautioned that foreigners - who are allowed to buy only new properties directly from developers - should buy only properties that have a resale market.
Mr Gilmore reckoned that investors should always look for re-development zones, particularly as the Australian government is now encouraging infrastructure spending. ‘Investments in early stages of re-development zones always see great rewards in the long term.’
Better rental yields
Investors may also want to consider buying smaller units as these offer better rental yields and are easier to resell, said Colliers International associate director for international projects Edwin Layson.
What they should be cautious about, said Mr Gilmore, are the tourism markets, as the resale markets are flooded with properties, and bank funding for these markets is hard to obtain at the moment.
Savills Western Australia managing director Paul Craig said the Western Australia market remains attractive due to record low interest rates, tight rental vacancies, rental growth, government stimulus and home buyer grants, against a backdrop of Western Australia’s strong economic links to China.
Said the firm’s residential sales and investments manager Shane Smedley: ‘Potential investors should be focused more on rental yields than capital growth in the current market as the days of high capital growth are behind us for the moment.’
Although the Western Australian economy may contract this year, Mr Craig said Savills expects it to be short-lived. ‘The long-term outlook for our property market remains prosperous given our strong links with China.’
Mr Murphy, though, is keen on Sydney and Melbourne as these cities continually have limited new supply of homes and high occupancy rates. For instance, the rents in Sydney rose by 15.4 per cent year on year in 2008 according to Australian Property Monitors data, he said.
The data also shows that Sydney apartment prices fell by 3.8 per cent last year, although they had remained relatively flat in the fourth quarter of the year. In Melbourne, apartment prices fell 1.5 per cent last year.
Investors should know that property prices have not come off as much as that in other markets when buying prime location properties in Sydney and Melbourne. Also, borrowing costs will more than likely rise in the medium term, said Mr Murphy.
‘However, one must also take into account that the currency depreciation and low borrowing costs mean real prices are much lower than they were 12 months ago.’
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》
Plus points for NZ: lovely scenery and cheaper loans
New Zealand may not be the first place that springs to mind for property investment, but the depressed market makes it a good time to look at the land of snow-capped mountains and golden beaches.
Ms Sue Charlesworth, marketing manager at Southern Lakes Real Estate, told The Sunday Times: ‘The prices have certainly come down from the levels of 18 months ago…plus the New Zealand dollar isn’t very strong at the moment, hence overseas investment becomes more feasible.’
A year ago, the kiwi dollar was worth S$1.07 but it is now down more than 20 per cent to 85 Singapore cents.
Ms Charlesworth said the reduced cost of lending in New Zealand is also helping to make property investment at any level very accessible.
Prices are expected to remain relatively stable for the next few years,
buoyed by increasing migration to New Zealand but capped by rising unemployment.
Residential property expert Andrew King, of Andrew King Property Management Services in New Zealand, believes that it could be a good time for investors to consider putting down money, as ‘cashflow is good while interest rates are low’.
‘An investment in New Zealand property would be a long-term hold as prices are not expected to increase for at least three years,’ he added.
Several New Zealand ‘island-like properties’ are being advertised on the website of Vladi Private Islands, which markets islands worldwide.
There are national sensitivities involved in the acquisition of such rare locations and they are protected by rules and regulations.
But the New Zealand government is planning to overhaul the Overseas Investment Act this year. This regulates the acquisition of ’sensitive land’ by overseas investors.
Reforms may make it easier for foreigners to buy property.
Bayleys Real Estate managing director Mike Bayley suggested some unique locations Singaporean investors can consider.
‘For personal investment and for use as holiday homes, there are properties scattered throughout the country in locations ranging from islands, remote beaches and lakes through to snow-capped mountain lodges.’
He said most international investors are in the main cities of Auckland and Wellington, where there are large-scale residential investments.
In Queenstown, a small town by a picturesque lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains in South Island, Ms Charlesworth said an investor would need at least a NZ$250,000 (S$210,000) deposit for a managed apartment.
Such properties are rented out to visitors most of the year and are managed by a property company.
For a high-quality residential property, which is considered to have solid, predictable returns, at least NZ$450,000 would be needed.
More expensive residential investments generally require considerably less capital investment as a percentage of the total purchase price than managed apartments. This is because banks are more willing to offer loans for these types of properties.
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》》
London (homes) calling
London property may be among the most coveted in the world, but it has still not been immune to the global economic fallout.
But while falling prices are giving home owners sleepless nights, they spell good news for buyers who have always yearned for that London address.
Experts point to a couple of reasons why homes in the British capital are calling out to investors all over the world, particularly Singapore:
For starters, London prices have plunged about 20 per cent to 30 per cent since their peak, says property consultancy Knight Frank in a recent report.
And the Singapore dollar has appreciated by 20 per cent to 30 per cent against sterling in the past year or so, giving investors more bang for their buck.
Mr Nicholas Barnes, Knight Frank’s partner of residential research in London, told The Sunday Times that two trends will emerge in the first half of this year:
One is that the balance of power has moved from sellers to buyers, while the number of sales will start to rise as more owners accept that the downturn is not going to be followed by a quick rebound.
There is already evidence that buying opportunities are emerging from the slide in prices and some buyers are biting despite the recession.
Ms Jacqueline Wong, head of residential, Singapore, at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), said the firm tested the waters in Singapore last weekend by launching two projects with a leading London mixed-use developer, St George.
The launches attracted ‘very good response’ and saw more than 80 visitors, with 12 units sold, she said.
One project, 14-storey Aquarius House, part of the St George Wharf development in Vauxhall, offered 85 one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 364 to 851 sq ft and will be completed early next year.
Prices start from £399,950 (S$880,000), which works out to about S$2,417 psf - comparable to prime properties in Singapore such as Ardmore Park.
This is a 15 per cent discount on prices launched at the peak of the market, said Ms Wong.
Another firm, DST International, is also tapping the current sentiment and will be launching a London project in Singapore next month.
On offer is The City Peninsula, a 20-storey project at Greenwich, one stop from Canary Wharf, which is offering one- to three-bedroom units ranging from 495 to 840 sq ft.
Prices start at £250,000, which works out to about S$1,111 psf, which is comparable to city-fringe home prices here.
DST’s London specialist Doris Tan said that as Greenwich is one of the main destinations of London’s 2012 Olympics, properties at that location have the potential for capital appreciation.
For buyers looking at super- prime properties, locations like Belgravia, Mayfair, Chelsea and Knightsbridge offer some of ‘the world’s most attractive urban environments’, says Knight Frank.
Emerging property hot spots include Marylebone - it recently pushed past the £1,000 psf mark but is still far cheaper than neighbour Mayfair - Bloomsbury, Paddington, Bayswater and the South Bank.
Knight Frank is also marketing 1,024 sq ft flats at Canary Wharf in East London for S$880,000 upwards each. A year ago these were going for more than $1.2 million each.
Mr Barnes said the worst of the price slide is over. But analysts are ‘not yet sure where and when the bottom of the market is’. Also, there is a possibility that the pound may weaken over the next six to 12 months.
JLL’s director of residential investments, Mr Julian Sedgwick, said he anticipates a strong medium- term residential price recovery, led by London, from next year.
It might pay to wait a little longer before investing, although JLL’s Ms Wong cautioned that trying to time purchases with the bottom of the market could mean all the choice units will be gone.
She pointed out that London property has always been a good investment proposition: ‘There is no (capital) gains tax, there’s a lot of transparency and it is a location popular with many Singaporeans due to its top universities.’
One more thing to note is that London still offers strong rental yields of up to 7 per cent currently, as the capital values of stock have fallen further than rental rates, said Hong Kong-based property investment firm IP Global’s managing director, Mr Tim Murphy.
‘It is important to factor in the yield of a property as well as its potential capital gains when considering an investment,’ he said.
Knight Frank’s Mr Barnes thinks the prime residential market will bottom out this year, remain fairly flat for much of next year and begin to tick upwards towards the end of next year.
‘We do not, however, foresee a significant ‘bounce’ in values - rather we think a steady and more sustainable uplift over the medium term is more likely.
‘We also believe that prime will emerge from the recession ahead of the general market.’
Source : Sunday Times - 26 Apr 2009
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