Overseas Property | Lush Dream Home

Category Archives: Overseas Property

Malaysian market picking up

Posted on 24 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

To some, the fact that the wealthy are once again putting their money in real estate is a sign the market is on its way up, reports PAULINE NG

WHETHER it was the triple 8 that did it, I&P’s launch of 80 link houses on August 8 in Bandar Kinrara Puchong in the Klang Valley was a sell-out – in three short hours. Of course, the value-for-money proposition for its link houses proved irresistible to house buyers, some of whom, according to reports, had started queuing on July 29, more than 10 days earlier. Many jumped at the pricing for the units with built-up areas of 2,151-2,551 sq ft. Priced at around RM460,000 (S$187,081) – by some estimates a discount of nearly 20 per cent – house buyers obviously thought it was too good a deal to miss.

Price revisions appear to have done the trick for a number of developers in Klang Valley and Penang which have recently seen good take-up rates for new and older launches. Inquiries have picked up noticeably, property consultants say, with attractive financing packages and discounts initially stemming the slide, but now providing some momentum.

One developer launching service apartments in the trendy area of Sri Hartamas next to Mont Kiara recently advertised its terms: RM15,000 downpayment on signing, zero interest during construction, no legal fees for the loan or agreement, and guaranteed returns of 6 per cent for two years. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Malaysian market picking up

Posted in Overseas Property

Tagged Malaysia Property, Malaysia Property Market

Land of buying opportunity Down Under?

Posted on 24 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

While Australian hotels may have been slow to transact in recent times, a pick-up in activity is expected in the coming months

SOUTH-EAST Asian investors are starting to scour Australia’s hotel market in the hopes of finding similar value to the hotel investments they made in the mid-1990s. It can be said that Asian investors were net real estate buyers between 1994 and 2003 before turning into net sellers between 2003 and 2006. That sell period was correlated to an improvement in hotel performances, lifting asset values, together with an appreciation of the Australian currency. This resulted in investors realising handsome capital gains when repatriating the funds back to their homeland.

Fast forward to September 2009 and a repeat cyclical trend may possibly be emerging. Indeed, as identified in the table above, all of the major hotel transactions that took place over the last 12 months are attributable to South-east Asian investors including Singapore’s Hotel Grand Central, Thailand’s TCC Land and Malaysia’s TA Enterprises Berhad. Notwithstanding the sale of the Westin Melbourne, hotels have transacted between A$190,000 and A$320,000 (S$234,717 and S$395,313) per room. Based on anecdotal evidence, this would appear to represent an, at times, steep discount by reference to full replacement value (after factoring land cost).

Cushman & Wakefield is aware of a number of hotel properties available to investors, both on and off-market, at the ‘right’ price. While Australian hotels may have been slow to transact in recent times, a pick-up in activity is expected in the coming months. But let us first ask the obvious questions – why hospitality and why Australia? Continue reading →