Tag Archives: Market Report

Stable household wealth behind property surge

Consumer spending could also recover more quickly than in previous recessions

THE net worth of Singapore households has fallen only slightly from its peak last year and is still much higher than it was at the start of this decade, according to an analysis by a senior Citigroup economist.

This resilience in household wealth is one likely reason for property sales volumes and prices having rebounded strongly in recent weeks, and could mean that consumer spending here recovers more quickly than in previous recessions.

‘The strength of the household balance sheet probably explains to some extent the rally in asset prices, in particular housing, and may set the stage for a swifter recovery in domestic spending,’ Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng said in a report yesterday.

Mr Kit estimates that Singapore households had a combined net worth of just over $900 billion as at the second quarter of this year – down only Continue reading

What’s Really Happening in Asia …

by Larry Edelson

Larry Edelson

I’m in Asia right now. And I can tell you firsthand that things here are far more vibrant than most in the West seem to think.

In a small, luxury housing development just 15 minutes from Bangkok’s bustling Sukhumvit Road, 12 of the 19 $750,000+ homes have sold in just six months, and prices have jumped more than 15 percent since then.

Along Sukhumvit Road in the heart of downtown Bangkok, three new hotels are under construction and two new condo developments have sold out in just two months.

In Singapore, a short, two-and-a-half-hour flight from Bangkok, real estate prices are turning up and residential construction activity is bustling, soaring nearly 20 percent in the second quarter.

In China, more than 275,000 construction projects are now under way, the result of China’s incredible rebound and virtually non-stop economic growth. Continue reading