According to “Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific 2008,” just published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo rank as the three most promising Asia Pacific cities in terms of real estate investment prospects.
David Sandison, a Tax Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Singapore said, “It is expected that even greater amounts of capital will be flooding Asia Pacific real estate markets in 2008. The real challenge for investors will lie in finding the right assets against the backdrop of yield compression and scrutiny by regional governments and tax authorities.”
Shanghai topped the list for investment prospects, edged up from its second-place ranking last year. Singapore received the highest rating of any of the cities included in the report in terms of overall risk.
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Should it be a Hummer? Or a Roller? Perhaps a Mercedes or the new Cadillac Escalade?
No, it’s tough going out there and this calls for something equal to the challenge. Hard decisions to make sometimes require a little more thought than usual. Especially when it comes to something as important as which golf cart to buy next time round.
Luxury carts are trying to break into a new market and are looking for interested golfers in Dubai. Dubai would be a logical choice when you think about it because Dubai has a large selection of golf courses, many of which are long by European standards. What else should you buy for the avid golfer who already has everything? Our personal favourite is the H2 Hummer, but we’re sure there will be some dissenting voices. If you’re a Mercedes’ man, you’re a Mercedes’ man and that’s all there is to it.
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Following on from a look at the development in Dubai over the last few years, (If you build it, they will come) here is a closer look at one of the major new developments currently underway. Construction of the Burj Dubai is now over halfway through construction and according to the official website, is currently over 574 meters tall, with 154 completed stories. Along the way, the builders have surpassed a number of previous records in their creation of the World’s tallest building:
February 2007
Burj Dubai surpasses the Sears Tower as the building with the most floors.
May 13, 2007
Burj Dubai sets record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at 452 m (1,483 ft), surpassing the 449.2 m (1,474 ft) to which concrete was pumped during the construction of Taipei 101.[7]
July 21, 2007
Burj Dubai becomes the tallest building on Earth surpassing Taipei 101 which stands at a height of 509.2 m (1,671 ft).The previous day, the head of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Antony Wood, had confirmed that it “surpassed the height of Taipei 101 structurally (concrete).” However, he also added “We will not classify it as a building until it is complete, clad and at least partially open for business to avoid things like the Ryungyong [sic] project. Taipei 101 is thus officially the world’s tallest until that happens.”
August 12, 2007
Burj Dubai surpassed the height of the Sears’ Tower antenna which stands at a height of 527.3 m (1,730 ft).
September 03, 2007
Burj Dubai becomes the second-tallest freestanding structure, surpassing the 540 m (1,772 ft) Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia.
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Rampant inflation; shaky, low interest no-deposit loans; 400 per cent stock market growth in 2 years; property values rising nearly 18 per cent over last year’s values.
Sound familiar? Followed by a tightening of lending restrictions, interest rate increases, 30-40 percent vacancy rates in new developments. Sound even more familiar? This is not the US market, this is China, which seems hell bent on following in the footsteps of the recent US sub prime crash.
The Chinese government is pulling out all the stops to prevent the same thing happening there. Interest rates have been increased five times in the last year and reserve requirements for commercial lenders increased eight-fold. The central planning agency imposed a price freeze on household essentials like cooking oil, electricity and water, in an effort to reduce inflation below 6 per cent. Securities regulators in more than one province have issued new rules banning high school and college students from buying shares to rein in speculative stock market investments.
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After our in depth look at dubious building developments in Eastern Europe, Forbes magazine has jumped on the band wagon and gone a little up market. In that vein, we decided to present some of the most expensive properties in Eastern Europe. Some are currently for sale, some are just in need of an idea to turn them into money makers and some are just plain expensive.
Sotheby’s International are offering this gem on the “Cote D’Azur of Baltics,” Latvia. Price undisclosed.
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Even for us, it is sometimes difficult to sort the informational wheat from the chaff and we are looking at conflicting reports coming from the Indian property markets at the moment.
On the one hand, its all good news: Mumbai Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is busy creating what is likely to be the “most expensive home” in the world. The Financial Times is reporting that “property prices have soared” and the Indian Government has now allowed direct foreign investment in all construction projects without prior approval, which means foreign investors are permitted to invest in wholly owned subsidiaries or in joint ventures with Indian real estate companies. There are a few minimum requirements, such as minimum capitalization requirements must be met within six months of the commencement of operations and the capital must remain locked in for three years thereafter. Foreign-invested projects must include at least 50,000 square meters of floor space and at least half the project must be completed within five years of receiving statutory clearance.
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The Irish Independent had an article this Sunday that attracted our attention. With the massive increase in property values in Ireland recently, many Irish home-owners have jumped on the worldwide buy-to-let market abroad. Particular favourites have been the USA, Spain and Bulgaria.
All these markets are taking a beating at the moment, particularly the American market. GE Money Home Lending subsidiary “British Mortgages Abroad” recently pulled out of the Florida market and are not accepting any more mortgage applications on properties in Florida
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It seems to me, the Dubai city planners may have watched the Kevin Costner movie, “Field of Dreams,” one too many times. But they weren’t far wrong. They did build it and they did come. In fact, they are still coming and the planned developments over the next few years should bring even more. I found some interesting photos of Dubai which show the development over the last few years. The first one is taken in 1989 and the second in 2005. Spot the difference? There has been quite a stunning amount of development in Dubai, and these two photograph, seen together, graphically demonstrate that fact. The next few are some projections of future developments. It’s hard to see an end in sight, with the ‘Palm Islands” and “World Archipelago” developments pushing the boundaries even further.
Dubai 1989:
Dubai 2005:
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To a certain extent, the decision to buy off plan or a second hand home depends on the market concerned. In a fast moving market, off plan will be a far more appealing and practical investment than in a stagnant market. Here is a comparison and a list of potential advantages and disadvantages. First the difference between off plan and on plan needs defining. On-plan is a property that has already been constructed, perhaps even changed hands several times already. Off-plan is a property that is literally off the plans, meaning construction may not even have started yet. Some of the most important things to take into consideration when looking at off-plan investments are: The state of the market. Is it buoyant or stagnant? The reputations of the builder and promoter. Are they reliable? Do they have strong track record of completing projects on time and to specification?
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Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 
Posted by Overseas Property Mall in Guides and Tips, Hong Kong Property, Japan Property, Property Investment Strategies, Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Singapore Property, South-East-Asia Property
