Thai property developers are starting to look at overseas markets for new opportunities because of the intense competition in the Thai market, according to international property consultants CB Richard Ellis.
They are looking, in the first instance at nearby markets in Vietnam and Cambodia because of their proximity, level of development and the fact that local competition is not as well developed as the more mature markets such as Malaysia, the consultants say.

‘There are a wide range of opportunities in the Vietnamese and Cambodian markets from city centre office, retail, residential and hotel developments through to the growing resort markets in these countries as well as industrial estate opportunities,’ said James Pitchon, head of research and consulting at CBRE Thailand.

He reckons it will prove a challenge for the developers as rules and regulations governing property development and ownership are different in other countries and the dynamics of each of the property sectors in these countries is also different to Thailand.

‘Accurate information on regulations, supply, demand, pricing, competitors and prospects for each property sector is essential for a Thai developer to succeed in a new market,’ he explained.

CBRE established offices in Vietnam in 2003 and now has over 200 real estate professionals operating out of offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang. Its research, consulting and marketing teams have already worked with a large number of overseas developers who have successfully built projects in both the main cities and resort areas.

CBRE established and office in Phnom Penh in 2009 and have been advising clients on the Cambodian market for many years before the office opened. David Simister, chairman of CBRE Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam advised the Australian Government on the acquisition of a new site for their Phnom Penh Embassy in 2005.

‘There is very little publicly available information on the Vietnamese or Cambodian markets. CBRE sells and leases properties in these countries everyday which is why we have the best market data on actual transactions and future supply. This enables us to provide our clients with the best market data giving them the best knowledge to enable them to succeed,’ said Pitchon.

He believes that there are opportunities for Thai developers to acquire or build properties in both Cambodia and Vietnam but accurate market research will be critical in order to succeed.

Source: http://www.propertywire.com/news/asia/thai-real-estate-developers-201007154313.html

Giant investment funds are poised to start buying Japanese property in the first half of next year when prices are expected to be at rock bottom, it is claimed.

Global investors including Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group and Lone Star Funds are still waiting for prices to drop a bit further, according to Ben Duncan, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Japan.

‘The market is steering toward big, opportunistic funds. They’re waiting for prices to fall further. At the moment they are not seeing as much distress as they hope for. But as the market starts to bottom out they’ll probably start to buy,’ he explained.

Commercial land prices in Japan fell 4.7% to a three-year low in 2008, with the decline increasing to 5.4% in the three largest metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, official government figures show. Office vacancies in Tokyo’s main business districts increased for the 17 month in a row in June to 7.25%.

Blackstone has already said publicly that is plans to invest in Japanese property companies that need financing.

One factor that is hampering a move forward is that Japan’s banks have been lenient in allowing companies to refinance borrowing rather than forcing them to liquidate assets, Duncan said.

‘That’s held back recovery in that the market hasn’t corrected. If there had been more pressure we’d see more transactions and investment from all sectors,’ he added.

Firms like Barclays Capital are indicating a turnaround is not far off. ‘Pessimism has been retreating recently with the re-emergence of office contract and condominium sales transactions,’ it said in a statement.

Other factors are being taken into account. Tokyo, for example, recently overtook Shanghai as Asia’s most attractive city for real estate investment, according to the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

‘What we’ve seen in the last three quarters is a lot of upgrading. Companies in good shape are taking advantage of the market to move into more attractive quarters at no increase in cost,’ Duncan said.

Source: http://www.propertywire.com/

Asian investors, particularly from China, are setting their sights on property in Australia as it has not been as severely hit by recession and is regarded as a safe place to invest.

Richard butler, senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis International Investments said there were lots of bids for a prominent building in Sydney recently.

His firm has calculated that overseas investors accounted for 12% of total transactions in Australia in the first half of this year, up from around 9% in 2008.

‘What they are seeing is Australia probably is a safer bet, where returns will be more secure and safe because of the transparency. Whereas no one wants to go into markets that are decimated like Singapore at the moment which is suffering from massive oversupply,’ Butler explained.

The fact that values have not been decimated in Australia adds to the feeling of safeness. According to Jones Lang LaSalle prices for commercial properties in Sydney fell some 15% in the first quarter of 2009 from a year ago, but that is compared with a more than 30% drop in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Mumbai.

It also says that rents fell around 25% in Sydney while Singapore, Tokyo and Mumbai saw more than a 30% drop in the first quarter.

Recently in the commercial sector those investing include Woori Investment from South Korea, and Japanese builder Sekisui which is to develop homes in Sydney and Brisbane. The Chinese are active in the residential sector too. ‘There is a fair bit of movement, with wealthy Chinese having their children study in Australia,’ said John Bongiorno, director for real estate agent Marshall White based in Victoria.

The company is considering opening an office in Shanghai or Beijing to attract more buyers. ‘They are attracted by the safety of the country, by the high standard of education we offer, by the high standard of living we offer,’ he said.

Analysts said the timing may be good for foreign investors to enter the market as many local players are currently inactive due to tight credit. David Green-Morgan, Asia Pacific research director for DTZ, said that he expects transactions to pick up as foreign investors are likely to rush and get the best deals.

‘They are coming in at this point of the cycle as they see opportunities. They will be happy to hold for five to eight years and then they’ll get out when the market gets back up,’ he added.

Source: http://www.propertywire.com/

Property rents in Qatar are set to plummet by up to 25% next year as a glut of new apartments come onto the market, it is claimed. Up to 9,000 new apartments are due to be completed in Qatar in 2010 and an estimated 100 tower projects are either already underway or planned to be launched during the next few years, despite the current slowdown in construction triggered by the global economic crisis due to following reasons.
Demand was easing as a result of the economic problems, but despite this all the new apartments were expected to be filled by next year.
Demand for high-end housing was still expected to remain high as the government was increasing spending on infrastructure projects and the oil and gas sector.
Now analysts expect that there will not be a downturn in rental prices until June.

With the worldwide credit crunch, property prices are going down all over the world. In this view Indian Real estate prices in need to fall by 20% or more if the market is to pick up, the head of India’s largest private bank has warned. He denied the news that his bank has tightened credit so much that property related businesses are finding it hard to source funds for developments.
However developers across the country have cancelled or delayed projects because of lack of funding and they are turning to affordable housing projects as the market has stalled for luxury villas and apartments.
Indian property developers have asked both local and central governments to relax the home density rules. Current rules say that builders cannot construct houses for more than 400 people on a hectare of land. Developers want the number to be doubled.
Property prices in India have doubled since 2005 are now expected to return to their pre 2005 rates.

The effects of the global financial market upheaval and the deflating world economy slowed Asian investment property markets significantly during the second half of 2008.
The unprecedented events of the past six months have eroded investor, occupier, consumer and overall business confidence, resulting in falling property prices and reduced investment activity, along with declining retail spending and external trade across the region, according to CB Richard Ellis’ Asia Investment MarketView Report for the second half of 2008.
With banks adopting a conservative approach towards lending for property acquisition, the Asian investment market suffered from record low investment volume in the July – December period as prospective buyers delayed acquisitions until the market shows signs of stabilizing. Investors and lenders re-assessed their appetite for risk as raising capital proved to be an increasingly difficult task amid a widespread correction in property prices.
While valuations in Thailand have not fallen at the rate seen in other Asian markets, few transactions were concluded during this period, as buyers and sellers opted to remain on the sidelines in view of global financial worries and local political uncertainty. The period saw buyer and seller expectations widen with many purchasers hoping for distressed assets to come onto the market and sellers unwilling to drop prices below a certain level.
“In recent weeks, we have seen an increasing availability of land for sale within Bangkok’s CBD. Some investors are freeing up cash as they expect other property assets, including revenue-generating buildings, to come onto the market in the coming months,” states Ms. Kulwadee Sawangsri, Director of Investment & Land Services at CB Richard Ellis Thailand. “It appears that land prices peaked in 2008, and landowners who do not plan to develop their land in the near future are now considering selling those plots.”
“The situation in Thailand is very different to many other Asian countries, and cannot be compared to the difficulties we faced in 1997. The debt levels on existing, completed buildings are much lower this time. In the office and retail sectors, there is limited future supply under construction.”
Things were worse in Singapore, where the S$3.93 billion investment volume recorded during the review period brought the 2008 total to just S$17.84 billion, 70% down on the S$54.02 billion recorded in 2007. In Japan, a number of institutional funds aborted planned property acquisitions as the credit crunch compelled many developers to consolidate while a rising number of real estate firms were forced to seek bankruptcy protection.
Investor confidence in Hong Kong was shaken by the escalation of the global financial turmoil with potential purchasers displaying a cautionary attitude towards buying property as worries over potential layoffs and bankruptcies dominated the headlines. The investment market in China suffered from dampened investor sentiment, prolonged negotiations, aborted deals and reduced prices during the second half of the year as the Chinese economy slowed.
In South Korea, there were a number of transactions involving office buildings as foreign investors exited the local real estate market. Investor sentiment and business confidence has deteriorated significantly, and the stock of commercial property available for sale has increased as institutional investors offload real estate from their portfolios in order to shore-up liquidity.

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