by Sophie Baker
A recent report by CBRE stated that there was a decrease in investment in Asia’s luxury residential property market in Q3 2011, naming America’s economic status and the strength of the Eurozone as reasons behind the dip.
The luxury residential markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines have proven popular for overseas investors, due to a new continual growth of the rental market in expanding cities and Central Business Districts.
In some locations, capital appreciation saw its first decline in 3 years, with the Asia Luxury Residential Property Index weakening by 0.2% in Q3.
In figures released by Knight Frank, Hong Kong sales declined by 11.3% in Sep 2011 with luxury residential prices falling by around 0.5%. Hong Kong’s luxury residential market saw a 1.7% drop month on month, indicating its first fall since Dec 2009.
Emerging property markets such as Vietnam saw a decline in the third quarter, when compared to the previous quarter, signifying a drop in property sales. Both land and housing saw a price decrease in areas across the country, with one new development on Highway 32 seeing a 15% - 20% in value.
Colliers International noted an average 2% decrease in the price of apartments in Vietnam, with the overall economic outlook remaining negative. Investors looking to enter the luxury market should be aware that the future of the economy is at risk of a budget and trade deficit, shortage of capital, high interest rates, inflation, foreign debts and currency depreciation.
Despite the fact that China has the world’s largest housing market, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the Chinese property market could overheat if Beijing does not encourage financial institutions to extend more savings options to households. Growth quarter on quarter was slower than in the first two quarters of 2011, according to Knight Frank.
In a stark comparison, the prices of luxury apartments in Singapore appear to have peaked, with the average price per square foot declining by 2%. A decrease of 0.4% in the super luxury segment in Q3 was reported by Savills, with the company highlighting the unstable nature of the sector due to low sales of luxury housing for two consecutive months.
Weathering better than most other Asian countries, luxury accommodation in the Philippines has remained resilient in Q3 2011, with Colliers International stating that secondary market prices for both CBDs are virtually equal at an average of P106,000 per square metre. On average, capital values have increase by P125,300 per sq. m from the formerly stable rate established throughout the previous 5 consecutive quarters.
Despite the slowing of property values, rental returns in some areas of Asia have increased, with a 1% rise noted in the Asia Luxury Rental Index.
Despite this report, Colliers International stated that luxury/super-luxury apartment rents saw a significant decline for the second consecutive quarter. Monthly gross rents in the luxury sector in the country saw a 0.7% to $5.74.
Hong Kong also saw a slowdown in luxury residential prices in Q3 2011, with only a 0.6% QoQ to HK$19,629 per square foot as of August 2011.
Luxury rental rates in Makati CBD in the Philippines increased by 1.6% to P569 per sq m monthly, with a forecasted P600 per sq level in the next 13 months according to Colliers International.
Overall the Asian Luxury Property sector, it seems that investors have been more careful in Q3 2011, with shrinking mortgage lending and mounting interest rates affecting demand in many Asian markets. Declining sales in usually strong markets such as Singapore, China and Hong Kong have been received with varied reactions, with certain areas in the Philippines remaining resilient amid the fluctuating world economy.
It appears that price appreciation has slowed in many Asian markets, indicating that mortgage and lending restrictions have had a negative effect on property prices. Economic growth in Asia Pacific slowed in Q2 according to CBRE, due to the impact of natural disasters that occurred earlier in the year, which has further contributed to a decrease in investment in the Asian property market.
Despite these outside factors, the Philippines have shown that luxury property investment can remain successful, with locations such as Manila and Makati commanding high rents. The continual development of CBD and the cities themselves have helped add strong capital growth to the luxury property market, which has now attracted endorsement from some of the world’s most sought-after brands such as Trump, Paris Hilton and more notably Versace.
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