The sun is rising in the east for property investors looking for hot property deals.
New research focussing on the Asia Pacific pinpoints some of the property high spots – and lows.
The IP Global Property Barometer for the three months ending June 30, 2013, predicts the Indonesian capital of Jakarta as the property hot spot in the east.
The nation has the world’s fourth largest population, a booming economy and a burgeoning middle class who want to move from the rural areas to the bright lights of the capital.
Demand for luxury homes is hugely outstripping supply and the city has a shortage of construction projects, which is likely to mean force prices up in the short term.
Quarter 2 of 2013 has already seen homes increase in value by 9.5%
Twin-speed market
Although Jakarta heads the rankings, Australia’s twin speed housing market is also throwing up some big winners.
A mining bonanza in Queensland is boosting wages and the demand for homes as workers move to new jobs that pay around 27% over the national average salary.
The homes gold rush centres on the small town of Mackay in the state, while budget cuts and a strong Australian dollar are combining to cut the spending power in the traditional economic powerhouses of Sydney and Melbourne.
The place to look next is Kuala Lumpar, says the study, as house prices in the Malaysian capital leapt by 8.3% in 2012, with the trend continuing into 2013.
The only way is up, claim real estate experts, as the announcement of a high speed rail link between relatively cheap Kuala Lumpar and expensive Singapore spurs investors.
Tokyo surprise
The two-hour trip is likely to see many commute from Malaysia to its richer neighbour for better wages in Singapore while retaining a cheaper lifestyle in Malaysia.
In general Singapore was marked down for property investors, along with Hanoi and Seoul. Not only will the Kuala Lumpar rail link take customers away from the market in the city state, but all three cities have suffered property bubbles in recent years and an oversupply of homes leaving weak prices.
Hong Kong has defied predictions of plunging prices by reporting 2.6% growth against all the odds thanks to government intervention to restrict mortgages and tax speculators flipping purchases.
Tokyo is also a surprise shower in the rankings as prices sneaked up on the back of the government boosting the economy by reflating the yen.
