The year of the Golden Tiger is expected to bring a lot of opportunities in the real estate market.
Many analysts agree that 2010 presents opportunities for investors to purchase in anticipation of a price recovery, with the economy expected to expand between 3 percent and 5 percent this year and beyond. However, the element of risk still remains.
“Most Tiger Years were either periods coinciding with market troughs – that is, a bottom – or were periods that immediately preceded a trough,” said Donald Han, Cushman & Wakefield’s Managing Director.
Mr. Han reckons that Tiger Years are usually good years to invest. “2010 is a year full of hope and anticipation as the market recovers from one of Singapore’s steepest recessions,” he said.
However, Chua Yang Liang, research head of Jones Lang LaSalle in South-east Asia, said: “Like the tiger, the market is likely to remain active for the first half, but the second half of 2010 remains unpredictable.”
Nicholas Mak, a property lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, puts it this way: “Some believe the Year of the Tiger and the Year of the Dragon can be turbulent years. There can either be a big boom, a bust or a year with risky opportunities.”
“Although property prices have already reached a high level in the past 12 months, the prospect of further increases would be tempting to some investors. However, further price growth would also bring higher risks of a correction.”
The last Tiger Year was in 1998, when the private homes’ property price index dropped 34 percent over a year.
“There was a very pessimistic mood at the start of 1998 in the property market,” recalls Mr. Mak. “There appeared to be no end to the Asian financial crisis.”
However, people were optimistic again by the Chinese New Year of 1999. The market rebounded from the first quarter of 1999 and prices surged more than 40 percent over the next two years, on the back of strong pent-up demand, a global IT boom and increased investor confidence.