PropertyGuru’s inaugural Real Estate Investment Conference saw an interesting exchange of ideas, with real estate experts offering their predictions for investment in 2016.
By Adam Rahman
How property prices and demand fare are both a national obsession and a key driver of investment activity in the overseas markets. As 2015 draws to a close, it is time for investors to take stock of what occurred in the year and reflect on the performance of the real estate market in key countries. For many people, reviewing the overall trends of the year seems to mainly paint a bleak picture.
Indeed, a quick glimpse of the news reveals that the global economy is slowing. China’s performance is lacklustre compared to previous boom years. 2015 signalled the end of its growth cycle with the collapse of China’s stock market on Black Monday. Meanwhile, Europe has yet to experience a recovery and there is much talk about the possibility of a recession looming. The pressing question on everyone’s minds in the weeks leading up to the festive season will therefore be on what is next for the property market in the new year?
A disappointing 2015 notwithstanding, there are still pockets of opportunities and silver linings for certain property markets. For example, London’s residential market, especially in Greater London, is predicted to register positive demand in 2016 with the average housing price in the city fringe soaring 62 percent since 2008. Likewise, the Philippine real estate sector is likely to remain buoyant, backed by strong economic growth and bullish prospects for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. This is mainly attributed to the transformation of major central business districts in and around Metro Manila, which creates more investment opportunities for foreign investors and hikes up demand for real estate.
With growing interest among investors in understanding the outlook for overseas markets, PropertyGuru’s inaugural two day Real Estate Investment Conference was launched last weekend at Orchard Hotel. This provided investors an opportunity to engage with the leading players in Asia’s real estate industry as well as allow them to view specially selected properties from in and around the region. More than 200 investors braved the rain to attend the event and learn more about the outlook of Asia’s markets. They were also able to develop a deeper understanding of how broader economic trends can influence real estate as an asset class.
Among some of the highlights of the event included forum discussions where industry leaders debated on current pertinent topics influencing real estate markets. These included a focus on the regional currency turmoil and the impact of the upcoming interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and the opportunities and risks involved in investing in overseas markets. Panellists for each of these sessions came from diverse backgrounds encompassing the finance, property and research disciplines such as Alfred Chia, CEO of SingCapital, Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex and Sigrid Zialcita, Managing Director – Research Services from Cushman and Wakefield.
In addition, there were other invited speakers at the show such as Diana Chua from SMATs group and Monty Nawaz from Saffron International who shed light on perennially popular investment locations such as Australia and London.
“Singaporean investors, though cautious, have remained optimistic over the investment prospects in established markets such as London. They are also relatively open to understanding more about developing ones which could potentially garner high returns such as the Philippines and Cambodia. Regardless of the country, there must be prior research done to understand the regulations and policies in the respective markets. Investors should also start to take a long term investment view and weigh their options before making their commitment,” said Steve Melhuish, Co-founder and CEO of PropertyGuru Group.
“The experienced industry leaders we have invited to speak at our inaugural Real Estate Investment Conference will be able to share in-depth their expert opinions and knowledge and educate investors about the region.”
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This article was first published in the print version The PropertyGuru News & Views. Download PDF of full print issues or read more stories now! | ||