3 Tighter Rules for Property Sector? (Sept 2013)

Prior to Budget 2014 (to be tabled next month), speculation has rift up on a few proposal to tighten the rules, especially on property sector. Following the outcry from public stating the alarming high property prices, measure should be taken to tackle the issue before bubble was formed.

The Bubbling Biz...

Among the measures being proposed were:

1. Non-other than Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT)
   
   
   
   
2. Higher Stamp Duty:
   ~ 5% of purchase price for 3rd property
   ~ 7.5% for 4th property
   ~ 10% for 5th property onward
   
   
3. Loan-to-Value ratio reduce to 60% for 3rd property onward
   
   

While the above info need to be ascertained further, some banks already implemented their in-house ruling. What's that? It was to limit the maximum term for refinancing of property to 10 years. Yes. Sooner or later, all of the banks will follow.

* Please note that the above 3 rules need to be ascertained further. Stay tune!

[Property] 3 Critical Factors to Watch Out by Year End (July 2013)

Ever since the property boom started in 2009, right after the global financial crisis, investors were laughing to the bank. But, can these sustain until next year? Many analysts doubt so. Why?

The most crucial determining factors might uncover itself in the next few months, approaching year end. In short, we have summed out to the below 3 critical factors:

1. Banning of DIBS
   This is not a secret anymore. Speculation rife up recently, saying that BNM may ban the Developer Interest Bearing Scheme (DIBS) by year end. BNM is studying the implications of DIBS which benefiting speculators more than serious buyers. Note: Singapore already banned such scheme few years back.
   
   
2. Interest Rate hike
   BNM also may revised the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR), which determine the cost of financing in the country including Base Lending Rate (BLR) for mortgage loan. A 25 basis points hike was expected. This will affect all type of loans, except fixed interest loans. Let's get prepare for higher monthly loan installment amount.
   
   
3. Higher RPGT
   Coming this 2014 budget to be tabled on 25th Oct, watch out for higher Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT). Currently, it was 15% for first two years and 10% for disposal from 3rd year to 5th year. Note: RPGT was much higher before 2008.

In our view, once DIBS was banned, developer no need to bear the interest, financier no need to bear the risk, new launching properties should be selling at lower price. Then, this is bad news for existing property, especially bought under DIBS before?

Example, phase one selling at RM500k under DIBS, phase two selling at RM500k without DIBS. No effect?

Think again... More supply now releasing for secondary market, assuming phase two also selling at same price, which is very good already. Right?

New Fund: AmAsia Pacific REITs Plus

Do you remember the AmAsia Pacific REITs fund? I'm sure you have heard about it. Yes, backed by its success story, AmInvestment Management Bhd has launched a new version called AmAsia Pacific REITs Plus. The word "Plus" is used as a continuation of the AmAsia Pacific REITs and the fund may invest in listed equities in the real estate sector.

The fund aims to provide regular income and to a lesser extent capital appreciation over the medium to long term (at least 3 years) by investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and equities in the real estate sector.

What's the strategy?

Minimum 70% in REITs and a maximum of 29% in listed equities in real estate sector, which are in the Asia Pacific region. This is the asset allocation of the fund. Diversification in terms of country and different REITs sub-sectors (etc. residential, commercial and industrial) is expected.

An active allocation strategy will be employed by fund manager, based on macroeconomic trends and REITs market outlook of respective countries in Asia Pacific region. Meanwhile, bottom-up security selection strategy will be used for equities, with focus on undervalued companies.

Who is suitable for this fund?

• Those who wish to have investment exposure in real estate sector through a diversified portfolio of REITs and real estate equities in Asia Pacific region.
• Those seeking regular income and to a lesser extent capital appreciation over medium to long term

What's AmInvest aiming?

4% payout on yearly basis, which AmInvest said is achievable and is higher than fixed deposit rate offered by banks. AmInvest favors Australia, Singapore and Japan for REITs and China, Indonesia and Thailand for listed equities.

Click here to download the fund prospectus

A Malaysian Guide to Home Buying Fees & Charges

Like any other country, buying a house and taking a home loan / mortgage in Malaysia involve legal fees & charges - which many people fail to take into consideration especially when they’re buying a property for the very first time.

So to all Malaysians buying your dream houses right now, allow iMoney to show you ALL the fees and charges involved when you buy a house or apply for a home loan.

13th General Election and the Property Market

General Election is coming. One of the hotly debated topic would be the escalating house prices and the needs to provide more affordable houses to Rakyat. In line with that, iProperty.com has done a survey on "The 13th General Elections and the property market" with 2275 Malaysians respondents. What did they said?

Created by Iproperty MY, the number one website in Malaysia. Whether you have a house for sale or are looking to buy.

Top HDB Projects In Singapore

The shocking news of HDB Singapore flats fetching a record high of $1 million dollars has left many Singaporeans in astonishment. These flats are mostly maisonette or executive apartments located near a MRT station. However, newer HDB developments with the current standard floor area of 110sqm for a 5-room flat have not yet crossed the million dollar mark. In my opinion, million dollar HDB flats will become more common when flats in the following top HDB projects enter the resale market.

The Pinnacle @ Duxton

Located just minutes away from the Central Business District, The Pinnacle@Duxton is one of the most highly sought after HDB projects in Singapore. On 29 May 2004, HDB released 528 units under phase 1 of its Build-To-Order system and units quickly became oversubscribed.

This HDB Project was officially completed in December 2009 and a keys handover ceremony was held on 13 Dec 2009. The Pinnacle@Duxton is expected to reach the million-dollar mark as units will be eligible to be sold in the resale market after the five year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is fulfilled by 2014/2015.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinnacle@Duxton,_Singapore_-_20100101.jpg

Tiong Bahru View

Situated right next to Tiong Bahru MRT and Tiong Bahru Mall, it is quite a surprise that this piece of land is not given to private developers instead. Just a month ago, the piece of land situated next to Tiong Bahru View was sold to Keppel Land for $550million or $1,163 per sqft, the highest price per square foot ever tendered for a purely residential site in the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. In fact, I feel that Tiong Bahru View has a slightly better location than the GLS land parcel due to its closer proximity to the MRT.

The estimated completion date of this project is 31 Dec 2015, meaning that these flats will enter the resale market in 2020 after the 5 year minimum occupational period is fulfilled. With surrounding resale HDB flats selling for more than $900k, it will be a huge surprise if good units in Tiong Bahru View do not cross the $1million mark in 2020.

Mixed Development at Clementi Town Centre

The development, completed in November 2011, is a 40-storey mixed development. The residential component of the mixed development consists of 388 units of new HDB flats. They were built under the HDB’s Selective Enbloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) programme primarily to house home owners from within the same township. Located just above the Clementi Town Centre and less than a minute walk to the MRT and bus interchange, this development is set to be one of the top HDB projects in Singapore. 5 room resale flats located 300 metres from the MRT are already selling in the range of $800k-$900k. 

Source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10297p.nsf/ImageView/CORPORATE_PR_15052012_Pic1/$file/IMG_8645.jpg

Moreover, Clementi Town Centre is just one stop away from the upcoming Jurong Lake District. With plans to transform Jurong into the next commercial hub with a good mix of shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, hospitals and residential buildings, the area will be transformed to a unique destination for business and leisure by 2025.  Property prices in Clementi will certainly increase as a result of the spillover effect from the revamped Jurong Lake District. In addition, when these flats enter the resale market in 2016 after the 5 year minimum occupational period is fulfilled, property developments that are currently under construction such as Trivelis (DBSS), Clementi Ridges (BTO), Trilinq (Condominium) and SERS development right beside Clementi Mall, will all be completed. 

As more HDB projects in prime areas start to enter the resale market in the next few years, we will definitely see more million dollar HDB flats being transacted. The expansion of our MRT network will also drive up property prices across the island. Million dollar HDB flats will soon be the norm. What do you think?

How Does Different Tenures of SIBOR and SOR Affect Borrowers?

The following is a guest post by Property Buyer

As Singapore has been largely dependent on importation in maintaining a small and open economy, it has literally adopted a policy for the exchange rate that significantly affects import-based inflation. MAS or Monetary Authority of Singapore is responsible for regulating and managing the Singapore dollar valuation against its main trading partners and their related currencies. Based on this perspective, we can say that the world money market actually determines the rise and fall of the interest rate in Singapore. The interest rate fluctuates as a result of this undisclosed band between the MAS and its trading partners. This is relevant to how the US Dollar became a main component in the basket of currency between trading countries. To explain the strength of the Singapore Dollar, we can refer to the way the US Dollar works within the basket of currency. This simply explains how currencies between trading partners work. 

Explaining the framework of SIBOR or Singapore Inter-bank Offered Rate

When banks or financial institutions lend to each other, they usually refer to an interest rate to base their inter-borrowings. They use SIBOR as their inter-bank rate or inter-borrowing rate. The rate is actually set by the Association of Banks in Singapore. It is being announced daily at the start of the trading day to the public and mainstream media. For your information, SIBOR works similarly to LIBOR or London Interbank Offered Rate. Most home loan rates in Singapore use the SIBOR rate.

In Singapore, SIBOR are available in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months tenure. Usually the longer the tenure of SIBOR , the higher would be its rate.

Understanding the SOR or Singapore Swap Offer Rate

The expected forward exchange rate of the USand Singaporedollars is the SOR. The SOR is also used as the lending cost, where upon maturity, the SOR is being used as the rate of the Forex conversion with no bid and spread from the US to Singaporedollar. The banks love to use the SOR because they save more by using this rate. However, it demonstrates more volatility than SIBOR. The Association of Banks in Singaporeset the SOR as the currency swap for the US dollar even though its currency movement directly influence the volume of the contracts and trading. SOR is offered in terms of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months.

SIBOR and SOR pegged home loans

This refers to variable or market pegged floating loan packages offered by most banks using the SIBOR or SOR rates. The interest rate for these loans  is the spread + SIBOR or SOR.

How do you define bank spread?

The profit margin that banks or other financing institutions use to gain income on top of the SIBOR or the SOR rate is called the spread. For example the SIBOR rate is 1%, then the bank would like to gain 2%. The 2% is the bank spread. This means that the client would get the SIBOR + spread = 1% + 2% = 3% rate. A few years after the start of the loan, the bank usually changes the spread. The revision usually reflects an increasing bank spread as shown below 

Period	Interest Rate (p.a.)
First Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Second Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Third Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Fourth Year	1.00% + 1-Month SIBOR
Thereafter	1.25% + 1-Month SIBOR

What are the benefits of using either a SIBOR or a SOR rate?

We would like to correct the misconception of most people. You must understand that although the two correlate with each other, the SOR tends to fluctuate more and can be above or below the SIBOR rate. Please take a look at Figure 1, 2, and 3 below for clearer explanation

Figure 1: 1-Month SIBOR/SOR for Jan 2012-Dec 2012

 Source: www.iCompareLoan.com

Figure 2: 3-Month SIBOR/SOR for Jan 2012-Dec 2012

Source: www.iCompareLoan.com

Figure 3: 3-Month SIBOR/SOR for Dec 2006-Aug 2012

Source: www.iCompareLoan.com

 Here is a piece of advice for those who are planning to apply for a housing loan: Always ask for the bank spread and evaluate the interest rate throughout the duration of the loan. Is the spread reasonable enough for you to take?

Differentiating the features of SIBOR and SOR

For both SIBOR and SOR,  their tenures are usually inversely related to their rates. For example, a 1-month SOR will be lower than a 12-month SOR.  This is because long term opportunities are more risky and normally incur higher opportunity cost.

A shorter tenure SIBOR is more volatile than a longer tenure SIBOR.

SOR fluctuates more than the SIBOR.

SIBOR tends to be preferred by risk-averse borrowers.

Recently banks started rolling out 1-month SIBOR packages which impact their administrative cost.

From Figure 4, we can see that the 1-month SIBOR is  lower than the 3-month SIBOR. Take a look at the historical trend for the last 20 years in Figure 4.

Figure 4: 1-Month and 3-Month SIBOR for Jan 1989-Dec 2012

Source: www.iCompareLoan.com

When is the right time to choose a 1 month or a 12 month SIBOR?

You must understand that choosing a shorter tenure SIBOR also means greater instability. The rates are being changed or modified in shorter intervals. This means that if you take the 1-month SIBOR rate, depending on the financing institution, you can get a change of rate in every 1 or 3 months. However, if you choose the 12-month SIBOR rate, you have the confidence that you will pay the same SIBOR rate for the next 12 months. You may find it beneficial to seek the advice of an expert before you decide which housing loan package to take. Free advice and loan package consultation may be obtained from http://www.iCompareLoan.com/or simply fill up an enquiry form at http://www.iCompareLoan.com/contact

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For more related articles, please visit the following websites:
www.PropertyBuyer.com.sg/articles
www.SingaporeHomeLoan.net
www.iCompareLoan.com

About Property Buyer
http://www.PropertyBuyer.com.sg/mortgage
We are a research-focused Singapore mortgage consultancy which helps you compare Singapore home loans either for new loans or refinancing. We use loan reports from Singapore's best loan analysis system (exclusive to us) at http://www.icompareloan.com/consultant/to serve our customers.
Our services are completely FREE to you as the banks pay us a referral fee upon loan disbursement.
SMS: (65) 9782 8606
Email: loans@PropertyBuyer.com.sg

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How Do I Choose Between a Fixed and a Floating (Variable) Rate Home Loan?

The following is a guest post by Property Buyer

People are almost always caught up with the decision of which Singapore home loanis best for them - within themselves, there is always the constant debate of whether one is better than the other. Will choosing a mortgage type depend on the person’s intelligence, instinct, bookkeeping skills, or attitude on sound money management? How does a buyer’s situation affect his or her decision to use either a fixed or a floating home loan?

Fixed-rate mortgage

Mortgage packages offering a fixed home loan rate provide a specific constant rate for a certain period of the loan.

For example, if you are buying a house now with a fixed rate home loan at 2.3% per annum, then the 2.3% per annum would be the interest rate for the fixed period which could vary between 3 to 5 years, depending on your package and its terms.

After the fixed period ends, the interest will convert to a 1) variable loan package rate, or 2) rate pegged at a discount below the bank's board rate.

The following illustrates an example of the rate structure for a fixed rate package.

Bank Y Fixed-rate Loan

Period	Interest Rate (p.a.)
First Year	1.15%
Second Year	1.35%
Third Year	1.45%
Fourth Year Onwards	0.50 % below the Board Rate

During this fixed period, if there are changes in the interest rate environment to a lower rate, the borrower will have a higher opportunity cost as he may be able to enjoy lower loan rates with a variable rate loan instead.

Floating (variable) rate mortgage

The interest rate for this loan type is dependent on the base rate and the spread or margin being used by the bank or lender. Borrowers who are savvy about interest rate movements often choose the floating home loan rate to obtain cost savings, especially those who are financially secure and in total control of their wealth as they will be able to afford the higher interest payments shall rates suddenly soar.

Most of the floating (variable) rate mortgages use a interest rate that is benchmarked against SOR (Singapore Swap Offer Rate) or SIBOR (Singapore Inter-bank Offered Rate), which is the variable component of the interest rate.

The bank will add a spread or margin to SIBOR or SOR. Together, the two will form the interest rate. For instance, the rate could be 3-Month SIBOR + 1% , where the 1% is the spread.
The spread is usually adjusted upwards after the first few years of the loan. An example of an interest rate structure for a floating rate loan follows.

Bank X SIBOR Loan

Period	Interest Rate (p.a.)
First Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Second Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Third Year	0.75% + 1-Month SIBOR
Fourth Year	1.00% + 1-Month SIBOR
Thereafter	1.25% + 1-Month SIBOR

What are the factors you should consider when deciding which loan type to use?

1. Understands market interest rate trend

Accuracy is very important in forecasting and tracking interest rate trend. If you are able to do so, you can derive significant interest payment savings from a floating (variable) rate loan during a low interest rate environment.

2. Financial and health uncertainties

If you are unsure about your financial capacity and health a few years from now, then the fixed home loan rate is best for you. You can lock in and secure the rate for the fixed duration.

3. Cash repayments

Paying your loan in cash every month with a fixed home loan rate makes financial planning easier. Use iCompareLoan home loan comparison system to learn the rates for the different loan packages to help you find the ideal mortgage package.

4. Tolerance for risk

Each type of home loan rate has its own benefits. The question is how far can you tolerate a higher rate?

Of course, no one will be sad to accept a lower rate, but, considering your financial capacity, can you afford  paying a higher rate for a certain period of time? If yes, you can consider a variable rate loan because with it you can have reduced interest payment when interest rates are low, but you will have to incur greater payment if rates climb.

Given the many factors you have to take into account when deciding between the two types of loans, you may prefer some professional help. Turn to the friendly and experienced mortgage brokers at www.iCompareLoan.comtoday.

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For more related articles, please visit the following websites:
www.PropertyBuyer.com.sg/articles
www.SingaporeHomeLoan.net
www.iCompareLoan.com

About Property Buyer
http://www.PropertyBuyer.com.sg/mortgage
We are a research-focused Singapore mortgage consultancy which helps you compare Singapore home loans either for new loans or refinancing. We use loan reports from Singapore's best loan analysis system (exclusive to us) at http://www.icompareloan.com/consultant/to serve our customers.
Our services are completely FREE to you as the banks pay us a referral fee upon loan disbursement.
SMS: (65) 9782 8606
Email: loans@PropertyBuyer.com.sg

Budget 2013: Election or Rakyat centric?

General election is around the corner. External environment was not so promising, following the no ending of European debt crisis, world economic slowdown, and recent tension between China and Japan. I believe all of these would be some key factors being taking into consideration to formulate the Malaysia Budget 2013.

Goodies? Bonus? Cash handout?

Themed as "Prospering The Nation, Enhancing Well-Being of the Rakyat: A Promise Fulfilled". Our prime minister, who is also Finance Minister, tabled the 2013 Budget at Dewan Rakyat yesterday. Over here, Finance Malaysia blog would only touches on some key points:

• Economic growth projected to expand between 4.5% - 5.5%
• Federal Government's revenue in 2013 is estimated to increase to RM208.6 billion
• Continuation of BR1M of RM500 to households earning not more than RM3,000 a month and also extended the aid to cover a payment of RM250 for single unmarried individuals aged 21 and above, earnings not more than RM2,000 a month
• RM 16 million a year group insurance scheme for registered hawkers and small businesses for coverage of up to RM5,000
• FM: Once again goodies were dished out to created a feel-good factor for govt and we doubted whether Msia could achieves the 4% budget deficit target in 2013. Anyway, govt could still succeed by increasing the revenue by using these goodies. How? Very simple, that's to entice the non-registered self-employed and businesses to registered so that they are accountable for their earnings.

Spurring retail bond/sukuk market:

• DanaInfra Nasional Bhd to issue retail bonds worth RM300million by end-2012 to finance MRT development projects
• Additional expenses incurred in issuance of retail bonds and retail sukuk to be given double deduction for a period of 4 years from YA2012 to YA2015
• Individuals investors given stamp duty exemption on instruments relating to transactions of retail bonds and retail sukuk
• FM: It's very clear and straight forward that the govt want to see the soon-to-be launched retail bond/sukuk market to prosper, thus, attracting more foreign funds to the country to make it more vibrant and liquid.

Youth-centric offers:

• A one-off rebate of RM200 for the purchase of one unit of 3G smartphone from authorized dealers for youths aged between 21 to 30 years old with monthly income of RM3,000 and below.
• PTPTN loans: 20% discount for full repayment of loan; 10% discount for regular repayment.
• RM250 1Malaysia book voucher for students studying at institutions of higher learning
• FM: It seems too good to be true for PTPTN borrowers. But, it was attractive for probably 1% of them only. Why? We must remember that they borrow because they doesn't have money in the first place, not because they want to leverage. Do you get my meaning? Or, does govt scared if opposition coalition will void all outstanding loans if they took over?

Addressing the skyrocketing property prices:

• RM500 million by PR1MA to build 80,000 houses in major locations nationwide with selling price ranging between RM100,000 and RM400,000 per unit. Among the locations are KL, Shah Alam, JB, Seremban and Kuantan.
• MyFirst Home Scheme will be enhanced by increasing the income limit for individual loans from RM3,000 to RM5,000 per month or joint loans of husband and wife of up to RM10,000 per month.
• Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) for properties disposed within 2 years will be taxed at 15% (up from 10%) and 10% for between 3rd to 5th year (up from 5%), whereas other term remained unchanged.
• FM: For us, we think that 15% RPGT is still too low if compared to pre-2007, where RPGT for first 2 years disposal was as high as 30% and 25%. Meanwhile, MyFirst Home Scheme was very tough to get it, as far as we concerned. Once again, good luck to those potential property buyers.

Changes to personal income tax:

• Individual income tax rate to be reduced by 1% for each grouped annual income tax exceeding RM2,500 and RM50,000.
• Tax relief on children's higher education scheme (SPNN) increased to RM6,000 per person (from RM4,000 previously).
• FM: The 1% tax reduction seems more effective to help out those mid-income earners, although it's not much. However, we are disappointed once again for the unchanged REITs withholding tax structure which makes M-REITs less attractive compared to regional REITs.

Government servants is the BIG winner AGAIN!!!

• Minimum pension to be increased to RM820 for those who had served the govt for at least 25 years. More than 50,000 pensioners benefited.
• 1.5 months bonus for civil servants.
• FM: Well... Nothing much we can say about it. This is a govt budget. What's wrong if govt servants being the beneficiary? But, should it be again and again? Hmmm...

"Stocks-to-watch" for the coming Monday:

• Genting, GENM, JTI, BAT on the surprise unchanged sin taxes
• Construction companies on the River of Life projects, EPP projects and schools upgrade
• Consumer related players on the expected extra spending by govt servants with bonuses
• Low cost housing developers (etc. Hua Yang) for possible contracts by PR1MA
• Financial institutions with investment banking arm for the launching of retail bond/sukuk market

New IPO: IGB Reit

IGB REIT comprises of Mid Valley Megamall (retail; 1.72m sf NLA) and the Gardens Mall (retail; 0.82sf NLA) with a total appraised value of RM4.6b. Currently, Mid Valley Megamall is 99.8% occupied and the Gardens Mall is 99.7% occupied. Based on the IPO price of RM1.25, IGB REIT’s market capitalization would be RM4.3bn, making it the largest pure retail M-REIT. Following closely behind IGB REIT in terms of market capitalization size is Pavilion REIT (RM4.08b), Sunway REIT (RM4.02b) and CMMT (RM3.02b).

What are the key selling points for IGB REIT?

1. Prime asset with strategic location, huge catchment area and well connected transportation networks.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Diverse based of tenants to sustain rental income.
   
   
   
3. Low gearing provides ample room for acquisition growth. Based on IGB REIT’s Pro Forma Statement of Financial position, IGB REIT’s gearing ratio upon listing will be approximately 25.8%, which is below the average of listed MREITs of approximately 29.2% as at 31 Dec 2011. Hence, for future acquisition, IGB REIT has the flexibility to borrow additional RM1.1bn before reaching the statutory gearing level of 50%.

What's the fair value?
As shown below, different research house gave different fair value by using different method of valuations. To summarize it, the fair values estimated could give investors an upside potential of between 7.2% - 16%. Does this enough for you to consider to subscribe this IPO? Anyway, only 1% of the shares were being allocated to retail investors. Good luck.

Source: Various research report

New IPO: Sentoria Group

Sentoria Group Berhad (Sentoria) is principally involved in two complementary core business divisions, namely property development and leisure and hospitality. Its property development business division specializes in township developments and resort city developments, while the leisure and hospitality business division owns / leases, manages and operates the hotels / resorts and theme park facilities and attractions.

Its Bukit Gambang Resort City (BGRC) leisure and hospitality facility in Kuantan is the largest integrated resort city in Malaysia that resides on a 547-acre land area and features multiple attractions in a single location.

The Listing Exercise

Future Income Generating Plan...

Looking ahead, Sentoria plans to enhance its recurring income stream from BGRC, by adding new attractions such as Safari Park, Aquarium Park, Adventure Land, and expand the MICE division by constructing a grand ballroom with 3,050 pax capacity to increase the average revenue and length of stay per visitor. Product mix will also be expanded by constructing themed villas (Global Heritage South – Amsterdam, Venice, and Barcelona villa etc) in BGRC, and commercial properties to add development value to acquired land.

As for its property development division, the company is currently looking for opportunities to diversify to other states, such as Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. Currently, it has 237 acres of land, mainly in Kuantan and BGRC, with an estimated GDV of RM1.48bn.

How did Singapore's Cooling Measures Impact Malaysia's Property Sector? (Dec 2011)

On 7th Dec 2011, the Singapore government announced that it would impose an Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) to moderate investment demand for private residential property and promote a more stable and sustainable market. This is needed in view of the stubbornly high inflation rate in Singapore amidst the slowing demand from developed markets. For those who don't know, inflation rate in Singapore was mainly contributed by surging property prices.

The ABSD was effective 8 Dec 2011. After the announcement, property-related stocks slumped last week, following by a slump in banking stocks because of an expected slower housing loan growth. The latest measures are a near-term negative for property developers with an anticipated trend in lower average selling prices and transactional volumes, which will hurt profitability. Nevertheless, most large-cap property developers in Singapore are relatively well diversified, not just across sectors (industrial and commercial), but also geographically.

Under the latest cooling measure, the ABSD will be added on top of the current Buyer's Stamp Duty, and apply to the purchase price or market value of the property (whichever is higher) according to the type of purchase as below:

1. ABSD of 10% for foreigners and corporate entities buying any residential property
2. ABSD of 3% for permanent residents who already own one property, and buying the 2nd and subsequent residential property
3. ABSD of 3% for Singaporean citizens who already own 2 properties, and buying the 3rd and subsequent residential property.

What's the Impact on Malaysian Property Sector and Developers?

Because of our closely linked economies, some of our property players already ventured into Singapore property market, such as Sunway, SP Setia, IOI Corp and YTL Land. According to OSK research report, Sunway has 4 ongoing projects with a total GDV of around SGD1.7bn under its 30:70 joint venture with Ho Hup Group and a small wholly owned project with at GDV of SGD32.8m. Two of the projects, which are under the Executive Condo (EC) and Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), are exempted from the ABSD. While the remaining three ongoing projects, coupled with another upcoming project (GDV: SGD357m), are under private development (PD) which is subjected to the ABSD. However, with its ongoing PD projects already achieving a strong take-up rate at around 70%, we believe the impact on Sunway will be rather minimal.

Sector wise, Finance Malaysia believes that there will be a in-flowing of money to our shore given its proximity to Singapore, coupled with the attractively packaged Johor's Iskandar Development Region (IDR). This would be a timely process where IDR is gaining traction with basic infrastructures were almost completed. Those developers which had already jumping into IDR may benefits from the announcement. Tebrau Teguh, being one of the most sensitive stocks linked with IDR may see some buying interest. 

Asia property sector to deteriorate?

A combination of excess liquidity, low interest rates and a robust macroeconomic outlook has pushed prices up over the last few years. As a result, housing affordability for low and middle income families has worsened across the region, with low interest rate slightly cushioning the adverse effect of higher prices. Several central banks have intervened and introduced regulatory measures - such as higher minimum down payments (etc. Msia) and more land releases for construction (etc. Singapore) - to cool down the markets and slow credit expansion.

Within a specific market, the prime segment should hold up better than the mass-market segment. Should the real estate market correct instead, steep corrections for the mass segment are unlikely because of the following reasons:

1. Rental Yields still appear attractive in the current low interest rate environment;
2. Residential vacancy rates are low in many Asian cities, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore (not in the case for Msia);
3. Governments are well aware of the potential negative spillover effects of a strong housing market downturn to the overall economy. Thus, they are more proactive in making monetary decision to juggle between tightening or loosing the monetary policies.