PropertyGuru’s Property Sentiment Index H2 2020 collects opinions from property investors in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to determine the current mood of the real estate market. Its purpose is to help consumers and property agents identify the mechanics of their local market, which in turn helps them to flourish.
The data revealed that Bangkok continues to be the key focus for investors in Thailand. Typically capital cities secure this accolade since they are the melting pot of employment drawing in people seeking opportunities and putting pressure on housing.
However, the area within Bangkok that aroused the most demand is Outer Bangkok consisting of Ratchada, Ladprao and Rama 9. Here prices are more affordable without losing out on access to Bangkok’s efficient and reliable mass transit network.
Chiangmai was the next area of interest for investors in Thailand, followed by further Bangkok suburbs mainly around Sukhumvit that relish on access to the Light Green Line of the BTS Skytrain network.
Property for Sale in Chiang Mai
It is a similar story in Indonesia. Jakarta is the most popular place to invest in property with a strong preference for South Jakarta, followed by comparable demand for the East and West suburbs, then Central Jakarta and finally North Jakarta.
Likewise for Malaysia, Klang Valley that centres around Kuala Lumpur saw the highest amount of interest. The appetite of Malaysian investors is fairly evenly across Petaling Jaya, Damansara, Subang Jaya and KL City Centre. A similar spread is found in Singaporean suburbs however, this is not surprising since this tiny island state has a small surface area leaving little land to choose from.
Generalising, Southeast Asia has a thirst for newness including properties too. While it helps to drive the market and developers to launch new projects, it does create an oversupply of property and also leave a lot of vacant and depreciating second hand stock. The report affirms this as most respondents of the survey sought out new over older properties, especially in Malaysia.
Singapore was the only place where the respondents were more open to the type of property with a relatively even spread between new, resale stock and even HBD flats. This demonstrates Singapore’s sophisticated market that is also driven by a lack of supply giving investors little choice than to be more open in their buying choices.
This flexible attitude is reflected elsewhere in the report as it revealed that the majority of Singaporeans would consider buying a property by auction, a sentiment shared by Thai investors too.
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