Ccleaner Furniture

A decade after the 1997 Asian Crisis erupted, most housing markets in Asia are well on their way to recovery.

Boosted by strong economic growth and strong local and international demand, residential real estate prices in the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea rose by more than 10% in nominal terms y-o-y to Q1 2007.

In Hong Kong, after registering price falls in early 2006, the over-all residential price index is back in positive territory. The index rose 5.2% y-o-y to March 2007. However this is significantly lower than the annual price increases to the first quarter of 2005 and 2004, at 21% and 28%, respectively.

No bubble this time

Although property prices in most Asian countries are still below their peak levels, rapid price appreciation has taken place over the past five years, leading to renewed fears that a speculative property bubble is forming in several Asian countries.

The fear is not unfounded; one has only to recall Asia’s spectacular and disastrous property bubbles of the 1990s.

However, the recent price increases are actually recoveries from the previous slump caused by the Asian crisis and other phenomena.

As of Q1 2007, property prices in most Asian countries are in fact still below their peak levels in real terms.

Strong housing demand

Current economic and monetary conditions suggest continued strong demand for housing. All economies affected by the Asian Crisis grew by 5% or more in 2006. GDP growth from 2002 to 2006 has been markedly stronger than during the crisis period – 1997 to 2001, although slower compared to the tail-end of the “Asian Economic Miracle”.

As a result of financial and monetary reforms implemented after the crisis, banks and other financial institutions are in much better shape now. Asia’s mortgage market is set for a boom. This is despite the fact that mortgage lenders are more cautious of over-exposing themselves to particular sectors (some pundits worry that banks are actually being too cautious).

Despite recent interest hikes, in line with global interest rates, base interest rates for mortgage lending are generally lower now than before the crisis.

Socio-economic conditions also point to continued strong demand for residential properties. Strong urbanization and population growth has led to high population densities in several Asian cities.

In view of the relatively restrained dwelling price rises, strong economic growth and banking sector caution and healthy yields to be enjoyed on properties in Asia, talk of another bubble seems far-fetched.

Other problems

A more pressing concern for Asian economies is the continuation of reforms to improve real estate efficiency and transparency. Transaction costs remain high and the property registration is still cumbersome in several countries.

While Malaysia is encouraging foreign property buyers, Thailand’s military junta is pushing them away. Thailand announced that it is completing a crackdown on foreign companies established for the sole purpose of buying landed properties. While the motivation for this move is unclear, the signal is clear “foreigners are not welcome.” Political uncertainty and policy flip-flaps by the ruling junta are undoubtedly hurting the real estate market.

In the Philippines, proposed property market reforms are languishing in congress. These laws include the establishment of a centralized agency for registering property and a standard property valuation system.

Full Report:

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/articleread.php?article_id=93&cid=



Economics Team:

Prince Christian Cruz, Senior Economist

Phone: (+632) 750 0560

Email: prince@globalpropertyguide.com

Publisher and Strategist:

Matthew Montagu-Pollock

Phone: (+632) 867 4220

Cell: (+63) 917 321 7073

Email: editor@globalpropertyguide.com

Address:

Global Property Guide

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com

5F Electra House Building

115-117 Esteban Street

Legaspi Village, Makati City

Philippines 1229

info@globalpropertyguide.com

Terms of Use:

On-line newspapers, magazines, etc wishing to use material from this press release MUST provide a clickable link to www.globalpropertyguide.com

With options for free and relevant data over the internet is making a northward go, anyone can expect for a quick service from ones in the business to help in finding a desired location. One of the most competitive industries on the web is the Online Real Estate. The Real Estate companies and the agents have to work hard to come up with most promising strategies to make a mark in the market. To enhance selling capabilities, the industry has come up with the idea of creating online property listings and auction services. This idea is beneficial to real estate agents and customers alike. Freelance and independent agents can access and transact on any online property without boundaries.

In Today’s date, nearly everyone, before purchasing a house, these days looks online either before or after contacting a real estate agent. You can search for a home not only according to your desired price range, number of bedrooms, garage space and location, but you can see color pictures and in some cases videos, and forward them to your friends.

The online real estate listings contain only the “broker reciprocity” listings. Some brokers elect to not allow their listings to be displayed on other company web sites. Only a real estate agent is able to access the entire Multiple Listing Service. Your agent may also know of properties that are not yet listed, so you are able to increase your search considerably by working with a licensed real estate agent.

You may also receive quite a bit of additional information on online real estate listings that you have already browsed online, by getting the listing sheet from your agent. Most of the online databases list only a fraction of the listing information. If you are looking for lakeshore real estate for instance, you agent is able to search for listings on a specific lake. If you are an investor, your agent can search for listings based on the length of time they have been on the market. He or she can also save these search parameters and recheck them for you as often as you would like.

The Golden Hill region is located near Downtown San Diego County, California. The community is located between Interstates 5 and 15, just south of the famous Balboa Park.

For the period observed (January through July 2006 compared against January through July 2005), the number of homes sold remained relatively consistent. Approximately 74 single-family homes sold in 2006 and 76 homes sold in 2005.

One method to analyze pricing trends for a particular community is to evaluate the median and average price of homes for a particular month, and compare that data against the same period last year. What follows is a comparison of the median price and average price of homes for the past seven months (January through July 2006), compared against the data for the corresponding time period in 2005.

The median price of homes represents the point at which half the homes are above a particular price point, and half the homes are below a particular price point. The average price of homes is calculated by adding up the sales price of all homes sold in a particular month, and dividing that value by the number of homes sold.

The median price of homes in July 2006 was $572,000, compared to $425,000 in July 2005, which represents a 34.6% increase. The average price of homes in July 2006 was $551,875, compared to $466,636 in July 2005, which represents a 19.5% increase. Approximately 8 homes sold in July 2006 and 11 in July 2005. In summary, there was an upward price trend in July 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in June 2006 was $451,500, compared to $540,000 in June 2005, which represents a 16.4% drop. The average price of homes in June 2006 was $457,600, compared to $514,846 in June 2005, which represents an 11.1% decline. Approximately 10 homes sold in June 2006 and 13 in June 2005. In summary, there was a downward price trend in June 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in May 2006 was $500,000, compared to $430,000 in May 2005, which represents a 13.9% increase. The average price of homes in May 2006 was $545,067, compared to $465,727 in May 2005, which represents a 10.5% increase. Approximately 15 homes sold in May 2006 and 11 in May 2005. In summary, there was an upward price trend in May 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in April 2006 was $442,500, compared to $510,000 in April 2005, which represents an 8.3% drop. The average price of homes in April 2006 was $448,071, compared to $512,067 in April 2005, which represents a 10.9% decline. Approximately 14 homes sold in April 2006 and 15 in April 2005. In summary, there was a downward price trend in April 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in March 2006 was $415,250, compared to $437,500 in March 2005, which represents an 8.2% decrease. The average price of homes in March 2006 was $451,886, compared to $428,375 in March 2005, which represents a 5.5% increase. Approximately 14 homes sold in March 2006 and 12 in March 2005. The data was mixed for March 2006, as the median price dropped and the average price increased from the same time last year.

The median price of homes in February 2006 was $452,500, compared to $512,500 in February 2005, which represents a 6.7% drop. The average price of homes in February 2006 was $483,128, compared to $503,625 in February 2005, which represents a 1.7% decline. About 8 homes sold in February 2006 and 8 in February 2005. In summary, there was a downward price trend in February 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes was $455,000 in January 2006, compared to $500,000 in January 2005, which represents a 9% decline. The average price of homes in January 2006 was $446,280, compared to $467,483 in January 2005, which represents a 1.3% drop. Approximately 5 homes sold in January 2006 and 6 in January 2005. In summary, there was a downward price trend in January 2006 compared to the same period last year.

So what does the data tell us? Well, the data above does not reveal a consistent pattern. The home prices for May and July 2006 were up year-over-year in the range of 10% to 35% from the same period last year. However, prices were down 1% to 16% during January, February, April and June 2006, compared to the same time last year. The data for March 2006 was mixed, with the median price dropping 8.2%, and the average price increasing 5.5% for the same time last year. Given the ups and down described above, a longer period of evaluation is needed to determine if a clear pattern emerges. Contact an experienced Realtor to obtain additional insights about the pricing trends in the Golden Hill real estate market.