Over the last few months, there have been numerous reports flooding the main stream and online media with predictions of the property market in Asia. Given the slowing demand from key trading partners, the United States and Europe, the Asian economy was set to take a downturn.
As we serve an ever-growing number of consumers, agents and developers, we leveraged on our market leading websites in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore as a bellwether to gauge the opinions of thousands of consumers in the region on the property market.
Conducted from November 2011 to January 2012 and gathering a total of 8,499 respondents, the first cross market online property survey of its kind revealed that despite the worldwide economic uncertainty, a majority of these survey respondents had optimistic views on the property market in Asia.
Across the four countries surveyed, the survey respondents had somewhat more in common than they had differences. The key similarities include:
- Majority of people answering the survey in each country had occupied their current premises for less than five years
- Economic and political concerns were not high on the list of concerns for most survey respondents
- Location and price were the two most important factors taken into account in purchasing property, while political/economic climate and recommendations from family and friends were the least important.
During the launch of the survey, I was asked, What is the most important factor to consider before investing in property? To which I responded three factors – LOCATION, LOCATION and LOCATION!
Why? Because location is the most important factor that property investors look into as it ultimately will help determine how much yield you get, and how much capital growth. So before deciding on purchasing or investing in any property, do your research. Study the amenities, accessibility to public transportation, schools and etc.
So, it wasn’t a surprise that location was one of two key factors that respondents considered important.
A key difference across the region was in the type of property these respondents preferred. The survey findings showed that landed property was the most popular type of property that respondents in Malaysia and Hong Kong favoured. In Singapore, private condominiums were the most popular type of property, while houses were the most popular in Indonesia.
It was also interesting to note that most of the survey respondents in each country had only been in their current premises for five years or less. Another key distinction was that when it came to ownership of properties, over 40% of Malaysian’s surveyed reported owning two or more properties, a higher proportion than in any other country. Hong Kong survey participants had the fewest property owners.
On the overseas property front, Singaporeans showed a higher interest than respondents from Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, with a majority choosing Malaysia and Australia as their most preferred overseas locations.
Malaysians on the other hand preferred Australia, Singapore and United Kingdom as their preferred overseas destination of investment, with many citing migration or retirement plans as the main reason of purchase.
To learn more about these findings, you can download a full copy of this report by clicking here – iProperty.com Market Sentiment Report 2012
The survey report has offered us valuable insights of the property market and I trust that you too will find this report highly beneficial as it offers an unbiased view on the Asian property market.
Enjoy the weekend!
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