SINGAPORE: Private home prices rose at a slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid lower sales due to a lack of major launches, cooling measures, rising interest rates and weaker global economic projections.

Prices of private residential properties rose 0.4 per cent in Q4 of 2022, compared with the 3.8 per cent in third quarter, according to real estate statistics released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jan 27).

For the whole of 2022, private home prices rose 8.6 per cent, slowing from the 10.6 per cent increase in 2021.

The price decline is in sync with global trends where home prices have similarly slid in many countries, said OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice president of research and analytics Christine Sun.

Home prices are taking a hit from rising interest rates globally, she said, adding that central banks worldwide have hiked interest rates to tame inflation.

“Real estate will inevitably be affected as households tighten their belts, and rising interest rates hold back some potential buyers.”

“It is not surprising that some buyers in Singapore are starting to feel the impact of higher mortgage payments, considering how much interest rates have risen over the past year.

However, most buyers can still service their loans now as they are not overleveraged since stringent property curbs are in place to ensure buyers remain prudent and our job growth is still healthy,” she said.

Singapore introduced several property cooling measures on Sep 30, including a new 15-month wait-out period for private homeowners who sell their property prior to submitting an application to buy an HDB resale flat.

Source: CNA

JAKARTA: Indonesia is formulating incentives for exporters to keep their foreign-exchange earnings onshore for at least three months, its chief economics minister said on Thursday.

Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government would offer “competitive” interest rates for exporters that deposit their forex earnings in local banks.

“We have to make [interest rates] competitive compared to Singapore, so that [FX earnings] won’t flow to Singapore,” he said, referring to the city-state’s appeal as a regional financial hub.

He did not provide details on the proposed rates or when they might be introduced.

He added that the proposed minimum holding period would be three months in Indonesia’s financial system.

When asked about the rationale behind the three-month holding period, Airlangga said the country needs a buffer to weather risks, including a possible global economic slowdown this year.

“We need enough [US dollars] to finance our exports and imports,” he added.

The minister said the incentives will be laid out in a revision of a 2019 regulation that mandated exporters of natural resources keep earnings in a special account at domestic banks.

Previously, he said revisions to the regulation also contained the possibility of applying the foreign-exchange rules to exporters in the manufacturing sector, and more attractive tax incentives for exporters’ special savings.

Aside from the government, Indonesia’s central bank is also planning to launch a new monetary policy instrument aimed at providing exporters with better returns for domestic forex deposits, which could be launched next month.

Source: Bangkok Post

SET-listed developer Singha Estate has paused new condo development and will launch only low-rise houses in high-priced segments, with five new projects worth a combined 10 billion baht planned for this year.

Nattavuth Mathayomchan, chief residential development officer, said the new projects will have units priced from 10 to 200 million baht, with at least two of them in new segments including units priced between 20 to 50 million and 10 to 20 million.

“We continue to focus on high-priced segments as purchasing power is stronger than lower-end amid rising interest rates,” he said.

In the fourth quarter last year, the firm recorded 830 million baht in revenue from the transfer of seven units at Siraninn Residences, a luxury single detached house project on Phattanakarn Soi 32. Of the 28 units in total, 26 units

had already been sold.

All of the new projects this year will be in Greater Bangkok, while a land plot covering nearly 13 rai in Si Racha is waiting for additional land acquisition nearby in order to develop a mixed-use project.

“Condo market has slowed down in the past two years and the majority of best sellers were units priced 3 million baht and lower as they were driven by the property measures,” he said.

Condo demand was also in locations near universities or sources of employment as customers represented both real demand and investment buyers who wish to rent out their property.

With property measures and the easing of the loan-to-value limits ending last year, as well as rising interest rates and appraisal prices of property this year, the condo market this year was unlikely to be better than last year.

“We will not do condo this year,” he said. “Our condo inventory on hand still remains large.”

The firm had condo units worth a combined 4.4 billion baht remaining unsold at two projects, comprising 1.8 billion baht at The Esse Sukhumvit 36 and 2.6 billion at The Extro Phayathai-Rangnam.

This year it expected to increase the revenue contribution from low-rise houses to 70% of total residential revenue, up from 50% previously, said Mr Nattavuth.

In the first nine months of 2022, Singha Estate posted around 8.5 billion baht in revenue, up 65% from the same period of 2021.

The growth was driven by revenue from hotel business at 6.1 billion baht, soaring from 2.77 billion. Revenue from residential development dropped to 1.22 billion baht from 1.57 billion.

However, the firm expected to have a revenue growth in residential development business this year.

Source: Bangkok Post

Academics in Cambodia said Thursday that China’s optimization of its COVID-19 strategy early this month is a “great boon” for Cambodia’s tourism and economy.

Vun Phanith, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, a school of Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), foresaw that large numbers of tourists, business people and investors will return to the Southeast Asian nation, given close relationship between the two countries.

The comeback of Chinese travellers will be a great boon for our tourism and economy,” he said here during a round-table discussion on China’s reopening.

“Their return will also help promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people connectivity between the two countries towards the building of a community with a shared future,” he added.

China was the biggest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era, a Ministry of Tourism’s report said, adding that the kingdom received 2.36 million Chinese tourists in 2019, generating about $1.8 billion in revenue.

The world’s second largest economy is also the top foreign investor in Cambodia.

Lim Chhay, a program manager for foreign affairs at the think tank, the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung Cambodia, said Chinese tourists, businesspeople and investors have importantly contributed to socio-economic development in Cambodia.

“The opportunity from China’s reopening is very clear, (and) we expect to welcome a huge influx of Chinese tourists and investors to Cambodia again, like it was before the pandemic,” he said. “Chinese tourists like to spend money for their holidays, so their return will give a boost to our tourism growth.”

Source: Xinhua