Citizens working overseas expected to boost demand for condo market
Date：2017/08/22
By Tin Yadanar Tun | Friday, 18 August 2017
[ The Myanmar Times] Real estate portal Shwe Property will be hold their first real estate expo in Singapore this month on August 26 and 27, targeting Myanmar citizens working in the city state.
“It’s the first Shwe Property Expo catered to the Myanmar people working in Singapore.
“Currently we have already over 1,350 registered visitors who are all looking to buy property for themselves and their relatives in Myanmar,” Kevin Goos, managing director of ShweProperty.com, said.
The event will showcase 125 affordable-housing projects and 15 large-scale projects. The residents can also enjoy a promotion discount, he said.
“Each project brings a special promotion exclusive to our event. Right now, all our developers are discounting their condo price to encourage buyers to come to expo. Our visitors will get the best price with the biggest discounts because our developers want to sell out and move on to the next project,” he explained.
Although Myanmar people working in Singapore are more cautious about parking, gym, and facilities and would prefer a modern condominium when it comes to property ownership, some want to purchase affordable housing for relatives or parents in a specific location, he added.
CB Bank is the banking partner for the event and the buyers can purchase a property at 5-15 laks per month depending on the individual project, said Mr Goos.
“Myanmar people working in Singapore have a higher salary, so they can afford better homes with modern design.
“Our target audience is Myanmar citizens working in Singapore who want to invest in Myanmar real estate for themselves for their relatives,” he said.
Myanmar expats are a highly-targeted market and also provide a robust demand to invest real estate market, he added.
“We have already sold US$2 million leading up to the event and expect to help close another $5-10 million during the event.
“Right now, a lot of relatives from Myanmar people working in Singapore are visiting our projects and closing deals directly,” he said.
He added that the company is setting up sales channels in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China and will host multiple international sales events promoting Myanmar property once the condominium law has finally been implemented.
“Once the condominium law is implemented, we expect a huge surge in foreign direct investment flowing into the country and most of the luxury condominium projects will have another great wave of sales and turnover,” he noted.
Overseas buyers will drive this real estate market into the next golden era of real estate development and for this to happen, the condominium bylaw needs to be enacted very soon, said U Yan Aung, managing director of Asia Construction.
“Although we have enacted the condominium law, officials have not enacted the bylaws yet and cannot use that law without enacting the bylaws.
“Condominium law is important to boost the market of the high-rise and condominium units in Myanmar,” he said.
Mr Goos said that citizens overseas will constitute an important part of the demand.
“I have seen it happens in almost every country in Southeast Asia and Myanmar will follow the exact same path.
“In Thailand, starting in the early 2000s, most of the condo buyers were from overseas, with Thais preferring to purchase landed houses and affordable projects.
“In Cambodia, starting in 2009, the market has followed the same path with 80 percent of the condominium purchases coming from overseas buyers, mostly from countries in Southeast Asia and China.
“It will be great for the Myanmar real estate market and will result in a huge surge in pre-construction sales,” he added.