Top Asian Expat Destinations Set For Property Price Rises

Expat Globe

According to a new report, cities with large expat communities such as Jakarta and Bangkok are expected to see big property price rises in the coming year.

Unlike in major European cities such as London and Paris, the mainstream market is likely to outperform prime property markets.

The biggest headline in the Asia Pacific residential markets over the last quarter has been the introduction in October of a 15% stamp duty for foreign buyers of residential property in Hong Kong. Despite the large number of cooling measures introduced over the last three years, prices have continued to soar in Hong Kong, nearly doubling since the beginning of 2009.

Nicholas Holt, Asia Pacific research director for the report’s authors, said, "We are more bullish about the markets that have solid fundamentals and little or no cooling measures. Jakarta and Bangkok notably, are two markets that are well positioned to benefit from strong economic growth and a growing affluent and aspirational property owning class. Both of these markets have been the star performers over the past year, and we expect this to continue."

However the report also sounds a note of caution, “The possibility of further government intervention to reduce house price inflation in these times of low interest rates is likely to remain, posing a risk to several residential markets over the next 12 months.”

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