Quite good article from a Singaporean website, I thought might be relevant for Malaysians also.
Although I am not exactly a property expert, I did echo similar concerns in the past, for instance here:
"Two Iskandar developers (to IPO in 2014), I am scared all the clever money has been made already, and the property market is way too hot and might already be cooling"
Some snippets from the article at DrWealth's website:
When you drive around Iskandar Malaysia, it’s not uncommon to see swathes of empty apartments with no one living inside. Therein lies perhaps the main issue with the region – the lack of a critical mass of people, especially locals, staying in the area.
In the beginning, the majority of property purchases were made by foreigners, particularly Singaporeans, who were seduced by the attractive price tags.
Unfortunately, the property cooling measures announced in Malaysia’s 2014 Budget have thrown a spanner in the plans of many of these potential investors. Since the beginning of the year, foreigners can only purchase property worth at least RM1 million, have to pay more in Real Property Gains Tax, and must contend with a 2 percent property levy. These moves have whittled the number of potential property investors in Iskandar.
Couple this with the glut of housing development projects being launched by big Chinese developers such as Country Garden and Guangzhou R&F and you’re looking at the classic problem of unchecked growth – supply outrunning demand.
U should read this;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/21/singapore-property-idUSL3N0UO3FY20150121
The most noted part should be the part about - '37 of those 38 mortgages have defaulted, and the loans are estimated to have been worth far more than the actual purchase prices of the apartments.'
Could the same be happening in Iskandar property deals?
Thanks for the link, indeed an interesting court case, I am following it through the Singapore media. I guess it all is related, both the property boom and bust.
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