Returns in Asia property market may slacken in 2011, but beyond that price growth is expected to resume.
House prices in Asia have doubled in many cases in the past two years. Regulations increasingly clamp down on property markets to prevent bubbles forming, such as with tighter lending requirements for property purchase. It is almost inevitable that returns will cool next year.
But beyond that, price growth should pick up once again off the back of Asia's traditional attractions for real estate investors; enviable economic growth, a steady rise in currency values and importantly, increasing urbanisation in several countries, the Business Times reported Friday.
Analysts see prices rising again between 5 percent and 10 percent in 2012. Still, there is no sign yet of a slowdown in capital coming into the Asia property markets. Indeed investment is speeding up, figures from property services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) show.
In the first three quarters of 2010, direct real estate investments in Asia totaled 46 billion U.S. dollars, double the amount in the same period in 2009, CBRE said in the report by the Business Times.
CBRE's executive director Andrew Ness reckons full-year investment will exceed 60 billion U.S. dollars, up sharply from 37. 8 billion U.S. dollars last year.
Over the longer term, Asian markets offer less uncertainty than the United States or Europe, which will support the market, many analysts say.
So even with tightening regulations, Asia offers brighter prospects over a three to five year horizon, some investors say.
