Singapore is top pick for residential property investment in 2010, says survey

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore is one of Asia-Pacific’s hottest markets for real estate investment next year, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

According to the “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2010” survey, Singapore’s residential market appears to hold promise of the highest returns, boosted by the country’s transparent property market.

"The findings show that, despite issues with oversupply, we are still recognised as a property investment hub,” said PwC assurance real-estate leader for Singapore Choo Eng Beng, adding that despite this fact, investors should remain cautious as "there are concerns about the city's development prospects across most asset classes".

The survey’s findings also revealed that Shanghai was the top investment choice, with retail, industrial and rental apartments slated to provide the most lucrative returns, while Hong Kong took second place with its retail sector being its most buoyant.

Beijing came in third, up from last year’s 12th spot with its positively reviewed residential and manufacturing sectors, while Seoul came in fourth place.

Singapore was placed fifth in the survey rankings.

As for the city with the “most development opportunities”, Shanghai came in tops while Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City came in second and third place, respectively.

Shanghai's strong showing is a result of China's resilient economy, which led to higher transaction volumes and property prices towards the year-end, said the report.

China also has abundant liquidity and well-capitalised banks that suffered less investment losses than their European counterparts while enjoying confident business sentiment, added the report.