A view from the inside

Sameer J Aswani is Director of Sugnomal Sdn Bhd and SJ Fabrics Pte Ltd and a regular reader of Property Report South East Asia Magazine. He offers his insights on the region’s property Market.

Q:What are your main areas of professional expertise?
A:We hold licenses for various brands such as Hush Puppies, Beverly Hills Polo Club for Singapore and Malaysia. We also invest in real estate mainly in Singapore. It’s a family run business and I am the third generation.

Q:What property investments do you hold in the region?
A: Mainly In Singapore and Malaysia, compromising prime residential and commercial in areas such as Marina Bay, Orchard Road, Raffles place and in KL business district.

Q:How do you see the luxury property market developing in 2011?
A:The Singapore real estate market has had a rousing year for 2010, setting record prices despite two rounds of government cooling measures. All this with the US, Europe lagging behind. With the new Government measures(not permanent), I see investors sitting on the sidelines temporarily, however the general outlook is still strong, Singapore is very liquid and bank lending rates are still at an all time low. A lot of foreign money from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and India is still coming in as Singapore is the Monte Carlo of South East Asia; excellent financial system, excellent security, the government is very efficient and lastly it offers a beautiful lifestyle. A large number of prime properties in 2010 were remarkably sold to foreigners, especially to Chinese buyers owing to the stringent tightening measures and curbs which has diverted funds here. Landed GCB, freehold bungalows are in limited supply and the same goes for luxury apartments which there are only so many in the best locations such as Marina Bay and Orchard road. With all these positive factors, conservatively I see the luxury sector picking up another 10-15% by year end, fuelled by property cooling measures in Hong Kong, China. My advice to potential investors in this region is to invest in Singapore as prices are expected to grow slowly but at a healthy rate. Buyers are still anticipating steadily climbing prices with the improving economy and low lending mortgage rates. The luxury segment is still 6-7 per cent below its 2007 peak, so there is still room for catch up.

Q:Which areas would you choose to invest in?
A: District 9, 10 and 11 would be a favourite amongst the Indonesians and Malaysians. Marina Bay would be my first choice to put my money in because of the limited supply of residential developments there with good rentals (3-4%) and it is a future business hub with long term capital appreciation. Currently only 40-50 per cent of the office buildings are up and in the next 2-5 years, with more office building’s launching in Marina Bay and the limited supply of apartments , I see the rentals climbing which will push prices up. It is the next best business financial centre in this region. Marina Bay is also a lifestyle integrated hub with the a casino, malls, eateries, pubs and a hotel. Basically Marina bay is a city by itself, an emerging market that has opened up Singapore to the rest of the world, some call it the ’8th wonder of the world’, I call it ‘Money Bay’!

Q:Which sections of Property Report Magazine do you find the most useful and why?
A:Opinion and analysis because it gives the inside views of experienced real estate investors like Alex Shlaen which is encouraging. Also reports on real estate in this region which keeps me updated. With this in mind, it helps me decide what I plan on doing next. I always try to gather a few opinions and then make a decision on how I feel.