London Propo Roll... London Propo Roll...

[carbuncle]

» Asia is first port of call for
new launches
Straits Times: Fri, May 25
LONDON - When the
developer of Embassy
Gardens, a new residential
block in south central London,
launched sales this month, it
started pitching first to buyers
10,000km away - in Kuala
Lumpur. The launch in
Malaysia was swiftly followed
by others in Hong Kong and
Singapore.
So far, South-east Asian
investors have snapped up
over &pound100 million (S$201
million) worth of units on
offer - or about 160 of the
development's 350 units, said
the project's property agent.
'It's been Asia first for a
while,' said Ms Jazmine Goh,
business development
manager at Henry Butcher
Malaysia. 'Now they (wealthy
Asians) can show that they,
too, can afford to own
property in London.'
It was the same with the
Berkeley Group's Bridgeman
House on Kensington High
Street, a 95-unit condominium.
It will have its international
launch today at Singapore's St
Regis Hotel, ahead of its
launch in Britain.
Since the global financial crisis
hit in 2008, developers of
London property - long an
international market - have
increasingly been looking East
for buyers. Way east.
Between 2007 and last year,
about 43 per cent of buyers of
new prime London property
costing &pound1 million and
above came from Asia,
according to property broker
Savills.
Estate agent Knight Frank's
Wealth Report 2012 ranks
investors from China, Hong
Kong and Singapore among
the top 10 groups who buy
prime second homes around
the world. Indians, Malaysians
and Indonesians are fast
catching up.
'For many wealthy Asians
whose portfolios are already
skewed heavily towards Asia,
London represents an
opportunity to diversify their
investment,' said Mr Liam
Bailey, head of residential
research at Knight Frank.
While many Asians buy for
investment, others who have
studied in Britain buy a future
home for their children who
may take the same path.
Government intervention to
reduce speculation in home
markets has also encouraged
more bullish investors from
the likes of Shanghai,
Singapore and Hong Kong to
look abroad.
Foreign buyers have kept the
London property market
buoyant even amid a
recession. Prime residential
real estate rose 12.1 per cent
last year in London, one of
only two European cities (the
other being Zurich) to notch
price increases, said Knight
Frank.
'London's prime housing
market is seemingly powered
by capital flight from the
whole globe,' said the
company.
One Malaysian banker bought
a three-bedroom flat in
Bayswater for &pound1 million
in 2009, when prices were
about 20 per cent off their
peak.
'Like many of my friends who
have bought property in
London, I studied in Britain
and I'm familiar with the
London neighbourhoods,' said
the banker, who asked not to
be named. 'It made sense to
invest there when I wanted to
diversify.'
The price of his flat, which is
rented out, has appreciated 50
per cent in the last three
years.
As in any property market,
location is key. Bayswater and
the neighbouring Queensway
in West London are popular
with Asians, not least because
that is where the hugely
popular Four Seasons roast
duck and Khan's briyani are to
be found. They are also close
to the shopping havens of
Westfield and Bond Street.
'It's in Zone 1, there are no
high-rises and it's near Hyde
Park,' added the banker.
London has strict planning
regulations to preserve its
architectural heritage, green
spaces and protected views of
places such as St Paul's
Cathedral and Westminster
Palace.
This means a dearth of new
high-rise developments in
established, Georgian-
terraced neighbourhoods like
Knightsbridge, Chelsea and
Kensington.
Hence, Asian buyers who
prefer more affordable real
estate with facilities such as a
gym, pool and concierge are
also flocking to projects
farther afield like Embassy
Gardens, which is close to the
Vauxhall underground train
stop in south central London.
The building has units ranging
from just under
&pound400,000 for a studio
flat to over &pound1 million
for a three-bedroom
apartment.
The trend is expanding the
definition of prime central
London, with big increases in
&pound1 million- plus
transactions at the fringes of
central London, Maida Vale in
the north-west and Fulham in
the south-west, said Savills
Research's director Lucian
Cook.
One Asian investor based in
Singapore has ventured
farther south to Richmond, an
upper- class area where you
are more likely to spot
celebrities like Jerry Hall in a
specialist cheese shop than an
Asian face on its high street.
This may soon change.
'We chose Richmond because I
wanted my daughter to live in
a real home in the suburbs
with a park behind and a river
running past,' said the
investor.
The three-bedroom house in a
gated compound on the edge
of Richmond Park has
appreciated 60 per cent since
she bought it in 2006 for under
&pound2 million.
With lending rates low in
many Asian countries, some
are refinancing their local
properties and buying in
London, said Ms Goh.
Even a rise in duty on British
residential properties costing
over &pound2 million in
March, from 5 per cent to 7
per cent, seems to have had
little impact on the prime
property market, Mr Bailey
noted.
[email protected]

[phantom_opera]

London studio is inhuman ;)

[hyenergix]

London bridge is falling down...

[DKSG]

London studio is inhuman ;)

Looks like Mr Phantom is very much affected by Mr Liew.

DKSG

[DC33_2008]

It is nomal in London. Waiting for more correction in central London after olympics.

[CP5211]

Hi,

We are a Singaporean family looking for properties in London and New York for investment. Any one able to share their experience? Thank you

Currently own a HDB and private condo in Singapore

[TheOnlyGayInTheVillage]

UK tax changes to impact S'pore property buyers
Straits Times: Mon, May 28

RECENT tax changes in Britain will mean higher stamp duties and other new taxes for some Singaporeans investing in property there.

Experts here say that while their clients are 'not panicking', they have received a notable increase in the number of inquiries from concerned investors.

The taxes might be particularly hard on investors who have bought property above £2 million (S$4 million) using a company as opposed to a standard purchase.

A proposed annual charge, for example, will apply both to existing homes and new homes above £2 million held by companies.

The charges will likely take effect next April.

The recent budget targeted buyers of homes of more than £2 million who may have dodged stamp duties by making their purchases through overseas firms.

Buyers from Asia and Eastern Europe are thought to have bought most of these high-end homes. They often use offshore companies as it allows for the owner's family to avoid an inheritance tax of potentially 40 per cent, according to British tax and financial adviser The Fry Group.

While some of the tax changes are immediate, others are undergoing consultation and are expected to be implemented next year.

For instance, as of March 21, the stamp duty on property sold for more than £2 million is 7 per cent, up from 5 per cent. The duty for a company buying such a home has tripled to 15 per cent.

Companies are also expected to be subject to an annual charge ranging from £15,000 to £140,000 for homes above £2 million. In addition, a capital gains tax on non-UK entities is likely to come into force next year.

Mr Jonathan Conder, head of private client at law firm Macfarlanes, said its clients are likely to take their existing properties out of companies over the next year to avoid paying the annual charges and capital gains tax.

But foreign investors thinking about new purchases will have more issues to confront.

'We are already seeing an impact with an increase in demand for properties between £1 million and £2 million where you have the normal rates of stamp duty without the annual tax or capital gains tax exposure,' Mr Conder said.

Investors are also considering commercial property, which is not affected by the tax changes.

KhattarWong managing partner Gurbachan Singh said he is still waiting for the policies to be finalised before deciding on what advice to give clients.

'We are telling our clients 'don't panic, there are solutions but please be aware that you need to do something'. The old habits have to change and that is important,' he added.

Marketing agents said most London projects bought here consist of apartments under £1 million.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is marketing a Kensington High Street project in London here this week. Ms Doris Tan, JLL's director of international project sales, said the 15 units snapped up on Thursday, its first day of launch, cost between £1.5 million and £1.9 million.

'Most of these buyers are investors so they won't want to incur more cost by buying something more than £2 million. The new tax will definitely make buyers think harder and they will hesitate a bit on apartments of that price.'

Mr Martin Rimmer, tax manager at The Fry Group, added that the tax changes have not fundamentally changed the value that investors see in UK property, with interest 'as strong as ever', partly in the light of a strengthening Singdollar against the pound.

[email protected]

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.

[CP5211]

Feb 8, 2012 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Singaporean property buyers and investors have been urged to
be cautious when buying property in London amid on-going
concerns they are sometimes paying too much for homes in
undesirable locations.
Buyers from Southeast Asia are currently responsible for more
than 40 percent of off-plan purchases in London, with
Singaporeans responsible for a quarter of that figure. Many of
these properties have been transacted at one of the numerous
exhibitions which have taken place during the past couple of
years.
Prices at these exhibitions are often what one agent described as being “full prices”, meaning units are
offered without the discount that would be on offer to a British buyer. Developers understand that
London is extremely popular with Singaporean property buyers, and as such feel no real need to offer
discounts.
Some 18 months ago reports began to surface that property buyers from Southeast Asia, some of whom
were from Singapore, were being misled by agents and developers. One agent, James Moss of Curzon
Property Investments, was forthright in his claims. He said, “People are being ripped off because they are
paying for properties that aren't actually in the best locations and are not getting the rental income they
were told they were going to get by estate agents.”
Things don’t seem to have changed much since then.
Camilla Dell, Managing Partner of Black Brick Property Solutions, told PropertyGuru this week, “It is often
the case that new build developments are sold on overseas road shows in the Far East before being
offered on the London market. We caution investors against buying off-plan at weekend launches,
especially in locations they are not familiar with. We have come across many disappointed buyers, who
have bought off-plan, and then come to London, only to realise what they bought isn't what they thought
it was.”
Part of the problem is location. London is a large city and those who are unfamiliar with its geography are
the ones who are most likely to end up with something far less than they hoped.
Dell, who acts as a buyers’ agent in the UK capital, added, “Often developers will advertise a new
development as prime Central London when the reality is very different. We have seen evidence of
developers playing around with tube maps to make it look like their development is close to well-known
landmarks.”
She added that some developers are offering big rental guarantees that look attractive, but in reality are
masked within the asking price.”
Juliet Rawlings of Rawlings Property Consulting agreed that some rental promises are often totally
unrealistic. She cited another issue with buying off-plan developments for rental returns.
“Developers tend to offer furnishing packs, so you end up with a block where the only thing a tenant can
choose from is whether they like a green sofa or cream sofa. The developer is sometimes the furnisher
supplier too and the quality is sometimes not great.”
Urging that potential buyers really do their homework about the location, she added, “A property in a
‘Grade C’ area may well not be worth what you paid for it, as those areas are not increasing in value.
Council taxes in badly run boroughs can also be high, so when taken into account with increasing travel
costs, tenants are not getting the cost savings they might have initially hoped for. You then end up with
landlords getting worried and desperate, and Housing Benefit tenants move in and that immediately
devalues the development."

[DC33_2008]

British developer should arrange a London's property tour for their prospective buyers just before the olympic.

[sunnycarp]

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Why invest in London?

1. Strong Demand for London properties, and lack of supply, means upward pressure on prices
2. London will be achieve full conversion to the yuan by 2016, meaning more Chinese investor funds will flow into London after 2016, meaning property prices will be pushed up.
3. Singaporeans make up the biggest group of London property buyers, just after UK citizens themselves. Singaporeans make up 22% of all London property transactions.


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[mcmlxxvi]

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