Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Property Sector - RM1mil floor price for foreigners? OVERWEIGHT


- According to the press, the government is considering setting a RM1mil floor price for foreigners vs. the current minimum price of RM500k in an effort to control the rise in property prices. 

- In addition to that, the revised guidelines would also consider a slightly lower base price threshold of RM800k for residential properties in selected economic corridors, namely Iskandar Malaysia, to ensure the success of these corridor hotspots.

- According to a news report that cited unnamed sources, the revised guidelines have already been discussed at ministerial level.

- While we believe this is a good move so as not to crowd the RM500k range and which should provide less competition to middle-income earners, foreigners still account for a small percentage of property buyers in Malaysia. 

- Additionally, foreigners tend to acquire properties in the RM1mil bracket given the large price discounts compared to prices in the overseas markets.

- Furthermore, concerns about a property bubble is very much subdued ever since the introduction of responsible lending by Bank Negara Malaysia. We believe that the recent high property prices itself have deterred speculative activities and this is evident in a lower transaction volume.

- On the flipside, our on the ground checks recently revealed that demand continues to be strong for landed residential units priced between RM400k and RM600k, although some buyers have seen their loan approvals rejected due to the new lending guidelines by BNM.

- We maintain our OVERWEIGHT stance on the property sector, with IJM Land (FV: RM4.00/share) as our top pick. The launch of Canal  City in July may see IJM Land generating at least RM2bil in new sales every year as we believe Canal City would provide RM600mil to RM1bil in new sales yearly.

- We also have BUY on IGB Corp, CapitaMall Malaysia Trust and Al-Aqar KPJ REIT. We have HOLD on S P Setia, Bandar Raya Developments, Sunway, Glomac and Pavilion REIT. 

Source: AmeSecurities 

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