Friday 10 May 2013

Foreigners await condominium law to buy apartments

Foreigners are waiting for Parliament to pass the condominium law as they are more interested in buying condo and apartments compared to other types of accommodations in Myanmar, according to the construction companies in Yangon.


The Japanese investors also showed great interest in buying condominiums, they said.

Most of the foreigners, who have been living here for a long time, rent condominium apartments rather than stay at hotels.

A high number of foreigners have recently arrived in the country for investments and business projects in the country as the United States and European Unions eased sanctions against Myanmar to support its reform process.

Those foreigners prefer buying condo apartments to lands and other types of houses for a number of reasons.

“Foreigners don’t buy other houses, because their sales contract is just signed by the buyer and seller. The government doesn’t acknowledge it. In other countries, government legalizes the sales contract and acknowledges the ownership. When the condominium law comes out, the foreigners may be able to buy condo apartments obtaining ownership. So, they are waiting for the law,” an executive from Shine Construction said.

“Now, foreigners are interested in even those condominiums which are located in [the suburban townships of Yangon] Kamayut, Hlaing and Mayangone. But it is difficult as the condominium law hasn’t come out,” he added.

High price of lands for foreigners is another reason for their growing interest in buying condo.

“In my condo, some foreigners rent apartments for years. Many of them are interested in buying the condo apartments. They are waiting for the condo law. Once the law is passed, condominium prices will rise,” Ma Thet Thet Naing, Director of Asia Express Company which built Pearl Condo in Yangon said.

Myanmar officials have drafted the condominium law, but the Parliament has yet to approve the bill. It will allow the foreigners to buy those apartments on sixth floor and higher than that of the buildings. The bill also includes the section for the sales contract to be acknowledged by the government. Condominiums will also be allowed to be used as collaterals when borrowing loans and debentures from banks, according to the bill.

In Star City Housing Project near Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Thanhlyn township, Japanese, US and UK companies are planning to buy condo apartments to open their offices, and the Japanese are explicit about their interest, Gabriel Cheng, Project’s Director of Sales and Marketing, said.

In Yangon, a square feet of condo apartment is currently around 150,000 to 200,000 kyats (US$220) depending on location. Some foreigners said condominiums in Myanmar are still more expensive compared to international prices.

Condo prices differ according to the facilities it provides such as swimming pool, parking, and garden. An average condo apartment on Pyay road is around 570 million kyats (US$647,000), according to the construction companies.

source: Eleven Myanmar

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...