亞洲各國紛紛給樓市降溫

英國《金融時報》 凱文•布朗 新加坡報道

由於擔心低利率和經濟快速增長正在亞洲許多地方引起泡沫，新加坡昨天采取行動，一年內第三次為其房地產市場降溫。

在這個島國發布公告前，香港、澳大利亞和中國也采取了類似行動。

然而，韓國在周末表示，將提振其房地產市場，以支持困境中的建築業。當地政府放鬆了低收入家庭的按揭貸款規定，並提供減免稅優惠。

在截至6月30日的一年中，新加坡私人住房平均價格上漲38%，超過在1996年6月時達到的此前最高點。新加坡擔心“炒樓客”推高了房價，因此推出最新舉措。

新加坡政府表示，將對三年內的房屋轉售征稅3%，而先前這個期限為一年。同時，它將二套房最低首付要求從購房價格的20%提高到了30%。

分析師表示，政府似乎最為擔心的是人們是否負擔得起由政府興建的公寓——約五分之四的新加坡人住在這樣的公寓中。在截至6月的三個月中，追蹤這些房地產銷售情況的新加坡建築發展局(Housing Development Board)“轉售價格指數”上漲了4.1%。

谘詢公司仲量聯行(Jones Lang LaSalle)東南亞研究負責人蔡炎亮(Chua Yang Liang)預計，公屋轉售的季度價格增長率將放緩至1%-2%，私人住房將放緩至2%-3%。

新加坡總理李顯龍(Lien Hsien Loong)表示，新加坡的目標是“確保長期來看，新加坡人能擁有自己的住房，供得起（這些住房），而且房子將成為一種逐漸升值的資產。”

執政的人民行動黨預期將在6個月內要求提前選舉，在新加坡從全球金融危機中複蘇後“趁熱打鐵”。

在香港，房地產價格自2009年1月以來已經上漲了約45%。本月早些時候當地政府提高了高檔房地產最低首付款比例，並釋出額外土地用於開發。

澳大利亞在4月份恢複了對外國人投資於對居住性房地產的限製。之前數月裏，許多澳大利亞人抱怨是外國人推高了房價。

中國給房地產市場降溫的措施或許是最強硬的，不過在地方層麵，這些措施的執行有一定的靈活空間。

總的看法是，在有明確跡象顯示價格出現下跌前，中國政府將保持其政策措施不變，部分是因為，太快逆轉立場可能會導致政府失去信用。

一些開發商預計，如果價格不下跌，那中國政府將推出如物業稅這樣的措施來給市場降溫。中國央行顧問夏斌周末表示，短期內中國樓市政策不會放鬆。

英國《金融時報》宋京雅(Song Jung-a)首爾、傑夫•代爾(Geoff Dyer)北京、彼得•史密斯(Peter Smith)悉尼補充報道

Key Asian markets strike early to ward off property bubble

Wed, Sep 01, 2010 AFP

SINGAPORE - Key Asian economies fearing a US-style housing market bubble are taking fresh measures to curb runaway property prices as the region leads the global rebound from recession. High domestic liquidity, cash-rich foreign investors and low interest rates have stoked demand, with prices for some sectors in Hong Kong and Singapore surpassing peaks seen in previous property booms. China is also trying to rein in buyer exuberance by tightening credit and imposing other regulations that make it tougher to buy and sell property. "On the whole, this is good news because this is a potential problem area and regulators are acting early on it," said Deborah Schuler, senior vice president and group credit officer for financial institutions with Moody's Investors Service, told AFP. "These are people who believe you should not wait for bubbles." The International Monetary Fund said in a report in June that booming Asian real estate markets "may pose risks to financial stability as banks are increasingly vulnerable to a price correction". "In addition, because the majority of mortgage loans in Asian economies carry floating rates, the widely anticipated rate hikes in the region may increase the burden on household balance sheets," it added. Singapore on Monday introduced new regulations to curb "flipping" - buying condominium units on easy credit and reselling them for a quick profit even before the property is built or opened for occupancy. A typical three-bedroom suburban apartment of around 100 square metres (1,100 square feet) that will be ready for occupancy in only two or three years now costs at least a million US dollars in Singapore. In Hong Kong, a similar property can cost twice as much. "We think that if we do nothing, there's going to be a bubble," Singapore's Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said. "And when the bubble bursts, not if but when it bursts, there will be severe implications for individuals as well as for the economy as a whole," he said. Singapore's latest measures are aimed largely at buyers who have at least one outstanding mortgage. The minimum cash downpayment was raised from five to 10 percent of valuation, while the maximum amount a bank can lend was capped at 70 percent, down from 80 percent. The balance can be taken from a buyer's pension fund. "This round of tightening appears to be the most draconian," said CIMB bank analyst Donald Chua. In Hong Kong, the territory's richest man Li Ka-shing snapped up in August two prime residential sites at prices well above market estimates. On Tuesday, another developer paid 165 million US dollars for a plot of prime land in the teeming Kowloon district. Hong Kong announced in August it would further increase land supply and tighten mortgage lending on top of previous measures announced last year. Home prices in the Chinese territory have surged nearly 45 percent from their trough at the end of 2008. Mainland China's property prices rose at a slower pace in July, suggesting policy measures to cool the sector may be having an impact. Beijing has tightened restrictions on advance sales of new developments, introduced curbs on loans for third home purchases and raised minimum downpayments for second homes. The measures will help prevent "drastic fluctuations" in the market, Agricultural Bank of China chairman Xiang Junbo said Monday. Asian economies have outperformed their Western counterparts in recovering from the global slump that started in late 2008. "In Asia in general, there are strong capital inflows because of the strong recovery in Asia and the disparate performances between the Western and Asian economies," said Ho Woei Chen, an analyst with Singapore's United Overseas Bank. Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International in Singapore, said more cooling measures may be necessary. "The liquidity problem is a global one. In Singapore, we are only starting to tackle this problem," he wrote in local newspaper Today. "Believe me, this is just the beginning."