If you look around the region right now you'd realize this isn't a great time to be in property stocks. Victor Kwok, regional property analyst at SBC Warburg in Hong Kong, agrees that interest-rate hikes could affect certain markets, particularly Indonesia. In many markets, there are more immediate problems. The situation has been exacerbated by interest-rate rises in the last 18 months and tighter monetary policy. In Malaysia, there is an oversupply coming up in the office segment and to a slightly lesser extent in the luxury-condo market.
Most analysts say it is still best to wait.
With the exception of a few selected stocks, I'd sit on the fence for the next few months before accumulating stocks at bargain-basement prices. Six months of fence-sitting might mean you'll probably see cheap and ripe fruits falling into your lap. Gin is totally avoiding Indonesian property stocks. Housing purchases are up this year. But given the current political uncertainty, it is difficult to be bullish on property stocks.