Despite rising costs, a number of big construction projects were completed in 2005, including Chan Tha Plaza, developed by Chan Tha Construction and located in Pazundaung township, Yangon.
THE property market in Myanmar remained steady in 2005, with none of the radical up and down changes that characterised 2004, said developers in Yangon.

The first half of 2005 saw little activity in the market as property sales and rental prices remained steady but the costs of house-moving services skyrocketed, the developers said.

From July to September the rental market stayed even but sales dropped slightly, while some developers were forced to delay construction projects due to an increase in the costs of building materials.

By August a growing number of buyers were looking at undeveloped land rather than houses and apartments, while interest was also shifting from Yangon’s downtown to outlying areas.

While in past years the property market picked up in October following the monsoon season, these expectations were not met in 2005 as the demand for real estate rose only a blip when the rains ended.

U Soe Myint, a Yangon-based developer who is widely known for making buildings of high quality and good design, said that although there has been a lack of activity in the real estate sector, the market has become more competitive.

“In the past, customers did not have much knowledge about the quality of buildings, but now they seem to know more and they know how to ask for good quality,” he said. “Now only those developers who sell buildings of high quality can survive.”

“Between 2000 and 2005 real estate turned into a buyer’s market, so now we try to find out what customers want out of us and we try to meet those demands.”

The best-selling properties throughout 2005 were those in the middle price range.

Human Settlement and Housing Development Department deputy manager U Myint Swe said the department had its best successes with low-cost projects aimed at buyers with midrange incomes.

“Apartments from our department are priced at K10 million, and detached houses sell for K25 million to K30 million,” he said. “In the coming year we will focus on the same type of buyers but the price of houses will increase to more than K30 million.”

Meanwhile, developers who cater to upmarket buyers said sales would be boosted by the implementation of some new housing regulations.

“I think only after we have something like a new condo law that would allow foreigners to own property here, will the market get active again,” said U Myint Naing, the managing director of Ngapali Enterprises Limited.

“Otherwise the property market will stay on a plateau in 2006.”

Developers said that the low demand for property has driven some companies to delay their projects, leading to the perception among some customers that developers are untrustworthy.

“In the past, many customers wanted to buy apartments before the whole project was finished, but now they are worried that developers will not finish their projects, so they prefer to buy only after the whole building is finished,” said U Myint Naing.

“That is why I develop my projects slowly and steadily, and plan to sell units only after the whole project is finished,” he said.