IMF praises Asia for real estate cooling measures

Asia's attempts at cooling the real estate market have been praised by the International Monetary Fund.

The United States-based group said concerns surrounding the possibility of overheated real estate markets in Asia are receding, although governments need to be aware of possible destabilising developments.

"Prudential measures appear to be taking hold," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report. "The growth of real estate transaction values has eased, and the share of real estate loans in new bank lending is also falling, although further monitoring of developments is warranted."

Published data for real estate sectors in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore indicated that prices were flat or, in some cases, slightly declining on an annual basis.

The IMF has also revised this year's growth forecast for Asia. It now predicts the region will grow by 7.5 per cent, up from its forecast in April of 7 per cent.

Taken from: Property Report (July 8, 2010)