London-based property advisor LondonDom is opening an affiliate office in Yangon, Myanmar, to service increasing demand for U.K. property from local buyers.
Managing Director George Shishkovsky will be heading to Myanmar this month to meet with potential clients. His company already has a track record in tapping overseas markets, having marketed prime central London properties to buyers in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan since 2004.
Speaking to the PrimeResi website Shishkovsky said: “In the 1950’s Burma was seen as one of the Asian economies with the most potential. But then due to the military regime, for over 50 years Myanmar has been a closed economy. The suspension of international sanctions and improved relations with the West has opened up amazing opportunities after years of economic isolation.”
According to Knight Frank’s recent Wealth Report, buyers from Myanmar already account for close to 1 percent of all buyers of £2 million properties bought in the UK in the 12 months to April 2013.
The Asian Development Bank estimates that Myanmar, on its current development path, can grow by up to 8 percent annually over the next 20 years, and super-rich research house Wealth-X forecasts that Myanmar will see a major leap in HNWI numbers in the coming years.
There are currently fewer than 40 HNWIs in the country, but Wealth-X and Knight Frank predict that the number will rise by 687 percent to 307 by 2022 thanks to the opening up of the nation’s economy. That’s the biggest increase in the number of HNWIs of any country, and these changes would put Myanmar firmly in the middle-income bracket of world nations based on per capita GDP.
Mykolas D. Rambus, Chief Executive Officer of Wealth-X:, said: ”Foreign firms are establishing a presence in Myanmar and opportunities to develop infrastructure, energy, international banking, and education should enable private enterprises to work with the government to develop the country.”
LondonDom’s Myanmar operation will be targeting wealthy buyers looking for homes in the united Kingdom, as well as investment properties.
Shishkovsky added: “Our initial market research shows that there is a roughly 50/50 split in interest between new build and period properties with budgets between £500.000 and £2.5 million. Some are interested in family houses outside of central London. Education in the U.K. is a big magnet to wealthy Burmese. Lots of them have strong links with Britain since colonial times.”
Source: Property Guru - http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2013/7/36147/myanmar-buyers-look-to-london