Safe investments in times of uncertainty

Those who have money to invest may seek opportunities other than bank deposits, which are unattrac¬tive given the high rates of inflation.

Property investment is an option for those with cash in hand, looking for longterm opportunities, as it can generate reasonable rental yields along with possible capital gains.

The critical element is timing and identifying the right property. Pricing alone is not the top priority.

Historically, most Agrade prop¬erties in prime locations have rarely declined in value and do not often become available. Property invest¬ment has made millionaires of many people who simply held on to welllocated properties as cities expanded and demand for such properties increased and drove up prices.

As a result, once prime property does become available, one would need to act quickly.

The key factor in property invest¬ment is location. It is also important to consider the property's surround¬ings, access and convenience of infrastructure.

Under the current conditions, here are some good choices.

For individual investors, purchas¬ing condominiums is probably the simplest way to invest in property. Condominiums represent an excel¬lent investment opportunity with bet¬ter liquidity compared to other types of property.

The prices for future condomini¬um projects will continue to rise because of increased construction costs. Developers will launch new projects at prices 10 to 20percent higher than last year.

There are some projects that were launched more than a year ago where the developer was able to fix con¬struction costs at lower prices. Construction has progressed on some of these projects, reducing risk because they will be completed in the next 12 months.

The attractiveness to buyers of these projects is that the prices demanded by the developer are lower than the prices for more recently launched projects.

Newly launched projects in spe¬cific prime locations may be a good buy even at higher prices. An exam¬ple is Polo Park. Despite being an older building, buyer interest is always strong, especially as units rarely become available for sale. This is due to its location next to the Polo Club.

Baan Rajdamri, in a central loca¬tion with nice views of Lumpini Park, is another good example.

From a rental yield standpoint, many of the same concerns apply. Tenants place a premium on wellmaintained, wellmanaged and welllocated properties, which can pro¬duce yields of between 5 and 6 per cent.

Other investment opportunities include those for prime land, shops or commercial buildings in downtown areas or areas with high pedestrian traffic.

Another possibility is investing in hotels in prime resort areas. In fact, some of the highest returns are gen¬erated not by fivestar hotels but by threestar ones, catering to tourists and budget travellers.

For large investors, Agrade and Bgrade office buildings in the cen¬tral business district or near masstransit lines and the expressway are good bets.

Limited supply of new office space will result in higher rentals in the next 35 years.

Investors need to make sure they have considered all possibilities and are prepared for worstcase scenar¬ios. Investing in good property is not like being a day trader. The investor will need to be patient and in some cases returns may not achieve their desired levels right away.

However, no other asset class has proven to be as good a longterm investment as property.