Question 1

What is the current policy on fees related to residential property transfer and mortgages in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

To reduce home purchase costs and stabilize the real estate market, the Thai government approved a significant stimulus measure in 2025: for eligible residential transactions, the transfer fee is drastically reduced from 2% to 0.01%, and the mortgage registration fee is reduced from 1% to 0.01%. This benefit mainly applies to residential properties with a total price not exceeding 7 million Thai baht, and the buyer must be a Thai national individual. The policy is expected to be in effect until mid-2026. This means that transaction costs for local first-time and upgrade buyers are significantly reduced, and developers can alleviate inventory pressure through higher transaction volumes. For foreign buyers, the nominal tax and fee benefits are not fully replicated, but the recovery in local demand helps support overall market sentiment and prices.

Question 2

What are the potential impacts of recent discussions on 'extending residential lease terms' for foreign buyers?

Accepted Answer

Discussions are ongoing within Thai policy circles and the industry to extend the traditional 30-year lease term to 50 or 60 years, or to allow renewal in a '30+30' format. If this issue is ultimately implemented, it will have two main impacts on foreign buyers: first, for foreigners who cannot obtain full ownership, long-term leases will become an asset allocation tool closer to 'quasi-ownership'; second, developers may design mixed products with 'ownership units + long-term lease units' on the same plot to match clients of different nationalities and budgets. The overall direction is to release space for self-occupancy and long-term holding funds by extending lease terms and reducing transaction costs, without encouraging short-term speculation.

Question 3

What policy signals has Vietnam recently issued regarding the housing and real estate market?

Accepted Answer

Since the autumn of 2025, the Vietnamese Prime Minister has repeatedly issued directives requiring ministries and local governments to take comprehensive measures: on one hand, to increase the supply of housing and land, accelerate the construction of ordinary and affordable housing projects, and strive to achieve or even exceed the target of 100,000 affordable housing units by 2025; on the other hand, to improve laws and administrative procedures related to housing, real estate, land, planning, credit, and taxes, reduce project approval times, and lower institutional transaction costs. At the same time, the government has explicitly required strengthening supervision over speculative housing purchases, land hoarding, and price manipulation, and enhancing market information transparency. These measures indicate that Vietnam has chosen to stabilize prices through 'increasing supply + controlling speculation' rather than simply imposing administrative price controls.

Question 4

Has Vietnam's attitude towards foreign homebuyers changed in this round of regulation?

Accepted Answer

Based on currently available public information, Vietnam has not tightened restrictions on foreign home purchases; instead, it is gradually expanding the scope of projects in which wholly foreign-owned entities can participate. For example, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi continue to announce new lists of projects where foreigners can purchase apartment units, with some new developments in core areas also being included in the list of properties available to foreign buyers. Under current rules, foreign individuals can typically purchase apartments and obtain usage rights for up to 50 years, with some regions allowing extensions upon expiration. Meanwhile, new laws emphasize regulating developer behavior and transaction supervision without prohibiting compliant foreign investment. For Chinese investors, this means Vietnam remains suitable for an allocation strategy focused on medium- to long-term rental income and urban development expectations, rather than short-term speculative funds.

Question 5

What are the continuity arrangements in Malaysia regarding housing finance and taxes?

Accepted Answer

Malaysia's housing policy for 2025 continues the main theme of 'supporting first-time homebuyers and curbing speculation': first, through credit guarantee schemes to improve the availability of loans for first homes, with some programs allowing loan amounts up to 110%–120% of the property price to help young families cover down payments and some transaction costs; second, by continuing to provide stamp duty reductions or exemptions for first-time purchases of homes below a certain value, significantly lowering the entry barrier for genuine demand; third, by maintaining higher stamp duties and real property gains taxes on high-value homes and short-term resales in some states to curb speculative transactions. Overall, the government aims to stabilize transaction volumes and price trends by supporting owner-occupier demand.

Question 6

What do these policies mean for overseas investors, particularly Chinese buyers?

Accepted Answer

For overseas investors, Malaysia presents both barriers and opportunities: on one hand, most states still set higher minimum price thresholds for foreign buyers, who do not enjoy stamp duty reductions for first-time purchases, making it more suitable for mid-to-high-end residential properties and investment-type apartments; on the other hand, local first-time homebuyer policies help expand domestic demand, stabilize long-term rental and resale markets, providing some support for investors holding mid-to-high-end projects. For Chinese families looking to balance living, education, and asset allocation, Malaysia remains a destination with a high degree of integration between 'lifestyle and assets,' but more detailed research is needed on location selection, school districts, and long-term population trends.

Question 7

What are the characteristics of Singapore's current tax framework for multiple properties and foreign buyers?

Accepted Answer

By the end of 2025, Singapore's regulation of the real estate market still relies on strong tax tools. For foreign individual buyers and local multiple-property buyers, the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty remains among the highest globally, with the total stamp duty burden for foreign individuals directly purchasing property reaching around 60% of the transaction price. At the same time, short-term holding and resale of residential properties still require Seller's Stamp Duty, with the highest rate reaching about 16% of the transaction price if the holding period is less than a certain number of years. For owner-occupiers, the government alleviates inflationary pressures through measures like property tax rebates, but these benefits are mainly targeted at owner-occupation and do not weaken the high tax constraints on investment purchases.

Question 8

In such an environment, how should the investment attributes of Singapore residential properties be understood?

Accepted Answer

High tax burdens and strict loan restrictions make Singapore residential properties more suitable as part of an "identity + lifestyle" scenario rather than pure income-generating assets. For ordinary investors, without considering immigration or children's education, rental income alone often cannot cover the high upfront taxes and ongoing holding costs; capital appreciation is also strongly suppressed by policies, showing characteristics of slow growth, differentiation, and strong regulation. Therefore, Singapore residential properties are more suitable for high-net-worth families for self-occupation or comprehensive planning, while investors participating in Singapore's real estate market can consider involvement through REITs, commercial properties, or equity-based products, rather than simply buying an apartment expecting high returns.

Question 9

What is the key development in Japan's real estate registration field this week?

Accepted Answer

In early December, Japan's Minister for Digital Transformation reaffirmed that a "buyer's nationality" field will be added to the future real estate registration database to uniformly record property holdings by buyers of different nationalities. Currently, buyers do not need to declare their nationality when registering apartments or houses, making it difficult for the government to accurately answer questions such as "how much property is held by foreigners and in which areas." The planned database is expected to go live after the 2027 fiscal year, with the Digital Agency leading the system design in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. In the short term, there will be no fundamental changes to the current buying and selling processes, but in the medium to long term, Japan will shift from a focus on "price and transaction volume only" to a regulatory model that involves "detailed analysis by nationality, region, and purpose."

Question 10

How does this system affect Chinese buyers and structures using Japanese corporations to hold properties?

Accepted Answer

For Chinese buyers purchasing properties in their personal names, they will need to provide nationality information when handling real estate registration in the future, effectively turning previously difficult-to-track foreign investment in real estate into explicit data that can be directly searched in the database. In the medium to long term, if it is found that rapid price increases in certain core areas are highly correlated with buyers of specific nationalities, the government may implement adjustments through differentiated taxes or transaction regulations. For Chinese structures that hold properties through Japanese corporations, in the short term, the registration will still show the property under the name of a Japanese company. However, as requirements for disclosing "beneficial owners" increase and banks and tax authorities tighten scrutiny of large cross-border funds, the practice of hiding nationality through multiple layers of shell companies will become increasingly unsustainable. Overall, Japan still allows foreigners to purchase real estate, but the regulatory focus is gradually shifting toward information transparency and risk identification.

Question 11

What residency and tax framework does Dubai currently offer through real estate investment?

Accepted Answer

Dubai continues to maintain its very investor-friendly package in 2025: first, a real estate investment of 2 million dirhams qualifies for a 10-year renewable golden residency visa, allowing the inclusion of spouse and children, and in some cases, parents; second, there is no personal income tax, capital gains tax, or property holding tax at the individual level, with the main transaction costs being a one-time transfer fee and related administrative expenses; third, there is high freedom in foreign exchange inflows and outflows, facilitating global asset allocation. Overall, Dubai remains highly attractive as a destination for global asset allocation through its combination of 'high returns + residency + tax-friendly' policies.

Question 12

What new developments have other Gulf countries recently made in golden residency policies?

Accepted Answer

A notable case this week is Bahrain: authorities announced a reduction in the minimum real estate investment threshold for the golden residency visa, lowering it from approximately 200,000 Bahraini dinars to about 130,000 Bahraini dinars, while maintaining a 10-year renewable long-term residency right that allows holders to work locally and achieve family reunification. Compared to Dubai, markets like Bahrain have slightly less developed infrastructure and international recognition, but the lower threshold holds appeal for investors with limited budgets who seek long-term residency in the Middle East and opportunities for diversified asset allocation. This indicates that competition in the Gulf region is heating up in terms of 'exchanging residency rights for long-term capital'.

Question 13

What are the major trends in policies regarding cross-border property acquisition and investment immigration in Europe and the United States?

Accepted Answer

In recent years, Europe and the United States have generally moved towards a 'tightening + screening' approach in cross-border property acquisition and investment immigration: many countries are gradually phasing out traditional residency-by-investment programs, such as Spain officially terminating the real estate pathway in its Golden Visa program in 2025, while Portugal is shifting investment focus from residential properties to industrial, research, and fund investments. Meanwhile, the U.S. federal government and some states have enacted or are pushing for legislation to restrict investors from specific countries from directly or indirectly purchasing farmland and properties near sensitive facilities, with national security concerns becoming a core consideration. This indicates that the simple linkage between real estate and residency in Europe and the U.S. is being dismantled, with tax systems and security reviews emerging as new key variables.

Question 14

What implications does this have for Chinese investors allocating assets in European and American real estate?

Accepted Answer

For Chinese investors, European and American assets still offer advantages in terms of legal environment, transparency, and long-term stability, but they are no longer suitable as the sole 'safe haven.' On one hand, it is necessary to incorporate risk premiums for policy uncertainty and security reviews into investment decisions, conducting scenario tests for potential additional taxes, disclosure requirements, and purchase restrictions. On the other hand, residential properties in core cities and high-quality assets in Europe and the U.S. can be viewed as a 'hedging and diversification layer' within a global portfolio, while allocating more incremental funds to regions with relatively clear policy directions and stable foreign investment logic, such as Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Gulf region, to mitigate political and policy risks associated with a single jurisdiction through a multi-regional portfolio.

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