View from CIMB on property sector - not bank house with vested interest
Where are we now in terms of valuations?
Share prices of Singapore developers have fallen 33% YTD vs. a 22% fall in the FSSTI in the same period. As investors continue to search for the bottom amid increasingly bearish outlook in the property sector, we turn to history as guidance on current valuations. While RNAV discounts and P/B ratios of some of the small-mid cap developers are starting to enter territories unseen in the last decade, we estimate, big cap property stocks are now trading at 30-40% discounts to their RNAVs, still far off from the 55-80% discounts to RNAVs in 1997-98 and 45-55% discounts to RNAVs in 2003. Based on historical trough levels, we think valuations in the sector may not have bottomed-out yet.
Share prices may not reflect all of the bad news yet. While stock valuations have taken a beating, physical prices have remained somewhat resilient amid very thin transaction volumes. As stock markets are typically forward-looking, more downside can be expected if physical prices begin to free fall. We believe more potential bad news on the worsening global economy and unwinding of speculative interests of properties could continue to weigh down on the sector. So far, we believe there haven’t been many cases of panic selling as yet. We believe the test will come in 2009 when more projects receive TOP status.