Myanmar’s real estate market has slowed in recent months. In a bid to rejuvenate the market, regulations soon to be enacted on 2016’s Condominium Law will allow foreigners to take stake of up to 25 percent in a condominium property, said U Nway Hmu, Deputy Director of the Housing Division, under the Urban and Housing Development Department.

Discussions are underway to clarify the the new regulations’ rules before they are enacted, then the real estate market should heat up again, U Nway Hmu said.

The Condominium Law states that buyers will be able to own land in proportion the unit they have purchased. But the Attorney General's Office advised this will be amended to allow foreigners ownership only within the life span of the building, U Nway Hmu told The Myanmar Times. The new law dictates for foreigners, the condominium land area must be more than 2000 sq ft and more than six storeys tall.

Pre-construction unit sales can only begin after condominium builders notify the registration officer, which is after 30 percent of the foundation of a new project has been laid. The money from pre-sale purchases must be deposited into the bank and used for building construction purposes only, said U Nway Hmu. The law also states that construction companies are discouraged from speculation and must sell at least 75 percent of each property project.

U Sai Khon Naung, deputy chair of Myanmar Real Estate Development Association, said the Condominium Law rules could also include high-rise buildings, facilitate inheritance issues, get land-ownership permits, and help to apply for insurance and bank instalment loans. Construction companies will be able to register their buildings before the law is issued, and if they are in line with the new law, they will be regarded as condominiums.

This article was first published on The Mingalar Real Estate Conversation

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