At Scipio Services, we offer bespoke consultancy and real estate advisory services to your organization as you seek to enter the emerging Myanmar market.  Our consultants have years of experience in Myanmar who work with you to locate your commercial office space then residential properties.  



​Commercial Office Space in Yangon, Myanmar
Sole-purposed commercial office space in Yangon is limited, few world-class business towers exist, and hotels which formerly occupied offices have been opting to convert back to renting nightly rooms as leases come due.  The result is a fierce competition for the organizations that must operate to a level of premiere identity, and business towers demanding a premium rate with sometimes extraneous fees.  Organizations that choose not to afford the business towers have opted to find second tier hotels, or they have taken large walled residences.  The movement to large residences has put an added stress on the available residential market.



​Real Cost of Commercial Office Space in Yangon, Myanmar
Payment terms vary for commercial one-year leases because the business towers structure these terms as a way to compete for occupants.  That being said, the equivalent terms are normally 50% down payment or paid in advance.  A three month security deposit is normal but also varies, and some properties charge a 13th month whereas others charge an inflated cost per square foot or maintenance and electricity fees.

The most important consideration is the difference between the advertised price per square foot (sq. m) and the evaluated actual price per square foot (sq. m) when making a decision.  We've found the actual rate per square foot to be 6%-17% higher than the rate advertised.



​Understanding Agent/Broker Commissions in Yangon, Myanmar
A lease is normally structured by one or two agents/brokers; with one representing and marketing on behalf of the seller and the other representing the buyer.  In almost all instances a prospective occupant must work through an agent/broker.  Sometimes, the occupant will never meet the landowner except to sign to the lease agreement and transfer the payment.  The standard residential fee to a prospective occupant is a 13th month.

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​Current Real Estate Market in Yangon, Myanmar
Real estate in Yangon is currently a seller’s market.  A 2012 report by Myanmar Survey Research showed the price of land in Yangon increased nearly five-fold from 2002 to 2011, though informal analysis of the market for corporate offices and expatriate residences seems to indicate that actual prices increased even more aggressively in the last 18 month period.
 

​Future Real Estate Market Outlook in Yangon, Myanmar
With no conclusive study completed and published, gauging the trend for prices in the coming years is difficult.  A few large residential and commercial projects have been announced to break-ground in the coming months that could relieve some of the stress on supply, but these projects are advertising completions by 2015 and in the meantime only a few office conversions from retail space have provided relief. 

On the demand side, organizations from the Asian region are ratcheting up their involvement and western organizations are increasingly stepping in ever more frequently as we approach 2015.   Given the current near-exponential trend in market rates, we expect prices to continue their trend upward for commercial and even more so for residential at an alarming rate until 2015.  Though largely dependent upon the continued diplomacy, reform process, security situation, and 2015 elections, we hope to experience a deceleration in the upward trend by mid-2015 for our clients.