Research and Markets: South Korea Real Estate Report Q3 2012 - A Return To Positive Growth For South Korea's Construction Sector, With Real Growth For The Sector Forecast To Reach 3.2% In 2012

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/j7c7t7/south_korea_real_e) has announced the addition of the "South Korea Real Estate Report Q3 2012" report to their offering.

The South Korean real estate sector is back under the spotlight, and is likely to remain so for some time to come. The nation's successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics will see a renewed focus on the sector over the coming years in the lead up to the main event. More-likely-than-not, South Korea will also see a general increase in tourist arrivals as a result. In turn, this trend will prove to be a long-term boon to the construction and property industries.

Prior to the start of 2012, BMI's outlook for the South Korean real estate sector was rather subdued for 2012, with sources predicting slow growth across the board. Broadly speaking, Q112 has seen the sector continue on a trajectory close to the author's expectations. BMI notes, however, that there have been some changes. With economic growth continuing to decelerate - with the Q411 real GDP growth figure estimated by Bloomberg to have fallen to as low as 0.5%, from 0.8% in Q311 - BMI has once more downgraded its forecast for full-year GDP growth to just 1.9% for 2012, from what originally started as 4.2%. GDP growth came in at 3.7% y-o-y in 2011.

Key Opportunities

- The South Korea-United States free trade agreement is likely to provide greater export opportunities for the Korean manufacturing sector in the medium-to-long term, which could filter down to greater retail and hospitality real estate demand and uptake.

- Seoul's high-grade office space is expected to provide tenant-friendly rental rates for quality space to the end of 2012.

Companies Mentioned

- Golden Narae Real Estate Development Investment Trust

- GS Engineering & Construction Corporation

- KOCREF REIT

- Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction

- SK Engineering & Construction

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/j7c7t7/south_korea_real_e