Where to live and work in Yangon?

March 1, 2012-Accomoda..on

   

     The increased inflow of foreign investment and long-stay foreigners to Myanmar has had a li..ing effect on the rent prices for accommoda..on, although the major infrastructure problems related to it remain.

       Rentals in Yangon, the country’s commercial center contribu..ng 23% to the national GDP have been going up since early December 2010, with some rent prices as high as US$5,000. The price varies on type of accomodation (house, condominium, apartment), location but addi..onal charges for generator use due to frequent power cuts have to be counted in.

     The most expensive area with rather luxurious houses is the Golden Valley in Bahan Township. It is a residential area with everything within walking distance: schools, spas and shopping centers. This area is favoured among foreigners.There are serviced apartment residences constructed specifically for rent by foreigners.

        They include Marina Residence, MiCasa, Sakura Residence, Espace Avenir, Golden Hill Towers. In addition to mainly one or two bedroom apartments, these residences provide other facilities as gym, swimming pool, children’s playground, restaurant and security. They are also reliable in terms of electricity and water supply as they have generators and water reservoirs and these charges are usually included in the rent price. Price rents for these apartments have made a jump in 2011 along with a hike in electricity charges and general inflation. They can be rented now starting from $2,000 up to $3,000-3,500 per month. Most of these residences are fully booked with some having waiting lists.

       Apartments and condominiums are more affordable in terms of rent with most Myanmar people drawing the distinction between the two by availability of elevators (no elevator – apartment, elevator- condominium. However, there are also other differences such as availability of security and parking spaces with apartments usually lacking these facilities. Rental prices of apartments in condominiums start at $500 to $2,000 per month. The best places to rent an apartment in a condo for foreigners are along upper Pyay and Kabar Aye Pagoda Roads as these are the two busiest vital roads in Yangon. 

      Rents in condos in downtown are cheaper with the area being very crowded and subject to more frequent power cut-offs but providing access to outdoor markets and rather inexpensive shopping. The most famous condominiums in Yangon are Shwe Hinthar, Ocean both being on Pyay Road, Pearl Condominium on Kabar Aye Pagoda Road Road and Blazon Condominium on U Wisara Road. In some of these condominiums generators have to be installed individually which is also true for water reservoirs. 

     Foreigners can also rent long]stay serviced apartments at hotels which are more expensive than apartments in condos but less expensive than in residences. They are usually two or three hotel rooms combined into an apartment with a small kitchen. These apartments come with other facili..es such as swimming pool and gym, o..en unavailable at condos. The majority of these hotels are run by foreign companies under a build, transfer and operate agreement.

    Apartments provide the cheapest accommoda..on with some rentals being as cheap as $80 per month but there are more dangers associated with them. The biggest one is the quality of construction with most of the apartment buildings looking worn out due to the poor quality of construction materials. Another factor is that only a few of these apartment buildings have prime locations which means facing commuting in Yangon with its increasingly heavy and mostly unregulated traffic and poor condition of roads.

     While residences and hotels can be contacted directly for possibility of ren..ng an apartment, condo rentals are usually done through a broker who charges a one to two month rent for their services. A contract is usually signed for

one year.

      Construction sites are springing up all over Yangon providing hope of relief from the current conges..on in accommoda

..on. New luxury condominiums and housing projects are being launched with the Pun Hlaing Golf Estate being on the top of the list. These projects are directed at absorbing the rise in demand for accommoda..on from foreigners. Office Rental

While ren..ng an appropriate apartment is a challenge, ren..ng an appropriate office space in Yangon is a chase a..er a rare game. Only two office buildings stand up to interna..onal criteria:

1) Sakura Tower located downtown and owned by a Japanese company rents offices mostly to interna..onal companies.

The rent varies from 40 to 45 dollars per sq.m. The building is 10 years old so it uses adsl internet connec..on

with the possibility of installing fiber op..cal internet individually. There is a parking space.

2) Centre Point Towers is a more recent construc..on by a Thai company whose office tower had an opening ceremony

in 2010 although construc..on at the site started back in 1995. The hotel tower has not been opened yet. The commercial tower provides up to 15,500 sq.m. of office space and 2500 sq.m. for boutiques. The hotel will be the largest hotel in Yangon. There are already several foreign companies seating inside the tower. Office rent is 30 dollars per sq.m. for non]renovated office space and$42 for renovated one. So the company can choose to do renovation by itself. A contract is signed for three years with a 6] months deposit which is lost completely if a company leaves the first year, and par..ally (a half of the deposit) if a company leaves the second year and the deposit is paid back the third year of the rent. The sites owner expects to rent whole floors or half floors in the future so this is more suitable for larger companies. The current major drawback is that the access to the office tower is denied a..er 8pm which can create a communications problem for a foreign company with head office in Europe, for example.

     Central air condi..oning is cut off a..er 6pm. The office tower boasts of a fiber op..c internet which is faster but a larger company may have to buy more internet traffic.There are other office buildings like Pansodan Office Tower but they are older and smaller and have smaller parking spaces and out]dated communicaons. Houses and apartments and rooms in hotels are also available for rent for business; however, the la..er may stop renting new office space due to a large inflow of tourists into the country. When renting a house or an apartment location is the foremost criteria which impacts power supply and even the possibility to

connect to fiber op..cal internet. In this terms Pyay Road is the best loca..on for a company with very insignificant or no power cuts. Installation of a generator would be a necessity for a company renting in downtown area.

Ref:thuraswiss