SINGAPORE - Singapore remains the centre of choice in Asia for long-term investors seeking stable real estate investment returns, according to a new survey by iProperty.com.

Almost half those responding to a poll conducted by the Australia-based Asian property market research specialist said they expected prices in Asia to increase over the longer term with the island nation remaining an attractive investment, however, 42% said they anticipated short-term price decreases and instability.

To reinforce the claim, iProperty added its research found the majority - 85% - indicated they were looking to benefit from recent revaluations in Singapore by buying into the market there in they coming year.

The survey asked investors in the Asian region how they viewed the current market and the criteria they used to assess potential investments. Location came out on top followed by valuations and rental income - the barometer for long-term investors.

The research could be considered good news for Singapore as was recently singled-out alongside Tokyo and Hong Kong by analysts as the three main Asian markets likely to suffer the most from the current global financial crisis.

That said, a different approach means the scale of decline in Asia could be far worse than in other global markets like London and New York, where the immediate fallout has been to cut back on staff levels.

Analysts predict Asian centres will instead postpone expansion plans in a bid to contain losses and ride out the storm.

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