SHARES of Asian property developers, down since the United States credit crunch spread to the region, have been "oversold" and are now at attractive enough prices for long-term investors to buy, according to the Macquarie Group.

Real estate stocks in the region are trading at about a 45 percent discount to their net asset value estimated by Macquarie and the expected fall in property prices next year has already been factored into share prices, the Australia-based company said yesterday.

"We think the worst may be over for listed property stocks," said Matt Nacard, the Hong Kong-based head of regional property research at Macquarie. "Timing is right on a long-term view given how much listed prices have fallen."

Property prices in Asia are falling after the global credit crunch caused banks to tighten lending to home buyers and stock markets in the region to plunge, Bloomberg News said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Property Index, which tracks the city's six biggest builders, has declined 33 percent since the end of June. Interest rates at a seven-year high reduced home sales in India by as much as 25 percent in the third quarter, Macquarie said, and Tokyo residential property prices are said to be poised for a major decline.

Current stock prices indicate residential prices and retail and office rents will fall by between 30 and 50 percent, according to Macquarie.

"If the 2009 outcome is any better than that, which we think it will be, the listed stocks are worth buying," Nacard said.

Macquarie's top picks in Hong Kong include Hang Lung Properties Ltd, the city's third-biggest by market value, and billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd.