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January 2011 Stamping out short term speculation
BARELY seven months after the Government imposed stamp duty for residential property sellers, the policy is being tweaked to further quell speculation.
Experts say that while this measure might increase costs for short-term speculators, it would have a limited impact on genuine long-term investors.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced yesterday that stamp duty will be imposed on those who sell properties within three years of purchase, up from one year previously.
This charge will be imposed in a staggered manner, with those selling their property sooner having to pay more.
The full duty, imposed for a sale within one year, is 1 per cent for the first $180,000, 2 per cent for the second $180,000, and 3 per cent for the balance.
A sale in the third year would be one-third of those charges.
CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said raising the sellers'' stamp duty period to three years reflects the Government's intention to cut the volume of short-term speculation without overly affecting medium and long-term investors.
ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim said, however, that this measure is not the most effective and significant of those unveiled yesterday.
''Over three years, if the economy is good, the price of your property should appreciate by more than the sellers'' stamp duty that you have to pay.''
The sellers'' stamp duty seems to be a modification of the capital gains tax introduced in 1996 to curb speculation in the property market, Mr Lim said.
Back then, the Government imposed - and later lifted in 2001 - income tax on gains which individuals made from selling properties within three years of purchase.
PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that the impact of the sellers'' stamp duty will be ''marginal'' since many buyers had already gone into the market with a mid-term perspective.
As a result, the one-year sellers'' stamp duty, introduced in February this year, had failed to have much impact, he said.
''It sends a strong signal not to speculate and provides more of a psychological impact that would help dampen sentiments... Some investors might still buy after doing their sums,'' he said.
OrangeTee head of research and consultancy Tan Kok Keong, however, said that the sellers'' stamp duty could be considered the most effective approach to weeding out speculative demand.
However, the measures are most effective when taken together, he said.
''The package in totality would force all buyers to re-assess the timing of their purchase and could lead to buyers taking a longer time to decide. Thus, we could expect some softening in market activities.''
31 Aug 2010 Measures to further cool Singapore home property market
SINGAPORE - The government has raised the holding period for imposition of Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) from the current one year to three years from Monday.
The latest move is part of the government's measures to temper sentiments in the very buoyant residential property market and to encourage greater financial prudence among purchasers.
For home property buyers who already have one or more outstanding housing loans at the time of the new housing purchase, they will have to pay a minimum cash value of 10 per cent of the property value, up from the previous 5 per cent.
The government has also reduced the Loan-To-Value (LTV) limit for housing loans by financial institutions - down to 70 per cent from 80 per cent. HDB loans for flats will still have an LTV cap of 90 per cent.
Details of the measures were announced in a joint press release by the Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Finance and the Monetray Authority of Singapore.
For residential properties bought on or after Aug 30 2010, sellers will have to pay the full SSD rate if the properties are sold within the first year of purchase - 1 per cent forthe first $180,000 of the consideration, 2 per cent for the next $180,000, and 3 per cent for the balance.
If the property is held for more than 1 year and up to 2 years – 2/3 of the full SSD rate will have to be paid.
If the property is held for more than 2 years and up to 3 years – 1/3 of the full SSD rate will have to be paid.
The Government will also continue to ensure that there is adequate supply of housing to meet demand. In the second half 2010, it made available sites that can yield about13,900 private housing units, the highest potential supplyquantum in the history of its land sales programme.
It will inject an even larger supply of private housing in the first half 2011, if demand continues to be strong.
31 Aug 2010 Tighter financing regulations will have bite, say experts
IF YOU already have a mortgage on a home, you will need more cash on hand to buy a second property - under new rules announced yesterday.
Buyers with one or more outstanding housing loans will now have to stump up a downpayment of 30 per cent of the property's price, up from 20 per cent previously. At least 10 per cent must be in cash - up from 5 per cent before - but the remainder can come from their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.
This means that buyers will now be able to borrow up to only 70 per cent of the property's purchase price, instead of 80 per cent previously.
These new financing rules are more significant measures to cool the housing market, experts said. They added that these moves would weed out speculative activity from the market and prevent buyers from overextending themselves - while leaving first-time buyers unaffected.
The Ministry of National Development said in a statement yesterday that while non-performing loans made up less than 1 per cent of all loans as at the second quarter, there are signs that more borrowers are taking loans of more than 70 per cent of a property's price.
Local banks yesterday told The Straits Times that they have seen an increasing number of home owners investing in multiple properties in recent years.
United Overseas Bank said most of these home buyers took up financing of up to 80 per cent of the purchase price.
OCBC Bank said that while the majority of its loan applications are for home-owner occupation, it has seen an increase in the number of applications for investment purposes - compared with a year ago. An increasing number of home-loan applicants have applied for loans of more than 70 per cent of the property price, it added.
Kim Eng analyst Wilson Liew said the new measures would ensure that banks remain prudent in their lending practices.
DMG & Partners property analyst Brandon Lee said the rules would also effectively force out speculators.
''They would have to think twice before buying as the cash outlay now is reasonably higher... Sales volume will probably be hurt across all segments,'' he said.
ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim said the measures would affect demand in the mass-market private property segment.
HSR chief executive Patrick Liew said speculators made up about 20 per cent of the mass-market segment, and that the new measures might flatten the sector for the next two quarters.
Demand could drop by up to 20 per cent in the next few months, as buyers react in a knee-jerk fashion and speculators stay on the sidelines, he said.
However, since economic fundamentals are strong and the market had already been slowing, he does not expect prices to head south.
Instead, Mr Liew thinks prices will hold at current levels before gradually increasing again from the second quarter of next year, because there is still genuine demand in the housing market.
ERA''s Mr Lim said that a significant number of mass-market condo buyers live in HDB flats with outstanding mortgages, so demand for such private homes might take a beating now that the required downpayment has been increased.
Mr Colin Tan, research and consultancy director of Chesterton Suntec International, said the steps ''had more bite'' than previous ones. It would most affect demand from high-risk buyers who are highly leveraged, he said.
''These measures will help to soak up the liquidity in the market as those who could previously afford three similarly priced homes, fully leveraged... would now be able to afford only two, lessening demand by a third,'' he added.
However, owners who are just selling their home to buy another need to get their timing right and ensure the first mortgage is fully paid before taking out a new loan.
If not, they will be allowed to take out only a 70 per cent loan for the new home and would have to pay the remaining 30 per cent upfront.
31 Aug 2010 Top cop to police real estate agencies
A TOP cop will help helm the new Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) - a regulatory body which is tasked to regulate the property agents.
Mr Soh Kee Hean, director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) since 2005, will be seconded to the Ministry of National Development (MND) to take up the position of deputy executive director (designate) of the CEA.
The new statutory board will be formed later this year and will take over the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore''s (Iras) role in licensing real estate agencies and their agents.
CEA will have the power to investigate consumer complaints against housing agents and agencies, and will have the authority to mete out penalties, such as suspensions and fines.
Rogue housing agents have plagued the property market of late, with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) receiving an average of over 1,000 complaints a year.
In the first four months of this year, Case received 358 complaints. Last year, 1,079 cases were brought to its attention, while the figure was 1,100 in 2008.
Complaints ranged from agents failing to give proper advice and using misleading sales tactics, to the non-honouring of agreements. There were other questionable practices, such as agents taking commissions from both buyers and sellers of flats.
There are about 25,000 real estate agents and 1,700 agencies in Singapore.
When contacted, local real estate companies welcomed the news.
ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim felt that Mr Soh''s new appointment will benefit the industry, by weeding out the crooks.
He said that as ''Mr Soh comes from a background dealing with corrupt practices'', he believed the intention was to tackle the problem of ''shady agents''.
Likewise, PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail felt that this move showed the determination of the MND in ensuring that the new council ''will work effectively in upgrading the professionalism of the real estate industry''.
Mr Soh, a former deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as well as a former commander of the Geylang Police Division, will be replaced by Mr Eric Tan Chong Sian.
Mr Tan, the commissioner of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), will relinquish his current position tomorrow and will take office as CPIB director on Oct 1.
When contacted, both Mr Soh and Mr Tan declined to comment as they have yet to take up their new roles.
Taking over Mr Tan will be Mr Clarence Yeo Gek Leong, the current deputy commissioner (operations) of ICA.
31 Aug 2010 Govt acts to curb speculators
A SERIES of sweeping measures designed to take the heat out of the booming property market and rein in investors and speculators were announced yesterday.
The buy-at-any-cost sentiment that has been boiling away in recent months is expected to take an immediate hit, with prices tipped to soften.
The restrictions, like cooling measures last September and in February, are designed to stop a housing bubble forming.
They target owners who try to sell - or flip - their properties for a quick buck, while those aiming to buy investment properties in addition to their existing home will find it far more costly.
The new rules - which came in yesterday - also make it harder for Housing Board and private home owners to dabble in each other''s markets.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who announced the moves, told a briefing: ''We think that if we do nothing, there''s going to be a bubble.''
He said the ''calibrated'' steps would stabilise the private property market and prevent it from overheating.
With Singapore''s strong economic growth expected to moderate in the second half, a property bubble will likely form if the current momentum in the market continues, said Mr Mah.
''And when the bubble bursts - not if - there will be severe implications for individuals as well as for the economy as a whole,'' he said.
''Furthermore, the very low interest rates we are seeing today are not sustainable. And when they eventually rise... there will be severe implications for buyers who have overextended themselves.''
He said the Government had taken several small steps to cool buying sentiment, unlike its ''big-bang approach'' in 1996, when tough measures like a capital gains tax caused a market crash.
''All the measures are meant to affect people who intend to buy and sell ... the speculators in the market,'' he added. ''If you are a genuine buyer, if you are an owner-occupier, to all intents and purposes, these measures will not affect you.''
Property experts believe the new rules will hit sentiment instantly, with buyers likely to hold back while prices of private homes and resale flats stabilise or even fall over the longer term.
''We may have an extended Hungry Ghost Festival this year,'' said Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng.
But first-time buyers will have reason to celebrate, as they may find fewer potential buyers competing with them and, possibly, softer prices.
Civil servant Joshua Yap, 28, is one: ''I will definitely resume my house search after putting it on hold for the past few months. I am very thankful for the measures because they will serve to cool the irrational market.''
The Government is also bumping up the supply of public housing, including executive condominiums.
The private housing market has so far resisted two earlier rounds of cooling measures. Private home prices surged 38.2per cent in the year to June, exceeding the historical peak of 1996.
Experts say many local buyers have been maxing out loans, but the new measures may prove a spanner in the works.
Buyers already servicing mortgages must now fork out double the cash amount to buy a second property, so the mass market private homes segment will be hit, say experts.
''The impact will be huge for the mass market as this is where the buyers do not have that much cash,'' said a developer, adding that the market for newly-launched, uncompleted private homes will be harder hit.
''For new project sales, I would say that the bulk of the buyers are those getting a second home. Now, upgraders will not be able to buy properties under construction if they don''t have the cash and CPF savings for the 10 (per cent) and 20 per cent down payment respectively,'' he said.
DTZ''s head of South-east Asia research, Ms Chua Chor Hoon, said: ''Developers are likely to lengthen the period of ongoing previews and soft launches to test the market.
''The impact will be felt more in the public resale and mass market segments due to the double whammy of a cutback in demand and increase in supply.''
The Real Estate Developers'' Association of Singapore said the new measures may affect affordability due to the higher upfront cash component, but will not hit genuine home buyers.
Cash-over-valuation levels in the HDB resale market are expected to dip, thanks largely to the huge upcoming supply of flats and a move barring private home owners from buying a resale flat while holding on to their private property.
Jones Lang LaSalle''s head of research for South-east Asia, Dr Chua Yang Liang, believes yesterday''s measures were motivated largely by the unabated rise in public housing prices. But demand should cool for HDB resale flats.
Some property consultants expect price rises for private homes to moderate. Jones Lang LaSalle forecasts that prices will now rise by 2-3 per cent per quarter for the rest of the year.
Others are less optimistic. Ms Chua believes mass-market prices will slip by a few percentage points over the next six months, citing the backdrop of uncertainty in the global economy, slower sales activity and growing price resistance.
Mr Tan added: ''When things are moving fast, there are people who feel that they are priced out of the private market. Now, their opportunity has arrived if prices flatten out or move south.''
Property share prices fell by about 4-5 per cent in reaction to the changes.
Asked if the new measures had to do with the upcoming general election, Mr Mah said: ''Housing has been a hot topic for as long as I can remember. (It is a) hot topic before all elections, and will be a hot topic in the next election, whenever that is.''
28 Aug 2010 Report Singapore home prices see fastest rise
It says home prices here rose 34 per cent in that period - registering the highest year-on-year rise since 1995. This put the Republic well ahead of Hong Kong, in the No. 2 spot, with a 21.42 per cent jump. These figures have been adjusted for inflation.
Mr Matthew Montagu-Pollock, publisher of Global Property Guide, said: ''It''s because of Singapore''s amazing economic growth... Housing markets respond to economic growth because people have more money in their pockets. They respond to interest rates and they respond to momentum.''
Global Property Guide compiles the ranking using data from 36 countries and territories - mostly official data that can be based on a particular housing type or a combination of housing types. In Singapore, it uses Urban Redevelopment Authority data, which covers only private homes.
Industry sources were sceptical about the ranking, given that it does not compare the same property types, for instance.
''For the ranking to be useful, you have to compare like for like. In Singapore, you''re talking about the top 20 per cent of the housing market whereas another country might not have public housing,'' said an industry source, declining to be named.
''But it''s possible that Singapore is among the top few when it comes to property price increases. It has strong growth fundamentals, the Government is stable, the property market is transparent and well-regulated and there''s no capital gains tax. It also has an open policy to attract talent.''
Said real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle''s research head for South-east Asia, Dr Chua Yang Liang: ''Based on anecdotal evidence, Hong Kong property prices seemed to have exceeded those in Singapore in the first half of the year.''
Knight Frank has an annual prime international residential index, which tracks global luxury residential prices by city. Last year, it shows that Shanghai had the steepest rise of 52 per cent, followed by Beijing''s 47 per cent and Hong Kong''s 40.5 per cent. Singapore was fifth, up 17 per cent.
The Global Property Guide report shows that Ireland had the steepest price falls of those covered. The housing recovery in Europe is patchy while North America is recovering at a snail''s pace and may see falling home sales.
The report said Asia''s strong economic growth, low interest rates and rising foreign demand fuelled skyrocketing house prices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. And these governments have responded by implementing anti-bubble measures.
Mr Montagu-Pollock was downbeat overall. ''...most markets are not worth buying right now. We think in general, it will last quite a long time. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are interesting. We keep saying don''t buy in these (areas) because the gross rental yield is low. And the prices keep going up.''
He added: ''The world has got to push housing prices down. The great conundrum is how to push them down without pushing the economy down.''
26 Aug 2010 Home sales soar but not property stocks
THE sizzling residential property market has failed to radiate its heat onto property counters traded on the local bourse.
So far this year, property developers have outperformed the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) by a mere 2 per cent.
The FTSE ST Real Estate Index, which tracks 43 property counters and real estate investment trusts, has done no more than closely shadow the STI.
A casual observer would have expected a far stronger showing by these stocks. After all, record prices have been achieved for mass market condominiums and sales have been brisk for new homes.
The sales figure last month rebounded by 82 per cent to 1,544 units from June to bring total sales for the first seven months to 9,957 units.
But property developers are trading at huge discounts to their valuations. One research house - DBS Vickers Securities - estimates the sector''s discount to valuations at a hefty 21 per cent. In contrast, three years ago, similarly buoyant sales had propelled real estate counters to trade at a premium to their valuations.
The depressed state of the counters is not confined to the local bourse. In Hong Kong, where residential property prices have been hitting record highs, property giants such as Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai Properties have had a similarly lacklustre run this year.
The malaise has affected all property counters, from regional plays with big exposure to red-hot markets like China to boutique developers with projects in Singapore.
Traders note that sentiment for real estate counters has taken a hit from various measures taken by markets, such as mainland China and Hong Kong, to dampen the speculative froth building up in their respective property markets.
On the mainland, these included measures to increase cash sums that lenders must set aside as reserves, as well as a clampdown on banks extending mortgages to borrowers who already own two properties.
In Hong Kong, they included a jump in the downpayment required for deals above HK$12 million (S$2.1 million) from 30 per cent to 40 per cent, and a move to increase land supply for developments.
Even the exuberance on the local property market appears to be tempered by caution among developers in their recent bids at land auctions.
DMG & Partners analyst Brandon Lee noted in a report yesterday that in the recent bidding exercise for a Yishun condo site, only the top bid was aggressive.
He said the other bids were all below expectations - a sign of developers'' wariness over potential oversupply as the Government releases more residential land.
Still, despite the angst over real estate counters, property giants with names recognised among international fund managers are doing fairly well.
They have fallen by a smaller margin from the record-high levels of 2007, compared with smaller developers.
For instance, City Developments has fallen 34 per cent since the record highs while CapitaLand is down 44 per cent.
But among smaller developers, Wheelock Properties and Allgreen Properties have slumped about 50 per cent, while boutique developer SC Global has plunged by 53 per cent.
In any case, future movements of counters are likely to be dictated by global considerations.
Poor existing home sales in the United States last month sent Wall Street into a funk yesterday, as the data raised fears of a return to recession in the world''s No. 1 economy.
But there are pockets of optimism among investors that the worst is over for the global property market. In a report last week, Henderson Global Investors said it believed the global real estate market is in the very early stages of a recovery and ''property share prices are currently at fair value, or in the fundamental context, considered to be a little cheap''.
It noted that in Asia, sentiment varies from Japan, where the property sector is in the doldrums, to China, where investors are afraid of policy tightening to deflate a potential real estate bubble.
Henderson''s advice to investors is to pick property stocks carefully as investors are not rushing into them, partly because of the general uncertainties worldwide, and the painful memory of the recent US property bubble.
24 Aug 2010 More buyers spend above 1 million on homes
MORE private home buyers are paying more than $1 million apiece for a property as prices climbed in the past year, a new report from DTZ shows.
The consultancy''s Q2 2010 residential report also said that the share of transactions involving purchasers with HDB addresses has stabilised at around the 34-36 per cent mark in the last three quarters - despite the increase in prices - as these buyers are now supported by the rising HDB resale prices.
And among non-Singaporeans, buyers from mainland China are closing in on Indonesians as the second largest group of non-Singaporean purchasers.
Buyers from Malaysia still made up the largest group of foreign buyers in Q2.
DTZ''s report is based on caveats lodged on private home transactions in the primary and secondary markets.
As of August 17, 9,437 caveats were available for analysis.
Buying sentiment cooled in May and June on the back of the European debt woes, local stock market jitters and an increased supply of land from the government land sales programme.
But despite this, the proportion of higher-priced homes that changed hands in the quarter continued to grow in Q2 2010.
The share of purchases for units that are at least $3 million edged higher to 10 per cent of all transactions recorded in the quarter, slightly higher than the 9 per cent in Q1 2010.
Most of the transactions were in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11.
More buyers also paid more than $1 million each for their new homes.
DTZ''s analysis shows that the proportion of purchasers with HDB addresses who bought units of above $1 million stood at 43 per cent in Q2, compared to 36 per cent in Q1 2010.
Similarly, purchasers with private addresses who made purchases of above $1 million climbed to 73 per cent from 69 per cent.
''This shift is due to prices having risen almost 20 per cent since Q3 2009, according to the residential property price index compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority,'' noted DTZ.
The report also said that 33 per cent of all private units transacted in the quarter were bought by purchasers with HDB addresses - way higher than the 22 per cent seen in 2007 when the property boom was led by the higher-end segment.
In contrast, the current buying wave is mainly in the lower end market segment which is buoyed by rising public housing resale prices - which allows for more HDB upgrader participation.
DTZ''s analysis also found that buyers from Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India made up 69 per cent of total transactions by foreigners and Singapore Permanent Resident (SPRs) in Q2 2010.
Malaysians accounted for 22 per cent of total transactions by non-Singaporeans in the quarter, unchanged from Q1 2010.
Historically, the Malaysians and Indonesians have been the two largest non- Singaporean purchaser groups.
But mainland Chinese buyers are closing in on the Indonesians.
Mainland Chinese buyers made up 17 per cent of non-Singaporean purchasers in Q2, slightly lower than the 18 per cent in Q1.
The Indonesians constituted 18 per cent of all non-Singaporean purchasers both in Q1 and Q2 2010.
The Interlace saw the largest number of foreign purchasers in Q2 2010, followed by The Laurels, Centennia Suites, Goodwood Residence and City Square Residences.
24 Aug 2010 Property launches picking up speed
13-Aug-2010 No bids for EC site in Jurong
Lack of interest a sign that developers have become more selective. An executive condominium (EC) site that experts thought might draw at least two or three developers failed to attract a single bid at the tender's close yesterday. The surprise lack of interest in the Jurong West site likely stems from the Government's recent decision to put a record number of sites up for tender in coming months, giving developers a wealth of choice. Bids were tipped to come in between $230 and $300 per sq ft per plot ratio for the 99-year leasehold site after strong interest in other EC tenders this year. But developers have become much more selective and the site is not particularly appealing, being next to the expressway with no amenities nearby and some distance from the MRT, said experts. ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim added: 'If the site is not attractive, developers would presume that it would be difficult to sell. So why take the risk?' A developer who declined to be named said: 'There are too many choices out there. You have only so much resources so you have to pick something that you can make money from.'
12 Aug 2010 Top bid for Ubi Rd industrial site springs a surprise
Oxley Rising offers $158.1m for 60-year leasehold site, double analyst estimates. Oxley Rising has emerged as the top bidder for a 3.5 hectare industrial site at Ubi Road 1. The company, which offered $158.1 million or $169 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 60-year leasehold site, trumped 10 other bidders including Qingdao Construction (Singapore) and Sim Lian Holdings. This is twice what analysts estimated the site could fetch when it was launched in June. Then, consultants reckoned that it could fetch $61-$75 million, or $65-80 psf ppr. 'The overwhelming interest in the land parcel could be due to (Singapore's) strong GDP growth of 18.8 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2010, driven by a 44.5 per cent year-on-year surge in manufacturing. This coupled with a robust take-up of 2.67 million sq ft of factory space in Q2 2010 could have created more interest in the land.
11 Aug 2010 Expect quiet month for property sales.
Ghost festival and lack of big launches spell lean month ahead, say experts. Supersitition is likely to get the better of some buyers during the rest of this month as the effects of the traditionally quiet Hungry Ghost Festival begin to be felt. During the festival - which started yesterday and will last until Sept 7 - superstitious individuals shun major commitments such as buying a property or getting married. And experts predict that this year's festival looks set to spell a lull in sales amid a lack of new major launches. This time last year, NTUC Choice Homes defied superstition with the successful launch of its 590-unit Trevista in Toa Payoh. But it is unlikely there will be any similar major launches to buoy sales during this year's festival, experts said. City Developments' 642-unit Pasir Ris project is planned for release in the current quarter, but no firm date has been given. No major launches were staged over the weekend.
27 Jul 2010 Sales of landed homes picking up
Sales of landed homes picking up. Surge in demand sees buyers paying higher prices, but rate of increase likely to slow. More buyers are picking up landed homes and paying higher prices amid the strong economic recovery. It found that 2,198 caveats were lodged for landed houses between January and June this year, which is more than 57 per cent of the 3,832 caveats lodged last year. And the total value of these transactions reached about $7.2 billion, which is about 75 per cent of the value of what was sold last year. More homes priced $5 million and above were traded this year. 'The surge in demand could be that purchasers are seeing better value in landed homes, as condominium prices have soared beyond peak levels'. Also, compared with prices of their non-landed counterparts, prices of landed homes were relatively stable during the recent economic downturn. Median landed home prices have increased by 6.2 per cent from $745 per sq ft (psf) in the first quarter to $791 psf in the second. The rise over the past year has been 31.4 per cent.
26 Jul 2010 Imbalance in HDB resale market: Mah
HDB resale prices should stabilise in a year or so: Mah. Prices of resale flats should stabilise in a year or so as the Housing & Development Board (HDB) releases a record number of new flats into the market. This was according to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who spoke on the sidelines of HDB's 50th anniversary celebrations at Tampines yesterday. Resale flat prices have been climbing in the last few quarters and they rose 4.1 per cent in Q2 from Q1 to a new high. There is an 'imbalance' in the resale flat market, Mr Mah said. With the economy doing well, demand for resale flats from both first-time buyers and upgraders has been strong. 'I hope that with HDB pushing out a record number of flats, this imbalance will be addressed over the medium term,' he said. There should be stability 'maybe in another year or so'. HDB will be launching 16,000 build-to-order (BTO) flats this year, 80 per cent more than in the previous year. Another 4,700 flats from executive condominium projects and the Design, Build and Sell scheme are potentially coming up. It would be hard to say how resale flat prices will move in the short term, Mr Mah said. 'The economy for the first half was very strong, but all indications are that it may not be so smooth going in the second half.' If the economy cools, 'the demand for housing will also slow down,' he said.
26 Jul 2010 HDB resale prices should stabilise in a year or so: Mah
Imbalance in HDB resale market: Mah. Record boost to supply should stabilise prices in about a year, he says. Prices of HDB resale flats are high at present because of an 'imbalance' in supply and demand, which should be redressed by the record number of flats being released by the HDB this year. The boost to supply should stabilise prices in about a year or so, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday, as he sought to address concerns over the cost of HDB resale flats, which has climbed steadily since 2008. Speaking on the sidelines of a community event in Tampines, Mr Mah attributed the surge to strong economic growth and demand from first-time buyers, such as newly married couples, and owners looking to upgrade to bigger flats. 'I think at this point in time, there's still an imbalance,' he said. 'I hope that with HDB pushing out a record number of flats this year, this imbalance will be redressed over the medium term. I would expect that in another year or so, we should be able to stabilise everything.' HDB launched almost 9,000 new build-to-order flats in the first half of the year, and will launch another 7,200 in the second half. The number is about 80 per cent more than for last year.
24 Jul 2010 Resale HDB flat prices hit new high
Resale HDB flat prices hit new high. Cash over valuation now $30,000 even as supply of new flats increases. Resale prices for HDB flats have smashed records for the eighth straight quarter with a surge of 4.1 per cent in the April to June period. Prices passed the 1996 peak back in 2008 and have not looked back since. And the march shows no sign of letting up, with median cash over valuation (COV) at a record $30,000 in the second quarter. This is 20 per cent ahead of the $25,000 in the January to March quarter. COV is the cash paid upfront by a buyer over a flat's valuation, and is often an indication of demand levels. The HDB figures out yesterday show resale prices are almost 18 per cent above the previous peak in the last quarter of 1996. Meanwhile, the HDB said yesterday it launched almost 9,000 new flats in the first half - equal to last year's total supply - and will launch another 7,200 in the second half to meet demand. It will launch 1,000 new flats in Jurong West and Bukit Panjang this month. The total home supply will be complemented by 4,700 new homes under HDB's design, build and sell scheme (DBSS) and recently sold executive condo sites. Despite this, resale activity keeps
24 Jul 2010 Private home sales slower, but prices up
Private home sales slower, but prices up. Prices hit new high, could rise further with economic recovery. Sales of private homes slowed towards the end of the second quarter but prices still kept heading north into record territory. Prices rose 5.3 per cent in the second quarter - above the preliminary estimate of 5.2 per cent and not far from the first quarter rise of 5.6 per cent. According to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released yesterday, prices are up 11.6 per cent since January and are expected to continue climbing although the pace may ease, said analysts. Prices are now at record levels, eclipsing the 1996 peak, after shrugging off a dip in sales that began in May when Europe's debt crisis rocked global stock markets, observers said. Rents were also rocketing - up 5.9 per cent in the second quarter to take the half-year rise to 10.9 per cent. Rents fell by 14.6 per cent last year.
24 Jul 2010 Private home sales slower, but prices up
Resale HDB flat prices hit new high. Cash over valuation now $30,000 even as supply of new flats increases. Resale prices for HDB flats have smashed records for the eighth straight quarter with a surge of 4.1 per cent in the April to June period. Prices passed the 1996 peak back in 2008 and have not looked back since. And the march shows no sign of letting up, with median cash over valuation (COV) at a record $30,000 in the second quarter. This is 20 per cent ahead of the $25,000 in the January to March quarter. COV is the cash paid upfront by a buyer over a flat's valuation, and is often an indication of demand levels. The HDB figures out yesterday show resale prices are almost 18 per cent above the previous peak in the last quarter of 1996. Meanwhile, the HDB said yesterday it launched almost 9,000 new flats in the first half - equal to last year's total supply - and will launch another 7,200 in the second half to meet demand. It will launch 1,000 new flats in Jurong West and Bukit Panjang this month. The total home supply will be complemented by 4,700 new homes under HDB's design, build and sell scheme (DBSS) and recently sold executive condo sites. Despite this, resale activity keeps growing. Transactions hit 9,114 in the second quarter, up about 7 per cent on the first. Nearly all deals involved cash paid upfront. The percentage of resale transactions done above valuation increased to 96 per cent, up from 93 per cent in the previous quarter. The pace being set by buyers and sellers has also prompted fresh concerns on whether the market is overheating.
31 May 2010 - Vision of future Singapore
A vision of future Singapore as a place which celebrates diversity, encourages community life and creates iconic spaces has been drawn by a group tasked to look at improving the quality of life here. Among their ideas are to create desirable housing for the elderly, develop a transport network that lets people get around the city easily, and allow places with distinct character to grow. Preliminary recommendations were presented to 200 people yesterday at a public feedback forum by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on its Concept Plan 2011, which sets out directions for land use and transport for the next 40 to 50 years.
31 May 2010 - More Singaporeans buying pricey homes
Locals overtake PRs and foreigners as buyers of units costing above $5m. It has reported a stunning reversal of a trend that has prevailed for at least three years, when foreigners had dominated the top end of the market here. The proportion of Singaporeans buying these pricey homes shot up 12.8 percentage points to 42.3 per cent for homes sold in the four months ended April 30, compared with the figure in the fourth quarter of last year. Locals have easily overtaken the 39.7per cent combined figure for permanent residents and foreigners. Their share is 21.4percentage points lower compared to that in the three months ended last December. Companies made up the other buyers.
31 May 2010 - The Minton sells 180 units over weekend
Observers say sales below figures achieved during March/April height. In a widely watched property release, developer Kheng Leong had sold about 180 units of The Minton condo in Hougang as of 6 pm yesterday. This is out of a batch of more than 300 units that Kheng Leong has released since last Friday in the 1,145-unit development at Lorong Ah Soo/Hougang Street 11 at an average price of $850 per square foot. Property agents marketing the project told BT that the sales result, while encouraging, was below what they would have expected during the recent height of the property market in March/April. The peak was prior to the fallout from Europe's economic problems and the Singapore government's announcement in May that it will deliver a bumper land sales programme for the second half of this year to meet hot demand in the residential property market.
30 May 2010 - New launches aplenty amid uncertainty
Analysts believe demand likely to be healthy despite market volatility. New residential projects have been launched for the long weekend as Singapore celebrates Vesak Day. But with the recent uncertainty in the financial market, will property investors bite? Property experts whom The Sunday Times spoke to said the jury is still out on whether April's bumper sales of 2,207 new units - the second-highest monthly sales achieved - can be sustained this month. This figure was up from 1,761 in March and 1,202 in February. But recent turmoil stemming from the sovereign debt crisis in Greece and other European countries, coupled with stock market volatility, may have a cooling effect on the market in the short term, experts said. Last week, the Government also released the largest amount of state land for private homes in response to surging demand. It put 18 residential or residential/commercial sites on the programme for confirmed sale in the second half of the year, and 13 sites for residential use on the reserve list. Together, the plots could yield 13,905 new homes - a figure that has experts speculating about a possible supply glut in the future. The big question on the minds of property hunters on the prowl this weekend: Is this the right time to buy?
27 May 2010 - Projects being released in subdued market
Kheng Leong seen releasing initial 300 units in preview of The Minton.
Developers are continuing to release projects amid more subdued sentiment in the property market. Kheng Leong group is previewing this week The Minton at Lorong Ah Soo/Hougang St 11 at an average price of about $850 per square foot. The developer is expected to release an initial batch of about 300 units in the 1,145-unit project that is being developed on a 99-year leasehold site. Kheng Leong is offering a mix of various unit types, from one-bedders to penthouses, and prices will range from $770 psf to $960 psf at this week's preview. The development includes 121 one bedders, ranging from 550-700 sq ft, 335 two-bedroom apartments (940-990 sq ft), 158 two bedroom with study units as well as 44 dual key units (comprising a two-bedroom apartment and a one-bedder). The remaining unit types at The Minton include three and four bedders. In addition, there will be 24 penthouses ranging from 2,000 sq ft to 3,500 sq ft in size. The Minton will have a total of 18 blocks, ranging from 15 to 17 storeys in height. The project is slated for completion around 2014.
26 May 2010 - Developers continuously releasing new projects despite a more subdued outlook in the real estate market
Property developer Kheng Leong group is launching a preview for The Minton at Lorong Ah Soo/Hougang St 11 at an average price of $850 psf. It is expected to release an initial batch of 300 units in the 1,145-unit project being developed on a 99-year leasehold land site.
The company said it is offering a mix of different unit types, ranging from one-room units to penthouses and prices at the preview will work out to around $770 psf to $960 psf.
The Minton project comprises 121 one-room units, ranging from 550 sq ft to 700 sq ft, 335 two-room units from 940 sq ft to 990 sq ft, 158 two-roomers with study units and 44 dual key units with a two-room apartment and a one-room unit. The remaining unit types in the project include three- and four-room units. There will also be 24 penthouses with sizes ranging from 2,000 sq ft to 3,500 sq ft.
The Minton project will have 18 blocks, ranging from 15 storeys and 17 storeys in height. It is expected to be completed in 2014.
Meanwhile, homebuyers who are looking for completed properties could consider the 72-unit Cassia View, built by Melodies Limited. It has been on the market for two weeks and so far, 16 units have already been snapped up.
Last year, Melodies Limited, which is being controlled by Hotel Royal's Lee family, tried to sell the 20-storey block of 72 units on a collective sale basis. The average selling price for the property was $70 million of strata area or about $783 psf.
Some 67 units of the 72-unit property are three-room apartments ranging from 1,100 sq ft to 1,200 sq ft, with an average selling price of between $1 million and $1.3 million. The Cassia View project has only one 900-sq-ft one-room unit and four penthouses with sizes of 2,300 sq ft each.
"The units comprise almost 100 percent net useable space as they do not have bomb shelters, bay windows or balconies," said Liang Thow Ming, head of residential services at Credo Real Estate, the marketing agent of Cassia View.
Several market watchers said that visitorship at showflats slowed last week attributed to the weak stock market, the rising tension on the Korean Peninsula, the eurozone debt fears and the government announcement that it will release more supply of private residential land in the second half of 2010 to meet the demand.
Additionally, Frasers Centrepoint has already sold 40 units for its freehold project at Flamingo Valley in Siglap, with prices ranging from $900 psf to $1,580 psf.
Allgreen Properties also sold 50 units at Cascadia condo at Bukit Timah Road during its preview last week, with one- and two-room units making up most of the sales. Units for the freehold project are priced between $1,400 psf and $1,600 psf.
26 May 2010 - Sengkang exec condo plot draws 7 bidders
Seven property developers vied for a plum executive condominium spot in Sengkang, with the top bid coming in above market expectations at $176 million. While the number of bids showed a healthy level of interest, they amounted to fewer than half the 18 offers a recent tender in Simei attracted. This has prompted analysts to suggest yesterday that aggressive bidding seen from developers recently seems to have abated. A joint venture between Maxdin, part of United Engineers' unit Greatearth Holding, and Lee Metal Group's Lee Carriers, lodged the top bid for the Sengkang site, said the Housing Board yesterday. The $176 million offer works out to about $321 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 183,000 sq ft plot. The price is about 70 per cent higher than the minimum offer price of $103.8 million lodged by an undisclosed developer who triggered the plot's tender last month. It is also 10 per cent higher than the second-highest bid, lodged by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments at $160.1 million.
26-May-2010 - Bukit Timah homes on track for price gains
Prpperty owners in Bukit Timah and Upper Bukit Timah will be cheering - and possibly reaping some capital gains - when the Malayan Railway (KTM) station moves from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands next year. The railway cuts through the middle of the heavily residential area and locals have long been fed up of the trains clattering past their windows as they go through Bukit Timah Railway Station. It will be a boon for many of the owners who in the past have been dismayed by the noise pollution and tracks running close to them. The values of homes in the area could rise by about 5 per cent to 8 per cent if the tracks are removed, although this would simply allow them to catch up to the prices of neighbouring estates that are farther from the tracks.
25-May-2010 - Huge land release will cool red-hot bidding
More reasonable mass market housing prices likely but worries over supply glut. Property experts are split over whether the market can absorb the Government's largest-ever land release, to be rolled out in the second half of this year.
They agree that the flurry of new sites released will dampen red-hot bids from developers and will eventually mean more reasonable mass market prices. Some warn of a potential supply glut later on but others say the location of many sites in mature HDB estates means a strong take-up by upgraders. Last Friday, the National Development Ministry said it will place 18 sites for residential use on the confirmed list for tender on a schedule from July to November. A further 13 sites will go on the reserve list, which means they go up for sale if at least one developer commits to a minimum bid acceptable to the Government. In all, these 31 sites - of which 20 are new and not rolled over from the previous land sales programme - can accommodate a record 13,905 units. The confirmed list sites alone - including five executive condo sites - will yield 8,135 units, which could be up for sale within seven to 12 months of the land purchase.
25-May-2010 - 1600 new flats in the pipeline
HDB to release 3 new sites this year for design, build and sell scheme. The Housing Board (HDB) will release three new sites over the course of the year to add a further 1,600 condo-style flats to the housing supply. One plot - in Tampines Avenue 5 - will be launched for tender next month and could potentially yield 580 new homes, the HDB said yesterday. The other two - at Bedok Reservoir Crescent and Upper Serangoon Road - will be launched in the second half and could yield 430 and 580 homes respectively. The sites are for the design, build and sell scheme (DBSS). This allows developers to construct flats with features similar to those for private property but which are subject to HDB rules. The three sites are the latest in a slew of land releases by the Government, in what is seen by analysts as an aggressive move to meet high levels of housing demand. The largest-ever release of state land for private homes was announced last week. The Government has put 18 residential or residential/commercial sites on the programme for confirmed sale in the second half of the year, and 13 sites for residential use on the reserve list. These plots - of which 20 are new and not rolled over previously - could accommodate 13,905 new homes.
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