Property, Huat.....

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Private home resale prices drop in Feb

By Lynda Hong | Posted: 28 March 2012 2250 hrs

 

SINGAPORE: Prices of resale private homes are 0.8 per cent cheaper in February than in the previous month.

 

This is according to the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI ).

 

Still, analysts expect overall prices to rise by between 0.5 and three per cent in the first quarter.

 

Since January, the market for new private homes have been abuzz, with eight in 10 buyers being locals.

 

In December last year, the government introduced cooling measures like the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD).

 

Back then, many had predicted property prices to go down by as much as 15 per cent.

 

ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said: "The measures are working in the sense that foreigners... [during the] pre-ABSD days make up almost 20 per cent of the market. Today, they account for less than seven per cent of transactions, as far as new home sales are concerned."

 

Excluding executive condominiums, nearly 2,413 new private homes were sold in February, more than a third from January's.

 

But in the secondary market, where it includes the resale market and the more speculative resale of uncompleted private units, it is a quieter affair.

 

While private new home sales have spiked up in the last two months, experts noted the resale and sub-sale markets have been slow, and that should stablise the property price index in the first quarter of this year.

 

Jones Lang LaSalle research head Chua Yang Liang said: "In the first, second quarter, we are going to continue to see that kind of disparate, two-market behaviour, top and new sales and resale.

 

"New sale markets tend to... do better because of the conditions in there -- the financing and progressive payments.

 

"You don't really need to make immediate payment, except according to the construction phase. Interest rates remain fairly low for now, and that is going to be more helpful for both markets.

 

OrangeTee research director Tan Kok Keong said: "We are likely to see more launches, as well as strong sales, unless there are instances of sharp economic shocks externally.

 

"In terms of pricing, I do think that developers are pricing it at lower end of market expectations, so I do think that prices will continue to climb, but on a moderate level, meaning you are looking at one to two per cent price increases, going forward, in the primary market."

 

With more Government Land Sales sites being taken up by developers, the supply of new private homes should meet demand. And that is a major price stabiliser for many analysts.

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One-year HDB ban for cancelling flat bookings

 

29 March 2012

Straits Times

EVEN as the Housing Board (HDB) rolls out more flats and relaxes eligibility rules to expand choices for buyers, it now wants applicants to be very sure of what they want before booking a unit.

 

If they change their mind after putting down an option fee, they will now be barred from buying new Build-to-Order (BTO) or resale flats with housing grants for a year.

 

The ban also extends to new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) units and executive condominiums.

 

HDB said yesterday the changes take immediate effect and apply to its latest bumper launch of 8,000 flats islandwide, comprising 4,153 new BTO units and 3,825 leftover types from previous sales exercises.

 

HDB yesterday also relaxed the eligibility rules for two-room flats in mature estates, raising the monthly household income ceiling to $5,000 from $2,000.

 

It said it has observed a steady increase in the number of cancellations - from 309 in 2007 to 1,540 last year - which make up about 5 per cent to 6 per cent of its Build-to-Order supply each year over that period.

 

It said one of the reasons was the higher supply of new BTO flats. Applicants who cancelled cited reasons such as a change in housing plan, or preference to live in another location. It added, however, that the one-year penalty would be waived 'in exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the applicants'.

 

Currently, upon booking the flat, buyers pay an option fee that ranges from $250 for a studio apartment to $2,000 for a four-room flat or bigger. The amount is forfeited if they change their mind.

 

Property agency PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the one-year ban is 'understandable and fair' as 1,500 cancellations are a large number.

 

The recent ramp-up of new-flat supply means buyers have more choices and this move would encourage them 'to take a more serious approach before committing to a home', he added.

 

HDB's latest move further tightens its application process.

 

In 2008, it had introduced a 'two strikes and you're out' approach to discourage those who were not serious.

 

Under this rule, first-time buyers who reject an offer to buy a flat twice or more in any HDB sales exercise - implying the buyers did not turn up to select a flat - lose their first-timer priority for a year. This effectively moves them to the back of the queue with second-timers.

 

While eligibility rules for two-room flats have been relaxed, the HDB said the income ceiling for such units in non-mature estates will remain at $2,000 - to safeguard a supply for the lower-income.

 

HDB told The Straits Times that currently, about 70 per cent of its applicants have a monthly household income of $5,000 and below. Its latest move follows those earlier last year to increase the monthly income ceiling for three-room standard flats in non-mature estates to $5,000 from $3,000.

 

Last August, it also raised the monthly income ceiling for other types of three-room and bigger flats to $10,000 from $8,000.

 

PropNex's Mr Ismail said the latest move is unlikely to make a big impact on the market as the number of two-room flats offered is typically small.

 

HDB's latest launch of 8,000 flats comes in the wake of a recent string of initiatives to ease demand among certain buyers and forge closer family ties.

 

The launch, which received huge interest, caused a slowdown at HDB's website yesterday morning.

 

Buyers accessing the new projects were told the site was too busy or had only intermittent access. There were also reports of huge crowds at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh who had turned up to get more information or submit applications.

 

Commenting on the latest moves, home buyer L.W. Koh, 28, said that even though he now qualifies to buy a two-room flat, the option is not for him as such homes 'are too small'.

 

But the civil servant welcomes the move to ban buyers who are not serious about their purchases as 'this deprives buyers like me who have not had a chance to select a flat'.

 

 

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Resale home prices dip for 3rd month

 

29 March 2012

Straits Times

PRICES of private resale homes have fallen for the third month in a row with high-end and small flats recording the highest value drops.

 

Overall prices fell by 0.8 per cent last month, compared with January, and added to the 1 per cent dip in that month from December.

 

Prices of central homes fell by 0.9 per cent while those for non-central property declined 0.6 per cent following a 0.3 per cent pick-up in January.

 

Prices of shoebox apartments, which are around 500 sq ft or less, dipped by 0.9 per cent last month, according to the Singapore Residential Price Index compiled by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies.

 

The monthly index measures a basket of completed private apartments and condominiums but excludes executive condos.

 

Property experts were not surprised at the fall in prices, given the weakened interest in the secondary market in recent months.

 

Mr Ong Kah Seng, director R'ST Research, said: 'The weakened leasing market is also a major deterrence for home seekers, especially investors whose main property-buying objective is to enjoy the benefits of a significant and encouraging immediate income stream.'

 

The weaker leasing market is partly due to companies cutting expatriates' housing allowances, he added.

 

'The variety of new launches have also drawn attention away from the secondary market,' said Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultancy.

 

He pointed out that buying new units may be easier on home owners' pockets as they will have the option of a progressive payment scheme, unlike resale properties which require an immediate payment upfront.

 

Mr Mak also attributed the dampened demand to recent property cooling measures.

 

Experts said prices are likely to continue falling in the coming months, although Mr Ong expects interest in resale properties to improve by the second half of the year, if there is 'appropriate re-pricing', which happens if demand keeps contracting.

 

For now, Mr Mak said it could gradually become a 'buyer's market'.

 

'With the current situation, they can look to drive a hard bargain,' he said.

 

Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui added that it remains to be seen if prices will fall more such that buyers realise there are better deals in the secondary market

 

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Will Bishan's Sky Habitat shatter price ceiling?

 

29 March 2012

Straits Times

A NEW Bishan project expected to be launched in the middle of next month could turn out to be the priciest suburban condominium ever to hit the market.

 

The Straits Times understands that the indicative average prices for CapitaLand's Sky Habitat at Bishan Street 14 are between $1,700 and $1,800 per sq ft (psf).

 

But these were only the preliminary prices that marketing agents received yesterday. They could well go higher - or lower - depending on buyer interest as the target launch date of mid-next month nears.

 

Even at these early indicative levels, the condo will set benchmark prices for the Bishan Central area and suburban projects across the island.

 

The $1,700 to $1,800 psf range is also well up from initial market expectations of a launch price of about $1,500 psf. CapitaLand earlier estimated the project's breakeven cost to be about $1,300 psf.

 

Mr Tan Kok Keong, OrangeTee's research and consultancy head, said the CapitaLand project's proximity to Bishan MRT interchange, the Junction 8 mall and popular schools such as Raffles Institution might have supported the higher-than-expected pricing.

 

Another potential selling point is that renowned Israeli architect Moshe Safdie, who drew up the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, will be designing the project.

 

But an industry player, who declined to be named, said it would be 'a tough sell' for the 99-year leasehold Sky Habitat to be sold at $1,700 to $1,800 psf.

 

He pointed out that CapitaLand's d'Leedon on the former Farrer Court estate is selling for about $1,680 psf. The city fringe project is also helmed by a star architect - Ms Zaha Hadid - he said.

 

Sky Habitat will have 509 units across two 38-storey towers linked by bridging sky gardens. Units will range from 680 to 3,000 sq ft.

 

Experts said that if CapitaLand keeps to its pricing, Sky Habitat will be on a par with prime condos.

 

They did also note that developers often adjust indicative prices in line with market sentiment closer to the launch date.

 

Another 99-year leasehold project, Cheung Kong's Thomson Grand in Upper Thomson, set tongues wagging when some of its apartments were sold for about $1,600 psf when it previewed last July.

 

And in fact, units in completed condos in the prime areas of districts 9, 10 and 11 can be bought for less than that in the resale market.

 

Units have been sold at Spring Grove in Grange Road since the start of last year from between $1,400 and $1,600 psf. Some condo apartments in the River Valley area, including Aspen Heights and 2 RVG, were recently sold for about $1,600 psf or less.

 

SKY-HIGH PRICES

 

Sky Habitat

Where: Bishan

 

Indicative price: $1,700 psf

 

Thomson Grand

 

Where: Upper Thomson

 

Top price: Around $1,600 psf

 

Spring Grove

 

Where: Grange Road

 

Average price: $1,500 psf

 

Aspen Heights

 

Where: River Valley

 

Average price: $1,600 psf

 

 

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Business Times - 29 Mar 2012

 

Softer home prices pave way for a buyer's market

 

Flash estimates for SRPI show prices of completed homes sliding 0.8% in Feb

 

By MICHELLE TAN

 

(SINGAPORE) Buyers waiting on the sidelines may have more to smile about in the coming months as prices of private completed homes continued to fall across the board in February.

 

According to flash estimates released by the National University of Singapore for its Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI), prices of completed properties softened by 0.8 per cent compared with the previous month. In particular, small apartments islandwide (up to 506 square feet) and the Central Region (excluding small units) - comprising districts 1 to 4 and the prime residential districts of 9, 10 and 11 - saw the greatest decline, down 0.9 per cent month-on-month.

 

The sub-index for Non-Central (excluding small apartments) also finally caved in to negative sentiment, falling 0.6 per cent on a monthly basis.

 

Said Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultancy: 'The downtrend in secondary market prices is a sign of slowing demand, which could potentially lead to the evolution of a buyer's market over the next few months.'

 

Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui also expects a more conducive environment for buyers to price negotiate going forward but said it remains to be seen whether secondary market prices will eventually soften enough for buyers to realise that they may get better buys in the secondary than primary market.

 

In January, only the Non-Central (excluding small apartments) sub-index posted a monthly gain of 0.3 per cent whereas the sub-indices for the larger units in the Central region and small apartments slipped 2.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively, dragging January's overall SRPI index down by 1 per cent month-on-month.

 

Most consultants expect the SRPI to continue trending downwards on the back of faltering secondary market sales, though some said that buyers might be lured back once prices fall below a certain threshold.

 

Said Ong Kah Seng, director at consultancy R'ST Research: 'If a significant re-pricing of centrally located homes continue on the back of persistent demand contraction in the second half of 2012, narrowing the (price) gap of centrally located and sub-urban condominiums, some opportunistic local investors who are ready to finance a property may dive in, making joint purchases in selected centrally located homes as they tend to have strong property investment fundamentals, translating to better leasing interest from foreigners.'

 

The SRPI basket tracks the prices of 370 private residential projects (excluding executive condominiums) located across 25 postal districts here that were completed between October 2001 and September 2011.

 

 

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Business Times - 29 Mar 2012

 

HDB tightens rules to benefit genuine buyers

 

Income ceiling for 2-room flats in mature towns to be raised to $5,000

 

By MINDY TAN

 

EVEN as more is done to create more housing options for households, steps are also being taken to discourage buyers who book flats but subsequently cancel their bookings.

 

To further discourage such buyers, applicants who cancel their bookings - not due to exceptional circumstances beyond their control - will not be allowed to apply for, or be included as an essential occupier for a new HDB flat, DBSS (Design, Build, and Sell Scheme) flat, executive condominium (EC) unit, or resale flat with housing grants, within one year from the date of cancellation.

 

This is on top of existing regulations, in which buyers pay a non-refundable booking fee when they select a unit, and a 10 per cent down payment when they sign the agreement.

 

Separately, the Housing Board said that the income ceiling for two-room flats in mature towns will be raised from $2,000 to $5,000 per month.

 

The income ceiling for similar flats in non-mature estates will remain at $2,000 to safeguard these units for low-income families.

 

The HDB also said it will be offering 4,640 BTO flats for sale in Choa Chu Kang, Kallang Whampoa, Punggol and Sengkang during the next BTO launch in May.

 

To meet housing needs, HDB has ramped up flat supply substantially, to the tune of 50,000 units in two years. Some 8,000 flats were launched for sale under the joint build-to-order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises yesterday.

 

A total of 4,153 new flats were released in eight BTO projects; 3,825 were SBF units, scattered over 15 mature and 11 non-mature estates.

 

Of these, 1,739 of the BTO flats in mature estates and 3,609 SBF units will render top priority for first-timers. The Housing Board said 95 per cent of these flats will be reserved for first-timers.

 

Second-timers on the other hand will have their chance of securing a flat tripled, from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, for the 2,094 BTO flats in non-mature estates.

 

'Correspondingly, the proportion of these flats reserved for first-timers will be reduced to 85 per cent. Our projection suggests that the chances of first-timers will not be too greatly affected, after successive massive BTO launches in the past one year,' said the Housing Board.

 

In this launch, 3,174 of the flats will be in mature estates, including 397 studio apartments and 366 units of two-room flats.

 

Married children and parents hoping to live with or near each other will also be helped via the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme (MGPS) and Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).

 

MGPS, which gives priority allocation to married children and their parents who jointly apply to live near each other, will be launched at Ping Yi Greens in Bedok.

 

Under the scheme, married children can apply for two-room to four-room flats, while their parents can buy a two-room flat in the same project.

 

The enhanced MCPS will allow a married child who applies to live with his parents to receive six ballot chances if he is a first-timer, and three ballot chances if he is a second-timer.

 

 

[Sgg687z]

A lot of reading stuffs accompany with my coffee. :)

 

 

good sign, good day to you

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Looking after your family

 

The dos and don

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Seeing the light in commercial property

 

 

 

The absence of some stamp duties, restrictions on ownership and higher quantum of financing makes this an attractive asset class for investors to consider

 

 

29 March 2012

 

Business Times

 

 

 

Residential properties are deemed the most popular type of asset class for investment by many. This asset class is favoured simply because investors can relate to it, and residential properties tend to be more affordable.

 

 

 

However, with the increase in property prices and the numerous government curbs introduced in the residential sector in recent years, such as the Seller

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Business Times - 29 Mar 2012

 

Frasers' Palm Isles previews at $830 psf average

 

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

 

FRASERS Centrepoint had sold 50 units at its Palm Isles condo project in the Upper Changi location by 11pm last night.

 

The developer began previewing the project at its showflat at Flora Drive at 6pm, releasing an initial batch of 100 of the 429 residential units in the 99-year leasehold condo.

 

The average price after discounts is $830 per square foot (psf), below the $870 psf at which Hedges Park Condominium nearby is said to be selling at currently.

 

The 501-unit Hedges Park, being developed by Tripartite Developers, was released in April last year and as at the end of last month, had 157 unsold units, according to government figures.

 

Palm Isles' $830 psf average pricing is below the $850-880 psf that Frasers Centrepoint was expected to release the project at.

 

Market watchers reckon that the developer would have taken into account competition from MCL's Ripple Bay condo, within walking distance of Pasir Ris Beach, which goes on the market today.

 

Ripple Bay is tipped to be priced at slightly above $850 psf on average - lower than the Seastrand condo behind it.

 

As for Palm Isles at Flora Drive, buyers are mostly Singaporeans, some of whom are living in rented premises nearby.

 

'The two- and three-bedroom units are doing well. We've also sold two garden homes,' said Frasers Centrepoint Homes chief executive officer Cheang Kok Kheong.

 

The developer has included 28 'garden homes' in a low-rise block; each unit has its own private carpark space and garden.

 

The developer minted this new concept riding on the site's sloped terrain. Garden homes have either four or five bedrooms.

 

Palm Isles will have a mix of five to seven storey blocks in a resort-style ambience that will include lush landscaping, two tennis courts, and a 50-metre lap pool.

 

The rest of the residential units in the condo will comprise one to four bedders.

 

Absolute prices for one bedders start from $460,000 for a 506-sq-ft unit (or $909 psf).

 

Two-bedders start from $660,000 for a 786-sq-ft unit (or $839 psf) and three bedders from $760,000 for a 990-sq-ft unit ($767 psf). A 3,014-sq-ft garden home is priced from $2.2 million (or $730 psf).

 

 

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Business Times - 29 Mar 2012

 

0.5% of 2011 subsales bought in same yr

 

This is down from 3.8% in 2010 and 11.7% in 2009, shows Savills study

 

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

 

THE stiff seller's stamp duty (SSD) rates unveiled in January last year have been effective in snuffing out speculation in private residential properties, a caveats analysis by Savills Singapore prepared for BT earlier this week shows.

 

Just 0.5 per cent of 2011's subsales of private apartments and condos involved units that had been bought in the same year - down from 3.8 per cent in 2010 and 11.7 per cent in 2009.

 

Those who buy a private home on or after Jan 14, 2011, and sell it within a year have to pay a 16 per cent SSD on the sale price. The SSD rates are lower at 12, 8 and 4 per cent if the properties are sold in the respective second, third and fourth year of purchase.

 

Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong said that besides the stiff penalty under the SSD deterring short-term trading, a slower pace of price appreciation for non-landed private homes last year also contributed to the slowdown in subsales in 2011 involving properties bought in the same year.

 

For example, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) non-landed private home price index appreciated 2.85 per cent between Q1 and Q4 last year, or the lowest and highest points in 2011.

 

'This rate of price appreciation was not enough to offset the 16 per cent SSD,' said Mr Cheong.

 

Savills examined URA Realis caveats data for subsale deals and tried to find previous caveat records for the same units; where it found matches, it worked out the holding period for the subsales and the profit or loss.

 

The latter was calculated as the difference between sale and purchase prices, and took into account the SSD but not the standard buyer's stamp duty, agent fees and other expenses.

 

Eleven of the 2,337 subsale matches Savills traced for 2011 involved units that had been flipped in the same year. The majority - six units - incurred a loss.

 

In the preceding three years, the majority of subsale units which had been flipped in the same year were profitable, due mainly to the high rate of capital appreciation and/or the absence of punitive SSD rates, said Mr Cheong.

 

He added that subsales in 2010 could also have been affected by the earlier two sets of SSD rates announced in that year.

 

Under the first announcement, those who acquired a private home on or after Feb 20, 2010, and sold it within a year paid the following SSD rate, which is the same as the standard buyer's stamp duty: one per cent for the first $180,000 of the consideration, 2 per cent for the next $180,000 and 3 per cent for the balance.

 

In August 2010, the holding period for the SSD was extended from one to three years.

 

For residential properties bought on or after Aug 30, 2010, and sold within a year, the full SSD rate was imposed - one per cent for the first $180,000 of the selling price, 2 per cent on the next $180,000 and 3 per cent on the rest.

 

If the property is sold in the second year, two-thirds of the full-rate SSD has to be paid. This falls to one-third of the full-rate SSD for properties sold in the third year.

 

In addition, price growth had slowed in 2010, reducing the incentive to flip a property that had been picked up in the same year.

 

URA's index climbed 8.6 per cent between the lowest and highest points of 2010, that is, Q1 and Q4.

 

This was a less spectacular rise compared with the 24.3 per cent gain between Q2 and Q4 of 2009.

 

'In that year (2009), there was an inflection point with property prices bottoming out in the first half after the global financial crisis and posting a sharp rise in the second half, creating an opportunity for those who had bought earlier that year to take a profit,' noted Mr Cheong.

 

Indeed, Savills' analysis showed that 212 units or 64.4 per cent of the total 329 which were flipped in 2009 had been acquired in the first half and disposed of in the second half.

 

Reflecting the role of major economic events on the fortunes of the local property market, in 2008, just 38 or 2.6 per cent of the total 1,463 subsales involved units that had changed hands in the same year.

 

The year 2008 ended with URA's non-landed home price index slipping 8.7 per cent from its peak in Q2.

 

For most players, prices did not appreciate during that year to a level that would create a profit from flipping within a span of months.

 

Furthermore, home buying demand generally dried very quickly when Lehman Brothers collapsed, recalls Mr Cheong.

 

 

[Wt_know]

when price drop abit only, sporean will flock to property launch like bees to honey ....

agent will smoke you, it's the best time to buy .... mai tu liao

 

[Ben5266]

Will you get into trouble with SPH?

I mean... you channel readers to MCF....

 

Anyway, Thanks.

[Scb11980]

  On 3/29/2012 at 1:41 AM, Ben5266 said:

Will you get into trouble with SPH?

I mean... you channel readers to MCF....

 

Anyway, Thanks.

 

well. i am not really sure

but if it is

the mods would let us know

 

since i get free subscription to ST and Business Times and a few other international newspapers

i thought i would share with people here

because there are some here who made effort to share

some of which did benefit me

 

to those who have shared precious information

thank you

[Sunny]

Thank you for the posts

[Icedbs]

The rise in sales for new developments are just half of the story.

 

The what so called analyst are not telling you all the truth.

 

Obviously when developers push out more new developments, the sales will be more. This is no brainer especially when developers are dishing out more freebies and discounts thesedays. It is not an indication that the property market is still hot, it is just an indication that the developers are desperate.

 

If the analyst are honest, they should show the percentage take-up rate.

 

And every savvy property investor will know that the best time to buy a new property is when the developers are not pushing sales. When you see launches every other day like now, this is the time to actually avoid.

 

 

 

 

 

[Unidentified]

more new sales launch so they can catch the last train before bubble burst..please pray for those(except elites like throttle and likes) who bought their apartment at sky high price.

 

 

[Anshng]

I wonder how buyers of Hedge Park, Seastrand will feel knowing that the new launch is sold at lower price than what they bought and they cannot sell now without suffering from 16% loss from SSD