Property rental markets are favouring tenants

The residential leasing market is gradually turning to favour tenants, even as there is likely to be strong demand over the next half a year.

The rental market was buoyant in the third quarter of the year. There were 15,083 rental transactions - a record number and an 11.6 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

This was attributed to factors such as the 5.1 per cent growth in GDP for Singapore year-on-year, lower unemployment rates, and foreign nationals bringing forward plans to relocate here in light of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) which will take effect next August.

The FCF will require every company with more than 25 employees to advertise job openings on a new government-sponsored job bank before applying for a new Employment Pass (EP).

While the framework applies to jobs with monthly salaries below $12,000, "it is foreseen that from the start of next year, the number of overseas nationals in Singapore will decline further, as EP holders will soon face more difficulties in getting approvals on both fresh and renewed applications”.

These factors come against a backdrop of higher vacancy rates and slower rental growths. In Q3, 6.1 per cent of private homes, or 17,459 units, were vacant, up from 5.6 per cent in Q2. This came on the back of several big projects such as the 1,040-unit The Interlace on Depot Road, the 429-unit Tree House on Chestnut Avenue and the 302-unit Cape Royale at Sentosa Island getting their temporary occupation permit.

As for rents, the overall index for private residential properties from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed a 0.2 per cent growth in Q3, down from 0.3 per cent in Q2. The average monthly rent of high-end condominiums tracked by Savills was flat at $4.86 per square foot.

Source: Business Times – 26 November 2013

Developers upbeat about Executive Condominium market

Developers upbeat about Executive Condominium market segment given the provisional results for yesterday's tender for an executive condominium (EC) site in the Sengkang area, like that for a Woodlands EC site which closed earlier this month, led property consultants to conclude that.

This is despite measures introduced in January to rein in some of the exuberance in the sector and more recently, strong hints from the government that its housing subsidy of up to $30,000 for first-time buyers who pick up an EC unit from a developer, is in for a change. ECs are a public-private housing hybrid.

Executive condominiums drawing more buyers

Executive condominiums (ECs) have grown more popular with buyers in recent months as a price gap with mass-market condos widens.

The median price of a suburban 99-year leasehold condo unit climbed to $1,073 per sq ft (psf) in the first three months of this year, said property consultancy CBRE.

EC units were 30.6 per cent cheaper - with a median price of $745 psf in the same period. The price gap between ECs and condos has widened significantly, from 18.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010, when the EC segment was relaunched. Then, the median price for an EC flat was $748 psf, while the median price for a suburban condo unit was $917 psf.

Foreign firm to buy CityLife EC stake

The buzz in the executive condominium (EC) market here has attracted another foreign player to dip its toes into Singapore's property market.

Pan-Asian real estate investment company Everview Capital Partners will acquire a 5.5 per cent stake in EC project CityLife in Tampines for $4 million, said one of the EC's developers SingXpress Land in a statement yesterday.

200,000 new homes in the works

The large supply of units that will be coming on stream in the coming years, coupled with an inevitable end to the current low interest rate environment, are factors which those contemplating buying a property need to take into account.

This was the reminder from National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in his blog yesterday as he acknowledged that the market was temporarily not in balance because of under-building in the past and high investment demand today.

"But we have been ramping up supply and in 2, 3, and 4 years' time, supply will have caught up with pent-up demand," stressed Mr Khaw.

Why new rules will tame developers' bids

Last Friday's property cooling measures will have serious implications on how much developers will be prepared to pay for residential land, as well as the continued survival of popular lifestyle concepts like private roof terraces with swimming pools or jacuzzis.

First, the various measures to curb investment demand for residential properties - such as higher additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) rates, lower loan-to-value (LTV) limits and bigger cash downpayment - will reduce the pool of buyers for developers to sell units in their housing projects to.

Property Market braces for the chills

Numbers just in show that the property market made history in 2012, with developers selling a record 22,290 private homes, excluding executive condos. The tally, which shattered the previous record of 16,292 units in 2010, was boosted by brisk sales in December when developers offloaded 1,410 units.

But history is unlikely to repeat itself in the wake of last Friday's cooling measures which target investment demand, even by Singaporeans, in addition to foreign buying.

A telling find from the Urban Redevelopment Authority's December numbers is the relatively small contribution from Outside Central Region (OCR)-home to mass-market condos - to both developers' launches and sales last month.

Khaw lauds EC scheme but will stay vigilant to prevent abuses

The executive condominium (EC) scheme is a "wonderful" one and should continue, as the government addresses prior abuses, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.

Responding to queries from Members of Parliament (MPs), he said ECs are relevant, protecting middle-income Singaporeans from competition and ensuring them a market- friendly way to buy condominiums at affordable prices.

"And if I may give an analogy, it's like offering you a Lexus at a Corolla price," he told Parliament.

"But only Singaporeans have this privilege of doing so and they know that in due course the price will go up to Lexus and above Lexus levels."

However, he said the scheme had been taken advantage of by some developers and buyers, which prompted new measures targeted at this segment of the residential market.

Developers had taken to building super-sized ECs, Mr Khaw said, and in some instances had exploited planning rules.

A 4,349-square-foot (sq ft) penthouse at Citylife@ Tampines that included a 1,600 sq ft roof terrace sold for $2.05 million in December.

Previously, development charges need not be paid on the roof terrace, and there were no restrictions on the size of the unit.

Two new measures that came into effect on Saturday: limiting each new EC unit to 160 square metres (1,722 sq ft); and counting private enclosed spaces and roof terraces as gross floor area, sought to address this.

Mr Khaw also explained the move to restrict new dual-key ECs to multi-generational families.

He said some buyers had taken advantage of the concept, meant to offer privacy, to instead rent units out for immediate yield.

Overall, the abuses had led to families that can afford private properties entering the EC market.

"They were very much encouraged by these large units, huge units," Mr Khaw said.

"So now that we have fixed this rule, I will continue to be vigilant and see, and if indeed the abuse continues on, we may have to think of other ways of fixing this problem," he added.

MPs raised some suggestions of their own. Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan asked if a price cap to prevent buyers from overstretching their finances would be considered, to which Mr Khaw responded: "The selling price of ECs were very much dependent on the size of the EC, so by capping the size of the EC, I think automatically the price will become more sober."

Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency MP Lee Bee Wah asked if it was possible to reintroduce new multi-generational flats. She said some of her residents had appealed for such housing units as they could not afford an EC.

Mr Khaw said he will "take a look" but noted that the popularity of the dual- key EC units was down to demand from buyers who were not multi-generational families.

Source: Business Times –15 January 2013

Property sector's new buzzword: Penthouse

Move over, shoebox apartments. Penthouse units have claimed the spotlight ever since the launch of a 4,349 sq ft penthouse suite at an executive condominium (EC) in Tampines last month.

The unit, including a 1,600 sq ft roof terrace, was sold for $2.05 million - the most expensive EC penthouse ever sold.

But just what is a penthouse unit? The definition is fuzzy, apart from the apartment being rather swanky and on the top floor. No fixed criteria apply and the term is mainly used as a marketing tool.

Penthouses generally have a large floor area compared with the other units in a project.

Brisk start to property market for 2013

Sales were brisk at showflats for both private projects and executive condominiums (ECs) over the first weekend of the year.

Analysts said this reflected pent-up demand from buyers after a lull in launches late last year, as well as expectations that prices will keep going up.

Kismis Lodge up for en bloc sale again

Kismis Lodge is being put up for collective sale for the second time.

Located off Toh Tuck Road, Kismis Lodge occupies a land area of 70,283 square feet (sq ft). The plot, comprising 64 walk-up apartments, was first put up for tender on July 16 last year.

In the July 2012 tender, the owners asked for between $90 million and $95 million, which translates to about $1,281 to $1,352 per square foot (psf).

Big incentive to build large Executive Condominium units

Large executive condominium (EC) units have been making headlines recently with their record high prices.

The move by developers to build these spacious, often lavishly appointed units has proved controversial, especially given the public policy objectives of increasingly popular ECs.

ECs - a public-private housing hybrid - come with government subsidies and are intended to help households with a monthly income ceiling of $12,000 move into private housing.

Why, some ask, should the Government be subsidising large, swanky homes?

Forestville developer upbeat on reopening

The showroom for the Forestville Executive Condominium (EC) will be closed until further notice for maintenance, but the developer for the project said this is not linked to it being stopped from selling the units by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

A spokesman for Hao Yuan Investment said yesterday that once the showroom reopens, interested homeowners can still view the units but they will be unable to purchase them.

The showroom has been closed since Friday.

HDB Resale Price Index Increases 2.5% over 3rd Quarter

Date issued : 02 Jan 2013

 HDB’s flash estimate of the 4th Quarter 2012 Resale Price Index (RPI) is 202.9, a 2.5% increase over 3rd Quarter 2012 (see Annexes A-1 (PDF 8KB) and A-2  (PDF 19KB)).

2The RPI provides information on the general price movements in the public residential market. Transacted prices of individual flats (by block and flat type) can be found on HDB’s website and detailed online enquiries can be made at http://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BB33RTIS/BB33PReslTrans.jsp

3The RPI for the full quarter and more detailed public housing data for 4th Quarter 2012 will be released on 25 January 2013.

Developer keen on more EC penthouses

The developer of Citylife @ Tampines, an executive condominium (EC) that sparked controversy over a huge $2.05 million penthouse, is keen on building penthouses in future EC projects.

"Based on the good response for the penthouses... we will attempt to do it better for our future projects, if that avenue is still available to developers," Amara Holdings chief executive Albert Teo told The Straits Times yesterday in an e-mail message.

"We will be open to developing other EC projects as long as there are any such viable opportunities."

When asked to elaborate on what "do it better" meant, Mr Teo said he was referring to "better designs and ability to meet the needs of home buyers".

Govt keeping close eye on Executive Condominiums

The National Development Ministry (MND) has warned that it is closely watching developments in the executive condominium (EC) segment and will consider further measures if needed.

It was responding to The Straits Times' queries on whether sky-high prices for some EC units at recent launches are of concern.

The latest focal point in the EC debate is a huge 4,349 sq ft "presidential suite" at 514-unit CityLife @ Tampines, which will be the first EC unit to eclipse the $2 million mark if sold at its launch today.

November prices of built condos up 1.9%

After lagging for most of this year, prices of completed private apartments and condos in Singapore's Central Region sprang to life in November, latest data from the National University of Singapore showed.

Its November flash estimate for the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) series showed that the sub-index for the Central Region (excluding small units) rose 2.6 per cent from October.

This is double the 1.3 per cent gain over the same period posted by SRPI's sub-index for Non-Central Region (excluding small units).

Interest growing over $2m Executive Condominium unit

CityLife @ Tampines Site Plan

The $2 million-plus price tag does not seem to have dampened interest among potential buyers for a spacious executive condominium (EC) that hits the market tomorrow.

At least 12 people have expressed interest in the "presidential suite" at CityLife @ Tampines.

The prized unit comes with 4,349 sq ft of space, including a roof terrace of about 1,600 sq ft, and can be yours for an EC price record of $2.05 million.

Other large apartments at the 514-unit project also garnered healthy interest yesterday, the second day of the showflat preview. Bookings open tomorrow, with average prices of $770 per sq ft (psf).

Eight private estates to get upgrading

More than 7,000 households are set to benefit from a $29 million facelift under the government's Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP). The properties, spread across eight private estates, will see the money spent on the upgrading of parks, playgrounds and widening of footpaths.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced yesterday that Goldhill, Mayflower Gardens and Yio Chu Kang Gardens, Cashew and Hazel Park Terrace, Greenleaf, Bartley Neighbourhood, Carmichael, Haig Road and Limau estates have been selected to benefit from the eighth EUP.

These older private estates are expected to benefit from the improved facilities when work will be completed in three to four years.

URA factors in shrinking condo unit sizes as it looks ahead

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) seems to think that the average unit size of condos will shrink in its estimates of housing supply for the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

Based on BT's analysis of the first-half 2013 GLS programme, the average gross floor area (GFA) per home for typical private condo sites in Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) has each been reduced by five square metres to 90 sq m and 80 sq m respectively compared with the H1 and H2 2012 slates.

For sites designated for executive condominiums (ECs), the average home size assumption has been kept the same at 100 sq m in OCR, which is where suburban mass-market homes are located.