Property Auction Hits New High During Ghost Month

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Ghost Month auction values hit 3-year high

The successful auction of four properties saw property auction sale values during the Hungry Ghost Month period rebound to hit a three-year high of $10.35 million this year.

This was largely attributed to the forced sale of a high-end condominium apartment at The Boulevard Residences (BLVD) at Cuscaden Walk, which was knocked down at $5.7 million.

Executive Condominium Attracts Luxury Seekers

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Exec condo comes with luxury features

A 394-unit executive condominium (EC) #SingaporeEC project located along Upper Serangoon View is banking on a love of luxury to draw buyers.

Heron Bay's developers said that the project will feature living rooms with ensuite private pool cum jacuzzi, complimentary fibre broadband service from M1 during the first year of occupancy, a hydroactivated water swimming pool with "healthful cell-hydration properties" and a seasports recreation centre with kayaks for free rental, among other amenities.

Financing Homes With Short Leases

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Not all banks will finance homes on short leases

Some banks here say they are willing to finance new homes with shorter leases, but buyers might have to pay off these loans more quickly, or borrow less.

They were responding to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) announcement last week that it will offer its first residential site with a variable lease option of 30, 45 or 60 years for sale.

The 1.02ha land parcel in Jalan Jurong Kechil can also be developed for retirement housing.

Million Dollar HDB Deal Almost Confirmed

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Million-dollar HDB deal set in motion

IT'S almost confirmed: A million-dollar record price for a public housing flat looks ready to be set after the buyer and seller of an executive apartment along Queenstown's Mei Ling Street went through the first appointment with HDB yesterday, with that agreed-upon price.

The 150 square metre (1,614.6 square foot) home with three bedrooms and a study comes up to about $619 per sq ft (psf), also a new record for HDB flats. Both buyer and seller are Singaporeans.

GuocoLand Sells 40 Leedon Units in Private Preview

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

GuocoLand sells 40 Leedon Residence units

Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan's Singapore-listed property arm GuocoLand has sold about 40 units or 10 per cent of the total 381 units in its freehold Leedon Residence condo in the Holland Road area, BT understands.

It began a private preview of the project in mid-August at an average price of $2,000 per square foot. The developer is not offering any discount or stamp duty absorption.

For the preview, GuocoLand has released 70 units - mostly three and four bedders.

More HDB Supply but can Road Network Cope?

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

More HDB flats on the way, but can road network cope?

THE Housing Board is expected to complete building five Build-to-Order (BTO) housing projects in Yishun by 2014, but the road network to support the additional residents will be ready only a year later.

This time gap worries Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC), who foresees it causing massive jams along Lentor Avenue.

She was not the only MP expressing concern yesterday over the potential problems arising from the ramp-up in the building of BTO flats.

Government Delays Addressing DBSS Issue

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Govt in no hurry to finish DBSS review

There is no rush to complete the review of the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), given the government's current priority to ramp up Built-To-Order flats and executive condominium (EC) units.

This is despite the fact that DBSS land sales have been suspended since July last year, following a public outcry over a Centrale 8 DBSS unit in Tampines bearing an original price tag of $880,000. The DBSS scheme, which allows private developers to design and build some public flats, was introduced in 2005 to give flat buyers more choice.

Singapore Still Not the Highest in Home Capital Jump

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Domestic buys behind world home price hike

CITIES experiencing strong domestic demand for homes, such as Hong Kong, Moscow, London and Singapore, recorded the strongest growth in home prices in the first six months of the year. Hong Kong registered the sharpest jump in prices to top the chart as the most expensive city to buy a home in.

Best Performing REITs - Singapore's the One.

Singapore's REIT, or real estate investment trusts, yield the best returns in the world. This performance is luring investors soon after a property shopping spree across Asia, thus giving them a broader stream of income.

According to Bloomberg, 'Singapore REITs have outperformed the city-state’s benchmark Straits Times Index, which has climbed 14 percent this year. The 10-year government bond yield in Singapore was 1.38 percent as of Aug. 29. Adjusted for inflation, Singaporean savers currently receive a negative real return on their savings of 4.79 percent.'

While Ada Choi and Leo Chung, CBRE analysts, wrote in a report on Asia's REIT that, 'Although Asian REITs are expected to remain in buying mode, they will likely turn more selective towards future acquisitions, with yield enhancement and insulation from the global economic slowdown emerging as important criteria.'

(Source: Bloomberg)

Who Says There is a Property Bubble?

RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Property bubble? Read the numbers

Property prices tend to rise faster when the gap between real GDP growth and interest rates is bigger. There were eight years when the URA private property index chalked up double-digit growth in real terms (that is, net of inflation). Those years were 1989, 1991 to 1994, 1999 and 2007 and 2010. In those eight years, real GDP growth was higher than real interest rates by an average of 8.4 percentage points. The median was 7.4 points.

So, looking back, the big property bubble of 1993 and 1994 was caused by too low a real interest rate. In 1993, real GDP growth was a blistering 11.5 per cent while the real interest rate was a mere 0.6 per cent. In 1994, real GDP surged 10.6 per cent, while the real interest rate was zero.