Singapore Private home sales recover in weak market

Singapore Private home sales recover in weak market 

301 units, excluding exec condos, sold in March; worst first quarter since 2003

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
 
PRIVATE home sales last month rebounded from February, but taken as a whole, the first quarter was the worst since Sars wreaked havoc on sales in 2003.
A total of 301 residential units, excluding executive condominiums, were sold last month, according to data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. In February, 174 units were sold.

This puts first-quarter private home sales at 795 units, compared to 427 units in the corresponding period in 2003.

In the previous quarter ended Dec 31 last year, 1,449 units were sold. While sales rose last month, the take-up rate of launched units remained similar to that in February, consultants say.

The take-up rate outside the central region in places such as Buangkok and the East Coast remained soft and could lead to a supply overhang, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of research for South-east Asia.

Prices remained generally weak last month, he added.

Using just the lowest median price category - more reflective of underlying market sentiment - prices outside the central region fell 9 per cent to $648 per sq ft (psf) last month, from $712 psf in February, said Dr Chua.

But high-end projects in posh areas posted a 6.4 per cent rise in the lowest median price to $1,621 psf last month, he added.

Dr Chua said developers are more upbeat about mass-market projects than buyers - evident from the number of launches and the recent strong bidding for suburban government land.

Buyers are cautious, as the economy is expected to slow in the coming months, he said.

Indeed, there will be launches at ‘more realistic prices’, said one developer.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said activity may pick up in the current quarter in terms of project launches, but buyers’ response will be ‘price-sensitive’.

Sales this quarter may improve and top 1,000 units, as larger-scale suburban projects will be launched, he added.

But Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak expects sales to stay thin in the coming months due to ongoing economic and financial market uncertainties.

‘Homebuyers, especially in the mass-market segment, are expected to remain cautious until there is a sustained recovery in the financial markets and economic conditions,’ he said.

Still, there are glimmers of hope. Yesterday, a government tender for a Toa Payoh condo site attracted four bids, with the top one from ChoiceHomes Investments coming in at a relatively strong $460 psf.

CBRE’s Mr Li said the top bid would translate to a break-even of at least $850 psf and a possible sale price of about $950 psf to $1,000 psf.

Source : Straits Times   - 16 April 2008

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What’s so special about Singapore Whitley Road centre?

What’s so special about Singapore Whitley Road centre? 

By Jeremy Au Yong 

EVERY day, thousands of Singaporeans on the Pan Island Expressway pass within a stone’s throw of it, but until the country’s currently most notorious terrorist fled from it in February, few even knew where Whitley Road Detention Centre was.
This in spite of the fact that the compound has nestled in the same quiet alcove off Whitley Road for 42 years.

Nearly two months ago, however, the centre was shoved reluctantly into the spotlight when Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari, 47, somehow escaped from it.

Alongside questions of how he was able to flee, the incident also sparked public interest in the facility he escaped from.

No doubt, this curiosity is fuelled by the mystery that still surrounds the Whitley Road centre. Very little is publicly known about it, and those who do know something about it, tend to say very little.

One thing that is clear, however, is that the detention centre is no regular prison.

But just what is so irregular about it?

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) yesterday pulled back - slightly - the veil of secrecy and gave The Straits Times a few details about just what makes the centre tick.

When Whitley Road Detention Centre was first set up in 1966, the authorities had a very different kind of inmate in mind: communists. The 1960s were days when the Communist Party of Malaya and its many satellite organisations were trying actively to topple the existing governments in Singapore and peninsular Malaysia.

The Whitley Road facility served as a holding centre for those arrested. There, they were interrogated and findings used for further investigations.

Between 1970 and 1981, those who had to be held for longer terms under the Internal Security Act were moved somewhere else, to the Moon Crescent Centre in Changi.

Today, the Whitley centre serves three key functions: investigation and intelligence gathering, detention and rehabilitation.

The need to fulfil these functions makes the set-up of Whitley Road rather different from a regular prison.

There are rooms with simple tables and chairs meant for interrogation and interviews.

When an investigation is ongoing, an interview session can last for hours, with breaks in between.

There are also rooms with polygraph machines, more popularly known as lie-detectors. In polygraph testing, electrodes are hooked up to a person’s body to track his heartbeat and other vital signs as he answers a number of questions.

Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of Singapore’s International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said detainees at the centre would be treated better than criminals at normal prisons.

‘The rumours you hear about harsh treatment are not true. The conditions there must be conducive to rehabilitation. If you treat them badly, their resentment will grow,’ he noted.

Indeed, unlike in Changi Prison where a vast majority of prisoners share their cells with other inmates, at Whitley Road, detainees are housed singly.

This luxury serves an important purpose: to keep extremist ideology from spreading.

MHA noted cases in other countries where prisoners became ideologically indoctrinated by other prisoners, thanks to the ‘communal-type’ prison setting.

One example is Richard Reid, the British national who was steered to extremism in a London jail. Reid, tagged the ’shoe bomber’, tried to blow up a plane from Paris to Miami in 2001 with explosives in his shoe, and is now serving a life sentence in the United States.

Dr John Harrison of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said prisons were well-known as ‘education grounds’: ‘Particularly with politically motivated detainees, they can radicalise each other. If you don’t keep them apart, you may be creating an even bigger problem.’

In addition to single rooms, detainees at Whitley Road have further privileges.

For one thing, their families get to visit weekly.

Detainees are allowed to wear civilian clothes and to ’spruce up’, by shaving for example, when their families visit.

MHA noted: ‘The family is an integral part of the rehabilitative process, so ensuring that the detainees and families continue to keep close ties is important.’

Detainees also meet with Internal Security Department (ISD) warders, case officers and psychologists frequently.

Some also receive religious counselling from the Religious Rehabilitation Group, an informal group of Muslim religious teachers who help steer their counsellees towards the right understanding of Islam.

At Whitley, Muslim detainees are provided with their own prayer mat, Quran and kiblat, a sign pointing in the direction of Mecca.

The Whitley centre aims to provide a holistic environment in which detainees can be rehabilitated, said MHA.

The measures taken at Whitley are standard practice in similar centres around the world, said Dr Harrison.

‘These places are not just about punishment, but also to integrate them back into society,’ he said.

Experts stress that a centre like Whitley is a crucial piece in the fight against terror.

Said Dr Gunaratna: ‘The spearhead of counter-terrorism is sound and timely information and intelligence. The facility is pivotal in fighting a lethal group like JI.’

Several MPs here have already tabled questions on Mas Selamat’s escape for next Monday’s Parliament sitting.

MP Teo Ho Pin, chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs, said he will ask for an update on the findings of the Committee of Inquiry set up to look into the incident.
 
Source : Straits Times   - 16 April 2008

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S’pore’s new home-grown legal team

S’pore’s new home-grown legal team 

Law Minister, Chief Justice, Attorney-General and Solicitor-General are all from NUS

By Li Xueying 
LEGAL LEADERSHIP: Mr Shanmugam, as Law Minister, is responsible for shaping Singapore’s laws and legal system. — ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
 
A NEW generation of leaders is taking the helm in the legal field, and they have one thing in common: they went to the law school here.
They are: incoming Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Attorney-General Walter Woon and Solicitor-General Koh Kuat Jong.

All four were home-groomed at the National University of Singapore, or the University of Singapore as it was known in earlier years.

This common feature was highlighted by Mr Shanmugam yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with The Straits Times, his first since the announcement of his Cabinet appointments earlier this month.

Giving his take on it, he said: ‘To some extent, it would mean a good understanding of the local legal scene, legal training and development.’

They also would have benefited from being involved in local law for many years, he added.

Mr Shanmugam himself would have clocked 23 years as a top litigator here, by the time he takes over the Law Ministry mantle from Professor S. Jayakumar on May 1.

On what will be the hallmark of the new slate of legal leadership - ‘exciting and interesting’ was how he put it - he said: ‘Each person brings a different skill set to the table.’

CJ Chan, 71, appointed two years ago, was a ‘doyen’ among corporate practitioners while Prof Woon, 52, who became the Attorney-General last Friday, is ‘exceptionally bright’ and has experience as a diplomat. Mrs Koh, who also took up her new post last Friday, was trained in economics before moving into law.

‘It would be an interesting mix and from slightly different generations as well,’ said Mr Shanmugam.

The 49-year-old will be Singapore’s third law minister since independence in 1965.

During the interview, he touched on a range of issues, from the role of lawyers in civic society to libel law. He also gave his assessment of the Singapore legal profession.

The ‘depth of talent’ here is not yet comparable to that in cities such as New York and London. This will take 10 to 15 years to achieve, he said.

‘We have some lawyers who would easily fit into any top law firm in the world.

‘But law is closely linked to commerce, and as a financial centre and commercial jurisdiction, we are behind London and New York.

‘So to that extent, the cutting-edge products usually come out in London and New York first. We are always playing catch-up.’

He outlined three developments that will propel the profession here to world levels.

First, as the economy develops further, lawyers will get more chances to oversee larger and more complex deals.

Second, as they go overseas and foreign firms set up here, more will get greater exposure. Third, for more stars to emerge, there must be a larger base.

‘The biggest law firms in the world have 2,000 or more lawyers. Our biggest has 300 lawyers,’ Mr Shanmugam noted.

Noting that some Singapore law firms do cutting-edge work, he said: ‘The task is to make sure that is across the board, with at least five to seven law firms able to do that kind of work.’

Mr Shanmugam will also be the Second Home Affairs Minister, but he does not see himself staying in that role for long.

‘I’ll probably be there for a short while and then probably move on to something else - law and something else.

‘So I see it as a sort of training stint to understand the issues and therefore perform better as a law minister.’

Source : Straits Times   - 16 April 2008

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Singapore Private home sales leapt 80% in March from February

Singapore Private home sales leapt 80% in March from February

By Ng Baoying

SINGAPORE: There are signs the property market in Singapore might be making an about-turn following its muted start to the year.

Figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show that the number of private homes sold in March leapt 80 per cent from the month before, signalling improved buyer sentiment.

And developers were even more positive. They launched more than 600 units for sale in March - about 85 per cent more than the month before, and the highest in seven months.

Analysts said they expect to see more units being placed on sale in the months to come.

Donald Han, Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield, Singapore, said: “Moving forward we expect more launches taking place in the second quarter of this year. While there are generally not a slew of new launches, a lot of developers have re-launched their projects. Re-launched in the sense (they) have started to price properties at more realistic levels.

“Early part of year, it’s not too effective to start pricing there. But now we are well into 2008. There are developers who are certainly using pricing to attract more positive sentiment to lure the buyers out.”

Still, developers have some way to go before the property market even begins to resemble that of its heydays last year.

A closer look at the numbers show that most of the increase in sales came from the high-end market where sales jumped 80 per cent, compared to a 31 per cent hop in suburban region sales.

For now, it seems that mass market buyers will still be holding back in hope of better deals to come.

Analysts are also quick to note that the ratio of launches to sales in March still remain at February levels at 47.5 per cent to 46.4 per cent.

Nicholas Mak, Director of Knight Frank, said: “At first glance, it seems like sales figures in March have improved over February. The numbers moved back to about the same level as in January or December. But on closer analysis we find that the take-up has weakened. Typically about 70 to 90 per cent of units launched are sold. Right now that figure has fallen to about 50 per cent, same as February.”

But overall, analysts said the private home market data for March should still put a smile on the faces of those in the industry, given the current economic climate due to the bad news from the US and its ensuing ripple effect worldwide. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 16 April 2008

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More controls to keep Singapore real estate agents in line

More controls to keep Singapore real estate agents in line

By Wong Siew Ying,  
 
Industry watchdogs to lobby for more controls to keep real estate agents in line 
 

SINGAPORE : Real estate agents may be accredited under a new scheme, if the Ministry of Finance (MOF) gives the go-ahead.

Two industry watchdogs - the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) and Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) - are joining hands to start a new accreditation scheme and they plan to submit a proposal to MOF in the middle of the year.

They believe compulsory guidelines will help improve the professionalism of the real estate industry.

James Chua had planned to buy a 4-room HDB flat, in the Admiralty area, valued at about S$260,000. He was willing to pay only S$12,000 in cash over valuation (COV).

But he was told that another buyer had already made a similar offer, and that was when his agent came up with a “suggestion”.

“She (property agent) said if (I am) willing to pay S$10,000 COV and S$2,000 commission to the selling agent, then (I) can still buy the flat. I was taken a back. Isn’t that not representing the best interests of the seller? I find that highly unethical and lacking integrity. I said I won’t do it but my buying agent said if you are still paying S$12,000, then what’s the big deal. That was when I started to suspect that they are in this deal together,” said Chua.

Chua had since bought another flat through a new agent. But he had reported the incident to the Inland Revenue Authority, which is the licensing body for real estate agencies. Chua hopes more can be done to better regulate the industry.

Last year, over 1,000 complaints were filed against property agents.

The IEA said this is about 40 percent more than 2006, partly due to the property boom.

Said Jeff Foo, president of the Institute of Estate Agents: “All these years, we hear consumers complaining about unethical agents, agents not knowing their job. And at the end of the day, nothing is done about it. The agents get away with it scot-free, because they are not regulated.

“The best thing is to legislate. If taxi drivers and security guards are all licensed, why not real estate agents? Real estate agents deal with about the largest investment of some consumers.”

IEA said it can only take disciplinary action against agents who are its members. If found guilty, rogue agents will be blacklisted and will not be able to work for another real estate agency.

It estimated that there are some 30,000 real estate agents in Singapore, and only 1,500 of them are IEA members.

Under the new proposed accreditation scheme, new agents must be trained under the National Skills Recognition System (NSRS).

NSRS is a national framework for establishing work performance standards and certifying skills acquisition, implemented by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.

Existing agents are expected to upgrade themselves and pass the Common Examination of House Agents. There will also be provisions to punish errant property agents.

For now, the onus is on consumers to do their homework. They can run a check on their agents on IEA’s Central Registry System, or ask to see the agent’s Practicing Certificate.

From May, agents will have to submit the checklist to HDB, together with the resale application. This is to ensure all procedures are transparent. - CNA /ls

Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 16 April 2008

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Choice Homes unit top bidder for site-Singapore

Choice Homes unit top bidder for site-Singapore

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

A SUBSIDIARY of NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative yesterday placed the top bid of $290.19 million or $460 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) for a 99-year leasehold private condominium site at Lorong 2/3 Toa Payoh.
The bid was about 23 per cent lower than the $601 psf per plot ratio that property giant Far East Organization paid for a condo site next to Ang Mo Kio Hub in September last year, when the market was still buoyant.

That plot is about two MRT stops away from the latest parcel, which is a stone’s throw from Braddell MRT station.

The $601 psf ppr for the Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 site is a record for 99-year suburban condo land, and that tender attracted a whopping 14 bids.

In contrast, yesterday’s tender for the Toa Payoh plot drew only four bids. Besides ChoiceHomes Investments Pte Ltd, the other bids came from GuocoLand unit First Capital Holdings ($263 million or $417 psf ppr); Frasers Centrepoint ($319 psf ppr) and a joint bid by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments for $311 psf ppr.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho estimates the breakeven cost for Choice Homes would be around $800 psf. Secondary market deals at freehold Trellis Towers at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 are between $850 psf and $950 psf, while the older 99-year leasehold Oleander Towers is selling for $700-800 psf.
 
Analysts reckon Choice Homes may have priced its bid on the assumption of an average selling price of $950-1,000 psf.

Choice Homes CEO Margaret Goh declined to comment on the breakeven cost for the proposed condo, but said that the 43-storey project with about 560 units would target the ‘upper end of the mass market, more affluent HDB upgraders’ given the attractiveness of the location in Toa Payoh, which offers good investment value.

Ms Goh also disclosed that Choice Homes is in talks with possible joint-venture partners.
Source : Business Times   - 16 April 2008

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Singapore Global property firms showcase projects here

Singapore Global property firms showcase projects here

M’sian developers making their presence felt at Cityscape Asia 2008
By ARTHUR SIM
IN a light moment at the Cityscape Asia 2008 conference yesterday, Urban Redevelopment Authority chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said: ‘For those interested, I still have land to sell.’
 
Ms Cheong: Marina Bay offers big opportunities 
Ms Cheong, who gave the keynote address at the conference, was referring to the redevelopment of Tanjong Rhu, a former shipyard area, and how urban planning can help enhance value and ‘bring about real estate opportunities’.

She was also priming the audience for much larger real estate opportunities at Marina Bay, revealing that so far it has attracted $16.5 billion of investments.

Malaysia’s UEM Land, which is behind the 24,000 acre integrated development at Nusajaya in the Iskandar Development Region of Johor, is also looking for investors at Cityscape Asia 2008.

Interestingly, while much was made of a memorandum of collaboration that UEM Land signed with US giant General Electric International (GE) in September last year on safety, security, infrastructure and the environment, UEM Land managing director Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said there was no discussion on ‘buying and selling of land to GE’.

GE is a ‘facilitator and project manager’ whose services were offered gratis, he explained.

UEM Land does want to sell property, and Mr Wan Abdullah said that at its latest Horizon Hills development, 50 per cent of the 465 units sold so far have gone to Singaporeans or foreigners working in Singapore.

While Cityscape Asia is very much a platform for the real estate industry to market its projects and services, the only Singapore developer exhibiting this year is City Developments Ltd (CDL).

It is part of the ‘Singapore: Building Green Pavilion’ supported by the Building and Construction Authority.

Nevertheless, CDL said it is proud to be participating.

Major companies with representation at Cityscape Asia 2008 were from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Brunei, Italy and the US.

Malaysian developers, however, are making their presence felt, with UEM Land and SP Setia taking up large exhibition spaces.

Also making their mark are developers from the Middle East, including Dubai World’s real estate unit Limitless.

Since opening its South-east Asian headquarters in Singapore in December, Limitless has been increasing its investments in Asia.

At Cityscape Asia 2008, it will showcase three South-east Asian projects - Malaysia International Halal Park, Puteri Harbour in Malaysia and Halong Star in Vietnam - representing some 1,285 hectares of land to be developed and an investment of some US$100 billion.
Source : Business Times   - 16 April 2008

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Singapore Temasek likely to shed more assets, conserve cash

Singapore Temasek likely to shed more assets, conserve cash

It may choose to consolidate holdings in Chinese banks
(SINGAPORE) Temasek, sitting on paper losses of US$1.2 billion on its investments in Merrill Lynch and Barclays, is expected to shed more assets and conserve cash to offset its exposure to the West’s ailing financial sector.
Analysts said that the Singapore investment company, which recently unloaded an Indonesian bank and a Singapore power producer, may choose to consolidate its hefty holdings in Chinese banks. Temasek last year was among the early big investors to call the top of the market, selling down part of its stakes in two big China lenders.

‘We expect that, increasingly, investments will be funded out of sale of current investments. So as they continue to rebalance their portfolio, there could be temporary or medium-term requirement for more resources,’ said Anshukant Taneja, who covers Temasek as a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

Temasek’s $164 billion portfolio is weighted towards the financial sector, with 38 per cent of its holdings in either banks or financial services.

Mr Taneja said that the large exposure could have a bearing on returns, but does not threaten its top credit ratings.

‘There has been a higher volatility in the recent past and that could result in volatility in earnings with regard to Temasek’s portfolio. This is a risk, but not as much to substantially affect their current ratings.’
 
Temasek joined other state funds from the Middle East and Asia to provide lifelines to US and European banks stung by the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market.

But Merrill shares have fallen 11 per cent since Temasek invested US$4.4 billion in the firm and Barclays’ stock price is down 38 per cent since July when it raised £pounds;975 million (S$2.6 billion) from Temasek and 2.2 billion euros (S$4.7 billion) from China Development Bank to fund a bid for ABN Amro.

Temasek exercised an option to buy another US$600 million worth of Merrill shares in February. It bought the 12.5 million shares at US$48 each, the same price it paid when it made its initial investment.

Temasek holds stakes in Bank of China, China Construction Bank and medium-sized Chinese lender Minsheng Banking Corp. Of the three, Minsheng is the likeliest target for sale given that it is more vulnerable than its bigger peers to monetary tightening and higher cost pressures, Temasek watchers said.

‘I would stick with the big banks, but not Minsheng,’ said a fund manager in Singapore who declined to be identified because he cannot talk publicly about individual stocks.

‘We are seeing increasing pressure on the banking sector because of monetary tightening, raising the potential for non-performing loans as property markets cool.’

Minsheng does not have as strong a deposit-taking franchise as other large banks to support a low deposit cost structure, Morgan Stanley said in a report last month.

Temasek owns close to 4 per cent of Minsheng, a stake now worth about US$950 million.

Last month, Temasek raised over US$3 billion by selling Tuas Power to China’s Huaneng and offloaded its 42 per cent stake in Indonesia’s sixth-biggest lender, Bank Internasional Indonesia, to Malayan Banking for US$1.1 billion. — Reuters

Source : Business Times   - 16 April 2008

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Kim Eng’s Ronald Ooi cuts losses on Singapore condo deal

Kim Eng’s Ronald Ooi cuts losses on Singapore condo deal

He is said to have led group which backed the purchase of Tulip Garden
(SINGAPORE) Kim Eng Holdings managing director Ronald Ooi, in his personal capacity, is believed to have led a group that backed Bravo Building Construction on its failed $516 million purchase of Tulip Garden.
 
Tulip Garden: The $516m deal failed as the buyer’s request to extend the payment deadline was rejected. The $25.8m deposit was forfeited 
BT understands from market sources that Mr Ooi and the group were instrumental in raising the initial $25.8 million or 5 per cent deposit on the Tulip Garden sale which has since been forfeited.

Mr Ooi, who is said to be worth some $300 million, is said to have decided to cut losses on the acquisition in the face of weakening sentiment on the prime property front. ‘It had become more challenging to raise the necessary funds under current market conditions to complete the deal,’ a market watcher said.

Mr Ooi could not be contacted.

The deal, which worked out to $1,018 psf per plot ratio, was inked in July last year when the Singapore property market was enjoying one of its strongest bull runs in recent memory.

The collective sale was approved by Strata Titles Board in February this year.

But last week, lawyers representing Tulip Garden’s owners sent a notice of rescission of the sale and purchase agreement for Tulip Garden to Bravo’s lawyers and notified them that the owners would be forfeiting the 5 per cent of the transaction price paid to them so far as deposit.

This was after Bravo failed to pay the second 5 per cent instalment by the deadline on April 7.

Bravo had requested another extension of this deadline to June 7, as well as to extend the completion date of the transaction (which is when it would have had to pay up the remaining 90 per cent of the purchase price) from May 28 to Aug 7.

Tulip Garden owners had a meeting and most decided they wanted to cancel the sale if Bravo missed the payment deadline on April 7.
Source : Business Times   - 16 April 2008

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Singapore Private home sales tumble, prices weaken

Singapore Private home sales tumble, prices weaken

Buyers may have slight edge in power stakes but analysts expect caution to reign for a while
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Official numbers yesterday confirmed what many had already suspected as developers sold only 795 private homes in the first quarter of this year - just about half the 1,469 units that they had sold in the preceding quarter.
 
‘The current market sentiment is likely to continue into the second quarter. Activity may pick up in terms of project launches, but buyers’ response will be price sensitive.’
 
– CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho 
 
 
 
 
But there was also an equally significant pointer for market watchers looking for data on the direction of private home prices.

The islandwide median price of private homes (excluding executive condos) sold by developers dipped 0.8 per cent from $1,064 psf in February to $1,055 psf in March, with the decline coming from the Outside Central Region (where suburban mass-market projects are typically located). The median price there slipped about 3.8 per cent, from $844 psf in February to $812 psf in March.

However, the median price in the Core Central Region jumped from $1,723 psf to $2,450 psf, while that for the Rest of Central Region rose from $1,095 psf to $1,104 psf over the same period. These figures are based on Urban Redevelopment Authority’s monthly survey of developers’ sales.

Property analysts cautioned against reading too much into the monthly price data given that sales volumes are still relatively thin.

Developers sold 301 private homes in March, a significant improvement from 174 units in February but slightly lower than the 320 units for January.
 
These numbers are lower than the monthly sales of more than 500 units for September to November last year. The dizzy days between June and August last year had seen more than 1,000 units being sold each month.

Chesterton International’s head (research & consultancy) Colin Tan said that, focusing on projects with sales of at least five units in February as well as March, there were 14 developments that recorded month-on-month price declines, outpacing just seven projects with increases.

‘The number of declines versus rises gives some sense of the power play between buyers and sellers. The market is on balance at the moment, with some hint that buyers have a slight edge. We cannot yet say for sure that the market has definitely turned,’ he added.

URA’s data showed that developers launched a total of 642 private homes (excluding ECs) in March, up significantly from 343 units in February, which had a shorter period for home sales because of the Chinese New Year festivities. The March launch figure was the highest in seven months.

Jones Lang LaSalle, looking only at private apartment and condo sales, said the ratio of units sold to units launched has fallen from 101.2 per cent in November last year to 46.4 per cent in March 2008. ‘But the ratio may be stabilising since the March figure was just slightly lower than the 47.5 per cent ratio in February,’ said JLL’s head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang.

‘It seems developers’ optimism on the mass market far exceeds buyers’ expectations. Buyers maintain a more cautious outlook of the market as the economy is expected to ease in the next few months, despite the strong advance estimate of 7.2 per cent GDP growth for Q1 2008.’

The highest-priced primary market transaction in March was the $4,612 psf fetched by a unit at Scotts Square along Scotts Road - higher than the $4,140 psf top price achieved in February, for a unit at The Ritz-Carlton Residences in the Cairnhill area.

Looking ahead, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho said: ‘The current market sentiment is likely to continue into the second quarter. Activity may pick up in terms of project launches, but buyers’ response will be price sensitive.’

Knight Frank director Nicholas Mak too expects sales volumes to remain thin in the next few months in the face of continuing uncertainty of the US economic outlook and financial market problems. ‘Homebuyers, especially in the mass-market segment, are expected to remain cautious until there is a sustained recovery in the financial markets and economic conditions, which would spill over to the property market. Developers, on the other hand, are likely to launch their projects slowly in the next few months to take advantage of any improvement in market sentiments,’ Mr Mak added.

Source : Business Times   - 16 April 2008

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