Private housing prices moderate

Private housing prices moderate

SINGAPORE: Prices of private residential properties increased by 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, lower than the 2.0 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

This was the eighth consecutive quarter in which the rate of increase in overall private housing prices had moderated, according to real estate statistics released on Friday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Prices of non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) – which includes postal districts 9, 10 and 11 – increased at a slower pace of 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, compared to the 1.6 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, prices for Rest of Central Region2 (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) increased by 1.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively in the third quarter.

This was slightly higher than the 1.1 per cent and 1.7 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

Rentals of private residential properties rose by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, lower than the 1.3 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

URA said there was a total supply of 76,255 uncompleted private residential units from projects in the pipeline, as at the end of the third quarter this year.

This supply was higher than the 71,111 units in the previous quarter, and also the highest ever recorded since such data was first available in 1999.

Out of the total supply in the pipeline, 39,111 remained unsold in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the total stock of completed Executive Condominium (EC) units remained unchanged at 10,430 units as at the end of the third quarter.

In addition, there were 5,332 EC units in the pipeline.

URA added that another 1,115 EC units could come from the EC sites that have been released for sale via the 2nd Half 2011 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme.

As for office space, rentals increased by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter, down from the 1.5 per cent rise in the second quarter.

Total supply of office space in the pipeline at the end of the third quarter stood at 933,000 square metres GFA.

URA said more supply of office space will come from the GLS sites which were recently awarded by the government this year and the development of the six plots of land at Marina Bay and Ophir Road/Rochor Road to be jointly developed by M+S Pte Ltd.

Meanwhile, prices for multi-user factory space rose 6.7 per cent in the third quarter, compared with 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Rentals increased 2.1 per cent, down from the 4.5 per cent rise in the second quarter.

- CNA/wk/al

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

Private home prices hit new high, growth pace slows »« Property prices up marginally in September: NUS

Property prices up marginally in September: NUS

Property prices up marginally in September: NUS

By Avelyn Ng | Posted: 28 October 2011 2230 hrs

SINGAPORE: Property prices increased marginally by 0.1 per cent month-on-month in September, according to the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Prices fell 0.2 per cent in August.

The Overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) by NUS may have increased, but a separate index that tracks small units fell.

The SRPI Small, which tracks the volatile prices of small units (under 506 square feet) fell 1.2 per cent after rising 3 per cent in the previous month.

Excluding small units, the index for properties in the central region (SRPI Central) fell by 0.2 per cent in September after falling 0.5 per cent in the previous month.

In the non-central region, the property index excluding small units (SRPI Non-Central) rose 0.2 per cent in September after plateauing in the previous month, reflecting the strength of the mass market sector of the property market.

- CNA/cc

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

Private housing prices moderate »« New DBSS project launched in Clementi

New DBSS project launched in Clementi

New DBSS project launched in Clementi

By Sara Grosse | Posted: 26 October 2011 1922 hrs

SINGAPORE: Strong application rates are expected for Trivelis, a new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in Clementi which was launched on Wednesday.

Located at Clementi Avenue 4, Trivelis is the first DBSS development in the area.

Trivelis is also situated right next to Clementi MRT station and Clementi Mall.

E-application started on Wednesday and will last till October 31.

As of 9pm, there were about 650 applications for 888 units.

The project is one of those for which tenders were awarded before the government said it would put the DBSS on hold.

The three 40-storey towers were launched shortly after two other DBSS projects in Bedok and Jurong Lake District.

With an average indicative price of S$650 per square foot, the units at Trivelis are also priced about 10-15 per cent higher in comparison to the other DBSS projects.

Built with first-timers in mind, more than 50 per cent of the units in Trivelis are 4-roomers.

Since the launch on Wednesday morning, at least a thousand potential buyers have streamed through the show flat. While some were a little disappointed with the size of the units, most were drawn to the project because of its location.

“Because of the amenities around the area, it is actually a good buy. So I’m a bit afraid that it will be overly subscribed,” said one potential buyer.

“(It is) near to my parents’ place. I grew up here, so hopefully I will find a place that’s near and convenient,” said another potential buyer.

Some analysts expect a strong demand because the area has not seen a new public housing project in years.

Mr David Poh, regional director (China) at PropNex Realty, said: “There is a pent-up demand for home buyers dreaming to buy a house in Clementi without COV. Because if they turn to the resale market, COV is on the high side in Clementi.”

- CNA/cc

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

Property prices up marginally in September: NUS »« More HDB rental flats by 2015

More HDB rental flats by 2015

More HDB rental flats by 2015

by Carolyn Quek 04:46 AM Oct 21, 2011

SINGAPORE – The Government plans to boost the number of Housing and Development Board (HDB) rental flats to 57,000 by 2015, but cautioned at the same time against incentivising the growth of these units.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said this yesterday, in response to a parliamentary question filed by Workers’ Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam on the number of rental flats needed to meet the current high demand and when these flats will be built.

There are currently 44,000 households living in HDB rental flats, while another 1,600 are on the waiting list.

“We are building more rental flats, with a view of shortening the waiting time further through speeding up the allocation of flats to these low-income families,” said Mr Khaw.

The supply of rental flats will soon reach 47,000 and another 3,000 units will be added next year. With the total number of rental flats rising to 57,000 by 2015, Mr Khaw said this would make up 5 per cent of all HDB households.

Mr Giam then asked the minister on whether the new rental flats being built had factored in greater demand due to the looming economic crisis. Mr Khaw replied that the figures were larger than the projection of annual demand, and said he would “keep an open mind” as to how the situation would pan out.

As a “stretch target”, the minister added he would prefer “zero rental”, meaning every Singaporean would become home owners. “Whatever we do, we must not unwittingly incentivise the growth of these rental blocks. While we need some, but I think if we make it too easy for rental units to be accessed to, you can unwittingly create other types of problems,” said Mr Khaw.

Mr Giam also asked whether flats for the lower income were out of their reach, given that the application rates for smaller two-room and three-room flats were lower.

Mr Khaw said that a typical two-room Build-To-Order flat, which has an income ceiling of S$2,000, would cost less than three years of income, factoring in the grants available. Meanwhile, larger four or five-room flats – with an income ceiling of S$10,000 – cost less than five years of income. Carolyn Quek

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

New DBSS project launched in Clementi »« 80% of private homes bought by Singaporeans

80% of private homes bought by Singaporeans

80% of private homes bought by Singaporeans

by Carolyn Quek 04:46 AM Oct 21, 2011

SINGAPORE – The number of foreigners purchasing private homes here grew from 12 per cent to 16 per cent in the first half of this year, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.

Locals, nonetheless, still account for more than four-fifths of all private home purchases, said Mr Khaw, in response to a question by Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) on whether the minister would consider measures to restrict the number of private property units a foreigner can purchase.

“We are monitoring market conditions closely and if need be will take further measures. For landed property, we have longstanding rules restricting foreign purchases which we recently tightened,” said Mr Khaw. “However, we have to be very careful not to precipitate a loss of confidence, especially with the international backdrop of continuing uncertainty in financial markets and weak growth in the US and Europe.”

Mr Khaw also noted that the rising property prices cannot be attributed solely to foreign purchases. There are many factors at play such as low interest rates and Singapore’s strong economic fundamentals.

He said Singaporeans are also “understandably anxious” when they see property prices rising, especially those who are first-time buyers of private property.

Mr Khaw added that in the first nine months of this year, developers sold 12,000 units of private housing, about the same as the corresponding period last year.

Demand for private housing has remained firm, despite growing uncertainties in the global economy, and the supply of land has been ramped up through the Government Land Sales programme.

Land for over 14,500 units has been released this year, compared to 10,000 units last year, Mr Khaw added.

A series of measures to cool the property market and cut speculative demand have also been taken and are having a “clear impact”.

While the private housing market is still rising, the rates of price increase have been trending down since the third quarter of 2009, he said.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

More HDB rental flats by 2015 »« New home sales soar, despite global uncertainty

New home sales soar, despite global uncertainty

New home sales soar, despite global uncertainty

by Julie Quek 04:46 AM Oct 18, 2011

SINGAPORE – New home sales in Singapore surged last month despite global macroeconomic uncertainties and stock market volatility, driven by strong demand in mass market condominiums from HDB upgraders.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released yesterday showed developers sold 1,631 private homes last month, up 20.7 per cent from the 1,351 units in August. A total of 1,321 units were sold in the outlying areas, 260 in the city fringes and only 50 in the prime districts.

Including Executive Condominiums (ECs), September sales hit 2,064 units. This is the highest monthly volume this year and a strong 26 per cent jump from August’s 1,638 units, according to PropNex Realty.

Mr Mohamed Ismail, its chief executive, said: “September’s results were remarkable and largely contributed by the sale of A Treasure Trove closing 683 units, making up 42 per cent of the total transactions. These homebuyers are mainly HDB upgraders and the purchase rationale was the attractive pricing, with median price of S$915psf in this development, and its proximity to the Punggol MRT.”

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International, said: “Encouraged by the strong unrelenting underlying demand for mass-market homes, developers rode on the buying momentum and upped their launches of such housing projects in the Outside Core Region (OCR) in September, ahead of any dampening of home buyers’ sentiment.”

The number of private homes, excluding ECs, launched last month rose 39.1 per cent from the previous month to 1,919 units – and 1,504 of these, or 78.4 per cent, were in the OCR.

A total of 433 EC units were sold last month, up from 290 in August. Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research, said it was likely that the latest Government move to raise the household income ceiling for EC buyers from S$10,000 to S$12,000 per month had given a boost to sales.

For the rest of the year, Mr Li said that developers would be monitoring the impact of the euro zone crisis on the Singapore economy to time their project launches.

“Looking at launch-ready projects in Q4 and with prices remaining stable, it is unlikely that we will see the same level of take-up as in Q2 and Q3. We expect the total new home sales volume in 2011 to exceed the 14,688 units sold in 2009, but it remains to be seen whether it can outdo the record 16,292 units sold in 2010,” he added.

Land for 1,900 more homes to go on sale
To meet persistent housing demand, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be selling four sites this month that can yield about 1,900 homes, adding to the 13,825 units that have been launched under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme this year.

The first of the four sites, in Alexandra Road near the Redhill MRT, was launched yesterday under the Confirmed List of the GLS.

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants, said that based on a plot ratio of 4.9, the roughly one-hectare site can produce a maximum gross floor area of 48,768 sq m, or 540 to 580 housing units.

Mr Mak said the Alexandra Road site is one of the more attractive sites on the current GLS programme. He believes the tender could attract about 15 to 20 bids, with the top bids likely to be submitted by major developers with “deep pockets and holding power because if the winning developer plans to sell the units in this project at prices above $1,350 psf in the near future, it could need more than a year to sell all the units.”

“Based on our analysis, this site can be expected to fetch a winning bid of about S$305 million to S$341 million, or S$581 to S$650 psf per plot ratio,” he said.

The other three sites will be released on Oct 27 and can potentially yield another 1,345 housing units. The sites in Chestnut Avenue/Almond Avenue and Punggol Central/Punggol Plains will be put up via the Confirmed List, while another Executive Condominium (EC) site in Fernvale Lane will be made available for application for sale on the Reserve List.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

80% of private homes bought by Singaporeans »« Landed property: Fewer foreigners to get approval

Landed property: Fewer foreigners to get approval

Landed property: Fewer foreigners to get approval

by Ong Dai Lin 04:47 AM Oct 13, 2011

SINGAPORE – With changes to the Residential Property Act (RPA) in January, Law Minister K Shanmugam expects the number of approved foreigner’s purchase of landed property here to be cut by more than half.

Speaking to reporters after visiting a black and white bungalow, Mr Shanmugam said approvals are given to applicants who are making a “very significant economic contribution” or if the family is rooted in Singapore with children doing national service.

“After the further tightening up, I suspect we are looking at very few people who would qualify. I think probably less than half of those who had previously qualified under the earlier strict criteria would qualify now. I’d be surprised if approvals are more than 50 per year,” he said.

Only foreigners who are Permanent Residents can purchase landed residential properties here and those who wish to purchase such properties must seek the approval of the Law Minister. Each approval is allowed one property purchase.

Mr Shanmugam said the Government has kept foreign ownership of landed property to under 5 per cent and has maintained it at 3.5 per cent currently.

The Government has imposed stringent conditions on approved PR purchasers of landed properties because landed property should primarily be owned by Singaporeans and “the exceptions will be very rare”, Mr Shanmugam added.

The Law Minister was on a site visit to a black and white bungalow at 10AB Goodwood Hill, which was organised by the Singapore Land Authority.

The tenancy bid for the bungalow, which has a land area of 7,869 sq m, will close tomorrow.

Enhanced penalties under the RPA came into effect in January this year. For example, a PR owner who rents out his landed residential property without approval now faces a financial penalty of up to three times the rental income earned over the period of breach, or S$10,000, whichever is higher.

A PR owner who disposes of a restricted property without approval during the non-disposal period now faces a maximum fine of S$200,000.

The previous penalty for both offences was a maximum fine of S$5,000 and/or a three-year jail term on conviction.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

New home sales soar, despite global uncertainty »« More HDB flats and new towns planned to ease housing crunch

More HDB flats and new towns planned to ease housing crunch

More HDB flats and new towns planned to ease housing crunch
by Ong Dai Lin 04:47 AM Oct 13, 2011

SINGAPORE – Besides building Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats ahead of demand to ease the housing crunch, the Ministry of National Development (MND) will be preparing for new towns at Tengah and Bidadari, Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.

In the MND addendum yesterday to President Tony Tan’s address at the opening of Parliament on Monday, Mr Khaw said: “They (Tengah and Bidadari) will not be needed soon but we are planning ahead so as to retain flexibility.”

Tengah is near Choa Chu Kang, while Bidadari is near Woodleigh.

And, as Singapore’s population continues to grow and age, new infrastructure will be built to make the Republic “a city for all ages”.

“We will bring jobs closer to homes as new growth areas such as Jurong Lake District, Paya Lebar and Kallang take off. Housing will be gradually intensified, especially around MRT stations and in mature towns such as Queenstown and Bishan, to take full advantage of their excellent amenities,” said Mr Khaw.

The undertaking of more complex projects in a denser Singapore also means the construction industry has to increase its capabilities and productivity, he added.

The Building and Construction Authority will target to raise the productivity of the sector by 20 to 25 per cent over the next 10 years.

Mr Khaw also said the MND is taking “active measures to address the temporary imbalance in supply and demand”.

More flats will also be built to meet the demand for subsidised rental housing.

Mdm Parveen Bengam, 27, and her husband are among the families that managed to secure a rental flat with the HDB’s help, after approaching them in 2009.

Mdm Parveen, a part-time operator, told Today: “I finally have a roof over my head. The house is small but we have our own privacy and we have created a small world here for ourselves.”

Mr Khaw said the MND will strive for “even better-designed and sustainable towns that have ample public spaces and community facilities” in the next phase of public housing. “We are reviewing the Town Council Management Report so that it can better encourage and reflect how residents are participating in the daily affairs of their town council,” he said.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Landed property: Fewer foreigners to get approval »« Supply of residential land unlikely to let up in short-term

Supply of residential land unlikely to let up in short-term

Supply of residential land unlikely to let up in short-term

Posted: 12 October 2011 2236 hrs

SINGAPORE: The supply of land for residential homes is unlikely to let up in the short-term.

The government said it will release more land for private housing and will calibrate measures to ensure property prices move sustainably with the economy.

Property prices are a hot button issue and it is likely to get considerable airing in Parliament next week.

In an addendum to the President’s Address in Parliament, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the government is releasing more land for private housing to meet the aspirations of Singaporeans.

Keeping private property affordable seems to be the message.

This could mean that more sites will be made available for development when the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the first half of 2012 is announced in November or December.

Judging by the popularity of recent GLS tenders, executive condominium sites could be on top of the list.

Mr Donald Han, vice-chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, said: “By virtue of the fact that there’s a huge demand for executive condominium sites… and that the income ceiling for executive condominiums has been raised… I suspect more executive condominium sites will be released by the government in the first half of next year.”

- CNA/cc

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

More HDB flats and new towns planned to ease housing crunch »« Soon Lee St industrial site for public tender

Soon Lee St industrial site for public tender

Soon Lee St industrial site for public tender

04:46 AM Oct 07, 2011

SINGAPORE – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has launched an industrial site at Soon Lee Street for sale by public tender.

The URA said yesterday this was the last industrial site to be released for sale under the Confirmed List of the 2nd half 2011 Industrial Government Land Sales Programme.

The land parcel has a site area of about 1.96 ha and is to be developed for “Business 2″ uses with a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.0 and a lease period of 30 years. Under the Business 2 zoning, the site can be developed for various uses such as light industry, general industry, warehousing, utilities, or telecommunications.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Supply of residential land unlikely to let up in short-term »« Midlink Plaza sold for S$126.8m