Pinnacle@Duxton wins prestigious global award

Pinnacle@Duxton wins prestigious global award

04:46 AM Oct 30, 2011

The Housing and Development Board’s Pinnacle@Duxton has won the prestigious 2011 Urban Land Institute Global Awards for Excellence.

The award is open to real-estate developments around the world. It recognises the full process of a project – covering construction, economic viability, marketing and management as well as design in an urban setting.

The Pinnacle@Duxton, at 50 storeys, is the tallest public housing development in Singapore. It was lauded as an outstanding example of how the HDB managed to confront the challenges of meeting housing needs in an urban setting.

The transformation of the area’s social life with the introduction of younger families – while sensitively preserving memories of the area’s heritage – was another winning factor.

HDB is the only Asian recipient for this year’s global award, with the remaining four hailing from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

HDB launches Sengkang commercial site for tender »« HDB resale flat prices up

HDB resale flat prices up

HDB resale flat prices up

Private home prices increased at slower rate in third quarter

by Ong Dai Lin 04:46 AM Oct 29, 2011

SINGAPORE – In defiance of the expected economic slowdown, prices of the HDB resale flats and private residential properties continued to march upward.

And while private home prices increased at a slower rate in the third quarter – compared to the previous quarter – prices of HDB resale flats went up by 3.8 per cent between July and last month, compared to 3.1 per cent between April and June.

This, as the number of resale flat transactions fell by about 10 per cent, from 6,581 cases in the second quarter to 5,903 cases in the third quarter.

According to HDB’s data released yesterday, the Resale Price Index has risen from 180.3 in the second quarter to 187.2 in the third quarter – an all-time high since HDB began tracking resale prices in 1994.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that the index has increased 11.6 per cent since the third quarter last year. Mr Lim attributed the falling number of resale flat transactions to “the lack of supply and high prices” which have made it “more difficult to conclude deals”.

He said: “Demand in the resale market continues to be strong; and they are coming from first-timers and families that have immediate housing needs, singles, PRs, up-graders and down-graders. These buyers make up almost 80 per cent of the resale market.”

Mr Lim reiterated that the rising prices were accentuated by the cash-over-valuation (COV) demanded by sellers. “They are able to do this as supply is tight and demand is strong,” he added.

According to HDB’s data, COV ranged from S$29,000 for a three-room flat in Woodlands to S$68,00 for an executive flat in Tampines.

SLP International executive director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak noted that the number of resale transactions is the lowest since the first quarter of 2004.

“Home owners are not offering their flats for sale and are keeping it for rental instead,” said Mr Mak.

Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh added: “If you own a HDB flat and a private property, you won’t want to sell the HDB flat because the next time you buy a HDB flat, you’ll need to sell your private property. And for those who have just finished their minimum occupation period (MOP) and are upgrading to a private property, they will just rent the flat and move into the private property.”

The number of HDB flats approved for subletting increased to about 39,100 units in the third quarter – up from 37,900 units in the second quarter. According to the HDB, subletting transactions fell from 7,177 cases in the second quarter to 6,549 cases in the third quarter.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail felt the resale flat prices will continue to rise in the next quarter.

But beyond that, he expects prices to stabilise with the new Build-to-Order flats that HDB will be introducing this year and next. This would draw more first-time buyers away from the resale market, he added.

Mr Mak pointed out that if the number of resale transactions continue to hover below 7,000 flats for the next “one or two quarters”, the rate of increase of resale prices will slow.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Pinnacle@Duxton wins prestigious global award »« Private home prices hit new high, growth pace slows

Private home prices hit new high, growth pace slows

Private home prices hit new high, growth pace slows

Figures suggest caution has crept into the market

04:47 AM Oct 29, 2011

SINGAPORE – Private home prices hit another all-time high even as the rate of increase continued to moderate, suggesting that caution had crept into the market amid heightened uncertainty in the macro-economic environment and a large supply pipeline.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the price index of private residential properties increased 1.3 per cent in the third quarter this year from the previous quarter to hit 205.7. Still, the rise was significantly lower than the 2-per-cent increase in the previous quarter and the URA said it was the eighth consecutive quarter in which the rate of price growth had moderated.

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of Research & Advisory at property consultancy Colliers International, said: “This is the first time since 4Q 2010 when the final full-quarter price index remains unchanged from the flash estimate. This could be reflective of a more cautious market sentiment.”

The URA said that as at the end of the third quarter, there were 76,255 uncompleted private homes from projects in the pipeline, higher than the 71,111 units at the end of the second quarter and the highest ever recorded.

A breakdown of the URA data showed that price growth in the city fringe and suburban areas outpaced that in the prime areas.

For the Rest of Central Region (RCR), prices increased 1.2 per cent, up slightly from 1.1 per cent in the previous quarter. In the Outside Central Region (OCR), prices rose 2.1 per cent, up from 1.7 per cent previously.

Prices of non-landed properties in Core Central Region (CCR) increased at a slower pace of 0.7 per cent compared to the 1.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

On the strength in OCR prices, Ms Chia said: “This is despite the grim global economic outlook and reflects demand from genuine home-buyers and longer-term investors as they remain confident about Singapore’s economic fundamentals amid a continued low interest rate and ample liquidity environment.”

Separately, the National University of Singapore yesterday released its Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) for September. The overall SRPI, which tracks prices of completed non-landed private homes, increased a marginal 0.1 per cent from the previous month after falling 0.2 per cent in August.

The SRPI Small, which tracks prices of homes under 506 sq ft, fell 1.9 per cent after rising 3 per cent in the previous month.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

HDB resale flat prices up »« Private housing prices moderate