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24 Apr

Close to 80 per cent drop in home sales to foreign buyers

Permanent residents (PRs) aside, sales from foreign home buyers have dipped by 78 per cent in Q1. Are these numbers representative of the real estate market in Singapore? Are there untold implications hidden in these numbers?

Home purchases by foreigners plummeted 78 per cent in the first quarter as the effects of the 10 per cent additional buyer’s stamp duty hit hard. Most foreigners have retreated hastily from the market, buying just 293 homes in the first three months of the year, an analysis of caveats by Dennis Wee Group (DWG) found. This is 78 per cent down from the 1,358 homes bought by foreigners in the fourth quarter. Permanent residents (PRs) are not included as foreigners in these figures.

What do the recent residential property prices and sales figure indicate?

Among PRs, home purchases dipped just 7.5 per cent to 790 units, while Singaporean purchases fell 12 per cent. Tough cooling measures unveiled on Dec 8 slapped a 10 per cent additional buyer’s stamp duty on all home purchases by foreigners. But PRs had to fork out only an extra 3 per cent on their second and subsequent home purchases. Experts say the policy shift has caused foreigners to pull out of the market in a knee-jerk reaction as they reevaluate their options.

They say some foreigners might still see long-term potential in Singapore’s property market and are attracted by rebates offered by some developers to cushion the impact of the tax, but others are simply watching and waiting. Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of research and consultancy at DWG, said he expects the number of foreigner purchases to hover at these subdued levels for the next one or two quarters. ‘Whether the foreigner market picks up again depends on prices and whether market conditions are favourable in the later part of the year. If things pick up, then they will be back because Singapore is one of the more stable countries in the region,’ he added. Jones Lang LaSalle’s South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang said uncertainty in the global economy might also have taken a toll. The new rules might have prompted more foreigners to rent instead of buy, DWG added. This could have led to median rents of private homes inching up 2 per cent in the first quarter, Mr Lee said.

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
As long as Singapore’s political and economic stability is the draw, the property market will continue to be favourable. However, the situation here could also be closely linked to the global markets. What signs should we look out for to more accurately spot risks and property investment opportunities?

30 Mar

Palm Isles condominium sells half of first release

Mixed property-type private residential development, Palm Isles, has gotten off to a relatively good start by selling half of their first release of 100 units by Monday night. Are home buyers buying into the landscaped, resort lifestyle of this project?

Frasers Centrepoint had sold 50 units at its Palm Isles condo project in the Upper Changi location by 11pm on Monday night. The developer began previewing the project at its showflat at Flora Drive at 6pm, releasing an initial batch of 100 of the 429 residential units in the 99-year leasehold condo. The average price after discounts is $830 per square foot (psf),  below the $870 psf at which Hedges Park Condominium nearby is said to be selling at currently. The 501-unit Hedges Park, being developed by Tripartite Developers, was released in April last year and as at the end of last month, had 157 unsold units, according to government figures.

Palm Isles condominium features a resort-style ambience.

Palm Isles’ $830 psf average pricing is below the $850-880 psf that Frasers Centrepoint was expected to release the project at. Market watchers reckon that the developer would have taken into account competition from MCL’s Ripple Bay condo, within walking distance of Pasir Ris Beach, which goes on the market today. Ripple Bay is tipped to be priced at slightly above $850 psf on average – lower than the Seastrand condo behind it. As for Palm Isles at Flora Drive, buyers are mostly Singaporeans, some of whom are living in rented premises nearby. ‘The two- and three-bedroom units are doing well. We’ve also sold two garden homes,’ said Frasers Centrepoint Homes chief executive officer Cheang Kok Kheong. The developer has included 28 ‘garden homes’ in a low-rise block; each unit has its own private carpark space and garden.

Palm Isles private housing project in Flora Drive boasts townhouses or Garden homes, besides the usual condominium units.

The developer minted this new concept riding on the site’s sloped terrain. Garden homes have either four or five bedrooms. Palm Isles will have a mix of five to seven storey blocks in a resort-style ambience that will include lush landscaping, two tennis courts, and a 50-metre lap pool. The rest of the residential units in the condo will comprise one to four bedders. Absolute prices for one bedders start from $460,000 for a 506-sq-ft unit (or $909 psf). Two-bedders start from $660,000 for a 786-sq-ft unit (or $839 psf) and three bedders from $760,000 for a 990-sq-ft unit ($767 psf). A 3,014-sq-ft garden home is priced from $2.2 million (or $730 psf).

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
It’s an exciting time as many new private properties and new HDB flats jostle for attention in many popular districts. Location, a  view, well-maintained facilities and a ambience. Which are the pull factors for you? What will put you off considering a property and why?

 

26 Mar

Waterfront homes still popular with Foreign property buyers

The waterfront lifestyle has always been popular. And now that Singapore boasts a few more of these developments in the Marina Bay and Sentosa Cove areas, foreign buyers are snapping up units. Will the property investors keep coming?

Half of the units sold at Reflections at Keppel Bay in recent months were scooped up by foreigners, suggesting foreign demand for local luxury homes has not totally abated. Keppel Land sold a total of six units (at an average price of $2,100 per square foot) at the luxury waterfront development over the past two- and-a-half months, out of which three units were bought by foreigners. ‘There is still a worldwide trend for waterfront living,’ said Augustine Tan, president (Singapore residential) of Keppel Land who remains bullish on the outlook for waterfront homes. To add to the draw, all homeowners of Keppel Bay are also given a complimentary 10-year membership and five-year membership subscription at the Marina.

Reflections at Keppel Bay boasts waterfront living with a marina and a good many luxury amenities as well.

Obtaining its TOP (temporary occupation permit) in December last year, Reflections at Keppel Bay has a total of 136 apartments left unsold out of its 1,129 luxury units. Among the unsold units, 25 remain unlaunched by the developer and comprise premium units such as the development’s only 13,300-square-foot super- penthouse. Prices for the remaining units have an average asking price of about $2,400 to $2,500 per square foot (psf), though some premium units may go as high as $3,200 psf. This is in contrast to an average of $2,000 psf when the development was first launched. The property group has also set aside a total of 154 units as corporate residences to tap into the strong demand for the lease of such homes. Comprising configurations that range from two-bedders to four-bedders, leasing for the corporate units have commenced with average rents averaging $8,000 to $9,000 per month.

Bungalow at Sentosa Cove, where you can enjoy the waterfront lifestyle away from the mainland.

On future launches in the Keppel Bay area, the property group indicated at a press conference yesterday that it will be focusing on selling off the remaining units at Reflections at Keppel Bay before delving into their next launch. Having said that, plans for the plot 3 development have already begun with the new project envisioned to be a premium waterfront property comprising 367 home units to be located along the historic King’s Dock. Owning a total of six plots in Keppel Bay, Keppel Land will be partnering master architect Daniel Libeskind once again for the development of its third Keppel Bay plot. When all the plots are fully developed, Keppel Bay will have a total of 2,600 waterfront homes.

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
Although there is talk that activity in the luxury property market may die down because of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty put on foreign buyers, it may only be location specific. Waterfront living seems to still be a viable option and foreign property investment may not go away that quickly.

28 Feb

More Residential Property projects to be launched

Watertown, Parc Rosewood, Bartley Residences. New property launches have been selling exceedingly well in the first two months of the year. The wave of new residential projects does not seem to be subsiding, especially with a host of new properties to be launched soon – such as Greenwood Mews, Hillsta and Palm Isles.

Even as Hong Leong Group is understood to have sold about 160 units at Bartley Residences last week, other developers are getting ready to roll out their projects in the next few months. These include Tuan Sing’s Seletar Park Residence; Far East Organization’s Greenwood Mews (a 62-unit cluster housing development in the Bukit Timah area) and 416-unit Hillsta condo in Choa Chu Kang; and Frasers Centrepoint’s Palm Isles condo at Flora Drive in the Upper Changi area. Those looking for strata office units can also check out Far East’s PS100 next month, which will comprise 100 units of 402 sq ft to 507 sq ft spread across five levels (7-11) of a 27-storey tower at Peck Seah Street near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. The tower will also include the 314-room Oasia Downtown Hotel. The strata offices will have a floor-to-floor height of about five metres – higher than the 3-3.5 metres for typical offices. PS100 is slated for completion next year.

Palm Isles condominium in Flora Drive.

Over in Seletar, Tuan Sing is expected to preview around mid-March its 99-year leasehold condo, Seletar Park Residence. Pricing for the 276-unit, five-storey development is expected to take after The Greenwich next door, where transactions have ranged from $1,244 psf to $1,512 psf over the past four months based on caveats data. However, as an analyst points out, half of The Greenwich‘s 319 units are one bedders, allowing higher per square foot pricing to be extracted. As for Seletar Park Residence, 93 or a third of the project’s units are one-bedders. The project has 113 two-bedders, 46 three-bedders and 24 four-bedroom apartments. The project is being designed by award-winning SCDA Architects. Tuan Sing is developing Seletar Park Residence on a site that it clinched at a state tender in December 2010 for $468 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).  ‘We are preserving a row of raintrees on the site and will design a board walk and tree house around them, as part of our ‘green’ and sustainability efforts. We will also include a golf driving simulator room in our project,’ said Tuan Sing chief financial officer Chong Chou Yuen. The group also has another 99-year leasehold condo plot, next to Potong Pasir MRT Station, on which it is planning a project of about 312 units, including townhouses. A launch is likely around end-June, said Mr Chong. The project is being designed by MKPL Architects.

Seletar Park Residence will soon be launched.

Tuan Sing has a third residential project, at the freehold Serene House site in the Cluny Park Road area opposite Botanic Gardens MRT Station. The 63-unit low rise project is likely to be released towards end-September, Mr Chong estimated. For the whole of last week (Feb 20-26), Far East sold 66 units including joint venture projects. The three top-selling projects were Watertown in Punggol (17 units), The Hillier in the Hillview area (14 units) and euHabitat at Jalan Eunos (four units sold). To date, 917 of Watertown’s 992 units have been taken up since sales began in January. As for The Hillier, 446 of its 528 units have found takers, while the 748-unit euHabitat has seen 651 units being snapped up. Hong Leong meanwhile is said to have sold some 160 units at Bartley Residences since Tuesday last week. The average price after discounts is $1,240 psf.

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
How will these new properties be priced and how many units will be sold? Keep an eye on the latest property news and property launches to keep a running lead.

3 Jan

A year of Property highs and lows

What were the high points of Singapore’s real estate market in 2011? The showing was strong in the mass market suburban home sector, with quite a few successful new property launches. Not to be completely dampened by the recent cooling measures, let’s recap some of 2011’s highs and lows. And be a step ahead and look at which areas are expected to do well next year, and which are taking a backseat.

Mass market homes saw a sharp spike in prices and sales volume this year. How much of it was from foreign investors or Permanent Residents?

New home sales have proved remarkably resilient this year, with buyers nonchalantly shrugging off a host of worries, though the tide may be turning. Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that in the first 11 months of this year, developers sold 15,393 new homes. Once this month’s figures are in, this year could come close to beating the record-breaking 16,292 homes sold last year, but an apparent slowing in the sector could stymie that. Analysts attribute these remarkably buoyant figures to strong demand for mass market homes, which often seemed impervious to external factors.

But others have cautioned that the recent strong demand for homes may have been induced by the number of new developer launches. The strong demand for homes prompted two rounds of property cooling measures this year. The first batch came in January, marking a rocky start to the year. Those rules slapped residential properties with a seller’s stamp duty if they were sold within the first four years of purchase and lowered the amount banks can loan to home buyers to 60 per cent.

Another even tougher round of cooling measures was rolled out earlier this month. The new rules mean that foreigners and corporate entities will have to fork out an additional buyer’s stamp duty of 10 per cent. This is on top of the existing stamp duty of about 3 per cent. Permanent residents buying their second and subsequent homes and Singaporeans buying their third and subsequent homes will have to shell out an additional buyer’s stamp duty of 3 per cent. While the tough measures are keeping buyers at bay for now, industry watchers do not expect this to last long.

An iProperty survey showed what Singaporeans thought about the property cooling measures rolled out eariler this year. What will they think about the second round?

The latest round of measures is largely targeted at foreign buyers, said Mr Joseph Tan, CBRE’s head of residential services, a group that is not prominent in the mass market property segment. A recent report issued by CBRE outlined how Singaporeans make up 69.9 per cent of caveats lodged for homes outside the central region, and it is this local demand which will help prop up sales of mass market homes next year. Homes in this segment have long been dominated by first-time home owners and HDB upgraders. Now such homes are also a huge draw for investors and foreign buyers like the Chinese and Indonesians who have increasingly been muscling in on the scene.

Buyer sentiment is expected to moderate next year, with some analysts predicting a price correction of up to 30 per cent. But places with good fundamentals like a strategic location, access to public transport hubs and an established network of shops and amenities are slated to do well.

Several districts have remained tops among buyers while other neighbourhoods have fallen out of favour.

What’s hot?

Bedok:
The District 16 town of Bedok is the most popular pick this year, said Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International. So far this year, Bedok has recorded 3,848 caveats for both new and resale transactions. More than 100 units were sold at the 577-unit Archipelago project during its preview weekend earlier this month, at an average of $1,000 per sq ft. Bedok Residences stirred up controversy over its queuing system last month, ultimately selling more than 470 units out of the project’s 583 homes at a $1,359 psf median price. ‘Bedok benefits from a big pool of people who live in the east. This means the pool of potential buyers and sellers is also bigger than in other areas. Most of these people also tend to be reluctant to move outside the east and tend to seek out homes within the eastern neighbourhoods,’ said Mr Mak.

Bedok is where Archipelago project is situated, with all the pluses of Singapore's eastern neighbourhoods.

Punggol:

The Luxurie - near Sengkang MRT/LRT Stations.

The rapid redevelopment of the Punggol area has boosted the popularity of this fledgling waterfront new town. According to SLP International, this has helped boost the ranking of District 19, which includes Hougang, Punggol and Sengkang, to the No.1 spot for new home sales, with a total of 3,102 deals so far this year. The neighbourhood recently entered a new stage of development, with more than 5,000 new private homes slated for completion over the next few years. Many buyers will be drawn by an attractive new waterway and plans for a new mall near the MRT station. Still, some buyers have tended to dismiss this neighbourhood, saying it does not measure up to the amenities and infrastructure boasted by mature towns like Toa Payoh and Tampines.

But others have been more open to the area’s development potential, encouraged by the Government’s plan to establish Punggol as a waterfront town. In the first nine months of this year, close to 1,900 uncompleted units were launched for sale in District 19. Projects such as A Treasure Trove and The Luxurie proved a hit, with each development achieving take-up rates of more than 70 per cent. These projects have helped to boost overall sales activity in Punggol by 9 per cent year-on-year, and lifted new home sales in the area by 40 per cent, according to data compiled by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

Yishun and Sembawang:
Yishun and Sembawang have also done well, riding on healthy demand for private homes with innovative designs, said Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of property research firm R’ST Research. So far this year, 1,184 new homes have been sold in District 27, which encompasses the Admiralty, Sembawang and Yishun areas. Several notable projects such as Miltonia Residences and Canberra Residences have contributed to the boost in new home sales. Still, Mr Ong added that such far- flung areas face some hurdles as they are not so well-located and do not have significant development potential. This means some buyers may sideline these areas in favour of neighbourhoods like Jurong East and Paya Lebar which have better fundamentals like strategic location and long-term development goals.

Miltonia Residences in Sembawang.

District 15:
Coming in third in the new home sales ranking is District 15, with nearly 1,149 deals closed this year. Made up of neighbourhoods such as Katong, Joo Chiat and Marine Parade, this location has once again proved to be popular among home buyers. The area has also done well in overall home sales. According to data compiled by Savills, District 15 chalked up 11 per cent of the total caveats lodged this year, second to the 12 per cent garnered by District 19. Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International’s head of research, said the location’s popularity stems from its proximity to the city, airport and recreational and leisure facilities such as East Coast Park. ‘(Districts 15 and 14) also host a wide array of supporting amenities… as well as a large selection of food and beverage haunts,’ said Ms Chia.

Tivoli Grande in District 15.

What’s not?

Districts 9 and 11:
Despite being among Singapore’s most prestigious postal codes, Districts 9 and 11 have achieved less than stellar sales this year. The two areas include high-end luxury homes in the Chancery, Bukit Timah, Orchard, Oxley and Cairnhill neighbourhoods. It has been a lacklustre year for the high-end and luxury home segment. The poor transaction volumes in these two particular districts have dragged them to the bottom five postal districts for this year, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research at JLL. Year-on-year sales in District 11 slumped 53 per cent while those in District 9 tumbled 47 per cent.

Dr Chua said limited new supply in the prime markets is to blame: ‘People looked for better value options with a smaller overall quantum as the economy stuttered and buyers became more budget conscious.  ‘(This benefited) the mass market as the more affordable properties on offer drew in the buyers,’ he said, adding that foreign buyers have also been switching their location preference.

WaterScape @ Cavenagh condo project in District 9.

Promising

Tresalveo condominium project in Marymount.

Marymount and Thomson:
Interest in this District 20 neighbourhood has been building throughout the year, partly due to the opening of the remaining sections of the MRT network’s Circle Line, which now links the area to Holland Village and Buona Vista. ‘(The neighbourhood) is one of the few low-rise estates available which is centrally located, and perhaps still considered affordable for the average to above-average income buyer,’ said Mr Ong. A 603-sq-ft unit at Tresalveo, a condominium located opposite Marymount MRT station, sold last month for $748,000 or $1,241 psf. Mr Ong added that the smaller but more strategically located neighbourhood gives off an exclusive, quaint vibe, which could differentiate the area from the rest of the housing supply that will come onstream in the next few months.

Set to underperform:

Districts 9, 10, 11:
Prime areas popular among foreign buyers are likely to be the worst performers next year, said JLL’s Dr Chua. He explained that these areas will experience a drop in transaction volumes involving foreign buyers as they feel the pinch from the new 10 per cent stamp duty. Other analysts said the market for high-end properties had been slow even before the measures and this trend is set to continue, with prices and sales volumes remaining in the doldrums. The changing profile of foreign buyers is partially to blame, said Mr Mak. ‘More of them are from China and are turning to suburban residential projects, this compared to earlier batches of buyers like Europeans, Indonesians and Australians who tend to favour snapping up homes in the prime districts.’

Next year will no doubt be a challenging one for the private residential market as it adapts to the new cooling measures and the economic slowdown. Segments within the residential market will become more distinct, say analysts, with landed property to be a more resilient sector due to its limited supply and lower foreign participation. For now, both buyers and developers are playing a waiting game, said property consultants, and a clearer picture of what tone the market will take will probably emerge only later next year.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:

Will it be a long and drawn out wait between home buyers and sellers as the stamp duty hike kicks in? Despite it possibly affecting the foreign investment volume, how much will this put Singaporeans first in terms of housing? 

8 Dec

Are you misled by Property Ads?

Attracted by the proximity of properties to MRT Stations, impressive views and elegant interiors? What should you take note of when you see a property advertisement? What rules have the authorities set down to protect consumers?

A recent advertisement in the paper showed an artist’s impression of the newly launched Cardiff Residence shrouded in greenery and lush green fields. It also touted the property in Cardiff Grove near Serangoon Gardens as ‘My Resort Condominium’. In reality, the 99-year-leasehold condominium sits amid low-rise private housing. Complaints about such advertisements, as well as other misleading property claims, have been inching up in recent times.

Cardiff Residences on Cardiff Grove in the midst of landed housing in Serangoon Gardens.

In 2009, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) received 12 complaints. So far this year, 16 complaints have been made. These range from misleading property advertisements, some of which name MRT stations near the condominiums when the stations have not been confirmed by the authorities.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which is working on proposed changes to the Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act and Housing Developers Rules, developers are required to ensure that there is no false or misleading information in their advertisements for housing projects. Its spokesman said: ‘For pictorial representations in advertisements, developers would usually include a caveat to indicate that the picture is an artist’s impression of the project, as in the case of the advertisement for Cardiff Residence.’ No rules have been broken in this case, he added, as the developer had added a caveat to indicate that the picture was an artist’s impression of the project.

Do showflats really reflect the end product? Image courtesy of Ong & Ong.

The proposed changes to the Act tackle a range of issues, from the to pressure selling by sales agents and misleading advertisements. By the first quarter of next year, for instance, developers will be required to provide additional information on housing projects to buyers before the issue of the Option to Purchase. Among other things, the developers have to give buyers a drawn-to-scale location plan showing the amenities and facilities around the project.

However, some house-hunters said that the advertisements should be reined in. Mr Clinton Goh, 49, an engineer, said: ‘It’s really disappointing when the property and the area look so peaceful. Then when you go there, you see flats around it or dilapidated buildings.’ ‘There should be more of a caveat,’ he said, adding that the font size of the words ‘artist impression’ on the Cardiff Residence advertisement was too small.

However, property developers said they want to highlight a property’s ambience in advertisements. Views, they said, are a deal-clincher and they want to portray their property in the best possible light – usually as though they are sited in park-like locations. Ms Xuan Chin, 37, senior sales and marketing executive of World Class Land, the developer of Cardiff Residence, said: ‘Basically, what we wanted to show is the overall feeling of the area.’ She added that the property is located in a peaceful neighbourhood. ‘We were also worried it would be misleading, so we included the words ‘artist impression’,’ she said, adding that they will look into increasing the font size of the words.

Viva Vista in Pasir Panjang.

Developers such as Mr C.K. Ching, who heads Hume Homes, said that Singaporeans are sophisticated shoppers and will not buy a property based on an artist’s impression. ‘I also take ads out on most of my properties. In these ads, I only portray the building I am focusing on to sell,’ said the developer of condominiums like Viva Vista in Pasir Panjang. ‘Developers won’t put other buildings in an ad to complicate things.’ He added that deliberately misleading buyers by giving false distances from the MRT, for instance, is unethical.

The increased number of complaint cases, said Case and ASAS in a joint statement to The Straits Times, is likely due to the rising number of advertisements on property and the rise in the number of private properties on sale.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
Are there certain elements in property advertisements which you wish were eliminated or improved upon? What should you know about showflats?

6 Dec

Number of New Private Homes reach 10-year high

2011 has seen some real estate highs and lows. Contrary to previous years where the market slows in Q4, this year, developers are bucking the trend and pushing out new launches. This has raised the number of new private homes to 18, 300. Is there a possibility of a property bubble?

The number of new private homes hitting the market this year will likely be the highest in a decade thanks to a surge of launches recently, say analysts. Experts say about 18,300 new homes could be released this year, surpassing the 16,500 or so last year – the highest so far in a decade – and easily trumping the annual average of 9,900 between 2001 and 2010. The numbers have been rocketing this quarter as developers rush out homes in what is usually a quiet period.

Next up - The Nautical in Sembawang.

There were several major launches in October and last month, including Sim Lian’s Parc Vera condo in Hougang, City Developments’ The Palette in Pasir Ris, and the CapitaLand project Bedok Residences. More new projects are likely to follow this month, say industry watchers, bucking the festive-season trend for a sales slowdown.

Rushing to release projects earlier allows developers to ride on the prevailing home-buying momentum, said Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International. ‘Some developers have managed to expedite the sales preparation process and shorten the period from a typical timeline of between nine and 12 months to between six and nine months.’

The Palette condo project in Pasir Ris.

Pushing homes out for sale now also means getting a head start on the large batch of government land sales sites that were sold this year and which are expected to debut in the market next month, said Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International. A UOL Group and SingLand joint-venture started sales of its Archipelago project last Friday with average prices hovering just above $1,000 psf. About 200 homes were expected to be launched in the first phase of sales. The UOL Group declined to reveal sales figures, adding that more details would be released next week.

Far East Organization’s 231-unit The Scotts Tower in Scotts Road will be launched next week, two years after plans to reconfigure the then 68-unit luxury development into smaller units were announced. Far East said in a statement yesterday that 34 of the 56 units released during the preview sales had been bought. Prices started at $1.94 million, or $3,109 psf, for a 624 sq ft one-bedroom SoHo apartment.

Scotts Tower on Scotts Road.

Far East’s The Hillier, a 528-unit project in Hillview Avenue, near the upcoming Hillview MRT station, and the 435-apartment The Nautical in Sembawang being built by MCC Land, will be launched within the next two weeks. Agents said prices at The Hillier are expected to be around $1,200 psf, with 503 sq ft one-bedroom units to go for about $750,000. Indicative prices for The Nautical are expected to range between $850 and $1,000 psf.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
What are the prices like at these new property launches? And with most of the units bought, and quickly too, demand doesn’t seem to be waning. If demand remains high, what does this mean for Singapore’s real estate market, and more important, for Singapore’s long-term development plans?

26 Nov

Mainland Chinese top foreign property buyers chart in Q3

It seems money from China is flowing into the property market here in Singapore. Mainland Chinese have once again topped the foreign buyers chart in local real estate circles. What have they gone for and which properties are they attracted to?

Buyers from mainland China continued to snap up private homes in Singapore’s east in the third quarter, pushing up their share of deals, according to a new report from DTZ. The property firm, which analysed caveats lodged for both new and secondary sales, also found that foreigners bought 18.6 per cent of all private homes that were sold in Q3 – a new high. Foreigners (excluding Singapore PRs) accounted for 16 per cent of all private home sales in Q1 and Q2. Buyers from mainland China were the biggest group of non-Singaporean (that is, foreigner and Singapore PR) purchasers. They accounted for 30.6 per cent of all private home transactions in Q3, up from 26 per cent in Q1 and Q2.

Tivoli Grande in the Eastern area (District 16) of Singapore.

‘Mainland Chinese buyers are increasingly looking to buy properties overseas, including in Singapore, as a result of property cooling measures in China which have led to residential property prices falling in some cities,’ said DTZ’s South- east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.  ‘The predominantly Chinese population, good infrastructure and education system, and the safe and clean environment here make Singapore property an attractive investment option for mainland Chinese investors to park their money or buy a home for their children studying here.’

Private homes in the east were most popular with Chinese buyers. Their purchases in the first nine months in Districts 15 (Katong, Joo Chiat and Amber Road areas) and 16 (Bedok and Upper East Coast areas) totalled 419 units and made up 21.7 per cent of their total purchases. Standard Chartered analyst Regina Lim similarly noted in a new report this week that foreigners bought 28 per cent of all mass-market homes (that is, homes that sell for less than $1 million) in the first nine months of this year – higher than the 19 per cent in 2009 and 22 per cent in 2010. ‘With volumes and prices staying buoyant despite the weakening economic environment and repeated initiatives by the government to dampen the market this year, we will not be surprised if new measures directed at foreigners are introduced by the government, which in turn could negatively affect home prices,’ Ms Lim said.

Aalto condominium in District 15.

Foreigners’ share of all homes bought rose even as overall transaction volume fell. According to DTZ, transactions of private homes fell to 6,879 units in Q3 2011 – some 24.5 per cent lower than the 9,107 transactions recorded in the previous quarter. The figure was also lower than the average of 8,003 and 9,167 units per quarter in 2009 and 2010 respectively. DTZ, which downloaded the caveats from URA Realis on Nov 15, also found a larger proportion of buyers with public housing addresses buying private homes with sizes below 1,000 sq ft, as the overall quantum for such homes is lower and hence attractive to HDB upgraders.

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Commentary:
In comparison to other countries where foreign property buying is also on the rise, are the foreign buyers here buying for occupancy or merely as a means of earning? Who are the ones really profiting from such transactions? Do you think it will affect property prices here?

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