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30 Apr

Changes to Exec Condo housing scheme?

2013 might be the year of housing policies shockwaves. Earlier in the year, news of singles being about to purchase new HDB flats directly from housing board stirred the market a little, then there were the limits placed on dual-key apartments which are now only available to multi-generational families. A cap was also put on the size of executive condominium (EC) units, at 160 sq m. ECs have been put under the microscope of late, with some questioning the amount of subsidies buyers are receiving from the government.

Forestville Executive Condominium.

Forestville Executive Condominium.

Certain members of public have questioned whether EC buyers should receive any government subsidies at all, since they are able to or willing to afford million-dollar units in both new and resale developments. The executive condominium scheme was initially set up by the government in 1996 to help families transit between public and private properties. But as the price gap between ECs and private properties now draw close, there has been a niggling thought about whether changes should be made to this scheme.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan recently highlighted that there might soon be changes in the EC scheme and buyers and developers are poised to react. Forestville, the next EC to launch in June this year, might benefit from increased response since buyers might be leaping at what may very well be their last chance to secure a unit under the current conditions. EL Development‘s Lim Yew Soon has this to say: “Whenever policies change or are alikely to, the immediate launches will have the biggest benefits. There’s a good change that buyers may snap up existing ECs to ensure they still receive the grant.” Will resale ECs also benefit from this rush?

Should there be a drastic adjustment in government subsides, the most affected might be first-time buyers. Buyers and owners of existing ECs are imploring the authorities and public to see things from their point of view. Engineer Eddy Lau, 40, said, “It’s not right to just look at the profit we make. We also pay more in interest over the years for the EC. For us who are sandwiched, ECs are the only option to upgrade.”

Ultimately, the question that probably begets the Government is, what defines “sandwiched class” and what are the housing schemes actually meant to do. And perhaps only honest answers will help everyone fully understand and accept Singapore’s future housing situation.

26 Apr

The Battle of New and Resale ECs

Recent reports show that median prices of resale ECs have outperformed that of new executive condominiums. This is the first time resale EC prices have overtaken that of new EC units. Prices of executive condominiums across the board have risen over the past 2 1/2 years. Westmere EC in Jurong West has seen a rise of up to 40.6 per cent in median prices and Parc Oasis has increased 35.8 per cent in merely 2 years. There are 18 ECs in the whole of Singapore and 92,38 per cent of the 9,130 units available in the market has already been sold.

Parc Oasis condo in Jurong East

Parc Oasis condo in Jurong East

Surprising? Perhaps not. Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle proposes that the sheer number of new exec condo units being put up on sale in recent quarters have made pricing of new units more competitive. New units usually fetched a higher price as they had the maximum number of years left on the 99-year lease and everything came new and fresh.

What could be the reason for this recent takeover of interest on resale ECs? Location is the most likely factor. For example, Bishan Loft which is situated near the Bishan MRT station xceeded the $1,000 psf media price in Q1 this year. Another reason could be that new ECs cannot be sold until after the five-year minimum occupation period and thus have yet to enter the market.

Bishan Loft.

Bishan Loft.

Executive Condominiums (ECs) were a category of housing, a hybrid between private and public,  set up by the Government in 1996 to help the sandwiched class who neither qualified for public housing nor had sufficient money to enter the private property market. But perhaps the question we now need to consider is, where do the sandwiched class really lie? Can most of them now afford private, especially since there has been a considerable increase in the number of new units put on sale, and the line between private and executive condominiums are now sinking deeper and deeper into a grey pool or uncertainty?

15 Apr

Executive Condominiums set for great heights

As new and resale condominiums, and prime and suburban apartments battle it out in the private property sector, the in-betweener is on a roll. A hybrid between private and public housing, Executive Condominiums look set to take lead in Singapore’s real estate market this year.

Twin Fountains Executive Condominium in Woodlands.

Twin Fountains Executive Condominium in Woodlands.

Starting us out is the Twin Fountains EC in Woodlands, launched last Wednesday. Units are priced between $580,000 for two-bedders and $1.26 million for a four-bedroom dual key unit. With 418 units across 8 blocks, each with 14 stories, Twin Fountain will be ready for occupation in 2016. It will be jointly developed by Frasers Centrepoint and Lum Chang.

With a substantial number of dual-key units available, response was naturally heated. 104 dual-key units will be built in this new EC development, and as the home buying trend goes, these are hot properties, aside from shoebox units in the private property sector and suburban non-landed residential properties preferred by most buyers and investors.

One has to take note that new rulings have recently been put in place for dual-key units in particular, to curb property speculation and making sure that the units go not to investors who are looking to rent out these two-entrances units with their potentially high-rental yield. Instead dual-key units will only go to multi-generational families. Frasers Centrepoint Homes chief executive Cheang Kok Kheong expects good response from the launch, especially since there has not been an EC launch in Woodlands since La Casa in 2005.

Forestville ECThe next Executive Condominium to look out for will be Forestville. Online applications for Twin Fountains will end on 21 April and successful applicants can look forward to booking their units on 10 May.

4 Apr

Executive Condominiums back in the fray

As the price gap between ECs and private condominiums continue to widen, more buyers are choosing the former. Why? It may not be because they are unable to afford a private condominium, but for the same price, they get more space in an executive condo. If you have $800,000 to spare, you can either get a 780 sq ft private condominium unit, or a 1, 100 sq ft EC unit almost the size of a 5-room HDB flat.

Heron Bay Executive Condominium in Upper Serangoon View.

Heron Bay Executive Condominium in Upper Serangoon View.

Current prices for private condominiums are above $1,000 psf. For ECs, they hover around $538 to $809 psf. At The Topiary in Fernvale, 185 EC units were sold for between $600 and $809 psf. Waterbay in Punggol went for slightly less at $538 and $73 psf. Heron Bay sold between $612 and $809 psf.

And what you get in an executive condominium may not necessarily be lesser than a private apartment. Ground-floot units, for example, at Heron Bay EC in Upper Serangoon have private pools with Jacuzzis. Sky terraces and many other fancy facilities are increasing the potential value and attractiveness of these public-private housing hybrids.

Topiary Executive Condominium in Fernvale.

Topiary Executive Condominium in Fernvale.

And not forgetting that ECs can be sold in the private property market after their Minimum Occupation Period of 5 years, why wouldn’t the competition in this sector be tough?The Government has already placed some  restrictions earlier this year, capping the size of EC units to 1, 722 sq ft and limiting the sale of Dual-key apartments (units with separate entrances) to multi-generational families. But will this be enough? Is this market something to watch for and will control be necessary? Will this trend result in an eventual increase the prices of executive condominiums or will it decrease the price of private condos?

28 Jan

Property prices’ sudden growth in Q4

Perhaps the property cooling measures are timely after all. What with the fourth quarter registering a sudden growth after a few months of slower movement.

Is the private property market quietening? Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board

Is the private property market really going to slow down? Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board

So in general, prices are still high, whatever dip in prices in the few months just before the end of 2012 were corrected by prices shooting up again, rounding off the year with a record-breaking run. The strong showing were in the resale HDB flat market, with a rise of 2.5 per cent and COV (cash-over-valuation) price increases, in particular for executive condominiums (ECs). The suburban private property market also saw equally strong demand, with prices up 3.8 per cent.

Developers, having paid high prices for their land bids, are not expected to drop their selling prices anytime soon, and their strong holding power will allow them to hold out till the market bounces back. Knight Frank research head Png Poh Soon is predicting a 5 to 7 per cent drop in high-end luxury home market this year, with a similar drop in mass market private homes prices.

Prices however, have considerably moderated over the years, ever since the first round of cooling measures rolled out in 2009. In the property boom of 2010, resale HDB flat prices rose a whooping 14 per cent; in 2011, prices rose 11 per cent; and in 2012, 6.6 per cent. The rise has slowed, but there is still a rise, nevertheless.

The interesting question will be, if prices are only allowed to go up, what will the property market be in like in say, 10 years? Will it be a case of what goes up must come down, or will more be priced out of property-ownership in the long run and put Singapore in the same league as major cities such as New York or Tokyo where renting is the way of life?

22 Jan

7 million people by 2030. 200,000 new homes by 2016.

Numbers, numbers, numbers. They come and they go. The Singapore Government certainly have a difficult task at hand if the numbers are anything to go by.

Jardin condo

To grow this little city state to 7 million by 2030, how will the housing, transport and environmental policies have to change? In a constant state of construction and building, the MRT network is expected to be completed by then. But will there be enough housing to go around?

According to DBS Vickers, which specialises in equity research, if Singapore’s population continues to grow, and it already is at a much quicker pace than anticipated, it may very well hit the 7 million mark by 2030, surpassing the government’s expected 6.5 million. So will 200,000 new homes by 2016 be sufficient?

Photo by the Ministry of National Development.

Photo by the Ministry of National Development.


On his blog, National Development Minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said that the property measures rolled out two weeks ago were to protect first-time buyers. It may not necessarily cause a large dent in the private property market, as rich Singaporeans increase in numbers and affluence is on the up. It makes one wonder if the ‘sandwiched class’ might feel even more claustrophobic and if there might be a widening of the poverty gap.

Mr. Khaw puts the current high demand in properties and market imbalance to previous under-building. Many buyers today are buying for investment, thus besides ensuring that there is sufficient housing supply, they may need to also step in to reign in the real estate investment sector.

From now till 2016, 80, 000 private properties, 10, 000 executive condominiums and 110,000 HDB flats will be outlining the property landscape. But despite all that the government has promised, industry analysts are still expecting a substantial group of first-time buyers to be priced out of the market. Whether the latest cooling measures will actually help them, remains to be seen. But at least there is a start.

18 Jan

2013′s Property Heave-Ho

It looks like there is going to be some push and pull in the property industry this year. And big hoorays for that.

Heron Bay Executive Condominium in Upper Serangoon View.

Heron Bay Executive Condominium in Upper Serangoon View has a number of Dual-key units.

Push: Singles may finally have the opportunity to buy new HDB flats. National Development MInister Khaw Boon Wan said his ministry is looking into implementing this new policy within this year. Without doubt, there may be restrictions, but at the very least, there is an option where there was no room to budge before. The minimum age is unlikely to be lowered to below 35, and singles buying new flats may be able to do so only for strict ‘owner-occupier’ purpose. The fact that 3,800 of the 18,000 singles who bought resale HDB flats actually did get married eventually may have helped.

Pull:  And perhaps a number of immediate issues popped up within the last couple of months which made the authorities think twice about making rules and sticking by them. The executive condominium (EC) market for one. It has dawned on them that some buyers have been ‘taking advantage of ECs to profit’. In the spirit of returning the EC scheme back to its original motivation of helping out ‘sandwiched class’ families who may need the space but are unable to pay for private property, Mr. Khaw has told Parliament that the Government changed the EC rules as soon as they realised what some buyers had caught on to. He referred to the fact that now EC units will be capped at 160 sq metres and only multi-generational families can apply. Apparently some families were immediately renting out their dual-key units.

Stay tuned for a lot of change.

9 Jan

EC penthouse developer keen to build more units

Missed a chance at the recent EC penthouses? You might get another chance. Albert Teo, Chief Executive of Amara holdings, responsible for the CityLife @ Tampines executive condominium development, has told the media that they will be developing more EC projects in future, as long as the demand gives sufficient reason to do so.

CityLife@Tampines executive condominium will feature a luxury penthouse the size of four five-room HDB flats, an infinity pool and Skysuites with roof terraces.

CityLife@Tampines executive condominium will feature a luxury penthouse the size of four five-room HDB flats, an infinity pool and Skysuites with roof terraces.

CityLife EC TampinesHe says that the penthouses “seem to appeal to multi-tier families desiring to live under one roof”, describing the extensive size of the penthouses as a ‘pro-family practice to be encourage’. The response from buyers have provided impetus for the developers, Amara Holdings, Kay Lim Holdings and SingXpress Land, to build more homes that will appeal to the ‘sandwiched class’.

CityLife also has other units such as Dual Key apartments and three and four-bedders. Over the weekend, more than 90 per cent of its units have already been sold.

National Development Minister, Khaw Boon Wan, has written about keeping a close watch on EC developments on his blog. Will developers have to work with restrictions and stricter guidelines in future? What is your take on the building of penthouse and more luxurious EC units? Do they make sense or are they changing the landscape of public housing?

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