More projects prepare for launching

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.

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.

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.

Source: Business Times – 28 February 2012

Peter Kwee sells Nassim Rd plot for about $47.8m

Motoring tycoon Peter Kwee is said to have sold a vacant plot along Nassim Road for about $47.8 million or $2,000 per square foot (psf) based on its freehold land area of about 23,920 sq ft.

While the psf land price for the transaction is slightly shy of the $2,081 psf islandwide record for a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area set last year, it is nonetheless said to be a fresh high for Nassim Road.

The plot was originally part of a larger site of over 100,000 sq ft that Mr Kwee, boss of Group Exklusiv, teamed up with Tee Yih Jia executive chairman Sam Goi to purchase from the British High Commission back in 2001 for $50.4 million or $438 psf on a land area of 114,981 sq ft. However, on a net land area of 109,059 sq ft - after setting aside land for roads and drainage - the price paid then worked out to a higher figure of $462 psf.

The two men later split the parcel, with Mr Kwee taking the larger slice of about 63,300 sq ft. From this, he carved out two plots. One was a 39,383-sq-ft plot which he sold to Sukmawati Widjaja, also known as Oei Siu Hoa, for $25.5 million or $647 psf in 2003. Ms Widjaja now lives with her family in the bungalow on the site. The second plot is the one just transacted.

Mr Goi also built his own residence on the neighbouring plot.

Following the latest sale, the Kwee family is left with another plot on Nassim Road, next to the Russian Embassy.

The 45,006-sq-ft freehold site was formerly occupied by Nassim Gardens, a three-storey block of 10 apartments with a swimming pool. This has since been torn down. Agents say the plot, which has a long driveway, can be redeveloped into either two GCBs given the minimum land area of 1,400 sq metres or 15,069.5 sq ft stipulated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for GCBs or into another low-rise apartment project not exceeding the gross floor area of the former Nassim Gardens.

Talk in the market is that Mr Kwee has received offers of about $100 million or $2,222 psf but is said to be seeking about $110 million or $2,444 psf - or even more.

The psf record price for a Good Class Bungalow Area is held by 6 Chatsworth Road, diagonally opposite the Indonesian Embassy, which transacted at $2,081 psf in July last year. This slightly surpassed the previous record of $2,038 psf for 16 Cluny Road set in February last year. That deal in turn broke the previous high of $1,899 psf for 32H Nassim Road in October 2007 set by Raffles Education founder and chairman Chew Hua Seng.

However, the Chatsworth bungalow as well as 32H Nassim Road have smaller land areas than the typical minimum GCB plot size of 15,069.46 sq ft.

When GCB Areas were gazetted in 1980, they included some smaller existing sites. These are still considered GCBs as they would be bound by the other GCB planning rules if they were to be redeveloped. For instance, such plots cannot be further sub-divided and they cannot be built more than two storeys high (plus an attic and a basement).

Source: Business Times – 24 February 2012

Hotspots for completed properties

THE private housing market in Singapore scaled new heights in 2010 and 2011 as prices escalated past previous peaks, while the volume of new home sales hit fresh highs. Though attention was mostly focused on the primary market, the secondary market was also active with healthy price gains.

Secondary market transactions of private residential property totalled some 16,357 units last year. Although 27.7 per cent lower than the 22,608 units sold in 2010, secondary market transactions still made up more than half of all private home sales for 2011, at 50.7 per cent.

Prices of private homes in the secondary market also strengthened. According to the National University of Singapore's Singapore Residential Price Index Series (SRPI), prices of such properties rose by 25 per cent between end-2009 and end-2011. The SRPI tracks price changes in its basket of completed non-landed private homes.

This outperformed the 24.4 per cent rise for all private residential property types and the 19.2 per cent gain for non-landed private homes, going by the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) price indices over the same period. These URA indices include completed and uncompleted homes.

Hotspots in Singapore

In 2011, buyers who bought from completed non-landed private residential projects at least five years old were particularly keen on five districts. Ranked in terms of transaction volume, they were 15, 23, 16, 10 and 19. Based on caveat records in the URA's Real Estate Information System (Realis) on Jan 30 this year, these districts chalked up the highest transaction volume for secondary market non-landed homes.

Singaporeans accounted for more than 54 per cent of all such transactions in each of these hotspot locations.

Buyers from China were most active in districts 23 (covering areas such as Hillview, Diary Farm, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang) and 19 (including Serangoon Gardens, Paya Lebar, Hougang and Punggol). They accounted for a significant 31.8 and 27.7 per cent respectively of all foreign purchasers of resale non-landed residential properties in these locations last year.

Homebuyers from India favoured the eastern part of Singapore, where they formed the largest proportion of foreigners who picked up resale non-landed homes in districts 16 and 15 - at 31.7 and 26.7 per cent respectively.

Indonesians were the largest group of foreign buyers in district 10, with a 20.3 per cent share.

District 15: The three most actively transacted developments in the secondary market in district 15 were Costa Rhu, Mandarin Gardens and Water Place. In Costa Rhu, units from 990 square feet to 5,813 sq ft were sold at between $1.18 million and $5.05 million last year. Water Place commanded prices of $1.1 million to $1.94 million for units between 904 sq ft and 1,636 sq ft. At Mandarin Gardens, prices ranged from $700,000 to $1.93 million for units measuring 732 sq ft to 2,034 sq ft.

These three 99-year leasehold developments are sought after for their proximity to the city, the waterfront as well as the green lungs at the Marina Bay Golf Course and the East Coast area. They are also close to established lifestyle and food and beverage haunts in the Katong and Geylang neighbourhoods.

Buyers are also likely to be attracted to the spacious living and dining areas of Costa Rhu units. In Mandarin Gardens, residents get to enjoy an Olympic-sized swimming pool and four tennis courts. Over at Water Place, all apartment blocks are widely spaced out, providing a sense of space.

Buyers are also known to purchase units in these developments for potential capital appreciation and rental income. For instance, those who bought units in Costa Rhu and Water Place in the Tanjong Rhu area in 2010 and sold them in 2011 saw capital gains of 18-19 per cent, according to caveats lodged.

This is before taking into account the seller's stamp duty (SSD) payable on all residential properties bought on or after Feb 20, 2010 and sold within 12 months from the date of purchase. The stamp duty rates applicable are one per cent for the first $180,000 of the sale price, 2 per cent for the next $180,000, and 3 per cent for the balance.

However, prospective investors should note that under the prevailing SSD regime effective Jan 14, 2011, aimed at dampening speculative activity, the holding period for the imposition of SSD has been extended to four years. The SSD rates have also been hiked to 16 per cent, 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent of the sale price for residential properties bought on or after Jan 14, 2011, and sold within the first, second, third and fourth year of purchase, respectively.

In the leasing market, units at Costa Rhu and Water Place garnered net rental yields of 2.5 per cent to 4.1 per cent last year. Prices at Mandarin Gardens in Siglap appreciated by about 17 per cent last year and net rental yields ranged from 2.4-3.7 per cent during the year.

District 23: In this district, the three most sought-after developments last year were Regent Heights, Northvale and Palm Gardens. According to caveat records, units measuring 689 sq ft to 2,594 sq ft found in these 99-year leasehold developments changed hands at prices ranging from $705,000 to $1.6 million last year.

Those who bought units in these developments in 2010 and sold them last year enjoyed capital gains of between 11 per cent and 30 per cent. They also reaped rental yields ranging from 2.8-4.5 per cent.

District 16: In this district in the east, buyers in the secondary market last year were mostly keen on The Bayshore, Costa Del Sol and Bayshore Park. These 99-year leasehold developments are close to established housing estates such as Bedok and Marine Parade as well as the airport. They also boast impressive views of the nearby East Coast Park and the sea.

Buyers of apartments at Costa Del Sol are also likely to have been attracted to the large living and dining areas of the units as well as the functional and regular layout of the rooms.

In 2011, units in these developments were transacted at prices ranging from $580,000 to $3.6 million for units measuring 624 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft. Those who bought units in The Bayshore and Bayshore Park in 2010 and disposed of them in 2011 realised capital gains of about 8 per cent to 20 per cent.

Those at Costa Del Sol saw a price increase of about 17 per cent to 30 per cent. Rental yields for the three projects ranged from 3-5 per cent in 2011.

District 10: Valley Park, The Tessarina and Duchess Crest were the three most transacted developments in the coveted district 10 last year. Units measuring 753 sq ft to 1,808 sq ft in the 999-year leasehold Valley Park in River Valley Road were transacted at prices ranging from $960,000 to $2.77 million in 2011.

At the freehold Tessarina on Wilby Road, buyers bought units ranging from 969 sq ft to 1,367 sq ft, at prices ranging from $1.31 million to $2 million last year. At Duchess Crest, a 99-year leasehold condominium on Duchess Avenue, buyers bought units of 936 sq ft to 2,088 sq ft at prices ranging from $1.14 million to $2.63 million in the same year.

Valley Park is popular as it is conveniently located next to Valley Point Shopping Centre and is close to Great World City. Units in the project also have large living and dining areas as well as service yards. Similarly, units at The Tessarina have large bedrooms and good layouts.

Those who bought units at Valley Park and The Tessarina in 2010 and sold them last year saw capital gains of between 10 and 20 per cent. In Duchess Crest, price gains in the same time frame were higher - between 25 and 29 per cent. Units in these three developments provided rental yields of 2.1-3.7 per cent in 2011.

District 19: Secondary market buyers in this district mostly opted for Kovan Melody, Rio Vista and Compass Heights last year. These 99-year leasehold developments are popular largely for their attractive locations. Kovan Melody, for instance, is adjacent to the Kovan MRT station. Units measuring 872 sq ft to 1,518 sq ft in size were transacted at prices ranging from $845,000 to $1.51 million last year. Investors in such units achieved rental yields of 3.1-3.8 per cent.

Compass Heights is integrated with the Compass Point mall, the Sengkang MRT station and the Sengkang bus interchange. Such integrated developments have proven to be popular. In 2011, Compass Heights commanded prices ranging from $675,000 to $1.68 million, for units between 667 sq ft and 2,519 sq ft. Rental yields for this development were in the range of 2-3.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, those who bought units in Kovan Melody and Compass Heights in 2010 and sold them a year later reaped capital gains of 13 per cent to 33 per cent.

Rio Vista is situated adjacent to Sungei Serangoon, the Serangoon bicycle track and park connector, and is close to Punggol Park. The location offers residents a green and park-like living environment. Units in the development also offer large service yards and private enclosed spaces. In 2011, units measuring 1,055 sq ft to 2,573 sq ft were sold at prices ranging from $785,000 to $1.8 million. Prices of units at the development appreciated by about 14 per cent in 2011 and rental yields ranged from 3-3.9 per cent.

Prospective buyers, however, need to be clear about the pros and cons of buying homes in the secondary market and assess if the available options meet their needs.

Those who buy such properties will have the advantage of occupying the property immediately or getting immediate rental returns. Another draw of buying into an older project is the availability of larger units compared with what's on offer at most new launches these days. In addition, buying a completed unit allows one to visually assess the unit as compared to buying an uncompleted unit off the plan. The downside, particularly with older units, is dealing with potential problems with electrical fittings and plumbing and general wear and tear. There may be a need for extensive renovations in some cases.

Some buyers may be put off by the higher initial monthly repayments required for resale homes compared with progress payments for uncompleted units. Another drawback could be the more stringent rules for financing properties whose leases are running low. For such properties, there are limitations on the withdrawal of funds from the Central Provident Fund as well as for financing loans.

Overall, options abound in the secondary market and the hotspot locations highlighted here can point potential homebuyers and investors to some attractive choices.

Source: Business Times – 23 February 2012

Hong Leong sells 65 Bartley units at $1,240 psf

HONG Leong Group yesterday sold 65 units at Bartley Residences at an average price of $1,240 per square foot after a discount of up to 20 per cent.

During yesterday's preview, it released 120 units in the 702-unit, 99-year leasehold private condo next to Bartley MRT Station. According to Hong Leong, 90 per cent of the buyers at yesterday's preview were Singaporeans and permanent residents.

The absolute price of a one-bedroom unit ranges from approximately $610,000 to $670,000; a two-bedroom unit ranges from $970,000 to $1.1 million; a three-bedroom unit is between $1.2 million and $1.4 million; a four-bedroom ranges from approximately $1.65 million to $1.9 million; and a dual-key unit ranges from around $1.8 million to $2.1 million.

The average price psf of $1,240 is after absorption of 18 per cent (including the standard 3 per cent buyer's stamp duty discount, and 3 per cent early bird discount), and an additional 2 per cent district discount.

The figures are encouraging because the launch is in the middle of the week. This development is likely to gather pace towards the end of the week, and that might give a truer reflection. The developers may have launched it (on Tuesday) more to get a sense of ground sentiment.

In addition, at $1,240, the developer is aware of market conditions and is clearly pricing the project at the right level.

The project - developed by Bartley Development, a joint venture between Hong Leong Holdings, City Developments, and TID Residential - is located next to Bartley MRT Station, and offers a range of unit types, from one-bedroom units (463 sq ft) to four-bedroom units (1,345-1,377 sq ft), and dual key units (1,603 sq ft).

In January, the consortium won a 99-year leasehold private condominium housing plot at Mount Vernon Road. Their bid came in at $388.1 million, or $495 per square foot per plot ratio.

The developer is certainly in a good position to capitalise that segment of the market. There are not many new residential projects being launched in the area, so pent-up demand is expected to be coming in from potential upgraders from the vicinity.

Last month, the 992-unit, mixed-use development, Watertown, which is located in Punggol Central, saw more than 160 of the 250 units released during its preview snapped up. The 689-unit, 99-year condominium Parc Rosewood, in Woodlands sold 165 of the 236 units up for grabs during its preview launch.

Source: Business Times – 22 February 2012

Nearly 500 new homes snapped up in past week

ALMOST 500 new homes were sold over the past week as developers stepped up their marketing efforts to ride on last month's stellar transaction figures.

Last month, 1,872 new private homes were snapped up - the highest figure since November 2010 - and builders are clearly keen to keep the ball rolling.

Developers are rushing to launch more units to ride on the positive buying sentiment and to lock in sales in case new cooling measures are introduced.

The sales figure shows the number of investors that are in the market. Low borrowing costs have left them with few alternatives, liquidity doesn't know where else to go.

The leader for the week was Macly Group's Guillemard Edge near Dakota MRT station, which recorded more than 230 sales. Units in the 275-unit project were priced between $1,150 per sq ft (psf) and $1,250 psf.

More than half of the units were one-bedders of around 409 sq ft with a price tag of about $500,000.

Parc Rosewood in Woodlands found buyers for 120 units at an average price of $1,000 psf. This was up from the $925 psf to $998 psf price range when it was first previewed late last month.

Last week's transactions brought total sales to more than 510 at the 689-unit project. It is jointly developed by Fragrance Group and World Class Land.

A City Developments spokesman said its show suites attracted a steady crowd over the weekend.

The firm sold more than 40 units in total at The Palette, NV Residences, H2O Residences and Hedges Park, as well as The Rainforest and Blossom Residences executive condominiums.

Similarly, Far East Organization sold 77 units across all its projects over the weekend, including at The Greenwich, Skyline@Orchard Boulevard and The Scotts Tower.

About 10 sales over the weekend at 435-unit The Nautical in Sembawang Road brought total sales to more than 200 units. Average prices were between $850 psf and $860 psf.

Experts noted that many of the projects that sold well consisted of small one- and two-bedroom units with affordable quantums. These are typically popular with investors.

Source: The Straits Times – 21 February 2012

Resale activity in older housing estates may rise

Resale activity in public housing estates with many elderly homeowners is set to increase after the Government introduced a $20,000 bonus for older Singaporeans who sell their flats and buy three-room or smaller flats.

The measure to help older Singaporeans unlock the value of their Housing and Development Board flats is likely to impact the resale activity in the public housing market favouring the older central districts such as Bukit Merah and Queenstown, given the higher proportion of senior households and recent property price trends. Up to 5 per cent of existing HDB households may take advantage of the new scheme, potentially giving a small boost to the resale prices of three-room or smaller HDB flats.

Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Queenstown could see more resale activity as a result of the new scheme, based on an analysis of the premium gap between five-room and three-room flats, and four-room and three-room flats, respectively, in each HDB town, as well as the number of senior households in the towns.

Overall, however, the Budget is likely to have a limited impact on the property market, given recent market trends and the existing government policies in place.

The Government's aim to double the number of housing units within 400 metres of MRT stations to 400,000 in a decade would require an increase in government land sales close to MRT stations over the next 10 years. Those are likely to be weighted more towards public housing developments rather than private property, given the Government's emphasis on building an inclusive society, it added. On the development front, we should see a shift in developers' strategy as there could be more public housing sites being released nearer train stations over the course of the next decade.

Source: Business Times – 20 February 2012

COVs for HDB flats fall by up to 30%

CASH premiums demanded by those selling their Housing Board flats are falling across the island, and by some 20 to 30 per cent in most flat types.

 

Property agencies told The Straits Times that this is the result of the record number of new flats released by the HDB, as well as upcoming policy changes, which are putting the brakes on both supply and demand in the resale market.

According to fresh figures compiled by The Straits Times, the overall median cash-over-valuation (COV) amount for all flat types based on last month's deals has dropped in the range of $4,700 to $8,000.

It has fallen more sharply for bigger flat types - as much as $10,000 for five-room flats and $17,000 for executive units.

COV is the sum that the buyer of a HDB resale flat pays above the flat's valuation. Under HDB rules, this has to be paid in cash, making COV a key factor in the affordability of HDB resale flats.

The latest COV data was provided to The Straits Times by agencies such as ERA Realty that accounts for the majority share of the HDB resale market.

The HDB stopped providing nationwide median COV figures in July last year as it said the figures could be misleading. But it still reveals median COV data by towns and flat types that have more than 20 deals in any quarter.

The lower COV figures are due to sellers and buyers 'sitting on the sidelines' to see what the changes are in the HDB market.

For example, HDB has hinted it may change rules to its build-to-order (BTO) scheme to allow more flats to be sold to second-time home buyers.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that this is significant because second-timers make up about 45 per cent of resale flat buyers - the largest buyer segment. Many are putting off either buying or selling homes until the policy becomes clearer.

HDB also rolled out a record 28,000 BTO flats last year, and will be offering another 25,000 this year. These new flats are cheaper and have lured many buyers away from their resale counterparts, said Mr Lim.

The falling COV premiums indicate that the HDB resale market could finally be taking a breather after a spectacular bull run in the past five years which has seen prices rise 84 per cent.

Some agency bosses are already predicting that HDB resale flat prices could dip 3 to 5 per cent this year, or up to 10 per cent if the global economic situation worsens.

Flats in good locations used to sell at a COV of $50,000 over the flat's valuation price.

Now, that's more in the region of $35,000, as sellers are more open to negotiation.

But sellers themselves are also more reluctant now to sell their flats.

Also, HDB upgraders who decide to buy new BTO flats only need to sell their existing flats in two or three years' time, when their new homes are ready.

As a result, the HDB resale market is the quietest it has been for a while.

Advertisements for the flats used to attract 10 to 15 calls a day in last year's busy months, but this has fallen to half that number in January.

Source: The Straits Times – 16 February 2012