Friday, March 23, 2012

Singapore Property News Update March 2012


COV of resale flats falling and effecting mass market private property market


Cash-over-valuation (COV) requested by resale HDB flat sellers is falling as resale HDB market is weakening in 2012. According to The Business Times report based on PropNex Realty data, median COV across all flat types fell by between $3,000 and $6,000. The median COV across all flats now is around $25,000, $10,000 less from $35,000 of the last quarter of 2011.

The decline in the COV requested for resale flat reflects the demand and supply side factors reining in the HDB resale prices. Read more: COV of resale flats falling and effecting mass market private property market


Resale HDB flats are severely unaffordable


Property Guru reveal what is known to everyone on this island; resale HDB flats are severely unaffordable according to the metrics of Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.
Source : HDBs more unaffordable than private homes

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) bites foreign demand for property


In November 2011, the non-permanent resident (PR) foreigners have bought 385 private property units including new sales, resales and sub-sales and had 16.5% share in the market. In December 2011, new cooling measures targeting foreigner property investment kicked in as Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. And in January 2012, foreigners bought only 53 units and their market share plunged to 6.5%.
Source : Foreign buyers retreat as December stamp duty bites


Geylang's property boom


Geylang, the red-light district in Singapore, is having its building boom thanks to its proximity to the city center. According to a report by The Straits Times, almost 1,900 new residential units spanning over 25 projects will be completed over the next three to four years. Many of these units are recently very popular shoe-box apartments.

Geylang will be sandawiched between city center and in-progress Paya Lebar Business Hub and investors are probably counting on young Singaporeans and expats who would work in these 2 locations. These 2 developments as well as in-progress new sport hub will probably change Geylang in a better way.

Foreigners snapped up around half of the units sold at Reflections at Keppel Bay recently

It looks like water-front luxury developments in Singapore are still popular among foreigners bought three out of the six units Reflections at Keppel Bay with an average price of S$2,100 psf over the past two-and-a-half months. 

Keppel Land has rolled out Telok Blangah water front project 969-unit Caribbean in 2004 and Reflections @Keppel Bay in 2011. They have still 3 more pilots to build water front projects, one is on the Keppel Island.  Keppel Land is set to roll out its third waterfront project  in the area which will yield 360+ units.
Source : Keppel: Waterfront homes still appealing to foreigners 

BTO launch near DBSS site upsets some DBSS buyers

Last january, HDB has announced a 670 units BTO project in Clementi, right next to the DBSS (Design, Build and Sell Scheme) project Trivelis. Until recently, all BTO projects were launched in so-called non mature estates but since 2011, HDB has started to release BTO projects in mature estates where only EC or DBSS projects were built before. 

DBSS have better designs and finishing than BTO flats, which usually require an expensive renovation just after it is bought. But many buy DBSS not because they are better but they are better located. And BTO flats are much cheaper than DBSS project flats, they are expected to be 25 per cent cheaper in the Clementi BTO  project, compared to Trivelis. 

At Trivelis, a three room flat costs from 375,000 SGD to 470,000 SGD while a four room flat can cost between 530,000 SGD to 670,000 SGD.

Some buyers are upset because they have just locked themselves into an expensive deal where there is now a cheaper alternative but analyst warn that those who plan to drop out from DBSS project may risk staying in Clementi at all since BTO project in Clementi will be very popular and oversubscribed thanks to the popularity of the mature Clementi estate.

Singapore condominium prices fell in first Quarter of 2012


Although resale prices of landed private properties has edged up in the first quarter of 2012, prices of ccondominiums fell, according to the latest estimates released by DTZ. High end condominium prices fell 0.8 per cent in Q1 2012, mainly attributed to the new property cooling measure of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. This can be seen in the  districts 9, 10 and 11 property prices which fell worst.

But the flood of new private properties under construction is also creeping into the market slowly and DTZ notes that this is also becoming a big factor effecting the property prices:

"It noted that competition from uncompleted projects was also a big factor, with an average of 2,200 units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), being launched in the first two months of this year. In comparison, around 1,510 condo units were launched each month in 2011."
Source : Condo prices down but landed home prices edge up

1 comment:

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    Condo Price Singapore

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