Issue 37

Copyright 2011-2012 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2 Singapore Property News This Week p11 How Will Singapore Property Fare in
the Year of the Dragon?

FROM THE

EDITOR

Welcome to the 37th edition of the Singapore Property Weekly. Hope you like it!

p16 Resale Property Transactions

(January 14 January 20)

Mr. Propwise

p17 Singapore Property Classifieds #25

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

Singapore Property This Week

Residential
Strong sales at Parc Rosewood 99-year leasehold five-storey 689-unit Parc Rosewood located along Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive had sold 165 of its 236 released units. A good 120 of them (mainly one- and two-bedroom units with a few threebedroom units and penthouses) were sold during the first four hours of the preview launch, and this may be due in part to its lower price tag of $925-998 psf, 8-10% lowered than that of recent transactions ($1,030-1,100 psf). This is likely made in anticipation of effects from the ABSD. With the lower price tag, a one-bedroom unit start from around $398,000, a two-bedroom unit from $568,000, and a three-bedroom unit from $778,000. 2011 saw an increase in prices for small apartments by 11.8% In flash estimate figures released by the National University of Singapore for its Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) series, it was shown that prices of small apartments, defined as units up to 506 sq ft, increased by 11.8% in2011. Prices for apartments, other than small apartments, located in Non-Central Region increased by 11.7%, twice as fast as prices for those located in Central Region, which had

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 increased by 5.7%. The overall SRPI rose by 9.2% for the year of 2011, lower than that in 2010, which had an 11.7% increase. Between November and December 2011, only the prices for small apartments increased (by 3.4%) while prices of large Central and NonCentral regions decreased by 0.4% and 1% respectively. asking for $68 million or $940 psf ppr, including a $745,000 development charge and a $4.45 million land premium.

Two freehold residential sites at Balestier up for collective sale

Both sites, one located along 2 to 16 (even numbers only) Kim Keat Lane, another along 1 to 19, 21 and 23 Kim Keat Close, have a 2.8 gross plot ratio and can be built up to a maximum of 36 storeys. One site can be amalgamated with a 1,439 sq ft adjoining state land to form a plot with a 74,151 sq ft GFA which can potentially yield 88 800sq ft residential units. This site is
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The other site can also be amalgamated with a 2,832 sq ft adjoining state land, yielding a GFA of 90,179 sq ft that can in turn yield 107 800sq ft units. The asking price of the site including a development charge and land premium is $81 million or $940 psf ppr.
The two sites are expected to be popular given their proximity to Toa Payoh MRT Station, Novena MRT Station and Boon Keng MRT Station, and developers can bid for either or both sites by March 1. Surprising strong private home sales in January Excluding ECs, the number of private homes sold by developers in January may have
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 reached 1,700-1,800, compared to the mere 632 in December. This figure is likely to increase if ECs are included. Most of the units contributing to this figure came from Far East Organisations Watertown and The Hillier. The two sold 771 units and 387 units respectively at an average price of $1,224 psf. Including units it sold at other developments, the total came up to 1,253 private homes. Meanwhile, another developer, City Developments sold 224 units including ECs. For other developments, Parc Rosewood condo in Woodlands had sold almost 200 units, The Nautical in Sembawang sold 85 units, and Riversound Residence in Sengkang 80 units. The sales are surprisingly strong, and are driven mainly by Watertown and The Hillier, which were probably more popular because of their proximity to MRT stations and their integration with a retail section of the
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developments. Sales figure in other developments are much lower, despite having steady sales and steady stream of visitors to their show flats. Potential buyers are less willing to commit because of the ABSD, the uncertain economy and the expectation that prices will fall. ABSD is working as number of foreign purchase have decreased According to DTZ, the proportion of non-PR foreigners purchasing private homes has decreased from 23% in December to a mere 3% in January 2012. This may be due to the small number of caveats lodged so far. Nevertheless, this sharp drop is significant, analysts say. The sales at the recent launches show that ABSD is working as foreign share in purchases have decreased.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 Only 5% of the 771 units sold so far at Watertown condo and 10% of the 387 units sold at The Hillier were bought by non-PR foreigners. Compared to the 23.2% bought by foreigners at The Tennery last year, this is a sharp decline. While some believe that the foreigners share of purchase is going to decrease, others believe that the full impact will only be apparent in six months time. If prices stabilise and the economy proved resistant, foreigners may start buying property in Singapore again. Freehold Crystal Tower and Seletar Garden site up for en-bloc sale Freehold residential Crystal Tower located near Bukit Timah Road is back on the collective sale market, and is asking for $150 million or $1,458 psf ppr, slightly below its
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earlier asking price of $155 million, or $1,600 psf ppr. The 28-unit 11-storey residential development sits on a 60,482 sq ft site with a 1.6 gross plot ratio (GPR). Including an additional 10% balcony space, the plot ratio will be increased to 1.76, after paying a $5.22 million development charge. The freehold Seletar Garden development located along Cactus Road is asking for $8085 million, or $712-751 psf ppr. The 30-unit development sits on a 73,098 sq ft site with a GPR of 1.4 and an allowable height of up to four storeys. An amalgamation with adjoining state lands will bring the total site area to 92,3111 sq ft and the GFA to 129,235 sq ft. Any development on this site may prove attractive to aviation professionals who want the convenience of living near where they work.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 The tenders for the two sites close on Feb 27 and March 7 respectively. This trend of having several developments being put up for en bloc sales is not expected to continue for long as a result of the current economy outlook. Analysts expect the collective sale market to be quiet in the first half of the year, and what happens in the second half is dependent on the global economy. Since redevelopment of en bloc sites will take around two-and-a-half years to two-and-threequarter years to complete, developers may bid for these sites based on their prediction of what will happen in 2013 to 2014. The ABSD imposed on developers who did not build and sell all units on the residential sites within five years may also deter some developers from purchasing some sites.
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The Tampines applications

Trilliant

attract

1,000

99-year leasehold 670-unit The Tampines Trilliant, an EC located in Tampines, attracted around 1,000 applications in its first application period from Jan 27 to Jan 31, 60% of whom lives in the East side. Another onethird is by people already residing in Tampines. The popularity of the project is expected, it being located near shopping malls, Tampines MRT station and the future Downtown Line 3 Interchange. The booking for the development on Feb 4 will be conducted using balloting and buyers can either choose normal payment or a deferred payment scheme. The development will include 12 residential blocks housing 127 units of 872-1,141 sq ft three-bedroom units, 397 units of 1,001-1,378 sq ft three-bedroom

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 plus utility units, 1,302-1,593 sq ft fourbedroom units and 1,841-2,465 sq ft penthouses. 99-year leasehold private residential site at Jervois Rd draws 17 bids The highest bid for the District 10 plot next to the Chatsworth Park Good Class Bungalow Area came from Singapore Land unit SL Development, which bid $118.9 million or $880.74 psf ppr. The earlier predictions for the top bid ranged from $630 to $950 psf ppr. SL Development said that the expected breakeven cost is $1,300 psf and they intend to sell units built at around $1,500-1,600 psf. The developer plans to develop the site into a 130 to 140-unit five-storey project with oneand two-bedroom units and some threebedroom units. The proposed development also includes seven to eight strata threeBack to Contents

storey-plus-basement terrace houses. More upcoming launches despite ABSD Upcoming launches will include 99-year leasehold Twin Waterfalls, an EC located near Punggol MRT station, with e-applications beginning on Feb 10. The prices will be lower 20% lower than that of the recently released Watertown at around $720 to $750 psf. Another launch to look out for is the release of 99-year leasehold Palm Isles, a 429-unit condo development located at Flora Drive. It will be launched around the first week of April with prices set at around $900 psf. However, whether prices in general will fall remains to be seen. At the Redas (Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore) Spring Festival luncheon, developers were unwilling to say for certain that prices will fall

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 since they feel that it is too early to determine the impact of the ABSD. Even then, prices set will depend on the target market and the product itself. Nonetheless, foreign buying had definitely decreased and a fall in prices by 3-5% is predicted. Revisions to Conditions property transactions of Sale for or vendor pass away. The risk of damage will also only be transferred to the buyer when the sale is completed or when the buyer takes possession of the property, depending on which is earlier. Sellers can also now rescind the option or affirm it if there is dishonoured cheque payment. Other conditions were also revised or removed in light of policy changes since the last edition. Commercial JTC releases 58-year leasehold Business 1 industrial site in Serangoon The site located at Serangoon North Avenue 4 has a site area of 0.8 ha and a 2.5 gross plot ratio. Some analysts believe that the site will not be very popular, attracting bids of $130 $140 psf ppr from developers intending to
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The revisions made in the Law Society of Singapore's latest edition of Conditions of Sale 2012 for property transactions include some addition and deletion of certain conditions.
One new condition included the vendor giving a warranty to the buyer stating that there were no unauthorised additions or alterations to the property. Another is a three-month maximum postponement of the scheduled completion of sale from the date of death, should the buyer
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 build small strata units. Others believe that it will be popular since it has a good location, and may draw bids $150-160 psf ppr before the tender closes on March 13. Nevertheless, this is below what the site could have fetched last year. The new conditions on strata subdivision for industrial sites are likely the reason for the lower predictions. 99-year leasehold hotel site on reserve list released for sale The site located on Rangoon road was on the government reserve list until an unnamed developer applied for it to be released from the list, after committing to bid for the site at a minimum price of $56.5 million or $403.65 psf ppr. The 4.2 gross plot ratio of the 33,326 sq ft site brings the maximum GFA to 139,974 sq ft. Despite the competition that it will likely have from upcoming new hotels in the same
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region, the site is expected to be popular, drawing bids of $770 to 830 psf ppr. However, the hotel property sector in general is expected to be quieter this year, given the expected fall in room rates from the increase in supply by 1,400 in 2012 and 3,100 in 2013.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

How Will Singapore Property Fare in the Year of the Dragon?

By Getty Goh
This is my first article for 2012. Before getting down to business, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a successful and prosperous 2012! To start off the year, I have decided to write something on a lighter note for your reading entertainment. Some time back, I came across an article in the Singapore Business Times titled Finance,

saw a slight recovery while the latter held an

opposing view. After reading the article, I thought that it would be interesting to see how the Singapore property markets had performed in previous Dragon Years and to use the past trends to predict what 2012 was going to be like. Intuitively, it seemed plausible that the

Chinese zodiac had some impact on the

fengshui square off over this Dragon Year.

This article wrote that experts in the finance industry and geomancy circle were having different outlooks for the Singapore stock market in the year of the Dragon. The former

property markets. After all, the Dragon is a

creature that is both feared and revered by the Chinese. Just as many Chinese parents want to have Dragon babies, I wanted to find out if there was a Dragon Year effect for the

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

property markets as well? Residential property market performance in the Dragon Year Using the URA Private Property Price Index (PPPI) data from 1975 to 2011, a gain (or a loss) for the respective year was worked out by subtracting the index value of Quarter 1

Figure

1:

Number

of

profitable

and

unprofitable years according to Chinese Zodiac for private residential properties

(according to alphabetical order)

from Quarter 4. If the difference was positive,

that year would be deemed a growth year. Conversely, if the difference was negative, that year would be deemed a contraction year. Based on this approach, the numbers of growth and contraction years, according to the Chinese zodiac animals, were worked out (see Figure 1). Source: URA and Ascendant Assets Pte Ltd From the table above, 2 out of the 3 years Dragon Years were contraction years. From this analysis, some may infer that the

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 residential property market is unlikely to perform well this year. In comparison, the Dog, Monkey, Pig, Rabbit seemed unfavourable for industrial properties and the industrial index dropped when those zodiac animals came around.

and Rooster seemed to be all favourable

years for the private residential market. Hence, some investors might see some price appreciation if they were to enter the market then. Industrial property market performance in the Dragon Year What about the industrial property market? From Figure 2, we might say that Dragon

Figure

2:

Number

of

profitable

and

unprofitable years according to Chinese Zodiac for industrial properties (according to alphabetical order)

Years bring good fortune to the industrial

property sector. Apart from that, Monkey and Rooster Years also seemed to be auspicious times for industrial property owners. On the other hand, the Ox and Rabbit Years Source: URA and Ascendant Assets Pte Ltd

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37 Retail property market performance in previous Dragon Year From Figure 3, 2 out of 3 years Dragon Years Figure 3: Number of profitable and

unprofitable years according to Chinese Zodiac for retail properties (according to alphabetical order)

were found to be profitable. Hence, it might

be inferred that the retail sector would be generally favourable in the year ahead. In comparison, the Rooster was the only zodiac animal that had 3 rounds of price increases

and some might think that investors who

bought retail units in such a year would likely do well..

Source: URA and Ascendant Assets Pte Ltd

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

To

conclude,

must

qualify

that

past

performances are not indicative of future results. At present, there appears to be some

congruence between how people expect the

property market to perform and the past Dragon Years trend. To me, the distribution appears to be totally random and the congruence is simply by chance. divine forces. predicted. By Getty Goh, Director of Ascendant Assets, a real estate research and investment consultancy firm. To a

soothsayer, this may actually be the work of

Ultimately, only time will tell whether the property market will pan out as

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jan 14 Jan 20
Postal District 2 5 7 9 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 Project Name SPOTTISWOODE PARK THE MAYLEA SOUTHBANK RIVERGATE RIVERGATE SKYPARK FOUR SEASONS PARK GOODWOOD GARDENS NEWTON ONE MANDALAY TOWERS TRELLIS TOWERS ASTON MANSIONS RIVEREDGE OCEAN PARK HAIG COURT PARK COURT BLEU @ EAST COAST LAGUNA GREEN EAST MEADOWS BEDOK COURT BLUWATERS Area (sqft) 850 969 958 2,077 1,841 3,348 2,874 1,076 1,216 2,497 1,485 1,163 1,593 3,261 1,442 958 1,012 1,270 1,216 2,411 1,184 Transacted Price ($) 750,000 1,180,000 1,460,000 4,340,930 3,600,000 6,026,400 7,100,000 1,800,000 2,128,000 2,350,000 1,770,000 945,000 2,000,000 3,800,000 1,550,000 900,000 1,040,000 1,168,000 1,050,000 1,580,000 1,160,000 Price Tenure ($ psf) 882 99 1,218 FH 1,524 99 2,090 FH 1,956 FH 1,800 FH 2,470 FH 1,672 FH 1,750 FH 941 FH 1,192 FH 813 99 1,255 99 1,165 FH 1,075 FH 939 FH 1,028 FH 920 99 863 99 655 99 980 946

Postal District 19 20 20 23 23 23 23 23 27 28

Project Name PALM HAVEN THE GARDENS AT BISHAN LAKEVIEW ESTATE CASHEW HEIGHTS CONDOMINIUM MERAWOODS MONTROSA CASHEW PARK CONDOMINIUM REGENT HEIGHTS EUPHONY GARDENS SERENITY PARK

Area (sqft) 1,518 883 1,615 1,658 1,055 1,195 1,367 1,173 2,088 1,313

Transacted Price Tenure Price ($) ($ psf) 1,268,000 835 999 892,000 1,011 99 1,370,000 849 99 1,398,000 843 999 868,000 823 999 970,000 812 999 1,050,000 768 999 830,000 707 99 1,110,000 532 99 1,080,000 822 FH

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority. Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 37

Singapore Property Classifieds #25

For Sale Near Bugis MRT! The Bencoolen $1.15mil 2br 883sqft. Gd layout, excellent investment, no bay windows, gd rental yield. Call Clinton 98512159 Bliss Residences @ Kembangan. FH 1500+sf 3+1BR Penthouse. Only $1000psf. 1 min to MRT, 15 min to CBD. Rooftop pool and BBQ. TK Tan 98206228.

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