Singapore Property Weekly Issue 215.pdf

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CONTENTS

p2 Don’t Always Believe What You Read

in the News

p8 Singapore Property News This Week

p14 Resale Property Transactions

(June 17 – June 23 )

Welcome to the 215th edition of the Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR

mailto:[email protected]

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 215

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Property Soul (guest contributor)

Did you notice when you flipped the

newspapers in 2012 and 2013, all the articles

on properties had headlines with keywords

like“the next hotspot”, “property boom

continues”, “robust sales in projects” and

“achieved record high”?

Fast forward to 2014 and 2015 – did you

notice that the same media had articles with

headlines such as“lower transaction

volumes”, “drop in property prices continues”,

“rental market continues to soften”, “more

bank sales” and “lowest in six years”?

Don’t Always Believe What You Read in the News

http://propertysoul.com/author/propertysoul/





Have you asked why there were few articles

in 2012 and 2013 warning buyers to be

cautious of the overheated market?

Have you asked why there was almost an

absence of articles in 2014 and 2015

mentioning the pockets of opportunities in this

bleak property market?

Have you ever wondered why the media can

flip-flop on their opinion and outlook of the

market within such a short time?

Have you ever wondered why a project or a

district that used to be the media’s favorite

can become a snub overnight?

A review of newspaper headlines on property

over the past three years can give you a

better idea on what is happening.

Iskandar properties: Once a cult, now a

doubt

1. Headlines with positive outlook

Iskandar condos now investors' darling (The

Straits Times, Jun 15, 2013)

Singaporeans snap up Danga Bay units

(TODAY, Aug 19, 2013)

Most foreign buyers of UEM's Iskandar

homes are S'poreans (The Straits Times, Sep

22, 2013) Iskandar property is hot commodity

for investors: Poll (The Straits Times, Oct 07,

2013)

2. Headlines with pessimistic view

Don't rush to buy into 'hot spots' (The Straits

Times, Mar 18, 2014)

Iskandar: Too many homes, too soon? (The

Straits Times, Jul 11, 2014)



Is Malaysia's Iskandar losing its shine as a

property hot spot? (The Business Times, Jun

26, 2014)

Oversupply by China developers sparks

uncertainty over Iskandar’s rental yield

(TODAY, September 30, 2014)

Iskandar 'housing glut' may hit rents (The

Business Times, Oct 01, 2014)

Iskandar needs economic activity for housing

market to take off (TODAY, Oct 4, 2014)

Home prices in Johor slide in second quarter

(The Straits Times, Nov 4, 2014)

Housing glut worries over Johor's mega

projects (The Straits Times, Feb 23, 2015)

Executive Condominium: Good buy or

good-bye?


Tampines EC 'presidential suite' to be priced

at $2.05m (The Straits Times, Dec 27, 2012)

Eyeing an EC? 'Golden period' to buy is here

(My Paper, Aug 18, 2014)

Jurong EC draws record number of

applications (The Straits Times, Oct 12, 2014)


EC upgraders may take big loan hit (My

Paper, Dec 11, 2013)

One in eight EC units left vacant in Q2 (The

Straits Times, Aug 18, 2014)

No one home as executive condominiums

wait for occupants (The Straits Times, Nov

17, 2014) Choices aplenty for EC buyers this

year (The Straits Times, Apr 18, 2015)

Commercial Property: Is it hot or not?


Investors look into commercial property (The

Straits Times, Dec 25, 2011)



More switching to commercial property: banks

(The Business Times, Dec 14, 2011)

Strata commercial properties see record

sales (The Business Times, Jul 19, 2012)


Global economic uncertainty casts pall on

industrial property (The Business Times, Oct

10, 2013)

Occupancy rate of industrial properties falls to

lowest level since 2007 (The Straits Times,

Jul 24, 2014)

Prices, rentals of Singapore industrial space

continue to moderate in Q3 (The Straits

Times, Oct 23, 2014)

Shophouse deals continue to languish (The

Business Times, 14 Apr 2014)

Strata industrial units looking to fill the void

(The Straits Times, 9 May 2015)

Shoebox units: When the hype fades


The rise and rise of shoebox units (The

Straits Times, Sep 12, 2012)

Buyers with HDB addresses drive demand for

shoebox units: DTZ (The Business Times, 25

May 2012)

For many, the shoebox fits (TODAY, May 17,

2013)

Shoebox units lift resale home prices (The

Straits Times, Aug 31, 2013)

8,700 shoebox units for resale from now to

2017 (The Business Times, Oct 23, 2013)


Private home resale prices drop 0.4% in Feb,

dragged down by 'shoebox' units (The Straits

Times, Mar 28, 2014)



Suburban shoebox units: Bottom falling out of

sector? Experts say flood of new homes next

year likely to put pressure on rentals (The

Straits Times, Sep 2, 2014)

Shoebox units 'hit by weak leasing market'

(The Straits Times, Dec 1, 2014)

Rentals of shoebox units may fall 5%-10%:

Analysts (Channelnewsasia, Dec 27, 2014)

Gloomy outlook for shoebox units as their

numbers rise (The Straits Times, January 29,

2015) Measures to curb excessive shoebox

units yield mixed impact: study (Business

Times, February 2, 2015)

Lessons learned

1. Read with a pinch of salt

When developers are launching new projects,

they have to buy advertising time and space

from the media to get the desired publicity

and attention. Wide media coverage is the

result of their efforts in advertising, public

relations and editorial contribution.

Nonetheless, the media has no loyalty to

anything or anyone they have reported

previously. When the tide reverses, or when

something gets out of favor, they can

immediately shift gear to cover the story in a

completely different angle.

2. Get first-hand information

The press is only capable of reporting what

has happened or what is happening. But they

are poor in predicting and are not in a position

to tell what is going to happen next.

As property buyers and investors, it is

important to step into the market to have a

feel of what is happening. It helps

tremendously if you are an active agent,

buyer, seller, landlord or tenant in the



marketplace.

Take the hints from your observations: Are

foreign investors losing interest in your

market? Do you see transaction volumes

increasing or decreasing at a slower pace?

Are owners taking longer or shorter to rent

and sell their properties in the market?

3. Form your own judgment

The job of the journalists is to look for news or

stories and report them. It is not their

obligation to do serious research, followed by

an in-depth analysis and a detailed report on

any subject.

Like what Jim Rogers said in A Gift To My

Children: “The media often propagates

conventional wisdom. Judge the content of

stories in the media and turn their

inaccuracies to your advantage.”

Savvy investors all think independently. They

know how to digest the news slowly and in

moderation. They understand that there is no

need to be too excited when the media says

something is hot. Similarly, it is not necessary

to be too pessimistic when the media says

the worse has yet to come.

Individual judgment is about the wisdom of

not believing everything you hear.

By guest contributor Property Soul, a

successful property investor, blogger, and

author of the No B.S. Guide to Property

Investment.

http://propertysoul.com/

http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/















Singapore Property This Week


Residential

Q2 HDB resale prices fall by 0.4%

HDB resale prices have fallen in Q2 this year

by 0.4%, following a 1% drop in the previous

quarter. According to Chia Siew Chuin from

Colliers International, buyers may be

anticipating prices to fall even further, thus

they may not be willing to make purchases

now. Chia believes that property prices will

continue to fall as there are a large number of

unsold units in the recent projects. Not only

so, developers are pacing out their launches.

In Q2, non-landed private homes have fallen

in the core central region by 0.5%; this is

higher than the 0.4% fall that was recorded in

the Q1. Prices of non-landed private homes in

the rest of central region also fell by 0.5%

while prices in the outside central region fell

by 1.2%. Despite the falling prices, market

experts are still uncertain if prices have

stabilised. For example, Eugene Lim from

ERA Realty believes that demand for BTO

flats will increase due to a potential increase

in income ceiling for new HDB flats.

(Source: Business Times)

GCB at Holland up for sale

A Good Class Bungalow that is located at

Holland Road is up for sale through

expression of interest.



The two-storey house was built in the 1950s

and is about 27,181 sq ft large. According to

Knight Frank Singapore, the guide price for

property along East Sussex Lane is

approximately about $1,200 psf on land area.

The vendors are open to offers, and the

expression of interest will close on July 30.

Knight Frank believes that the outlook for

good class bungalows will remain positive as

demand for them has been steady despite the

implementation of cooling measures.


More large non-landed homes up for

mortgagee sale in H1

In H1 this year, there has been an increase in

the number of large apartments that has been

put up for mortgagee sale. Large apartments

are defined as residential units that are larger

than 1,500 sq ft. Apartments of this size were

popular during the market boom in 2007 and

2008. However, due to loan curbs and

affordability concerns, demand for such units

have been falling, said Grace Ng from

Colliers International. Both local and foreign

buying interest has fallen due to increasing

interest rates and also smaller housing

budgets among expatriates. Not only so, the

number of newly completed homes for rent

has been increasing. The weak rental market

has resulted in difficulties for owners to

service their mortgage loans; thus, resulting

in more non-landed homes being put for

mortgagee sales.


Non-landed private home prices fall by

0.6% in May from April

In May, the prices of completed non-landed

private homes have fallen by 0.6% from the



previous month according to the NUS

Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI).

Shoebox units that are 506 sq ft or below

suffered the biggest blow with a 1.3% fall in

prices. Ong Kah Seng believes that the fall in

shoebox apartment prices is due to the

increase in supply of such apartments. Sales

have also been slow due to diminishing buyer

interest, said the Business Times.


Commercial

Transaction volumes in industrial units fell

by 35% year-on-year

According to caveat data by JTC, in the first

five months of 2015, the number of industrial

property transactions by Singaporeans fell by

35% year-on-year to just 55 transactions in

the first five months of this year. Also, there

was a 27% year-on-year fall in the overall

industrial transactions which were made by

companies, Singaporeans and foreigners

during the same period last year to 435

transactions. According to the Business

Times, non-traditional industrial developers

have been less interested in bidding for

industrial plots in state tenders. On the other

hand, the office market shrank by 78% year-

on-year in the first five months of this year,

while retail outlet transactions fell by 54%

year-on-year in the same period of time. The

Business Times believes that the

implementation of the cooling measures such

as the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework

had affected Singaporeans’ appetite for

industrial and commercial properties. A lack of

launches this year could have also resulted in

the slow sales, said Alan Cheong from

Savills.




Industrial project at Gambas Crescent to

be launched in July

An industrial project, Proxima@Gambas will

be launched in July this year. The site has a

30-year lease. It was purchased by NSS

Group for $83.03 psf ppr, which is 19% lower

than what Far East had paid for an adjacent

land parcel. According to the Business Times,

the canteen unit at Proxima@Gambas had

already been sold for $2.05 million.

Subsequently, a total of 299 units for light

industrial use will be released. A 1,773 sq ft

unit that is located on the 9th floor has been

priced around $399,000 while a 1,841 sq ft

unit on the 10th level will be price from

$470,000.


10 industrial sites launched on Confirmed

List for GLS

According to the Business Times, all of the 10

industrial sites that are launched on the

Confirmed List for H2 Government Land

Sales have a 20-year lease. This has raised

questions on whether this will be considered

the new standard for industrial land tenures. A

spokesperson from the Ministry of Trade and

Industry said that the ministry aims to lower

upfront costs for industrialists who want to

custom-build their own facilities. With the 20-

year tenure, industrialists will have more

options for affordable industrial spaces.

Nonetheless, Nicholas Mak from SLP

International questioned this. Due to the short

land tenure, buyers may have difficulties

obtaining sufficient mortgage financing, said

the Business Times.



Of the 10 sites released under the

Government Land Sales, 9 are located in

Tampines or Tuas, while, 1 is located at

Tanjong Penjuru. All sites have been zoned

for heavier industrial use.


Woodlands commercial site launched

under Reserved List for GLS

Launched under the Government Land Sale

programme, a commercial site in Woodlands

has been slated to be released as part of the

Reserved List. According to URA, 60% of the

Woodlands site would be for office use. Up to

8,000 sqm or 10.2% of the site can be used

for retail and F&B uses. On the other hand,

23,504 sqm will be reserved for serviced

apartments or residential use. Nicholas Mak

from SLP International believes that the

expected supply of completed office space in

the coming year will create a downwards

pressure on prices, thus affecting sales of the

Woodlands site. Not only so, the Total Debt

Servicing Ratio framework is likely to affect

demand from retail investors.


Higher vacancy and possible undersupply

expected in business parks

According to CBRE, with no developments

planned beyond 2016, there may be a

potential undersupply in the business parks.

Not only so, units within business parks may

face higher demand. In Q2 this year, the

vacancy rates for business parks have fallen

to 9.1% from 10.4% in the previous quarter.

According to the Business Times, the fall in

vacancy rates is due to an increase in

demand, especially in the pharmaceutical and

tech industry.



Rents for business park spaces in the city

fringes and the rest of island submarkets

have been maintained at $5.50 psf/month and

$3.85 psf/month respectively. Michael Tay

from CBRE added that occupiers who require

business park space have very limited

options, thus affecting vacancy rates.


http://www.moneymatters.sg/



Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jun 17 – Jun 23

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

1 MARINA BAY SUITES 2,691 7,700,000 2,861 99



1 THE CLIFT 506 1,050,000 2,075 99

2 ICON 570 1,028,000 1,802 99

4 THE COAST AT SENTOSA COVE 2,626 4,180,000 1,592 99

4 HARBOURLIGHTS 732 1,030,000 1,407 FH

4 THE INTERLACE 3,918 3,568,000 911 99

5 CARABELLE 947 1,125,000 1,188 956

5 HERITAGE VIEW 1,195 1,320,000 1,105 99

5 BLUE HORIZON 1,152 1,230,000 1,068 99

7 SOUTHBANK 1,313 2,000,000 1,523 99

8 KERRISDALE 990 1,090,000 1,101 99

9 SCOTTS SQUARE 635 2,095,805 3,300 FH

9 CAIRNHILL CREST 818 1,550,000 1,895 FH

9 CENTENNIA SUITES 2,303 4,300,000 1,867 FH

9 RIVERIA GARDENS 969 1,750,000 1,806 FH

9 ST THOMAS SUITES 2,013 3,560,000 1,769 FH

9 UE SQUARE 1,152 1,700,000 1,476 929

10 ARDMORE PARK 2,885 8,600,000 2,981 FH

10 TOMLINSON HEIGHTS 2,745 8,180,000 2,980 FH



10 GOODWOOD RESIDENCE 2,508 6,490,935 2,588 FH

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

10 LOFT@HOLLAND 334 800,000 2,397 FH

10 GOODWOOD RESIDENCE 1,970 4,500,000 2,284 FH

10 DUCHESS RESIDENCES 1,905 3,450,000 1,811 999

10 THE CORNWALL 1,044 1,780,000 1,705 FH

10 THE SIXTH AVENUE RESIDENCES 969 1,640,000 1,693 FH

10 THE MERASAGA 1,356 1,980,000 1,460 99

10 WATERFALL GARDENS 1,830 2,653,500 1,450 FH

10 BEAVERTON COURT 2,056 2,900,000 1,411 FH

10 SPANISH VILLAGE 1,163 1,580,000 1,359 FH

10 BALMORAL GATE 1,259 1,700,000 1,350 FH

10 DUCHESS CREST 1,087 1,330,000 1,223 99

11 THOMSON EURO-ASIA 1,130 1,860,000 1,646 FH

11 PAVILION 11 1,485 2,330,000 1,569 FH

11 THE TREVOSE 2,325 2,600,000 1,118 99

11 ONE AKYAB 1,830 1,800,000 984 FH

12 THE MEZZO 775 1,160,000 1,497 FH

12 TREVISTA 1,119 1,492,000 1,333 99

12 ST FRANCIS COURT 1,270 950,000 748 99

14 WATERBANK AT DAKOTA 1,259 1,800,000 1,429 99

14 DAKOTA RESIDENCES 1,830 2,525,000 1,380 99

14 WATERBANK AT DAKOTA 1,981 2,250,000 1,136 99

14 CENTRAL GROVE 1,238 1,168,000 944 99

14 EUNOSVILLE 1,679 1,020,000 607 102

15 AALTO 1,528 2,880,000 1,884 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.

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

15 THE SHORE RESIDENCES 915 1,550,000 1,694 103

15 SUITES @ EASTCOAST 366 595,000 1,626 FH

15 PARKSHORE 1,647 2,050,000 1,245 FH

15 PEACH GARDEN 2,766 3,100,000 1,121 FH

15 THE AMERY 2,024 2,080,000 1,028 FH

15 EAST VIEW 18 1,163 1,060,000 912 FH

15 NEPTUNE COURT 1,636 1,050,000 642 99

16 RIVIERA RESIDENCES 1,421 1,630,000 1,147 FH

16 COUNTRY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,324 1,455,000 1,099 FH

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 870,000 929 99

16 THE BAYSHORE 980 900,000 919 99

16 SUNHAVEN 1,259 1,125,000 893 FH

17 FERRARIA PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,711 1,485,000 868 FH

17 CELADON VIEW 2,874 1,418,000 493 999

18 WATERVIEW 936 1,010,000 1,079 99

18 EASTPOINT GREEN 958 860,888 899 99

18 SAVANNAH CONDOPARK 1,453 1,260,000 867 99

19 KOVAN MELODY 904 1,120,000 1,239 99

19 THE QUARTZ 1,141 1,138,000 997 99

19 THE SPRINGBLOOM 1,302 1,255,000 964 99

20 BISHAN POINT 1,184 1,310,000 1,106 99

20 THE GARDENS AT BISHAN 1,206 1,320,000 1,095 99

21 THE NEXUS 1,507 2,125,000 1,410 FH

21 SYMPHONY HEIGHTS 1,410 1,418,000 1,006 FH

21 SOUTHAVEN I 1,442 1,250,000 867 99

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

22 LAKEHOLMZ 1,518 1,358,000 895 99

22 THE MAYFAIR 1,195 1,010,000 845 99

22 THE MAYFAIR 1,173 985,000 840 99

22 IVORY HEIGHTS 1,701 1,170,000 688 100

23 FORESQUE RESIDENCES 1,130 1,300,000 1,150 99

23 THE WARREN 1,216 1,035,000 851 99

23 PALM GARDENS 958 780,000 814 99

http://propertymarketinsights.com/

Documents

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 215.pdf