Real News‎ > ‎2012‎ > ‎October 2012‎ > ‎

31 October 2012

31st October, Wednesday

 


Residential

 

Heron Bay Executive Condominium 90% sold

Source: Today

Heron Bay, the deluxe Executive Condominium located at Upper Serangoon View, opened for sale over the weekend and some 90 per cent of the units have been snapped up.

The project by Serangoon EC, a joint venture company between CNH Investment, Evia Real Estate Management, Ho Lee Group and See Hup Seng, received more than four times the number of e-applicants for its 394 units.

Units in the project - which is expected to obtain a temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 2016 - sold for an average selling price of S$725 per sq ft.

The development has roomy five-bedroom units and features such as ensuite private pool-cum-jacuzzis or gardens and fish ponds for ground-floor units and complimentary fibre broadband service for the first year of occupancy.

 

Link to the story:

http://www.todayonline.com/Print/Business/EDC121031-0000009/Heron-Bay-Executive-Condominium-90-sold

 

 

Property cooling measures in HK unlikely to affect S'pore: experts

Source: Channelnewsasia

The recent property cooling measures introduced in Hong Kong will not have an impact on Singapore property prices. Experts said foreign property investors are unlikely to switch their portfolio from Hong Kong to Singapore.

Hong Kong introduced its third set of measures in two months last Friday, requiring foreign buyers to pay 15 per cent tax. This is more than Singapore's Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty of 10 per cent - introduced in December 2011.

To cool its property market, Singapore has capped the home loan tenure, the sixth cooling measure in recent years. However, with high liquidity in the global market, analysts said new measures would be more frequent, with one to two measures a year being the norm in the years to come.

Singapore has also beefed up the supply of private homes -- an assurance that should help investors make measured decisions.

Still, market watchers forecast home prices to remain hot in Singapore.

An analyst said: "Developers will ultimately have to pass the land cost to the buyers. You have a case where land cost has risen by 15 to 30 plus per cent over the past six months.

"Come next year, with land being about 60 per cent of development cost, developers will probably have to raise prices by 10 to 15 per cent for certain areas, particularly in the suburbs."

While Hong Kong and Singapore are considered safe havens for property investing, some analysts said investors may look to second-tier Asian markets which have less government intervention.

 

Link to the story:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/print/1234393/1/.html

 

 


Industrial

 

Industrial property hot spots emerging

Source: The Straits Times

Woodlands, Bedok and Geylang have emerged as hot spots for industrial property investors this year, as the red-hot sector draws growing interest.

Developers sold a total of 435 new industrial units in the third quarter, with 37 per cent of sales in the Geylang and Kallang planning areas, an analysis of caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has found.

Projects in these areas include AZ @ Paya Lebar, Oxley Bizhub and CT Hub 2.

Industrial prices have now charged up by more than 60 per cent in under two years, new figures out earlier this week showed.

Sales volumes have also been climbing, with 2,894 transactions in the first 10 months of the year. This is up 14 per cent from the same period last year, and is 28 per cent more than in 2010.

Experts say while prices have generally climbed across the board, surging industrial prices are partly due to new high-priced launches, some of which are less common freehold developments. As benchmark prices are attained, this pulls up the values of nearby resale units, they add.

A report warned that with prices and rents at 10-year record highs, there are "potential downside risks" given the moderating economic growth outlook and Singapore's high exposure to the United States and European economies.

 

Link to the story:

http://www.straitstimes.com/st/print/569591