19th January, Saturday
Residential
They came, they saw, but only half signed up Source: Business Times Four hundred out of the 500 people who had indicated interest in buying a unit in Q Bay Residences showed up for the preview launch Friday - but only 214 of them signed on the dotted line to do so. Elson Poo, the general manager of marketing and sales at Frasers Centrepoint Homes, put their hesitation down to the effect of the government measures introduced to cool the property market. Mr Poo said, however, that those who did not make a purchase Friday because of the new loan restrictions are likely to return to do so when they have worked out their financing issues. Q Bay, which is in Tampines, is the first private condominium launched since the cooling measures were introduced. How well it sells is being closely watched for an indication of the property scene going forward. An analyst said: "Developers are waiting to see what will happen, but the take-up rate of units at Q Bay shows continued demand, and that buyers are responding well to the promotions offered by developers." Another analyst said no new private condominium has come up in Tampines for some time. With Q Bay going at the cost of under $1,000 per sq ft (psf) on average, buyers probably see it as being competitively priced. The developers, a consortium of Frasers Centrepoint, Far East Organization and Sekisui House, launched the condominium at an average price of $985 psf Friday, after dangling a 5 to 7 per cent discount on the stamp duty to cushion the impact of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) imposed on all buyers except Singaporeans buying their first home.
Links to the story: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/archive/saturday/print/413862 http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/st/print/764076
200,000 new homes in the works Source: Business Times The large supply of units that will be coming on stream in the coming years, coupled with an inevitable end to the current low interest rate environment, are factors which those contemplating buying a property need to take into account. This was the reminder from National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in his blog Friday as he acknowledged that the market was temporarily not in balance because of under-building in the past and high investment demand today. "But we have been ramping up supply and in 2, 3, and 4 years' time, supply will have caught up with pent-up demand," stressed Mr Khaw. Indeed, some 200,000 new housing units will be constructed - 80,000 private properties, 10,000 ECs and about 110,000 HDB flats - which is the equivalent of building four new Ang Mo Kio towns, by 2016.
Links to the story: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/archive/saturday/print/413741 http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/st/print/764078 http://www.todayonline.com/print/27496 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/print/1248760/1/.html
Prices of luxury properties not expected to crash after latest measures: analysts Source: Channelnewsasia Luxury property prices in Singapore are not about to come crashing down following the latest government cooling measures. With demand for high-end properties already depressed, experts said the new policies will unlikely drag prices lower. Traditionally dominated by rich foreigners, the expected comeback of investors from China may prop up prices in this segment. Some analysts do not see the latest cooling measures as the straw that will break the camel's back in the luxury property market. Sales caveats analysed by DWG found that the number of China buyers has been on the rise. In fact, out of foreign buyers, China buyers snapped up the most number of units in the fourth quarter of last year. Experts have said Chinese investors are still attracted by the cheaper prices of Singapore's luxury homes compared to Hong Kong. Lee Sze Teck, senior research manager at DWG, said: "If you compare Singapore to Hong Kong, the capital appreciation here and in Hong Kong as well, and the prices over here...we know that prices of homes in Singapore, even for luxury homes, are still lagging behind those in Hong Kong." DWG estimates property prices in the core central region to dip by at most 5 per cent in 2013.
Link to the story: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/print/1248823/1/.html
Commercial
Speculators may turn to commercial property Source: The Straits Times Buyer interest in commercial property is growing in the wake of last week's cooling measures, which included curbs on red-hot industrial property. Experts said commercial property, as yet untouched by any of the seven rounds of cooling measures, could become the new target segment of speculators. All eyes are now on upcoming launches of office and retail space, which analysts said could be oversubscribed. The heightened interest could result in sellers of commercial or retail space raising their asking prices by between 5 and 10 per cent, said an analyst. Another analyst noted that prices of strata offices are holding firm in spite of the softer rental market. This can be seen in the healthy take-up rate of strata offices in launches such as PS100 in Tanjong Pagar, Paya Lebar Square and the upcoming SBF Center in Robinson Road, she said. Consultants said the level of buyer interest in the launch of SBF Center as well as that of upcoming Alexandra Central will be a good indicator of whether demand has shifted towards the commercial segment. Overall, DWG senior manager Lee Sze Teck expects strata office space prices to climb as much as 10 per cent this year, though he said the prices of retail space could remain flat due to uncertain market conditions.
Link to the story: http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/st/print/764269
Chinatown grows in commercial appeal Source: The Straits Times There is a buzz in Chinatown and not just because it is the festive season. Property has become the new talk of the town in the past few months, particularly commercial real estate. The heritage-filled district has just received a major boost with the opening on Wednesday of the 16-storey Parkroyal on Pickering hotel and launch of the revamped Chinatown Point mall. Right next door is Chinatown Point, which officially opened its doors barely a week ago after a $90 million facelift to revitalise the complex's 20-year-old interior and facade. It houses 170 shops, luxury watch retailer Cortina, and anchor tenants Daiso and FairPrice across five floors. But these two big openings are just the icing on the cake. An analysis shows that Outram's Chinatown segment registered a 74 per cent increase in the number of commercial transactions in 2012 compared with the previous year. These deals include sales of shophouses, strata offices and shops. The outlook for Chinatown's commercial sector seems bright. An analyst anticipates that strong investor interest will carry over into the next few years, with the popularity of shophouses driving demand. "Especially with the recent new measures to cool residential and industrial property investments, deeper-pocket investors are likely to focus on commercial property investments," he added. "The low interest rates and ample liquidity also mean that the measures for residential and industrial properties are likely to stay for at least a couple of years."
Link to the story: http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/st/print/764277
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