Far East executive is new Redas chief

Source: Business Times / Real Estate

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) on Thursday named Far East Organization executive director Augustine Tan as its new president for a two-year term. Mr Tan takes over from Chia Boon Kuah, who is group president and CEO of GuocoLand.

-By Lee Meixian

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/far-east-executive-is-new-redas-chief

Redas elects new president

Source: Straits Times / Money

THE Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) elected property executive Augustine Tan as its new president yesterday.

Mr Tan, who is Far East Organisation's executive director of property sales, will head the industry body for the next two years. He takes over from GuocoLand group president and chief executive Chia Boon Kuah, who has served a two-year term.

"We have to give back to the industry, and Far East felt it is as good a time as any. Many of our fellow members have also served Redas," said Mr Tan, who was with Keppel Land for 21 years before joining Far East in 2013.

"Times are tough now and Redas must pull itself together.

"We'll reflect on what we can do better, in terms of productivity and safety, for example, and we'll continue to support the Government and ensure we have a stable property market. There's going to be a lot of work ahead."

Membership of the Redas management committee is tied to a company, not an individual.

That rule caused some uncertainty for the outgoing Mr Chia. He was executive director and chief operating officer of property sales at Far East when elected Redas president in January 2013. He had to resign when he left for GuocoLand a year later but was subsequently re-elected Redas president.

The Redas management committee includes City Developments group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong, who is first vice-president, and Frasers Centrepoint group chief executive officer Lim Ee Seng, the second vice-president.

-By Rennie Whang

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/money/story/redas-elects-new-president-20150206

HDB resale prices edge up 0.6% after year of declines

Source: Straits Times / Top of The News

AFTER a year of consecutive monthly declines, Housing Board resale prices edged up 0.6 per cent last month, according to SRX Property flash figures yesterday.

But experts do not take this as a sign that the market is rebounding. Instead, they expect prices to continue sliding.

The last time HDB resale prices rose was in January last year. They have fallen 5.7 per cent since then.

"We cannot read the monthly price increase... as a sure sign of turnaround in HDB resale flat prices, as the increase was very marginal," said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

Said ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim: "The increase has more to do with the up-and-down fluctuations that are associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis."

Last month's rise was driven by four- and five-room flats, with their prices increasing by 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

This more than made up for a 0.9 per cent fall in three-room flat prices and a 0.6 per cent fall for executive flats.

Both mature and non-mature estates saw price increases, of 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

The tepid uptick could be partly due to units sold at the Pinnacle@Duxton premium HDB project last month, said Mr Ong.

Units there have fetched prices ranging from $818,000 to $1.03 million and may have pulled up overall prices, he added.

But analysts see the overall downward trend continuing. Mr Ong expects prices to fall by up to 4 per cent in the first half, while HSR International Realtors expects falls of up to 1 per cent each quarter.

But sellers such as Madam Safiah, 50, hope last month's marginal climb in prices will not be an exception.

"Hopefully the prices will really go up. Last year they already came down a lot," said the housewife, who has been trying to sell since November.

She had thought her four- room flat in Hougang could fetch $460,000, but now hopes to get $430,000 instead.

Resale volumes fell for the fourth straight month in January with 1,255 flats sold, down from 1,295 in December.

However, this was still 15.3 per cent more than the 1,088 units sold in January last year.

This year-on-year increase "is an encouraging sign that more buyers are entering the market as prices become more attractive", said HSR.

Noting that January and February are traditionally quiet months in the resale market due to Chinese New Year festivities, ERA's Mr Lim expects the pace of deals to pick up from next month.

"The pace we see in March to May will set the tone for the year... March, April and May are very important months for the HDB resale market," Mr Lim added.

-By Janice Heng

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/top-the-news/story/hdb-resale-prices-edge-06-after-year-declines-20150206#sthash.E0Ji3ZGK.dpuf

HDB resale prices edge up in January: SRX Property

Prices of HDB resale flats rose 0.6 per cent last month – the first increase in 12 months – driven by four- and five-room flats, according to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange.

Source: Channel News Asia / Singapore

SINGAPORE: The resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats rose 0.6 per cent on-month in January, the first increase in 12 months, the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX Property) said on Thursday (Feb 5).

Still, an ERA analyst cautioned that the price increase does not mean the market is rebounding. “The increase has more to do with the up and down fluctuations that is associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis. We expect prices to be muted, at least for the first half of this year,” said ERA Key Executive Officer Eugene Lim.

The price increase was driven by four- and five-room flats, whose resale prices rose by 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. In contrast, the resale prices for three-room and executive flats fell 0.9 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Overall, prices have declined 5.7 per cent from the same period a year ago and 9.4 per cent from the peak in April 2013, SRX Property said.

A total of 1,255 HDB resale flats were sold last month, a 3.1 per cent decline from the 1,295 transacted units in December. Compared with a year ago, resale volume was up 15.3 per cent, SRX Property said.

TOX REMAINS NEGATIVE

Overall median Transaction Over X-Value (TOX), which measures whether people are overpaying or underpaying SRX Property’s estimated market value, improved but remained negative in January at -S$1,000.

For HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions last month, Geylang reported the highest median TOX of S$8,400, followed by Bukit Merah and Kallang/Whampoa with S$8,000. The lowest median TOX were in Clementi, Bukit Batok and Toa Payoh, at -S$15,500, -S$10,500 and -S$7,500, respectively.

PRICES EXPECTED TO REMAIN MUTED

Moving forward, property analysts expect prices to remain muted, adding that the latest numbers are not a sign of a rebound in the market yet.

"The increase has more to do with the up and down fluctuations that are associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis," said Mr Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty. "We expected prices to be muted, at least for the first half this year."

Said Mr Thomas Tan, executive director at RE/MAX: "In order to see a rebound, you probably want to see a spike in volume first. It's probably going to be a very stable market, in the next quarter at least. 

"The reason why people tend to see a small increase in price is probably because there's a lack of supply right now, because some of the sellers are saying that if the prices are not too good, I probably won't let it out for sale. 

"And where the buyers are concerned, they don't want to overpay. So everybody is in a very cautious mode. What we're seeing is buyers buying because they really need the house, not because they're buying in preparation for something else like marriage. These are all indications that genuine demand is meeting supply."  

- CNA/cy

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-resale-prices-edge-up/1638518.html

HDB resale prices inch up, but down 5.7% year on year

Source: Today Online / Singapore

SINGAPORE — Resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats inched up last month – the first increase in a year – but prices remained lower than a year ago, the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX Property) flash report released today (Feb 5) showed. 

Prices were up 0.6 per cent last month from December. However, year on year, prices have dropped 5.7 per cent. Prices have also declined 9.4 per cent since they peaked in April 2013, with analysts saying the latest increase does not signal a reversal of the slump in the market, given property market cooling measures are still in place. 

According to the report, the January increase was driven by HDB four- and five-room flats, where resale prices rose by 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. On the other hand, resale prices for HDB three-room and executive flats fell by 0.9 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively. 

The transaction volume of resale flats was 1,255, a 3.1 per cent decrease from the 1,295 units in December. Compared to the 1,088 units resold in January last year, resale volume last month increased by 15.3 per cent. 

Buyers continued to pay below the estimated market value for flats, with the overall median Transaction Over X-Value (TOX) at -S$1,000, although this was an improvement from the –S$4,000 in December. 

The figures come on the back of numbers released by HDB last month, showing that overall, HDB resale prices fell 6 per cent last year.

Property analysts said the slight pick-up in prices do not reflect a market rebound, and prices are expected to continue to fall. ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said the price increase is part of the fluctuations associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis. 

On the other hand, HSR International Realtors research analyst Lin Zhiqin felt the price increase and rise in overall TOX for four- and five-room flats indicate that upgraders are entering the market, as prices for these flat types have fallen to attractive levels. 

Mr Lim, meanwhile, expects prices to be muted for at least the first half of this year. “In the absence of any tweaks to the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) of 30 per cent, buyers are inclined to be on the conservative side as the MSR limits their loan quantum,” he said. 

Property agency OrangeTee’s research and consultancy manger Wong Xian Yang noted that the outlook for the HDB resale market is likely to remain negative as price growth and demand are capped, given the tight MSR limits and the three-year waiting period for permanent residents planning to buying resale flats. 

Furthermore, market sentiment remains tempered, where many buyers are staying on the sidelines in hopes that prices will drop further, creating a stand-off between buyers and sellers, he said.  

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director (research and consultancy) at SLP International Property Consultants said prices could continue to fall as the economic outlook for this year is expected to be similar to last year’s. 

He also cited signals given by the Government which suggests that resale prices will continue fall. In December, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he was in favour of a single-digit decline when asked what would be a meaningful price correction before cooling measures could be rolled back. Mr Mak said is suggestive of the authorities’ intention to let resale prices soften further. 

As for the fall in resale volume, property analysts noted that traditionally, January and February see fewer transactions with the onset of Chinese New Year. Mr Lim expects the pace to pick up from March and noted that the pace between March and May will set the tone for the resale volume for the rest of the year.

-By Siau Ming En

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hdb-resale-prices-06-cent

Facebook tipped to be moving to South Beach Tower

Social media giant in advanced talks to lease about 70,000 sq ft in recently completed tower

Facebook is expanding its footprint in Singapore. Talk in the market is that the social media giant is in advanced stages of negotiations to ink a lease for about 70,000 square foot of office space at South Beach Tower. This would be roughly double the space it now occupies at 158 Cecil Street. Facebook is expected to vacate the Cecil Street premises later this year to move into the 34-storey South Beach Tower, which was completed in the fourth quarter of last year and is awaiting Temporary Occupation Permit from the Building and Construction Authority.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/facebook-tipped-to-be-moving-to-south-beach-tower

ERA Realty sees auctions market as a new growth area

It hopes to enter the market this year, also looking to establish a franchise in Philippines