URA statistics indicating private home market bottoming

The quarter-on-quarter drop of 0.3 % in URA’s overall private home price index, based on its Q2 flash estimate released on Monday, follows a 0.4 % decline in the index in Q1. The 0.3 % fall in the second quarter is the smallest of the 15 quarters since the peak in Q3 2013. The general sentiment among the property circles is that the private housing market is close to its trough given the statistics.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s overall private home price index is expected to start increasing next year, as projects on sites bought at high land prices come to the market.

 

The market is bottoming out with the cooling measures expected to stay put. While private home sales volumes are expected to remain healthy, the price index is expected to flatline, while the affordability in terms of absolute price quantum is expected to remain the key driver for sales volume – given the current muted market sentiment amid soft economic growth, and policy conditions.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s comments last week that the “calibrated adjustments” in March to the seller’s stamp duty and TDSR do not signal the start of an unwinding of the property cooling measures.

 

Based on its Q2 flash estimate, URA’s overall private home price index has slipped 11.8 % from the recent peak in Q3 2013.

URA’s data also showed that prices of non-landed private residential properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) or prime areas fell by 0.9 %  in Q2, after easing 0.4 % in Q1. In the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR), prices rose 0.5 %, after registering an increase of 0.3 % in the previous quarter. Prices in the suburbs or Outside Central Region (OCR) retreated 0.4 %, after inching up 0.1 % in Q1.

 

https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/media-room/news/2017/Apr/pr17-24

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Many Sentosa Cove Homes suffering losses

Sentosa Cove properties may have the Singapore’s most prestigious address, but they may not be the guaranteed money spinners many of their rich owners thought when they bought them.

Many of the Sentosa Cove transactions over the past year recorded losses. Of the total of 30 units recorded , 16 suffered losses when they were sold, and 11 notched profits.

The largest loss was at Seascape. A seventh-floor unit, which had been purchased for $12.8 million in June 2010, chalked up a loss of $6.6 million. The 378 sq m apartment was put up for auction in January and sold through private treaty to a buyer with a HDB home address for $6.2 million in February.

The next largest loss was also at Seascape – $4.65 million in the red, after the eighth-floor unit went under the hammer for $6.35 million in a mortgagee sale (Oct 2016). The previous owner bought the unit for $11 million in December 2011.

For those who have made profits in this prestigious location, on example includes a house in Ocean Drive. One savvy investor made a $4.1 million profit for his landed property at 184 Ocean Drive. The owner purchased it for just $2.7 million in February 2005 and sold the 316 sq m terrace house for $6.8 million in May last year.

Sentosa Cove is the only place in Singapore where foreigners need not be permanent residents in order to buy landed property.

The second-largest profit recorded was at The Azure, where a 294 sq m unit was sold in May last year for a profit of $1.158 million – 10 years after it was purchased.

The 30 properties were sold for between $1.68 million and $6.8 million. The average profit of the 11 profitable transactions was about $820,900, while the average loss of the 16 loss-making transactions was about $1.67 million.

Prices at Sentosa Cove have been falling. In the core central region, which takes in Sentosa, private non-landed home prices continued on a downward trend, falling by 0.4 per cent for the first quarter of this year, compared with a 0.1 per cent increase in the previous quarter. Overall, prices fell by 1.2 per cent in the core central region last year.

Landed house market on upward trend amidst dropping prices

538 landed homes were sold in the second quarter – this is the highest quarterly volume since the fourth quarter of 2012. Overall, the number of landed homes sold has increased, driven by falling prices and limited supply of landed homes. URA flash estimates released recently indicated that prices of landed residential properties fell further by 0.4 % for Q2, down from a 1.8 % drop in the previous quarter.

The market for good class bungalows (GCBs) is lukewarm although the market for smaller bungalows in GCB areas is on a rise. Good class bungalows (GCBs) are the most prestigious segment of landed property in Singapore.

On the GCB front, a caveat was lodged on June 12 for the most expensive one sold this year. The latest GCB sold was a $46 million bungalow in Queen Astrid Park on a 29,709 sq ft site, reportedly purchased by the family who controls oil trading group Hin Leong.

20 sales have taken place in GCB areas so far this year, worth a total of $432.2 million. These include properties with a plot size of less than 1,400 sq m. This is markedly more than the 14 transactions in the same period last year, which totalled $298.36 million.

Another upmarket landed segment, Sentosa Cove, has contrasting statistics. Sales at the exclusive waterfront precinct shot to seven this year from just four for the same period last year.

Luxury property sector on the way up?

The luxury property market has pickup momentum after years of lull activity. Recent deals that transacted include a GCB sale of 31,211 sqft in Leedon Park. The buyer is understood to be the executive chairman of Raffles Medical Group Loo Choon Yong. The price is at $1310 psf based on land. There is also a Sentosa Cove bungalow selling for $16.6m based on a land area of 9725sqft. The sale will be a loss based on the price the seller bought in 2012 at $24m.

A penthouse in the prestigious area of Nassim area was sold for more than $25m. The condo unit at The Nassim has a strata area of 9300 sqft, including a pool deck and rooftop pool. The Mukhtar family from Allied Bank in Pakistan bought the place from the developer of the project, Nassim Hill Realty.

For condo and private apartment sold at $10m and above, the number is at a total of 19 units, valued more than $262m.

Downtown Line 3 to open 21 Oct this year

The Downtown Line 3 (DTL3) will open on 21 October 2017, making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore, surpassing the 35.7km Circle Line (CCL).   The DTL3 Extension from Expo to Sungei Bedok, an additional 2.2km, will open in 2024.

Downtown Line

Downtown Line Alignment

DTL3

The 21-kilometre long DTL3 comprises 16 stations and is the longest stretch of the Downtown Line to be opened. DTL3 includes three interchange stations at MacPherson (link to CCL) , Tampines (EWL), and Expo (EWL).

1.      Fort Canning Station

Fort Canning station is located at the intersection of River Valley Road and Clemenceau Avenue. The station has two entrances and will serve developments in the area including Fort Canning Park, Liang Court, U.E Square, Park Hotel Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay Hotel, which were previously not connected to the rail network.

2.      Bencoolen Station

Bencoolen station is located at Bencoolen Street, near the junction with Bras Basah Road. It has three entrances and comprises six levels – concourse, upper mezzanine, lower mezzanine, platform and two service levels. To provide greater connectivity to the existing rail network, the station has an underground unpaid linkway connected to CCL Bras Basah station through the existing SMU basement. The NAFA Campus extension is integrated above one of the station’s entrances.

The station will serve students, office workers, businesses and tourists, with its close proximity to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore Management University (SMU), Manulife Centre, Sunshine Plaza, National Museum and hotels along Bencoolen Street. There are also several places of worship around the station such as the Kwan Im Temple, Sri Krishnan Temple, Maghain Aboth Synagogue and Masjid Bencoolen.

3.      Jalan Besar Station

Jalan Besar station is located at the junction of Jalan Besar and Weld Road. It has two entrances and comprises two levels – concourse and platform. The station will serve Sim Lim Tower, Stamford Primary School, residences and shophouses in the vicinity. The station is within five minutes’ walk of Rochor station (on the DTL) and Bugis station (on the EWL, DTL) allowing commuters to easily transfer between rail lines.

4.      Bendemeer Station

Bendemeer station is located at Kallang Bahru, near the junction with Kallang Avenue. The station has two entrances, one on each side of the road. The station will serve the commercial buildings, residences and shophouses in the vicinity. The station is within ten minutes’ walk of Lavender station (on the EWL) and Boon Keng station (on the NEL) allowing commuters to easily transfer between rail lines.

5.      Geylang Bahru Station

Geylang Bahru station is located along Kallang Bahru, at the junction with Geylang Bahru. The station has two entrances and comprises two levels – concourse and platform. The station will serve Kallang Basin ActiveSG Swimming Complex, Kallang Basin Industrial Estate and HDB estates in Geylang Bahru, providing greater connectivity for workers and residents.

6.      Mattar Station

Mattar station is located near the junction of Merpati Road and Mattar Road. The station has two entrances. One of the entrances leads to Merpati Road and will primarily serve Canossa Convent School, Macpherson Primary School, Masjid Sallim Mattar Mosque and those working in Kallang Pudding area. The other entrance leads to Mattar Road near the Circuit Road hawker centre (Blk 79 and 79A Circuit Road) and the Macpherson Community Club.

7.      MacPherson Station

MacPherson station is located along Circuit Link, near the junction with Circuit Road. It has two entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, mezzanine and platform. It will serve Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre, industrial buildings and residences in the vicinity.

The new station will allow commuters to conveniently transfer to the CCL as the DTL platforms are connected directly to the CCL platform though a short escalator ride. This could be done as the bottom-most level of the DTL station was constructed along with the CCL station, allowing the two lines to be built in close proximity.

8.      Ubi Station

Ubi station is located near the junction of Ubi Avenue 1 and Ubi Avenue 2. The station has two entrances, one of which is located close to the residential estate.  The station aims to serve the nearby high-rise light industrial buildings and also supports a dense HDB estate with schools in its vicinity such as Maha Bodhi School and Manjusri Secondary School. The station exterior is bronze in colour to depict the colour of Ubi (Malay for “tapioca”).

9.      Kaki Bukit Station

Kaki Bukit station is located along Kaki Bukit Avenue 1, near the junction with Jalan Damai. The station has two entrances and comprises three levels – intermediate, concourse and platform. Utilities found within the station footprint posed challenges during the construction of the station, and they had to be relocated during different phases of excavation. The station will serve Bedok North Secondary School, Kaki Bukit Tech Park, Kaki Bukit Tech View, as well as residences along Bedok Reservoir Road, Jalan Damai and Jalan Tenaga.

10.  Bedok North Station

Bedok North station is located at Bedok North Road, near the Pan-Island Expressway flyover. The station has three entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, mezzanine and platform.

The station will serve Damai Primary School, Bedok Town Park, HDB estates and industrial buildings nearby.

11.  Bedok Reservoir Station

Bedok Reservoir station is located at Bedok Town Park, beside Bedok North Avenue 3. The station has two entrances leading to the residential blocks in the vicinity and the Bedok Town Park.

The station will serve many schools, residences and parks such as Bedok Town Park, Bedok Reservoir Park, Damai Secondary School, Bedok Green Secondary School, Red Swastika School, Yu Neng Primary School and residences along Bedok Reservoir Road.

12.  Tampines West Station

Tampines West station is located at Tampines Avenue 4, near the junction with Tampines Avenue 1. It has two entrances leading to HDB blocks nearby. Both entrances are connected directly to taxi stands, drop-off points and bicycle parks. The last tunnel boring machine (TBM) on DTL3 broke through into the Tampines West station in June 2015, marking the completion of tunnelling works along the DTL3. The station will serve Temasek Polytechnic, Junyuan Primary School, East View Primary School, Tampines Polyview and Tampines Palmspring HDB estates.

13.  Tampines Station

Tampines station is located along Tampines Central 1. The station has three entrances and comprises three levels – subway (retail level), concourse and platform.  The station is connected to the Tampines Bus Interchange and the EWL and will service commuters travelling to offices and shopping areas around the Tampines town centre. The station will also serve commercial buildings such as OCBC Tampines Centre One, AIA, Telepark, Our Tampines Hub and residences in Tampines.

14.  Tampines East Station

Tampines East station is located along Tampines Avenue 7, near the junction with Tampines Avenue 2. It has four entrances leading to the current site of Tampines Junior College and HDB blocks in the vicinity. The station will serve Tampines Junior College, Ngee Ann Secondary School, Tampines North Park and residences nearby.

15.  Upper Changi Station

Upper Changi station is located at Upper Changi Road East. At 205m, the station is the longest on the DTL3. It has four entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, intermediate, and platform. Two of the entrances are connected directly to bus stops, taxi stands, drop – off points and the bicycle park. The station will serve the Singapore University of Technology and Design and residential estates in the vicinity. For the convenience of movement between the station and SUTD, there will be an underground linkway between them.

16.  Expo Station

Expo station is located along Changi South Avenue 1, 25 metres below ground level. It has four entrances and comprises three levels. The station will primarily serve Singapore Expo and a major business hub, the Changi Business Park. As Expo connects to Changi Airport on the EWL, commuters will have an additional travel option when going to the airport.

https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=5c4e424c-1a46-44cb-92d0-212e37a2b6df

JLL: investment sales set for bull run in 2017

According to consultancy JLL in a new report, property investment sales are set for a bull run after a spectacular start to the year. The positive outlook is being driven by the office, and possibly the retail and residential sectors.

The overall value of real estate investment deals soared 67 % in the first quarter to $4.99 B – of which $4.47 B was from the private sector.

Private investment sales of office property accounted for $2.12 B – the sector’s strongest first-quarter showing for the past 9 years. The $2.12 B figure was a 60.6 % rise from the fourth quarter, and more than treble that of a year ago. Last year’s private-sector investment sales stood at $19.06 B.

The top two office deals in the first quarter were entity sales. One was the sale of the entire interest in the holding company of PwC Building in Cross Street to an indirect unit of Manulife Financial Corporation for $760.6 M. The other was the divestment of the entire interest in Plaza Ventures – the owner and developer of GSH Plaza in Cecil Street – to Hong Kong-listed Fullshare Holdings for $725.21 M.

JLL noted the potential for the full-year sales of private office assets to surpass the $6.49 B recorded last year, considering the recent deal for One George Street and sizeable assets available in the market, including Asia Square Tower 2 in Marina Bay.

The residential segment, registered $1.69 B in private investment sales for properties valued at $5 M and above in the first quarter.
For retail and industrial sectors, private investment sales more than doubled that from the previous year in the first quarter: $280 M for retail and $390 M for industrial.

JLL predicts a bright investment sale outlook for the year, driven by the recent sale of the $2.2 B Jurong Point mall and upbeat sentiment in the private residential market. A growing appetite for collective sale sites by developers facing depleting land banks and limited supply of sites from the Government could also lend support to investment sales.

One Tree Hill Gardens sold for S$65m

Lum Chang Holdings Limited is acquiring One Tree Hill Gardens for S$65 million, below the owners’ asking price of S$72.8 million. This is the first collective sale for this year. This collective sale translates to a land rate of S$1,664 per square foot (psf), based on the site area of 3,629.1 sq m (39,063 sq ft). The transaction is subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board.

The site is located at the junction of One Tree Hill and Jalan Arnap. It enjoys easy access to Orchard Road, and is within 300 m from the upcoming Orchard Boulevard MRT station along the Thomson-East Coast Line. The Lum Chang Group intends to redevelop it to residential landed homes for sale.

OUE buys 2 land parcels in Nassim Road for S $56.6m

Developer OUE bought the 2 prime land plots in Nassim ROAD at $56.6m. The land plots were owned by the British Government. 

Upsell your property at a downturn

When the property market is booming and buyers/tenants are plentiful for a limited supply of housing, home owners can afford to do little to invest in the interiors of their assets. Desperate buyers or tenants can commit a premium to a property just based on the location and other attributes other than keeping the interiors pretty.

However in the current lull market, this strategy will definitely put home owners’ assets at a disadvantage. When buyers/tenants are few and the supply is high, one have to upsell one’s property by investing in marketing, including making the property able to sell by itself. Attributes like location, outdoor views and surrounding amenities are usually beyond the home owners’ control after they possessed the property. What is really within a home owner’s control is the interior of the property. A well-maintained and beautiful home interior can be a pleasure to behold even in pictures and videos.

“Home-staging”, a termed coined by the Americans for a decorating technique, is a popular technique to turn a slow-moving listing into a sought-after trophy asset. Home staging including cleaning up, re-arranging the furniture and furnishings, repainting the walls and other sensory improvements to the property during home-viewings. The objective is to make a property to stand out among a buyer’s market, and to sell it faster at a possible higher price.

Some homeowners also engaged staging services from property agents, interior design specialists, furnishings companies and furniture leasing companies to spruce up the home interiors for better visibility among the crowd. Photography is also an important element to entice prospective buyers/tenants even before they view the actual place.

However if one has limited budget and resources to conduct a professional home-staging, here are some tips that one can do on his/her own.

1. Declutter. In an urban city like Singapore, clutter can easily built up in a home after purchases after a sales therapy, or due to lack of time to maintain the interiors as a result of work. Clutter makes it hard for prospective buyers/tenants to see the property’s favourable attributes. So by conducting a spring cleaning to remove the clutter in the home will boost a better chance than a cluttered home.
2. Keeping it clean. Marketing a uncleaned home to prospective buyers/tenants can be a turn-off. Thus make sure it is generally cleaned before conducting home viewing to prospects. Some key areas of concern include the areas/appliances commonly used by tenants (eg toilet, sofas, kitchen, ovens and stoves, curtains).
3. Photography. Online marketing is the norm nowadays for home ads. Taking good photographs to showcase the property potential such as good natural light and large interiors are a must. Thanks to advance in the technology many smartphones can take pictures as good as compact cameras. Together with filters in different apps, the “feel” of the interiors can be adjusted to make a pleasant visual impact.
4. Avoid “loud” items. Interior makeup can be quite a personal taste and hence making the interiors as neutral as possible is a important aspect to avoid putting off some of the prospects. Examples include a bright red statue or a neon pink curtains that maybe a home owner’s pride but it can put off some prospective buyers/tenants.
5. Play up the good attributes. Decorate a balcony with unblocked view of the neighbourhood to create a warm and inviting atmosphere can be a plus.
6. Use scents. Fix the source of bad odours instead of just spraying room scents. Some interesting scents include pumpkin spice or vanilla cookie scented candle to create a post-baking ambience for your home.

Bukit Timah House for rent at only $4K per month

Looking for a cool home for stay with greens? Located in the serene estate of Eng Kong Gardens this is a nIce interior of 2-storey terrace with 3-storey 5-bedroom house. Avail now @ $4K negotiable. 4000 sqft of living area at $1psf. Cheap!