Buyers have flocked to new three-room flats custom-built in Sengkang at Fernvale Flora and Fernvale Gardens. The 107 units available drew 933 bids. A third built-to-order (BTO) project at Segar Vale in Bukit Panjang had almost 500 bids vying for a place at 112 three-room units.
It’s possible that the spike in demand is linked to recent changes to the monthly income ceiling, which was raised to $5,000, up from $3,000. The Housing Board raised the ceiling for three-room flats in non-mature estates, seeking to give assistance to first-time buyers. Fernvale Flora’s three-room units ranged in price from $148,000 to $193,000, and Segar Vale’s cost $143,000 at the low end, up to $173,000.
Since the change in regulations, the number of buyers who have changed their application from a certain number of rooms to a three-room unit is at least 57. Many property experts commented on the fact that location was an important aspect of buyers’ decisions to opt in for a three-room flat. Adam Tan, spokesman for PropNex, spoke to The Straits Times, explaining that “'People see the potential in up-and-coming areas like Sengkang where [first-time buyers]... can enjoy the infrastructure, like close proximity to train lines.”
The high demand for the flats is a good indication of the home buyer mood, says Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, adding that “confidence seems to be returning to the market as people come to grips with cooling measures, and that might explain the higher subscription rate.”
March, 2011:
Stricter Rules for Deceptive Showflats
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced last week that the government is planning tougher guidelines regarding the promotion of new homes. The goal, Mr. Mah said, is to ensure that showflats built by developers will market their homes to look like the apartments that actually get built.
(Too good to be true? Showflats that deceive could be in trouble. Image courtesy of Ong & Ong.)
The Minister’s statement in Parliament came after the Urban Redevelopment Authority last month revealed that they will scrutinize the Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act and Housing Developers Rules. Their goal is to share “more accurate and transparent information on housing projects,” particularly in relation to how showflats are depicted.
Currently, some developers are resorting to unrealistic or deceptive constructions of showflats, aimed to create an idealistic view of the property. Display homes, for example, will remove structural walls or replace them with glass partitions, heightening the illusion of size. Similarly, they may also raise ceilings to make the unit appear bigger.
While the current stipulations of the Housing Developers Act requires that print advertisements for retail properties should include a developer’s name and license number, they do not mention rules regarding the truthfulness or accuracy of the marketing material. Some advertisement maps, for example, place landmarks and public transport routes closer to the property than in reality.
The Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act does list certain requirements for print advertisements, stipulating that a print ad must include details such as the developer's name and licence number and the date when buyers can get their keys.
These rules, however, do not touch on the truthfulness of marketing material, such as accurately drawn maps. Nor do they seek to prevent embellished artists' impressions. Maps in advertisements are thus often not drawn to scale, with MRT stations and other amenities placed closer than they actually are. Stunning views are included in artists' impressions while unsightly landmarks are omitted.
Speaking to The Business Times, Mr. Mah shared that “the proposed changes will allow buyers to have more comprehensive, accurate and timely information and make the market work better as a whole.”
To read more about the new rules for showflats, head over to the iProperty.com Singapore's property blog.
(Too good to be true? Showflats that deceive could be in trouble. Image courtesy of Ong & Ong.)
The Minister’s statement in Parliament came after the Urban Redevelopment Authority last month revealed that they will scrutinize the Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act and Housing Developers Rules. Their goal is to share “more accurate and transparent information on housing projects,” particularly in relation to how showflats are depicted.
Currently, some developers are resorting to unrealistic or deceptive constructions of showflats, aimed to create an idealistic view of the property. Display homes, for example, will remove structural walls or replace them with glass partitions, heightening the illusion of size. Similarly, they may also raise ceilings to make the unit appear bigger.
While the current stipulations of the Housing Developers Act requires that print advertisements for retail properties should include a developer’s name and license number, they do not mention rules regarding the truthfulness or accuracy of the marketing material. Some advertisement maps, for example, place landmarks and public transport routes closer to the property than in reality.
The Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act does list certain requirements for print advertisements, stipulating that a print ad must include details such as the developer's name and licence number and the date when buyers can get their keys.
These rules, however, do not touch on the truthfulness of marketing material, such as accurately drawn maps. Nor do they seek to prevent embellished artists' impressions. Maps in advertisements are thus often not drawn to scale, with MRT stations and other amenities placed closer than they actually are. Stunning views are included in artists' impressions while unsightly landmarks are omitted.
Speaking to The Business Times, Mr. Mah shared that “the proposed changes will allow buyers to have more comprehensive, accurate and timely information and make the market work better as a whole.”
To read more about the new rules for showflats, head over to the iProperty.com Singapore's property blog.
New Properties Still Attracting Buyers
Despite efforts to cool the burgeoning property market in January, Singaporean property launches continue to find buyers.
(Prices on the rise for new condominiums in Singapore. Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
The recent launch of H20 Residences in Sengkang, for example, sold 150 units out of the 200 on offer. The remaining units of the 521-unit residence will be released gradually to meet a strong demand, said developer City Developments (CDL).
Figures show that 85% of the buyers were Singaporean, whilst a growing number of foreigners and PR’s from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia comprised the remaining number.
Speaking to The Business Times, Chia Ngiang Hong, group manager of CDL, said “'H2O presents an exciting investment opportunity for savvy investors who can leverage on the development's proximity to the future Seletar Aerospace Park for rental and capital value appreciation potential.” He added that many buyers seemed attracted to the area’s growing development, such as the recent announcement of a Sengkang hospital by 2020. It is expected to have 500 to 600 beds and will be walking distance from Sengkang MRT Station.
Several launches elsewhere on the island have also attracted similar numbers of enthusiastic investors. The 561-unit Waterfront Isle, launched by Far East Organization, has now sold more than half of its units. The average price for the sales of the Bedok Reservoir Road residence is $947 per square foot. The 8-hectare residence on Alexandra Road, named The Interlace, sold 72% of its 900 units. Capitaland revealed that its unit prices have ranged from $850 to $1,300. Its innovative interconnected block design, created by the firm OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) has been featured in many architectural publications and aims to be one of Singapore’s new landmarks.
(Prices on the rise for new condominiums in Singapore. Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
The recent launch of H20 Residences in Sengkang, for example, sold 150 units out of the 200 on offer. The remaining units of the 521-unit residence will be released gradually to meet a strong demand, said developer City Developments (CDL).
Figures show that 85% of the buyers were Singaporean, whilst a growing number of foreigners and PR’s from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia comprised the remaining number.
Speaking to The Business Times, Chia Ngiang Hong, group manager of CDL, said “'H2O presents an exciting investment opportunity for savvy investors who can leverage on the development's proximity to the future Seletar Aerospace Park for rental and capital value appreciation potential.” He added that many buyers seemed attracted to the area’s growing development, such as the recent announcement of a Sengkang hospital by 2020. It is expected to have 500 to 600 beds and will be walking distance from Sengkang MRT Station.
Several launches elsewhere on the island have also attracted similar numbers of enthusiastic investors. The 561-unit Waterfront Isle, launched by Far East Organization, has now sold more than half of its units. The average price for the sales of the Bedok Reservoir Road residence is $947 per square foot. The 8-hectare residence on Alexandra Road, named The Interlace, sold 72% of its 900 units. Capitaland revealed that its unit prices have ranged from $850 to $1,300. Its innovative interconnected block design, created by the firm OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) has been featured in many architectural publications and aims to be one of Singapore’s new landmarks.
“Pine Grove” to Break Price Record?
Pine Grove on Ulu Pandan Road, in the Holland area of Singapore has just been put on the market at a staggering reserve price of $1.7 billion. According to The Straits Times, if they are successful, “the estate will beat the record of $1.34 billion paid for Farrer Court in 2007”.
The owners of the 660 units will receive between $2.1 million and $2.75 million each, for plots that range in size from 1,163 to 1938sq ft. Weighing up the location and size of the property, the residents think that the reserve price is justified.
The owners have tried to sell Pine Grove twice before. The first attempt, which would have meant units were sold for around $2 million each, was rejected by the residents. However, the second fell through due to changes to en-bloc sale rules, meaning the owners had to restart the entire process.
Marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle say the estate “is one of the last few big plots left in the Holland area”. Its size means that it could be developed into a block of 24 stories, containing 1,500 flats of an average of 1,200sq ft.
However, whether the estate will actually sell is another matter entirely. Following the Governement moves to cool the property market, developers seem to have adopted the “wait-and-see” attitude.
If it is sold, it is more likely to be snapped up by a joint venture between a collection of groups. This means the companies would share the investment risks, especially with a looming threat of global economic instability, combined with rising oil prices and the possibility of more Government inflicted cooling measures.
Pine Grove may therefore fall to the same fate as Tulip Garden and Whitley Heights, which have both failed to sell since the start of this year.
The owners of the 660 units will receive between $2.1 million and $2.75 million each, for plots that range in size from 1,163 to 1938sq ft. Weighing up the location and size of the property, the residents think that the reserve price is justified.
The owners have tried to sell Pine Grove twice before. The first attempt, which would have meant units were sold for around $2 million each, was rejected by the residents. However, the second fell through due to changes to en-bloc sale rules, meaning the owners had to restart the entire process.
Marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle say the estate “is one of the last few big plots left in the Holland area”. Its size means that it could be developed into a block of 24 stories, containing 1,500 flats of an average of 1,200sq ft.
However, whether the estate will actually sell is another matter entirely. Following the Governement moves to cool the property market, developers seem to have adopted the “wait-and-see” attitude.
If it is sold, it is more likely to be snapped up by a joint venture between a collection of groups. This means the companies would share the investment risks, especially with a looming threat of global economic instability, combined with rising oil prices and the possibility of more Government inflicted cooling measures.
Pine Grove may therefore fall to the same fate as Tulip Garden and Whitley Heights, which have both failed to sell since the start of this year.
For Singapore Developers, Speed is the Key
Companies looking to develop properties on the island are completing residential property projects at an increasingly rapid pace. Riding the cusp of a strong local economy, some developers unveil their products after just five months in a bid to reap the strongest possible returns.
(The exclusive property development of Sentosa Cove took a relatively long time to complete, compared to the newer projects coming to market.)
The Kovan Grandeur and Prive executive condominium, by NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative and Chip Eng Seng, were two examples that had such quick turnaround times. Other projects were completed within 6-11 months, research from CB Richard Ellis shows.
This was not the trend just a few years ago, when many projects took at least a year until completion. Some, such as The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove, took 44 months.
Joseph Tan, the executive director for CB Richard Ellis, commented that developers are driven to act now, whilst the market is still strong. He added when speaking to The Business Times that “In the past two years, we have observed that the turnaround time for projects has been reduced to less than 12 months.”
Mr Liam Wee Sin, President of UOL Group, explained to BT that developers are quick to seize opportunities when they see them. “Developers look for periods, or windows, to launch their projects. They want to catch this window and cater to home buyer demand when it is strong.” He added that suburban sites offer a strong advantage to companies who move quickly, as the government may offer more land for tender to cater for the growing population’s private home needs.
In 2009, UOL tendered construction for the 20-unit condominium Waterbank, situated at Dakota Crescent. They won the site in September and had completed it by March 2010. The current mood means that companies will now often finalise building details such as technical building requirements as soon as they have won a site.
(The exclusive property development of Sentosa Cove took a relatively long time to complete, compared to the newer projects coming to market.)
The Kovan Grandeur and Prive executive condominium, by NTUC Choice Homes Co-operative and Chip Eng Seng, were two examples that had such quick turnaround times. Other projects were completed within 6-11 months, research from CB Richard Ellis shows.
This was not the trend just a few years ago, when many projects took at least a year until completion. Some, such as The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove, took 44 months.
Joseph Tan, the executive director for CB Richard Ellis, commented that developers are driven to act now, whilst the market is still strong. He added when speaking to The Business Times that “In the past two years, we have observed that the turnaround time for projects has been reduced to less than 12 months.”
Mr Liam Wee Sin, President of UOL Group, explained to BT that developers are quick to seize opportunities when they see them. “Developers look for periods, or windows, to launch their projects. They want to catch this window and cater to home buyer demand when it is strong.” He added that suburban sites offer a strong advantage to companies who move quickly, as the government may offer more land for tender to cater for the growing population’s private home needs.
In 2009, UOL tendered construction for the 20-unit condominium Waterbank, situated at Dakota Crescent. They won the site in September and had completed it by March 2010. The current mood means that companies will now often finalise building details such as technical building requirements as soon as they have won a site.