Singapore Property Rotating Header Image

January, 2012:

9 of 10 Watertown buyers are Singaporean

Jan 25th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
A week after its launch, the Punggol condominium, Watertown, confirmed an overwhelming share of local buyers, no doubt an after-effect of December’s additional buyer’s stamp duty.


(One of the many reasons why local buyers flood to Watertown: Punggol MRT Station. Image courtesy of Terence Ong.)

Far East Organization, one of the project’s developers, told The Straits Times that Singaporean buyers accounted for over 90% of the 550 units the joint venture condo moved so far. This is up from the average 80% share that locals usually made up at the firm’s suburban launches last year. These projects include The Tennery in Bukit Panjang, The Greenwich in Seletar Hills and euHabitat in Jalan Eunos.

When the firm previewed The Hillier—next to the upcoming Hillview MRT Station—after the 10% buyer’s stamp duty introduction in December last year, Singaporeans still comprised about 80% of buyers.

A Straits Times source suggested that the strong demand from foreign and permanent resident (PR) buyers could have remained because of the project’s close proximity to Bukit Timah. Bukit Timah is home to reputable schools and well-heeled residents.

However, the government announced that from December 8 last year, foreign buyers had to fork out an extra 10% buyer’s stamp duty for any residential property purchased in Singapore. While PRs are not affected by the 10% additional buyer’s stamp duty, they—and their Singaporean counterparts—have to foot a 3% additional buyer’s stamp duty on the second and subsequent residential properties they buy.

Repelling foreign buyers is one thing, but attracting local buyers is another.

Commenting on how Watertown has managed to move so many units in such a short time, Far East chief operating officer of property sales Chia Boon Kuah told The Straits Times that it was all about selling points. “It's a one-of-its-kind mixed use development that offers waterfront living integrated with a mall and the Punggol MRT Station.”

According to Chia, such mixed-use developments tend to be appealing to buyers.

(Watertown show gallery taken on 26 Jan 2012)

He added that the joint venture also allowed all parties to leverage on each other’s unique strength. Watertown is jointly developed by Far East (widely considered a property giant), Frasers Centrepoint (whose expertise lie in retail mall operations) and Sekisui House (a Japanese firm with green construction technology know-how).

So if foreign buyers are not snapping up Watertown homes, which Singaporeans are?

According to The Straits Times, around half of the condo’s buyers hail from neighbouring District 19 and its constituent Sengkang, Hougang, Punggol and Serangoon estates. Two-thirds of buyers reside in public housing flats.

“Interestingly, some of our buyers are purchasing the units at Watertown for their weekend or holiday homes and also for retirement. Many are also buying for their children as well,” said Chia.

Few Pre-Chinese New Year Buyers

Jan 16th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
Hopes and expectations among property developers were that the pre-Chinese New Year period would usher in better sales. However, with the cooling measures playing out to large effect, property agents are welcoming healthy numbers of visitors to their show flats but are closing few sales.


(Cooling measures are now starting to have a real effect on the Singapore property market. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

Experts tell The Straits Times that the possibility of plummeting home prices following the latest round of cooling measures that were announced last month resulted in many homebuyers holding out on their purchases.

One such show flat was that of Riversound Residence in Sengkang East Avenue. Its developer Qingjian Realty sold about 10 apartments at an average price of $850 per sq ft (psf). This brings its total sales to over 60 units since its launch the week before.

Qingjian managing director Zuo Haibin told The Straits Times that with many expressing their interest in the project and few have indicated a solid commitment, the pressure of the cooling measures is “keenly felt”.

“Our aim now is to sell about 60 to 70 per cent of the 200 units that make up the project's first phase within three months. Had the measures not been implemented, we would probably have sold that many within a month,” he said.

Yet The Straits Times reported that the firm still has plans for another mass-market project launch in Punggol in June.

Over the past weekend a similar situation can be found at Sembawang Road, where Hao Yuan Investment’s The Nautical lies. The 435-unit development sold off some 15 more homes at an average price of $850 psf this weekend. In total, it managed to find owners for about 150 of its units.

Far East Organization, meanwhile, sold an additional 36 units at The Hillier in Upper Bukit Timah. A total of 332 of its 528 units have been taken up at an average price of $1,205 psf.

Homebuyers The Straits Times spoke to said they just want a clearer picture of the market and prices before making a decision. Others told the paper that they were waiting for more launches to come after the Chinese New Year period.

This behaviour greatly contrasted what property agents used to see in show flats. In the past, potential buyers would bring along cheque books to make purchases on the spot. Now, potential buyers are more cautious and make multiple visits before buying.

One visitor to the Riversound show flat, only known as Mr. Heri, told The Straits Times that he and his wife were considering purchasing a four-bedroom apartment there as an investment. “But we want to look at another project in Punggol before making the final decision,” said the 37-year old who works in supply chain.

“It's not small change we're talking about, so we need a bit more time.”

Older HDB estates may try out mechanised parking

Jan 12th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
Recently, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan spoke of his interest in implementing mechanised parking systems on his Housing Matters blog.


(In land-scarce Singapore, mechanised parking systems are growing to be a more viable choice than creating and expanding on car parks. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

The December 30 blog post revealed that the Housing Board (HDB) was studying the feasibility of such parking systems to deal with the growing parking crunch problem in land-scarce Singapore.

Now, MP Lee Bee Wah, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for National Development announced that pilot tests of such systems are likely to be carried out in older HDB estates facing space constraints. However, she added that no specific locations have been identified yet.

Speaking to The Straits Times, the minister said that the Ministry of National Development (MND) would first work with the GPC to assess the system’s suitability and gather feedback. Currently, mechanised car parks in Singapore are mostly found in commercial buildings like hospitals and condominiums.

The parking wars problem is especially prominent in older estates. Back when these residential areas were constructed, a lower percentage of residents were car owners and fewer parking lots were planned as a result. Such estates now have limited spaces to build on existing car parks or construct new ones because of the build-up of amenities and facilities.

Addressing concerns of the suitability of such systems in residential districts, Lee said, “Residents worry about reliability and the cost being passed back to them. It looks like it costs more, but as technology advances, and land becomes scarce, at one point it could become a viable solution.”

She also acknowledged other potential problems regarding reliability and the time needed for residents to retrieve their cars, stressing that for older estates that have who have no other solutions to ease the parking problem, mechanised parking is a definite option.

According to division manager at MHE-Demag Jeffrey Tan, the mechanised system is able to park 12-15 cars for every 10 cars parked in a normal car park. His firm supplies such automated parking systems as the fully automated M-Park@Club Street.

However, Tan revealed that in its four years of operation, the system has broken down about three times a month. Also, the waiting time for retrieval can also stretch from less than an hour to three hours—a pattern he attributed to factors like mechanical faults of moving parts, as well as a driver not correctly positioning his car.

To park a car with this system, a driver needs to drive his car into a car-lift and park it in the right position, pull the handbrake and key in a PIN. The system will automatically transport and park the vehicle.

“Educating and familiarising the users is a key factor in ensuring it runs smoothly. Once that's done, the incident rates will go down,” said Tan to The Straits Times. It takes an average time of four minutes for a driver to retrieve his car.

The next issue then is the opinion of the public. Lee said that the decision making for mechanised parking would not be similar to that of HDB lift upgrading. The Straits Times quoted her saying, “I would think solving the problems faced by residents is on a case-by-case basis. It doesn't mean residents go and vote to have a mechanised car park system or not. Where there is a need, and there is no other cheaper option, then we would put in the mechanised parking system, should we find it suitable.”

Ramping up renovation works

Jan 10th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
The Housing Development Board (HDB) has plans to repair and renovate three times as many old flats as its current rate within the next five years.


(HDB's Home Improvement Programme repairs spalling concrete and structural cracks, among other renovation and restoration works. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

Some 160,000 such public housing flats have been earmarked for a makeover under HDB’s Home Improvement Programme (HIP). This is aside from the 50,000 units that are already under the scheme for the last five years. In total, 300,000 flats—one-third of all HDBs in Singapore—built prior to 1987 are eligible for the programme, said the Board.

Some 5,800 of the 50,000 HDB flats have already undergone HIP works, said Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan in Parliament recently. A spokesperson from the Ministry of National Development (MND) told The Straits Times the remaining 44,200 should be completed by 2014.

With the quickened rate, the remaining 250,000 units can also be renovated over the next decade, said Lee.

His announcement came in response to Ang Wei Neng’s (Jurong GRC) request for an update on the HIP, specifically on repair works to spalling concrete. Lee replied that about 8,300 cases (1% of all HDB flats) of spalling concrete are reported per year.

Older flats built between 1983 and 1986 face more serious problems, said Lee. The Straits Times quoted the MND spokesperson saying that there are 190,000 such older flats.

While homeowners are responsible for ceiling repairs, Lee said that HDB’s Goodwill Repairs Assistance Programme helps to foot half the repair bill should the spalling concrete be a result of water leaks.

Besides providing homeowners with new toilets, doors and refuse-chute hoppers at heavily subsidised prices, the HIP also repairs spalling concrete and structural cracks, replaces waste pipes, and fixes new electrical wiring for free. Each project under the HIP takes two to three years to finish.

In Parliament, Lee also noted that the selection of HDB precincts for HIP depends on factors such as budget, as well as the capacity of the construction industry.

In a separate query in Parliament by Jurong GRC’s Desmond Lee, Senior Parliamentary secretary for National Development Mohamad Maliki Osman said that HDB is “studying” how to install ramps for about 75,000 HDB flats.

Desmond Lee wanted to know if the Board would replace steps at the entrances of these homes with ramps, for the convenience of elderly and disabled residents.

Dr Maliki replied that permanent ramps were mostly not feasible “due to the lack of space along the corridors and the need to comply with fire safety requirements”. He added that HDB is prepared to help find suitable detachable ramps, but residents have to seek approval from the town council for these temporary slopes.

As for a more permanent solution, Dr Maliki added that residents have to get approvals from the town council and HDB.

An MND spokesperson explained to The Straits Times that the ‘steps-to-entrance’ flats were constructed in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s to provide more privacy, because of their prominent locations. As such units are located along common corridors, the height created by the steps limits the view of residents’ homes to passers-by.

Feng Shui in Singapore for 2012

Jan 10th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post

Life in Singapore remains one of the best options for many around the world as it develops into a safe, world-class metropolis where opportunities are unrivaled.

Guarded from natural disasters, it is further enhanced by its geo-political position as compared to many countries in Asia. Geographically surrounded by the large plains in Malaysia and Indonesia, the natural landscape in Singapore also accounts for good energies that draws prosperity and good fortune. While comparatively flat and compact, it also possesses its own natural undulations which generate great flows of energies, vital to the overall well-being of the country.

Topographically, Singapore sits in a basin where depositories of wealth pour into. While many terminologies have been given to Singapore, it is strikingly similar to the landforms that propel Hong Kong to her international standard of wealth accumulation.

From a Feng Shui point of view, Singapore could be viewed as a land of the Five Dragons.

The Central Dragon - Orchard, Bukit Timah

Nestled in the comfort of its heavenly den is the Central Dragon which is said to be the ‘reserve’ that the country is well-known for. Comfortably settled in the region where Bukit Timah originates, it makes its way to Orchard Central and is believed to rest its head guarding the precious pearl located in the current Mandarin Hotel. These attributes thus account for the demand and interests along the Bukit Timah stretch and the Orchard Road Belt. Moreover, the hills originating from Bukit Timah Hill and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are also said to contribute to the never-ending source of wealth.

Want to live in Orchard? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

Want to live in Bukit Timah? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

The Western Dragon - Jurong, West Coast, Harbourfront, Telok Blangah

From the lush greenery of Jurong comes the Western Dragon that rouses its way along West Coast to Telok Blangah and guards its treasure at the Harbourfront area. The West Dragon is said to be one of peace and benevolence. As such, homes located in the West are noted for its academic excellence and harmony. Homes along the Western front include the prestigious sea front homes, which are receiving harmonious doses of advancement and progress.

Want to live in Jurong? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

Want to live near Harbourfront or Telok Blangah? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

The Southern Dragon - CBD, Vivocity, Mount Faber, Redhill

Where the Western Dragon rests, the Southern Dragon comes alive and straddles between Vivocity and the Central Business District (CBD). This is the Financial Dragon that drums up the necessary energies needed for a vibrant and active financial market. In addition, the Southern Dragon is said to provide the happiness needed for Singapore, thus the locations of the two casinos and theme parks are not surprisingly here. With the ample protection of Mount Faber and the areas around Redhill, these two formations account for more than half of the overall prime districts. Homes here are poised for wealth accumulation and abundance.

Want to live near the CBD area? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

Want to live in Tanjong Pagar and Anson Road? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

The Eastern Dragon - Tampines, Pasir Ris, Kembangan, Katong

The Eastern Dragon breathes life into homes along the highway. It then makes its way into the extremely lush areas in Katong before sending in a huge dose of good fortune into the Frankel and Kembangan areas. These are the highlights before it makes its way to the eastern end of island - Tampines and Pasir Ris. The Eastern Dragon brings growth, optimism and a sense of community bonding, which eventually leads to great abundance.

Want to live in Tampines or Pasir Ris? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

Want to live in the Katong area? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

The Northern Dragon - Sengkang, Punggol, Woodlands

Flanking the North-East ridge, the Northern Dragon takes care of the region surrounding Sengkang and the waterfront of Punggol. From a sleepy enclave, the vibrancy of the North cannot be ignored. The Northern Dragon brings to it a sense of rejuvenation and self renewal. Twirling all the way past Woodlands and making its grand entrance near the Singapore Zoo and the Turf Club, it protects the natural reserves of Singapore. This Dragon is believed to offer the blessings of stability and continual progress. As such, you will find the Singapore Sports Institute and the American School thriving there.

Want to live in Sengkang or Punggol? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.

Want to live in Woodlands? Get the latest properties for sale in your inbox by creating a property alert here.


Want to buy a home in one of these prosperous locations? Create a property alert NOW to find your dream home and stand to win S$50 IKEA or S$50 NTUC gift vouchers! Five winners every week! For more details, visit http://edm.iproperty.com/sg/CNY-Property-Alert/. 

This promotion is valid only for Property Alerts created between January 21-26, 2012.



For more articles on Feng Shui, you can visit House of Feng Shui.


An oversupply of luxury homes

Jan 8th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
The next 12 months will be a trying time for the luxury homes market, as it takes in the effects of recent cooling measures, and a looming global economic slump.


(Singapore is experiencing a slight overload of high-end luxury units, with many claiming the need for affordable housing should be prioritised. Image courtesy of thinkstock.)

Currently, there are the thousands of high-end units, developed, launched and still waiting for buyers. Due to lack of interest, developers are considering delaying other launches they have in the queue until things start looking up. Fortunately for them, low interest rates and sufficient cash from previous years’ bumper market should see them through.

“If a developer has not launched its project yet, it might be better not to launch because once you do you're locked in. But if you don't, then you can still adjust your plans according to changing market conditions,” warned Chesterton Suntec International research head Colin Tan to The Straits Times.

According to property consultancy CBRE, there are at least 25 launch-ready projects in districts 9 through 11 in the market. These districts are prime areas for high-end homes. The projects—including Ardmore 3, Leedon Residence and TwentyOne Anguilla Park opposite Wheelock Place—are made up of more than 2,000 unsold units.

CBRE also revealed that at least 30 already-launched projects in these districts still had at least 2,846 homes (or 50% of their units) unsold as of the end of November last year. Majority of these unsold homes came from the D'Leedon (with 1,257 of 1,715 units unsold), the Twin Peaks (413 of 462 unsold), the Hilltops (208 of 241 unsold); and the The Scotts Tower (200 of 231 unsold).

Taken into account all the homes that were not even released for sale, the stock of high-end homes stands at 5,903. This number excludes the luxury units of Sentosa Cove, where sales have also slowed drastically. According to caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, there were only 12 new sales in Sentosa Cove for the whole of 2011.

However, Tan noted that developers are still getting revenue from their projects in the mass market segments, which are currently enjoying healthy sales. As such, he told The Straits Times there is no urgency to sell the city-centre homes.

Indeed, experts do not seem too worried about the oversupply situation. Alan Cheong, associate director of Savills research and consultancy, told The Straits Times that he felt the oversupply is a “short term concern”. Developers are free to shift around their launch and completion timelines based on the market outlook.

Cheong added that they developers also have the option of leasing out their units, as opposed to selling them off. “Developers have strong balance sheets after reaping super-normal profits over the past five years. They have enough built-in fat and are hibernating [...] Most of these sites are also freehold so there's less urgency to launch.”

From the buyer’s perspective, this means resale prices of high-end homes are expected to soften, said Cheong. Meanwhile, he expects the values of high-end launches to remain strong this year.

Similarly, International Property Advisor chief executive Ku Swee Yong told The Straits Times he expects transaction volumes in the luxury market this year to fall by 50% but for prices to hold. “As long as none of the developers feels pressure to offload units, the risk of precipitating a price decline does not exist. Balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are low.”

Others are less optimistic, and have predicted price falls of up to 15% this year. One insider noted that rather than holding back on launches, some developers might release their high-end projects over a few years so as not to cause another oversupply.

How politics and property have intertwined

Jan 5th, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
It is an eventful time for the property market as the impact of multiple rounds of cooling measures, among other major policy shifts, starts to show.


(A shift in political stance has affected the property market. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)

Last December’s property cooling measures are said to be among the harshest. They include an additional 10% buyer’s stamp duty exacted on foreigners purchasing any local residential properties. Corporate entities were also subject to the stamp duty.

These changes could have stemmed from a strident political shift. After the history-making General Elections last year, during which the ruling People’s Action Party received the lowest number of votes since Singapore’s independence, it seems the government is focusing on remedying the qualms of Singaporeans.

Just recently, The Straits Times quoted Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin’s observation that since the watershed elections, Singapore has been moving towards a model that emphasises productivity-led growth and inclusiveness, as opposed to the prior population-led model.

“It actually strikes at the heart of what Singapore was five years ago, because Singapore was pitched to be a very open place. Open to capital, open to foreigners and open to ideas,” Chua said of the change in policy direction at a press conference.

As for Singapore’s property sector, Chua felt the change suggests the additional buyer’s stamp duty is unlikely to be nixed even after the economy recovers because it targets foreigners. However, other measures that were implemented to reduce speculation and stabilise price, such as the introduction and subsequent raising of a seller’s stamp duty and the raising of the loan-to-value limit, might be eased.

Separately, freshly appointed Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan has made clear his primary goal to provide sufficient Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats for first-time applicants. “My top priority is to meet the housing needs of newlyweds who are HDB First-Timers,” Khaw wrote on his Housing Matters blog.

The result: fantastic news for genuine homebuyers. Under Khaw’s aggressive HDB supply, the build-to-order (BTO) subscription rate reached 1.4 last November. This means there were averagely 1.4 applicants for every unit offered, down from July’s 3.4. As Khaw put it, “almost all first-timers [got] a chance to select a new flat”.

Additionally, HDB revealed that its decision to raise the income ceiling to $10,000 has allowed some 2,991 more applicants with an income of $8,000-10,000 to try for its flats. Furthermore, a recent Straits Times report of the slowed resale market growth has prompted industry watchers to predict a price stabilisation.

However, a new problem has surfaced: authorities are now in danger of losing appeal to overseas and local property investors.

One multiple-property owner wrote to the Straits Times Forum, accusing the cooling measures of penalising local investors. Said Tan Cheng Hock, “This is enough to drive me from the country I grew up in and in which I am still contributing, to […] invest in a property in another country that does not discriminate against high-income earners.”

The growing number of disgruntled property investors could hurt the overall economy, suggested Chua. “It's probably not a good time to embark [on this] completely when the whole world is in a storm and you're trying to force this structural change,” he said, referring to the current murky global economic outlook. He warned of a technical recession in Q1 2012, and a 30 to 40% chance of negative growth in Q2, adding that even when growth resumes after, “it will not be as strong an uplift as we saw in the past.”

So, will the government alter its property-related policy changes in fear of a ‘stagflation’?

Resale home prices experience slowed growth

Jan 3rd, 2012
by Singapore Property Resources and Guides, HDB, Districts and Archived listings.
Comments are off for this post
The last quarter of 2011 ended on a good note as resale Housing Development Board (HDB) home prices charted a slower growth.


(Analysts predict weakened resale HDB prices this year. Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)

Yesterday, HDB released estimates indicating that resale unit prices rose 1.7% in the final three months of the year (ending December 31). In contrast, Q3 2011’s resale home prices upped by more than twice this percentage at 3.8%. Interestingly, the year-end growth rate mirrored that of the start of last year, where prices rose at 1.6% in Q1.

As such, industry experts do not expect strong resale prices for 2012, with some even predicting a further moderation and even a correction, due to two main factors. The first of which is the heightened uncertainty of the global economy, compared to that of last year. Analysts said an economic downturn could result in a correction in home prices.

The second factor is the series of property market cooling measures introduced by the Government over the past two years, which have restricted home ownership and tightened financing. The most recent set of measures, in particular, have imposed heavy tax duties on private homes that, experts tell The Straits Times, would probably have a “trickle-down” effect on the public homes market.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said to The Straits Times that Q4 2011’s figure marks a turning point for the HDB market. “Price stabilisation will set in and possibly even a price correction of not more than 3% [could happen] in the HDB resale market.”

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim also attributed the price moderation to HDB’s aggressive supply of new homes, and to some extent, the Board’s move to raise the income ceiling for new flats.

Last year HDB pushed out a record-setting 28,043 flats for sale to cope with the strong demand; 25,196 new flats were offered under the Build-To-Order (BTO) scheme, while the remaining 2,847 homes went under its Sale of Balance Flats exercise. August last year also saw HDB pushing the monthly income ceiling up from $8,000 to $10,000 for its BTO units, and from $10,000 to $12,000 for its executive condominium units.

“More first-time buyers would have moved from the resale market to the new flat market,” explained Lim to The Straits Times. Indeed, HDB reported that since its policy change to bump up the income ceiling, about 2,991 applicants (or 8%) to its two recent sales launches were found to be in the $8,000-10,000 income bracket.

In the meantime, property agencies that the paper spoke to said that cash premiums—known as cash-over-valuation (COV)—paid to resale HDB sellers above a flat’s valuation, have been decreasing. PropNex reported a drop of around $5,000 in median COV in December last year, to $25,000-45,000 across all flat types. Similarly, ERA Realty said the median COV of its transactions have stabilised at $30,000-40,000 in Q4 on average with no further rises—similar to what it experienced in Q3. “COVs are likely to remain soft, and could dip $10,000-15,000 in the coming six to nine months,” said Ismail to The Straits Times.

The new year will see HDB continue to ramp up its supply of new homes. It announced yesterday that it would be offering another 25,000 flats across the island in 2012. In the current month of January, 3,890 BTO units will be launched in the estates of Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines.

HDB will release more detailed data for Q4 2011 later this month.