After blip, property is hot again

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,413490,00.html?

Published November 16, 2010

After blip, property is hot again

Primary market shrugs off impact of cooling measures as Oct sales rise; industry watchers wonder if this will prompt new steps from govt

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


(SINGAPORE) After September's slump came October's rebound. This turnaround, reflected in the latest developer sales figures revealed yesterday, has prompted some industry observers to say that another round of demand-cooling measures may follow, as those announced on Aug 30 do not seem to have had a strong or lasting impact.

Developers sold 1,058 private homes excluding executive condominium (EC) units in October, up 16.1 per cent from September's sales volume of 911 units, according to primary-market sales data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday. In addition, developers sold 529 ECs in October (no ECs were sold in September), taking total developer sales (including ECs) for October to 1,587 units.

The number of private homes sold in the $2,000 to $2,500 per square foot price band in October was 207 units, or about eight times the 26 units developers sold in September. The increase was partly due to the release of The Glyndebourne (along Dunearn Road) and Suites at Orchard (at Handy Road).

Excluding ECs (which are a hybrid of public and private housing), developers had sold 1,259 units in August before the cooling measures pushed this number down to 911 in September. It climbed back to 1,058 in October.

Said Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng: 'Gauging by new sales, I suppose what government is trying to do doesn't seem to have had a severe impact on the market.

'The market is still buoyant; it's hard to say it's not. It would seem to me that if the government feels that current price levels are still high, we can expect more measures to cool the market.'

In the first 10 months of this year, developers sold 13,109 private homes excluding ECs - against 14,688 units for the whole of last year. Property consultants reckon the full-year tally may reach 14,700-15,000 and could surpass the record 14,811 units sold in 2007.

DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah said: 'Demand is still liquidity driven; it goes beyond the property market. It's an overall market phenomenon.'

She also pointed to the emergence of a two-tier market, with new projects launched by developers commanding a price premium of 20 per cent or more to earlier developments in the area.

The number of private homes (excluding ECs) sold by developers in the Core Central Region and Rest of Central Region rose, but sales in Outside Central Region (where mass-market homes are found) fell about 25 per cent.

In tandem with this trend, Colliers International's analysis shows that the number of private homes (excluding ECs) costing up to $1,000 psf sold by developers declined from 427 units in September to 183 last month.

Some of the demand in the low-price band was probably siphoned off to the two new EC projects released last month - Esparina Residences in Buangkok and The Canopy in Yishun - the first EC launches in five years, with sales of 425 units (at $761 psf median price) and 104 units (at $658 psf median price). Developers also continued to roll out smallish units to drive up sales and per square foot prices, such as Suites @ Sims, RV Point along River Valley Road and Kovan Grandeur.

The most expensive new home sold by a developer last month was a $4,800 psf unit at Boulevard Vue, a 33-storey freehold development at Cuscaden Walk. BT understands that the deal involved a 4,500 sq ft high-floor apartment, amounting to $21.6 million.

Other high-priced deals in October included Tomlinson Heights ($3,416 psf), Marina Bay Suites ($3,328 psf), Paterson Suites ($3,133 psf), Alba in Cairnhill Rise ($3,100 psf), Twin Peaks in the Leonie Hill area ($2,885 psf) and Seascape in Sentosa Cove ($2,838 psf).

In terms of sales volume, October's top-selling primary market projects included the two new ECs. The total of 979 units in these two projects boosted total units launched by developers in October to 2,049 units.

Excluding ECs, developers released 1,070 private homes in October, slightly above the 1,058 units in September.

Other projects that sold well last month include The Glyndebourne (112 units at $2,149 psf median price), NV Residences in Pasir Ris (81 units at $831 psf), Suites at Orchard (80 units at $2,140 psf) and Vacanza @ East (77 units at $1,081 psf).

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http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/Story/STIStory_603674.html

Nov 16, 2010

October private home sales beat forecasts

Over 1,000 units sold last month, rising to nearly 1,600 if ECs are included

By Esther Teo


A HIGHER-THAN-EXPECTED 1,058 new private homes were sold last month, up from 911 in September, leading some property analysts to predict a possible record number of sales for the full year.

The jump was even more pronounced after including sales of executive condominiums (ECs), an upscale type of public housing, as new EC sites went on sale for the first time in five years.

Taking ECs into account, sales surged 74 per cent to 1,587 as buyers in the so-called 'sandwich class' flocked to purchase these two new EC projects.

Esparina Residences near Buangkok MRT station saw 425 units sold, and The Canopy in Yishun had 104 units snapped up.

The sandwich class refers to households whose income falls between $8,000 and $10,000.

Experts said, however, that the buoyant figures did not necessarily mean the Government's property cooling measures in August were losing bite.

They noted that the target segment - mass market condos in suburban areas - had suffered a drop of about 25 per cent in sales volume, compared with the figure in September.

In contrast, homes in the core city centre - involving wealthier buyers less adversely affected by the buying restrictions - saw bumper sales of 335 units. This was almost four times the sales volume in the previous month.

In city fringe areas, 271 homes were sold, up 20 per cent from the number in September.

Jones Lang LaSalle research head Chua Yang Liang said the cooling measures announced on Aug 30, coupled with the rolling out of EC sites, had helped to temper mass market demand.

Mr Ong Kah Seng, Cushman & Wakefield's senior manager of Asia-Pacific research, however, said that while the government measures have had 'some effects on cooling the home buying frenzy, it did not dampen home buying sentiments', as developer sales of private residential units still totalled about 1,000 units each in the two months after the measures were announced.

Analysts suggested that another factor behind the overall rise in home sales was that buyers returned once the impact of the new property rules became clearer.

Permanent residents (PRs), for example, might have chosen to buy a condo rather than an HDB flat, in response to new rules that required them to sell any property they owned abroad if they bought an HDB flat.

The rosy economic outlook, low interest rates and robust stock market have also seeded optimism and confidence in the property market, they added.

Cushman's Mr Ong said: 'Several home buyers who have been on the sidelines for about a month might have decided to proceed with purchasing properties that offer investment potential or a possibility for capital appreciation.'

Ms Tay Huey Ying, Colliers' director of research and advisory, said private home sales this year - totalling 13,109 units in the first 10 months - could be on track to beat the 2007 record of 14,811 units.

An average of 851 homes a month have to be sold for the next two months to equal that figure. With Keppel Land's The Lakefront Residences having sold about 320 units over the weekend, and big launches such as CapitaLand's 1,715-unit residential project on the Farrer Court site set to be launched by year end, that figure seems within reach.

Ms Tay said: 'It shows us that speculative purchases are a minority; the market is not only flush with genuine buyers but also those who are financially strong, such that they can still afford to purchase despite the higher cash upfront needed.'

Foreigners, including PRs, accounted for 34 per cent of all non-landed caveats lodged and captured by the Urban Redevelopment Authority so far for last month. This is the highest for the year and is a sharp jump from the 26.8 per cent average for January to August this year prior to the introduction of the cooling measures, Colliers said.

Ms Christine Sun, Savills Singapore's senior manager of research and consultancy, said buyers might have returned to the market as a long-anticipated post-cooling measure price drop has not happened.

She added that the ECs had also seen good take-up as they had been launched 'at a time when HDB build-to-order flats have been very much oversubscribed and mass market private home prices have skyrocketed'.

In all, 1,070 units at private projects were launched for sale last month, slightly up from 1,058 in the previous month, with sales at The Glyndebourne - located on the Copthorne Orchid Hotel site - topping the table with 112 units sold at a median price of $2,149 per sq ft (psf).

NV Residences in Pasir Ris sold 81 units at a median $831 psf, Suites at Orchard in Handy Road had 80 units snapped up at a median of $2,140 psf, while The Lanai along Hillview Avenue sold 77 units at a median of $1,295 psf.

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http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC101116-0000110/Private-homes-hit-by-ECs-,,,

Private homes hit by ECs ...

But overall sales rebound amid rosy economic outlook

by Ryan Huang Wenwu

05:55 AM Nov 16, 2010


SINGAPORE - Sales of new private homes in the suburban area plunged 25 per cent last month from the previous month, likely hit by the return of executive condominiums (ECs), according to analysts.

However, growth from other areas lifted overall October home sales to 1,058 units, up 16 per cent from the 911 in the previous month, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data released yesterday.

ECs - which are a hybrid between private and public housing - made a return last month after nearly five years. These are mass-market projects built by private developers but sold with public housing restrictions.

And they have been hugely popular, going by the 425 units sold at the Esparina in Buangkok and the 104 units sold at the Canopy in Yishun.

Property market observers believe this may have diverted interest away from private home sales in the suburban area, which dipped to 452 units from 601.

However, this drop was offset by growth in the prime and city-fringe segments.

Prime area sales grew to 335 units from 84 in September. City-fringe sales increased to 271 units from 226.

Excluding ECs, the Glyndebourne at Dunearn Road was the most popular project. Some 112 units in the prime-area project have been snapped up at a median price of $2,149 per sq ft (psf).

Meanwhile, the most expensive new home - sold at $4,800 psf - was a unit in Boulevard Vue.

"Underpinned by the still rosy economic outlook, buying interest has returned - plus the fact that interest rates remain attractive and the stock market remains buoyant. I think this in a way has supported sales volumes for October," said Colliers International's research director Tay Huey Ying.

Most analysts expect monthly volumes and prices to remain at current levels until the rest of the year. Some are a bit more bullish.

"There is still some upside in the market that has yet to be capitalised," said Mr Chua Yang Liang, head of research for South-east Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Prices for the high-end segments are generally still 5 per cent below peak levels, while mass market segments are 10 per cent above the previous highs, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.