New Reporter
21-07-23, 11:29
Healthy appetite for new launches
Tue, Jul 18, 2023
Updated Thu, Jul 20, 2023
DEVELOPERS sold 278 private homes in Singapore in June, down 73 per cent from 1,039 units in May.
For the first half of this year, an estimated 3,463 new private homes were sold, which is 18 per cent below the 4,222 units sold in H1 2022.
The low volumes of sales in June can be attributed to the lack of major launches.
In July, there have been four major private home launches thus far - The Myst, Lentor Hills Residences, Grand Dunman and Pinetree Hill. These projects collectively sold more than 1,100 units at their respective launch weekends.
As at 5.30 pm on Jul 16, a total of 550 units, or 55 per cent of 1,008 homes at Grand Dunman - a project by SingHaiyi Group and CSC Land Group - were sold. The average pricing of the units sold at this 99-year leasehold project, which is along Dunman Road and two minutes walk from Dakota MRT station, was about S$2,500 per square foot (psf).
I think Grand Dunman’s sales performance is impressive given it is a large project and there were already two other private homes launches nearby earlier this year - Tembusu Grand and The Continuum. Perhaps the proximity to an MRT station continues to be a major selling point for many home buyers.
A less impressive sales debut was made by Pinetree Hill in Ulu Pandan, where 150 homes of nearly 29 per cent of 520 units were sold as at 6 pm on Jul 16. The average selling price of units launched at this 99-year leasehold project, which is developed by UOL Group Limited and Singapore Land Group, is S$2,460 psf.
When buying a new uncompleted home that is sold off-plan using the progressive payment scheme, one need not draw down a home loan in full for some time. Maybe one can benefit if interest rates soften in future.
Buyers of new private homes at recent launches are predominantly Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs). Citizens and PRs buying their first home are unaffected by the latest property cooling measures in April, which hiked the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for various groups of buyers.
The resilience of the private residential property market will be tested as more new launches come to the market, interest rates stay elevated and economic uncertainties persist.
Property buyers who do not want to pay hefty ABSD can consider buy non-residential properties where ABSD does not apply. For private wealth, commercial shophouses could be popular.
In The Level Ground, I question whether there it is fair that investors in commercial shophouses enjoy far lower taxes versus investors in homes. Should there be tax changes to tilt the playing field in commercial shophouses to favour locals buying their first shophouse for their own use?
Given the generally healthy appetite for physical properties across various segments here, I wondered whether ESR-Logos Reit should be selling five properties at a discount to valuation.
As scrutiny grows over the value that external managers bring to listed trusts and higher interest rates dampen the appeal of property trusts, I think external managers must do more to demonstrate that they are always acting in the best interests of all unitholders as well as deliver good returns for investors.
Following my commentary, ESR-Logos Reit’s manager issued a statement. It noted that there was a price-discovery process, in which CBRE was appointed to “obtain the best possible price for the five Singapore non-core assets”. Of the more than 35 potential parties identified, eight investors participated in the non-binding expression of interest for the portfolio.
While leasing demand and capital values across much of Singapore’s property landscape is well-supported, the picture in other global cities is not pretty.
CK Asset Holdings said its deal to sell a Hong Kong luxury residential property project for S$3.5 billion fell through.
Sales for newly-built homes in London, UK, in the second quarter have slumped to their lowest in over a decade as surging borrowing costs weigh on the city’s housing market.
Amid rising office vacancy rates at Canary Wharf in London, the owners of Canary Wharf are pivoting to reenergise it, adding more residences, building labs to lure life-sciences groups and hosting cultural shows and activities.
Meanwhile, the tough outlook for the office property market in New York City’s Manhattan borough persists and investors are staying at the sidelines.
According to McKinsey Global Institute, remote work risks wiping US$800 billion from the value of office buildings in major cities, highlighting the potential losses that landlords are facing from post-pandemic changes in employment trends.
Back home, million-dollar Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats continue to be transacted. Consultancy OrangeTee & Tie said only five out of 26 HDB towns have yet to see a million-dollar flat transaction – Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang and Sengkang.
For a home buyer with very deep pockets, a conserved black-and-white bungalow along Lady Hill Road has been put on the market with a S$110 million price tag. This works out to over S$4,000 psf of land for the freehold site of 27,465 square feet.
There may be no lack of super wealthy home buyers here. Earlier this year, the Fangiono family behind Singapore-listed palm oil producer First Resources bought four bungalows in Nassim Road for a total of S$295 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/healthy-appetite-new-launches
Tue, Jul 18, 2023
Updated Thu, Jul 20, 2023
DEVELOPERS sold 278 private homes in Singapore in June, down 73 per cent from 1,039 units in May.
For the first half of this year, an estimated 3,463 new private homes were sold, which is 18 per cent below the 4,222 units sold in H1 2022.
The low volumes of sales in June can be attributed to the lack of major launches.
In July, there have been four major private home launches thus far - The Myst, Lentor Hills Residences, Grand Dunman and Pinetree Hill. These projects collectively sold more than 1,100 units at their respective launch weekends.
As at 5.30 pm on Jul 16, a total of 550 units, or 55 per cent of 1,008 homes at Grand Dunman - a project by SingHaiyi Group and CSC Land Group - were sold. The average pricing of the units sold at this 99-year leasehold project, which is along Dunman Road and two minutes walk from Dakota MRT station, was about S$2,500 per square foot (psf).
I think Grand Dunman’s sales performance is impressive given it is a large project and there were already two other private homes launches nearby earlier this year - Tembusu Grand and The Continuum. Perhaps the proximity to an MRT station continues to be a major selling point for many home buyers.
A less impressive sales debut was made by Pinetree Hill in Ulu Pandan, where 150 homes of nearly 29 per cent of 520 units were sold as at 6 pm on Jul 16. The average selling price of units launched at this 99-year leasehold project, which is developed by UOL Group Limited and Singapore Land Group, is S$2,460 psf.
When buying a new uncompleted home that is sold off-plan using the progressive payment scheme, one need not draw down a home loan in full for some time. Maybe one can benefit if interest rates soften in future.
Buyers of new private homes at recent launches are predominantly Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs). Citizens and PRs buying their first home are unaffected by the latest property cooling measures in April, which hiked the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for various groups of buyers.
The resilience of the private residential property market will be tested as more new launches come to the market, interest rates stay elevated and economic uncertainties persist.
Property buyers who do not want to pay hefty ABSD can consider buy non-residential properties where ABSD does not apply. For private wealth, commercial shophouses could be popular.
In The Level Ground, I question whether there it is fair that investors in commercial shophouses enjoy far lower taxes versus investors in homes. Should there be tax changes to tilt the playing field in commercial shophouses to favour locals buying their first shophouse for their own use?
Given the generally healthy appetite for physical properties across various segments here, I wondered whether ESR-Logos Reit should be selling five properties at a discount to valuation.
As scrutiny grows over the value that external managers bring to listed trusts and higher interest rates dampen the appeal of property trusts, I think external managers must do more to demonstrate that they are always acting in the best interests of all unitholders as well as deliver good returns for investors.
Following my commentary, ESR-Logos Reit’s manager issued a statement. It noted that there was a price-discovery process, in which CBRE was appointed to “obtain the best possible price for the five Singapore non-core assets”. Of the more than 35 potential parties identified, eight investors participated in the non-binding expression of interest for the portfolio.
While leasing demand and capital values across much of Singapore’s property landscape is well-supported, the picture in other global cities is not pretty.
CK Asset Holdings said its deal to sell a Hong Kong luxury residential property project for S$3.5 billion fell through.
Sales for newly-built homes in London, UK, in the second quarter have slumped to their lowest in over a decade as surging borrowing costs weigh on the city’s housing market.
Amid rising office vacancy rates at Canary Wharf in London, the owners of Canary Wharf are pivoting to reenergise it, adding more residences, building labs to lure life-sciences groups and hosting cultural shows and activities.
Meanwhile, the tough outlook for the office property market in New York City’s Manhattan borough persists and investors are staying at the sidelines.
According to McKinsey Global Institute, remote work risks wiping US$800 billion from the value of office buildings in major cities, highlighting the potential losses that landlords are facing from post-pandemic changes in employment trends.
Back home, million-dollar Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats continue to be transacted. Consultancy OrangeTee & Tie said only five out of 26 HDB towns have yet to see a million-dollar flat transaction – Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang and Sengkang.
For a home buyer with very deep pockets, a conserved black-and-white bungalow along Lady Hill Road has been put on the market with a S$110 million price tag. This works out to over S$4,000 psf of land for the freehold site of 27,465 square feet.
There may be no lack of super wealthy home buyers here. Earlier this year, the Fangiono family behind Singapore-listed palm oil producer First Resources bought four bungalows in Nassim Road for a total of S$295 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/healthy-appetite-new-launches