New Reporter
19-12-23, 13:16
Plum pickings in Punggol
Leslie Yee
Dec 19, 2023
GETTING married in Singapore can be a costly affair, especially if a couple hosts a lavish banquet.
Nonetheless, many locals receive a juicy marriage bonus by buying a subsidised Build-To-Order (BTO) flat from the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
Securing a BTO unit has become easier as the HDB builds more new flats. The application rate among first-timer families for four-room BTO flats in several projects was below one time in the latest BTO exercise.
BTO flat buyers can make hefty gains in the resale market. In recent years, Punggol homebuyers may have hit a jackpot.
Resale prices in the new HDB estate of Punggol have risen at a higher-than-average pace, suggesting that early residents in a brand-new town enjoy “first-mover” advantage, a study by Mogul.sg showed.
According to Mogul.sg, the median four-room flat resale price in Punggol rose about 42 per cent between 2015 and 2023 versus 35 per cent islandwide. Also, the median five-room resale flat price in Punggol rose by 50 per cent, compared with 36 per cent gain islandwide.
Today, Punggol residents enjoy comprehensive public transport and other amenities including retail facility Waterway Point, integrated lifestyle hub One Punggol, Punggol Waterway Park and SAFRA Punggol Clubhouse.
Another suburban location - Jurong East - is drawing much interest from private homebuyers who are excited by the plans for Jurong Lake District.
CapitaLand Development’s J’den, which is located in Jurong East, topped new homes sold by developers in November with 329 homes or about 89 per cent of total units sold at a median price of S$2,475 per square foot.
Developers sold 784 new private homes excluding executive condominiums last month, up by 286 per cent from the 203 units sold in October. New private home sales excluding executive condominiums in 2023 could be around 6,500 to 7,000 units, which would be the slowest yearly developers’ sales since 2008 according to PropNex.
Looking into 2024, Ry-Anne Lim, who spoke to several property analysts, reports that a slew of new launches to come into a softening market will keep Singapore’s private home prices in check. However, talk of interest rate cuts has sparked some optimism for the second half of 2024.
A major theme in 2023 was the rise in interest rates to fight persistently high inflation. This affected the unit prices and distribution income of many listed real estate investment trusts (Reits).
Nonetheless, with interest rates peaking, 2024 may be an inflection point for Singapore Reits. Already, unit prices of many Reits started to rise in November.
Generally, listed Reits, especially high-quality ones, trade at superior book value multiples to listed property groups.
Hong Kong
In this week’s Level Ground, I argue that it is timely for major family-owned property groups in Hong Kong to emulate the likes of CapitaLand Investment and Mapletree Investments by growing in the Reit and private property fund space.
Perhaps, the 134-year-old Hongkong Land’s hiring of Singaporean Michael Smith from Mapletree will see it actively build a new business in real estate fund management.
The issue of succession is under scrutiny in major Hong Kong tycoon-owned businesses. The billionaire Cheng family who have extensive interests in property and other businesses moved to restructure leadership at its infrastructure firm NWS Holdings.
China
China saw Reits debuting on the country’s stock market in 2021 with much fanfare. Reits were hailed as a way to channel retail investor money into large-sized infrastructure and property projects.
However, China Reits have been roiled by a double whammy of China’s deepening property crisis and a stock market slump.
China’s new home prices fell for the fifth straight month in November as the sector still struggles to find its way out of a weak market in the face of dampened confidence among homebuyers and investors.
New home prices declined 0.3 per cent month-on-month, matching the figure in October, according to Reuters’ calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics data. Prices fell at the fastest pace in seven months year-on-year, down 0.2 per cent in November, versus a 0.1 per cent decline in October.
Keppel DC Reit is grappling with late payment from a Chinese tenant. The trust’s Chinese subsidiary KDCR Guangdong issued a letter of demand on Dec 15 to its tenant of three Guangdong data centres to recover 48.3 million yuan (S$9.1 million) of owed rentals and related expenses.
Meanwhile, unitholders of troubled Manulife US Reit voted overwhelmingly in favour of the recapitalisation plan proposed by its manager at the trust’s extraordinary general meeting last week. The plan involves asset sales and taking a sponsor loan to remedy the trust’s financial covenant breach.
Investing in Reits has risks. Still, as the population ages, having access to good quality Reits matters.
I suggest possibly listing a Changi Airport retail Reit. Let locals who love the award-winning airport ride on the success of the airport’s retail offerings.
Many Singapore residents, including myself, have enjoyed using Changi Airport’s facilities as we took our year-end overseas holidays. Travel lust supports robust recovery in the hospitality sector post-pandemic.
Speaking to Kalpana Rashiwala, Vincent Yeo, chief executive officer of the managers of CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT), expressed confidence in Singapore’s ability to attract international visitors amid a strong events calendar.
Yeo said the next phase of revenue maximisation for CDLHT is to build up occupancy, which has yet to catch up with pre-pandemic levels.
May Singapore’s vital tourism sector have a bountiful 2024!
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/plum-pickings-punggol
Leslie Yee
Dec 19, 2023
GETTING married in Singapore can be a costly affair, especially if a couple hosts a lavish banquet.
Nonetheless, many locals receive a juicy marriage bonus by buying a subsidised Build-To-Order (BTO) flat from the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
Securing a BTO unit has become easier as the HDB builds more new flats. The application rate among first-timer families for four-room BTO flats in several projects was below one time in the latest BTO exercise.
BTO flat buyers can make hefty gains in the resale market. In recent years, Punggol homebuyers may have hit a jackpot.
Resale prices in the new HDB estate of Punggol have risen at a higher-than-average pace, suggesting that early residents in a brand-new town enjoy “first-mover” advantage, a study by Mogul.sg showed.
According to Mogul.sg, the median four-room flat resale price in Punggol rose about 42 per cent between 2015 and 2023 versus 35 per cent islandwide. Also, the median five-room resale flat price in Punggol rose by 50 per cent, compared with 36 per cent gain islandwide.
Today, Punggol residents enjoy comprehensive public transport and other amenities including retail facility Waterway Point, integrated lifestyle hub One Punggol, Punggol Waterway Park and SAFRA Punggol Clubhouse.
Another suburban location - Jurong East - is drawing much interest from private homebuyers who are excited by the plans for Jurong Lake District.
CapitaLand Development’s J’den, which is located in Jurong East, topped new homes sold by developers in November with 329 homes or about 89 per cent of total units sold at a median price of S$2,475 per square foot.
Developers sold 784 new private homes excluding executive condominiums last month, up by 286 per cent from the 203 units sold in October. New private home sales excluding executive condominiums in 2023 could be around 6,500 to 7,000 units, which would be the slowest yearly developers’ sales since 2008 according to PropNex.
Looking into 2024, Ry-Anne Lim, who spoke to several property analysts, reports that a slew of new launches to come into a softening market will keep Singapore’s private home prices in check. However, talk of interest rate cuts has sparked some optimism for the second half of 2024.
A major theme in 2023 was the rise in interest rates to fight persistently high inflation. This affected the unit prices and distribution income of many listed real estate investment trusts (Reits).
Nonetheless, with interest rates peaking, 2024 may be an inflection point for Singapore Reits. Already, unit prices of many Reits started to rise in November.
Generally, listed Reits, especially high-quality ones, trade at superior book value multiples to listed property groups.
Hong Kong
In this week’s Level Ground, I argue that it is timely for major family-owned property groups in Hong Kong to emulate the likes of CapitaLand Investment and Mapletree Investments by growing in the Reit and private property fund space.
Perhaps, the 134-year-old Hongkong Land’s hiring of Singaporean Michael Smith from Mapletree will see it actively build a new business in real estate fund management.
The issue of succession is under scrutiny in major Hong Kong tycoon-owned businesses. The billionaire Cheng family who have extensive interests in property and other businesses moved to restructure leadership at its infrastructure firm NWS Holdings.
China
China saw Reits debuting on the country’s stock market in 2021 with much fanfare. Reits were hailed as a way to channel retail investor money into large-sized infrastructure and property projects.
However, China Reits have been roiled by a double whammy of China’s deepening property crisis and a stock market slump.
China’s new home prices fell for the fifth straight month in November as the sector still struggles to find its way out of a weak market in the face of dampened confidence among homebuyers and investors.
New home prices declined 0.3 per cent month-on-month, matching the figure in October, according to Reuters’ calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics data. Prices fell at the fastest pace in seven months year-on-year, down 0.2 per cent in November, versus a 0.1 per cent decline in October.
Keppel DC Reit is grappling with late payment from a Chinese tenant. The trust’s Chinese subsidiary KDCR Guangdong issued a letter of demand on Dec 15 to its tenant of three Guangdong data centres to recover 48.3 million yuan (S$9.1 million) of owed rentals and related expenses.
Meanwhile, unitholders of troubled Manulife US Reit voted overwhelmingly in favour of the recapitalisation plan proposed by its manager at the trust’s extraordinary general meeting last week. The plan involves asset sales and taking a sponsor loan to remedy the trust’s financial covenant breach.
Investing in Reits has risks. Still, as the population ages, having access to good quality Reits matters.
I suggest possibly listing a Changi Airport retail Reit. Let locals who love the award-winning airport ride on the success of the airport’s retail offerings.
Many Singapore residents, including myself, have enjoyed using Changi Airport’s facilities as we took our year-end overseas holidays. Travel lust supports robust recovery in the hospitality sector post-pandemic.
Speaking to Kalpana Rashiwala, Vincent Yeo, chief executive officer of the managers of CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT), expressed confidence in Singapore’s ability to attract international visitors amid a strong events calendar.
Yeo said the next phase of revenue maximisation for CDLHT is to build up occupancy, which has yet to catch up with pre-pandemic levels.
May Singapore’s vital tourism sector have a bountiful 2024!
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/plum-pickings-punggol