Private home sales up in Sept

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_290786.html

Oct 15, 2008

Private home sales up in Sept

By Joyce Teo


SINGAPORE'S property market perked up slightly in Sept.

Property developers sold 376 units of private homes, up from 325 units in Aug but down from 902 units in Jul, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday.

They launched even more such homes, as the number reached 767 units in Sept, up from 194 units in Aug. Half of them were unsold.

Amid the unfolding financial crisis and recession fears, sentiment remains weak in the property market as many buyers prefer to keep to the sidelines, property watchers said.

The top seller in Sept was Concourse Skyline in Beach Road. Some 68 out of 100 launched units there were sold at prices ranging from $1,272 per square foot to $1,871 psf, or at a median price of $1,592 psf.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...383073/1/.html

September figures show continued softness in private home sales

By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 October 2008 2139 hrs


SINGAPORE: Sales of private homes in Singapore improved 17.5 per cent in September, compared to the previous month.

But analysts said the pickup fell short of expectations, given the low base in August caused by the Hungry Ghost Festival. The seventh month of the Lunar calendar is traditionally regarded as an inauspicious period and buyers usually refrain from making purchases during that time.

Almost 300 per cent more units were launched for sale in September, compared to August. Property developers sold 376 units in September, just 51 units more than the preceding month. Nonetheless, some analysts see something to cheer about in the data.

Ku Swee Yong, director, Marketing & Business Development, Savills (Singapore), said: "I already see that as a positive (sign) because in September, the stock market beat the whole market down, so many investors were spooked."

The stock of private residential properties has been building up in the past year and was compounded by a large oversupply in September.

As buyers become more cautious in light of the economic downturn, prices are expected to fall.

Nicholas Mak, director, Consultancy & Research, Knight Frank, said: "Whatever gains made in the first half of this year will probably be lost by Christmas. Depending on how the global economic and financial situation plays out, I think there's still a lot of uncertainty and turmoil out there.

"There is a possibility we could see further weakness in home prices in 2009, especially if the Singapore economy were to slip into a prolonged recession.

"At the moment, we haven't seen some of the major bad news like massive retrenchments or fall in salary levels. If such a thing were to happen, we could see people giving up homes or downgrading."

Knight Frank said bad economic outlook could result in a double-digit fall in home prices in 2009. But others are not as pessimistic.

Ku said: "Private residential prices in mass market will still hold up very well, probably for the next 18 months... we believe so because the demand for public housing is still strong.

"In the third quarter, HDB price index for resale HDB (flats) still managed to climb 4.2 per cent. That should support mass market prices for HDB upgraders very well."

However, all agree that within the private residential sphere, luxury properties will bear the brunt of price pressures.

"For luxury and mid-tier residential market, we think that over the next 18 months, we might see about 5, 10 per cent drop. For the very luxurious properties, about 15 per cent drop in prices," Ku added.

Luxury properties tend to attract speculators who have retreated from the market in the current unpredictable financial environment.


- CNA/so

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...87140,00.html?

Published October 16, 2008

Flood of new homes but Sept sales up just 18%

Sales volume likely to dip in Oct due to global financial events: Colliers

By UMA SHANKARI


(SINGAPORE) Developers quadrupled the number of new homes for sale last month, but units sold rose only 18 per cent from August.

Accompanying the less-than-satisfactory take-up were lower prices in some areas, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data released yesterday.

The number of units sold recovered slightly to 376 last month from 320 in August, which coincided with the traditionally slow Hungry Ghost month.

A total of 767 new units were put up for sale - including 258 in the core central region (CCR) where sentiment is weakest.

Given the big jump from 194 in August, some analysts say that this could be due to smaller developers with less holding power launching units even during a weak market.

'They could be pushing out projects in the CCR, even though sentiment is bad in the high-end segment, because they have no choice,' one analyst said.

Take-up was especially poor in the CCR. The region accounted for 34 per cent of units launched last month but only 19 per cent of sales.

On the other hand, September's jump in launch volume could be because some projects were withheld during the Hungry Ghost month, said Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

Last month also saw prices ease slightly in areas such as Bukit Timah and Newton. CBRE said that some units at Madison Residences and Floridian along Bukit Timah Road were sold at median prices of $1,801 per square foot (psf) and $1,443 psf - 10 per cent lower than a year ago.

Similarly, Viva in Thomson Road and Park Infinia in Wee Nam Road achieved $1,555 psf and $1,501 psf - about 5 per cent less than comparable projects early this year, CBRE noted.

Preliminary URA estimates show that the Q3 residential price index fell 1.8 per cent, after climbing 3.9 per cent in the first half.

But many developers are holding prices firm. 'There is still no broad-based decline in home prices based on the September sales, although news about Lehman Brothers and AIG has dampened sentiment,' said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research.

Sales volume last month was driven mostly by new launches such as Concourse Skyline (68 units sold), The Peak At Balmeg (47), Traselveo (41), Viva (19) and Mulberry Tree (13). Most of the units launched and sold were in the rest of central region (RCR).

Analysts said that buyers are looking at mid-range private properties - even more than at mass-market homes. The RCR, where most mid-tier private homes are located, accounted for 48 per cent of launches and 60 per cent of sales last month.

Colliers director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying said that sales volume is likely to dip to 250-300 this month. 'The mood in October will likely be sombre due to the shockwaves from recent events in the global financial industry,' she said. 'Hence, developers's launch volume is likely to come in lower than September's but still higher than August's.'

Developers will not cut asking prices drastically in the next few months, analysts reckon. But small falls can be expected. Colliers, for example, expects prices of high-end and luxury homes to continue to slide by up to 5 per cent in Q4, while prices of mid-tier homes could fall up to 3 per cent.

Ms Tay said that prices of mass-market homes can be expected to hold firm or weaken less than 2 per cent in Q4.

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October 16, 2008 Thursday

Private home sales set to stay subdued

376 units sold in Sept - up from 325 in August but down from 902 in July

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent


SALES of new private homes are likely to stay subdued for the rest of the year with last month's numbers reflecting the gloomy sentiment.

Developers sold 376 private homes last month, up from 325 in August but down from 902 in July, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data out yesterday.

This puts private home sales in the first three quarters at 3,890 units, compared with 14,811 units for last year.

September sales were driven by new launches with 767 units released, up significantly from just 194 in August, when many players and buyers kept away due to the Hungry Ghost Month, said experts.

Sales have remained poor partly because developers have opted for smaller price cuts by absorbing stamp duty, for instance, said Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho noted that there is still no broad-based decline in home prices based on last month's sales, with just a slight easing in Bukit Timah and Newton.

However, given that Singapore is already in a technical recession and with the uncertainties ahead, price pressure is expected, experts said.

CBRE expects a further fall in overall home prices of 2 per cent to 4 per cent in the last quarter.

'Prices should reflect fundamentals or else the gap between actual versus fair value will widen,' said Mr Tan. If the gap continues to widen, conditions will build up to a point where a sharp price correction is inevitable.

'In a sharp price correction, everyone loses as panic sets in and sometimes prices go below fundamentals,' he added.

Colliers International's director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying said supply will weigh on prices as the stock of unsold units is accumulating as sales fail to keep pace with launches.

There was a take-up rate of just 31 per cent last month with an estimated 234 out of 767 launched units sold, she said.

Luxury properties remain out of favour with only modest sales achieved and none above $4,000 per sq ft (psf), compared with three in the previous quarter.

Said Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak: 'This is another indication that the boom in the high-end segment has subsided.'

Mid-tier projects saw the most sales last month, with Hong Fok's 360-unit Concourse Skyline in Beach Road the top seller. Out of the 100 launched units, 68 were sold at prices ranging from $1,272 psf to $1,871 psf.

MCL Land's The Peak @ Balmeg in Balmeg Hill and Soon Lian Realty's Tresalveo in Marymount Terrace did relatively well. Buyers picked up 47 out of 90 launched units at the 180-unit The Peak @ Balmeg, paying between $854 psf to $1,147 psf for the project.

At Tresalveo, buyers bought 41 out of 60 launched units of the 176-unit development near Jalan Pemimpin for between $902 psf and $1,045 psf.

Other new releases include Far East's 99-year leasehold condo in Marine Parade called Silversea, where 11 units were sold at a median price of $1,400 psf.

Consultants expect sales to remain at last month's levels as developers hold out for market confidence to rebound.

'Support from HDB upgraders will still be evident since the HDB resale market is going strong,' said CBRE's Mr Li. 'But other potential buyers would prefer to wait...for a more sustainable solution for the global financial turmoil.'

While prices of mass-market homes should remain stable for the next quarter, the impact of recessionary pressures remains imminent and may pose downside risk to this market over the next six months, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research for South-east Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle.

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