Property seems paler, but it's anyone's call

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...347999/1/.html

Sales in private residential market dip in April

By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 2136 hrs


SINGAPORE: Sales in the private residential market have dipped in April after a mild recovery in March.

According to the numbers of private home sales released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), only 274 units were sold last month – down from 301 units in March.

Developers were also holding back new launches, with only 271 units launched in April – the lowest number of units since market weakness surfaced in September last year.

Analysts said they expect the market to continue moving gingerly.

Homebuyers in the mass market are keeping the numbers moving along as nine out of every 10 units sold in April were in the suburban areas. This belies the overall cautious stance that homebuyers are taking.

Chua Chor Hoon, Senior Director of Research, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, said: "Speculation is almost nil. Most buyers we see in the market are probably those buying for owner occupation, with needs for accommodation."

With buying and selling almost at a standstill, analysts said the ball is now in the developers' court.

Colin Tan, Director of Research & Consultancy, Chesterton International, said: "Looking forward, you can see that in order to raise their sales, developers will need to price their units more realistically. As you can see from the April figures, those that have done so are being rewarded with higher sales."

However, the URA figures also showed that prices remain firm for high-end units and developers for those units are choosing to wait out.

"Developers are still holding back launches, especially for bigger projects and those at higher end range. What we see are mostly launches in suburban areas, with units priced below S$1,000 psf," Mr Chua said.

While the latest data may seem to provide more evidence of a weak housing market, analysts said numbers are very thin and have cautioned against reading too deeply into them as they could be potentially misleading.


- CNA/so

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...79452,00.html?

Published May 16, 2008

Property seems paler, but it's anyone's call

Volumes shrink, prices weaken but some segments are holding firm

By ARTHUR SIM


(SINGAPORE) Based on the latest monthly developer sales data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), property prices could be on the downward trend.

Developer sales fell, with April seeing only 274 transactions. This is about 9 per cent lower than the 301 units sold in March, though still higher than the 174 units sold in February.

And while it is difficult to accurately pinpoint price movements with such low volume, an analysis by Knight Frank of overall median prices achieved nevertheless registered an 8.9 per cent drop in April, falling to $943 psf compared to $1,035 psf in March.

The peak median price of over $1,400 psf was reached in August 2007.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak also explained that the analysis was a 'median of median prices', and so may not be a precise reflection of price movements.

Mr Mak also said that applying a different mode of analysis to the same data - the formula used to calculate URA's quarterly property price index for instance - could even show that prices have increased slightly.

Still, a comparison of monthly median prices of recently launched developments does suggest that prices could be falling.

The 79-unit Blu Coral was launched in February with nine units sold at a median price of $872 psf. In March, 28 units were sold at a median price of $802 psf, while in April, 18 units were sold at a median price of $657.

Similarly, 53 units of the 106-unit, The Verve, were launched in March with 36 units sold at a median price of $1,187 psf. In April, 8 units were sold at a median price of $1,055 psf.

And nine units of the 625-unit, The Quartz, were sold in March at a median price of $742 psf, followed by 14 units sold in April at a median price of $721 psf.

Interestingly, one unit of Waterfront Waves was sold at $909 psf in April, higher than the median price of $806 in March when 14 units were sold.

Perhaps another indication of the weakening market is that 43 units of 659-unit The Parc Condominium, previously reported as being fully sold, have re-emerged on the market. According to the monthly data, the returned units first appeared in February.

A source that did not want to be named also said that these units were returned by buyers who chose not to exercise their options, forfeiting a quarter of the 5 per cent downpayment in the process.

Jones Lang LaSalle head of research (South-East Asia) Chua Yang Liang has also analysed median prices as a measure of volatility and suggests that this has increased in the Outside Central Region (OCR).

Dr Chua explained that volatility, as a measure of how wide market prices are per unit dollar of the median price achieved could also reflect, 'the market's speculative level'. As such, he said: 'It would appear that upgraders may be returning, with entry level projects that are moderately priced between $750 to $850 psf as the preferred choice.'

Supporting this were the healthy sales of the 56-unit Stadia at Yio Chu Kang, which saw 52 units sold. Two units were sold for under $750 psf while the remaining 50 were sold at between $750 and $1,000 psf.

In the OCR, Dr Chua said based on the analysis, median prices continued to soften by 4.2 per cent. But he also added that the analysis was just an 'indication of the market's mood', and does not account for product differentiation or physical attributes of each development.

While the volume of sales was low in the Central Core Region with just 19 non-landed homes transacted, Dr Chua believes that the low volatility in median prices there suggests that market activity and future prices in the high end market are likely to remain stable.

Also holding this view is CB Richard Ellis Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho who noted that two units in Scotts Square were sold at around $4,300 psf, a unit at Orchard Scotts was sold at $2,520 psf and two units at Skypark were sold at around $2,300 psf.

'Although high-value transactions were limited, the individual transactions seemed to indicate that prices in the high-end market were still holding firm,' he added.

The analysis of price movements will however, remain an academic one, and as such will remain open to debate.

Colliers International director (research and advisory) Tay Huey Ying said there were too few transactions at the higher end of the market to comment fairly on the sector.

And even for the OCR, she noted that the median transacted price for mass-market units averaged $792 psf in April, about 8 per cent higher than the average median price of $729 in August 2007 when the highest sale volume for the sector was registered.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_237900.html

May 16, 2008

Further drop in new home sales and launches in April

Prices also show signs of weakening as buyers adopt a more cautious stance

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM...MNYFIOURA2.jpg
HOLDING UP: Some projects such as The Lakeshore (above) still enjoyed steady sales, with 32 of its 848 units taken up last month. -- PHOTO: FAR EAST ORGANIZATION

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM...01_01_0001.jpg

THE private home market continued to weaken last month, with launches of new homes falling to their lowest level in at least 10 months.

Sales volumes and median prices also dipped, according to monthly figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday.

Developers launched only 271 homes last month, fewer than half the 642 units launched in March.

The number of homes sold also fell, to 274 in the month, from 322 previously. These figures exclude executive condominiums.

'It is clear that homebuyers were in no hurry to make purchases and were taking more time to assess the market,' said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Research.

He attributed this trend to the continuing instability of financial markets and increasing concerns over the higher cost of living.

Perhaps as a result of the slowdown, prices have begun to show signs of strain.

An analysis by property firm Knight Frank found median prices of new homes sold last month had slid 9 per cent to $943 per sq ft (psf), from $1,035 psf in March.

One reason for the lower prices could be that most of the homes launched and sold were in cheaper mass-market developments.

Eight out of 10 homes sold in the month cost $1,000 psf or less. Only seven homes, or about 2 per cent of the total sold, fetched more than $2,000 psf.

This is a major reversal from previous months. As recently as in December, more than 70 per cent of the homes sold for the month cost more than $2,000 psf.

The strength of the mass-market segment last month was the bright spot in an otherwise dismal set of figures yesterday.

The best-selling project was a suburban development: Stadia in Yio Chu Kang Road, which sold more than 90 per cent of its 56 units within the month.

'Latent demand remains strong, especially for the mass-market projects that are reasonably priced between $750 and $850 psf,' said Mr Chua Yang Liang, the head of South-east Asia research at Jones Lang LaSalle.

On the other hand, only three units were launched in the prime core central region. Demand for homes in this high-end area and in the mid-tier city-fringes remained fragmented and weak, said Mr Chua.

Property consultants said they expect buying activity to remain slow in the coming months as the current gloomy sentiment persists.

But some, such as CBRE's Mr Li, expect sales to start improving next month as developers begin stepping up launches.

Mr Ku Swee Yong, Savills Singapore's director of business development and marketing, said buyers are starting to return to the market.

'I dare say last month's sales numbers will be the lowest we will see this year,' he said.

'Showflat crowds are still pretty good, and from now on, we should see launches picking up.'

Having some high-profile launches would give the market a boost, said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

'Essentially, the lukewarm sentiment can be explained primarily by the lack of launches of major developments that might cause excitement.'

[email protected]

Today, May 16, 2008
Dive in property launches
Developers have lowered asking price to bring in buyers
ESTHER FUNG
[email protected]

SINGAPORE’S much-anticipated property market slowdown is here. April saw a 58-per-cent dive in new property launches by developers as buyer sentiments soured. According to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday, developers put 271 new private homes on sale last month, down from 642 in March. Sales dropped by another 13 per cent with just 279 homes changing hands across Singapore, down from 322 in March. This is a sharp contrast to the 1,885 units launched and 1,731 sold at the peak of the housing boom last August.

“There is still a bit of a stand-off between developers and buyers,” said DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s senior research director Chua Chor Hoon.
“Buyers are still taking a wait-and-see approach as they are not sure how things are going to unfold. It doesn’t make sense for them take the plunge and buy unless they have a strong reason to.” To lure buyers, ome developers have lowered the asking price. According to Mr Nicholas Mak, a director at Knight Frank, the median prices of new sales dipped 8.9 per cent to $943 per sq ft (psf) last month.

The URA does not release monthly changes in price statistics. Its last set of figures shows private home prices rose 3.7 per cent in the three months to end-March, albeit at a slower pace. Mr Colin Tan, head of consultancy and research at Chesterton International, said: “The evidence is mounting that the market may reached a declining stage.” The asking price has been dropped in some new developments such as Far East Organisation’s The Lakeshore in Jurong West and World-Class Capital’s Blu Coral in Telok Kurau, which has resulted in higher sales.

Buyers snapped up 18 units in Blu Coral — up from nine in February — after its median price fell to $657 psf last month. “The question is, can they sustain sales at this price level or do they have to continue to lower it further,” said Chesterton’s Mr Tan. City Developments has held back its property launches so far this year, but may launch this year’s first new development in the second quarter or third quarter if market conditions permit, its executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng told Dow Jones Newswires.

GIC Real Estate president, Dr Seek Ngee Huat, yesterday warned that Wall Street’s credit crisis may flow into Asia’s “main street”. “The contagion of the sub-prime crisis can potentially accelerate the downward spin of the cycle,” Dr Seek was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “Its ripple effects are certainly being felt here in Asia. While Wall Street is picking up the pieces, the problems on Main Street are just beginning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr funny

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...79452,00.html?

Published May 16, 2008

Property seems paler, but it's anyone's call

Volumes shrink, prices weaken but some segments are holding firm

By ARTHUR SIM

....................

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak also explained that the analysis was a 'median of median prices', and so may not be a precise reflection of price movements.

Mr Mak also said that applying a different mode of analysis to the same data - the formula used to calculate URA's quarterly property price index for instance - could even show that prices have increased slightly.

....................

While the volume of sales was low in the Central Core Region with just 19 non-landed homes transacted, Dr Chua believes that the low volatility in median prices there suggests that market activity and future prices in the high end market are likely to remain stable.

Also holding this view is CB Richard Ellis Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho who noted that two units in Scotts Square were sold at around $4,300 psf, a unit at Orchard Scotts was sold at $2,520 psf and two units at Skypark were sold at around $2,300 psf.

'Although high-value transactions were limited, the individual transactions seemed to indicate that prices in the high-end market were still holding firm,' he added.

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Wow!
With these latest prices, URA PPI would continue to move upward.

And the high-end price is hold steady too.
This is great!

Keep it up!

The 43 ex-buyers of the Parc are indeed smart. Pity those who enbloc'd last year. Payout not enough to buy similar size unit, if bought anything, now got to suffer paper loses.

Prices tipping off. It cannot continue to rise like there is no tomorrow.

Very much like in any other asset markets, price alone doesn't tell a story. A rise in price without volume merely suggest the rally is at its tail's end ie last few "chasers" are active but the market in general is running out of buyers (at present price levels).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pink4

The 43 ex-buyers of the Parc are indeed smart. Pity those who enbloc'd last year. Payout not enough to buy similar size unit, if bought anything, now got to suffer paper loses.

Prices tipping off. It cannot continue to rise like there is no tomorrow.

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They got paper loss? For what? For fúcking your pink pussy?

What is reported is already history. Prices will drop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pink4

What is reported is already history. Prices will drop.

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Just because your pink cúnt says "will drop" means will drop? We never know a shemale like you can influnce the market. Talking cock!

"Stealth Layoffs" Sweep across Wall Street
By Louise Story and Eric Dash The New York Times | 16 May 2008 | 05:14 AM ET

People on Wall Street seem to be vanishing overnight.

Thousands are losing their jobs as hard-pressed banks cut deep. But while layoffs are nothing new in the financial industry (they come with almost every downturn), this round seems different: it is eerily quiet.

So quiet, in fact, that people refer to these cuts as stealth layoffs. Some bosses hardly say a word after people are fired. At Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley for example, the first clue that someone is gone can be e-mail messages that are returned to senders from a former colleague’s inactivated corporate address.

While the financial markets have found a bit of a footing lately, banks are pushing ahead with plans for some of the deepest job reductions in years. Since last summer, banks worldwide have announced plans to cut 65,000 employees.

But exactly how many jobs have been or will be eliminated is unclear. In the past, banks typically made sharp reductions all at once. After the 1987 stock market crash, for example, employees were herded into conference rooms and dismissed en masse.

This time, companies are making many small cuts over the course of weeks or even months. Some people who have lost jobs, and many more struggling to hold them, say banks are keeping employees in the dark about the size and timing of layoffs.

Citigroup, for example, said last year that it would eliminate 17,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its work force. Then in January, Citi said it would dismiss 4,200 more people. In April, it said an additional 8,700 would go.

By contrast, after the financial upheaval of 1998, when many Wall Street banks pared payrolls, Citigroup eliminated 10,600 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force at the time.

The idea that banks will slowly wield the knife again and again unnerves many employees. People know the cuts are coming — they just don’t know when or where.

“Nobody knows who is coming in; nobody knows who is going out,” said JoAnne Kennedy, who was laid off by JPMorgan Chase this year. “They want to keep it all as quiet as possible.”

To some bank workers, one round of layoffs seems to blur into the next. At Goldman Sachs, low performers were dismissed from January through March. A few weeks later, the bank quietly began letting more people go. All told, Goldman is axing about 8 percent of its work force, although incoming employees this summer will make up for some of that loss.

At Merrill Lynch 1,100 people were laid off early this year, mostly in mortgage-related businesses. But in April, the firm announced 2,900 more cuts.

JPMorgan Chase said last fall that it would lay off 100 people in its fixed-income division and then followed up with several smaller rounds of cuts in other parts of the bank. The casualties will keep mounting as JPMorgan melds with Bear Stearns, the troubled investment bank it is buying.

Starting at the top, JPMorgan executives are eliminating jobs at their own bank, redeploying some people to other divisions and replacing others with Bear Stearns workers. As many as 5,500 Bear Stearns employees and 4,000 JPMorgan workers could lose their jobs before it is over.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pink4

What is reported is already history. Prices will drop.

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TRUE. IT IS DROPPING AND PANICKY SPECULATORS ARE DROPPING THEIR PANTS. BUT NO WHERE TO RUN. TRAPPED AND BURNED.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Unreg¡stered

Wow!
With these latest prices, URA PPI would continue to move upward.

And the high-end price is hold steady too.
This is great!

Keep it up!

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Pity the day dreamers........ prices dropping dropping tumbling tumbling. Sales almost zero.

TRUE. IT IS CONTINUING ITS RISE AND PANICKY BUYER WHO MISSED THE BOATS ARE DROPPING THEIR PANTS. BUT NO WHERE TO RUN. THEY HAVE LOST!

Pity the day dreamers........ prices rising rising as per URA PPI. New sales, subsales and resales are picking up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 彭博

要扩展亚洲业务 美林将多聘请几百名员工
彭博电
新加坡
2008-05-16

美林（Merrill Lynch）计划扩展在亚洲的私人银行服务业务，因而将多聘请几百名员工。

根据美林和凯捷顾问公司（Capgemini）去年发布的一项报告，亚太区高净值人士的财富预料在2011年增加8.5％至12万7000亿美元，涨幅仅次于财富增长最快速的中东。摩根士丹利同样看准该市场，准备多聘请员工。

美林已在去年8月在印度开设财富管理中心。

除了财富管理，公司也将加强在亚洲的企业财务和销售与交易业务。

上个月宣布裁退多3000名员工的美林表示在亚洲的裁员行动已近尾声，受影响员工大多来自其日本的商业房地产抵押业务。

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OMG! Why so many hiring?

Citi is hiring in Singapore. UBS is hiring in Singapore.
Now Merill Lynch needs a few hundred more.

Where to find so many bankers in Singapore?