More homes snapped up as prices slip in Q2

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More homes snapped up as prices slip in Q2

Buyers lured back as prices continue to fall for public and private housing

Published on Jul 26, 2014 12:42 AM

By Cheryl Ong


BUYERS jumped back into the local housing market as prices of both public and private homes fell for another straight quarter, figures out yesterday showed.

A raft of cooling measures has kept a tight rein on the market, but clear evidence of softer prices is drawing buyers back.

Private property prices slipped by a gentler 1 per cent in the April to June period from levels in the preceding quarter, when they dropped by 1.3 per cent. However, the number of homes sold shot up 46.4 per cent to 4,118 units from the first quarter to the second.

A similar scenario played out in the public housing market: Prices of resale flats fell 1.4 per cent in the three months to June 30 - a slight improvement over the 1.6 per cent drop in the first quarter.

But 4,389 Housing Board (HDB) flats changed hands during the quarter, up 16.1 per cent from the previous quarter.

This was the fourth straight dip in the HDB's resale price index, which has seen a 5.3 per cent decline since the peak in the public market a year ago.

Although buying volumes are rising, analysts say that an increasing supply of completed condo units and public flats will continue to hold prices down.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said sellers of resale HDB flats can no longer demand high prices as the mortgage servicing ratio, which caps loans for public flats at 30 per cent of a borrower's gross monthly income, limits large home loans.

As more owners take possession of newly completed HDB flats, the number of public homes on the resale market is likely to rise, said SLP International research head Nicholas Mak.

"Buyers of Build-to-Order flats are required to dispose of their existing HDB flats within six months of taking possession," he said. And the supply will only increase as upgraders move into new private homes.

A total of 24,893 new units, including executive condominiums, are estimated to be due for completion by the end of next year, Urban Redevelopment Authority figures showed yesterday.

Prices on the private home front fell across all segments. City-centre prices declined 1.5 per cent, while city-fringe prices fell 0.4 per cent. Prices of suburban homes dropped 0.9 per cent.

Even though developers dangled competitive offers at new launches, the overall slide was led by non-landed resale units, which fell 1.3 per cent, while new condo units saw a 0.5 per cent dip.

Ms Chia Siew-Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International, said: "This could indicate that the stalemate between home owners and buyers has given way to a softer stance among sellers."

Upcoming launches such as Keppel Land's The Highline Residences are expected to underpin sales volumes, which are likely to be around 4,000 to 6,000 for the second half, predicted Dr Tan Tee Khoon, executive director of residential services at Knight Frank. Private home prices could moderate by 5 to 6 per cent by the fourth quarter, he said.

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Published July 26, 2014

Q2 home prices slide further, but at slower clip

URA private home index down 1%; HDB resale index retreats 1.4%

By Kalpana Rashiwala

[email protected] @KalpanaBT


PRICES of private homes and HDB resale flats have continued to soften in the second quarter amid a pick-up in transaction volumes.

But even though the quarter-on-quarter dips are smaller than in Q1, the prognosis is hardly cheery - besides mounting supply, demand is clipped by the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework, and in the case of HDB flats, the mortgage servicing ratio as well.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's private home price index fell one per cent in Q2, after easing 1.3 per cent in Q1. This is the third straight quarterly drop. Total transactions - new sales, resales and subsales combined - rose 46.4 per cent to 4,118 units from 2,813 in Q1. Year on year, the Q2 index was down 2.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, HDB's resale flat price index eased 1.4 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in Q1. This is the fourth consecutive drop in the index. The 4,389 resale applications registered in Q2 was up 16.1 per cent from a quarter earlier. The Q2 index reflects a year-on-year drop of 5.3 per cent.

Property consultants expect the full-year drop for the HDB index to be 4-8 per cent and for the the URA index, 5-8 per cent.

The trend is expected to continue next year. Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty, said: "MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has maintained their stand that TDSR will remain for the long term and that it is still early days to tweak any of the cooling measures. Therefore, we can expect the moderation in property prices to continue into 2015. Volumes are likely to be flat.

"Economically, we are doing well. The employment situation is good. Logically, the property market should be moving upwards in tandem with the economy. However, we are seeing moderate price declines due to the increasing supply as well as policy measures which are designed to put a check on property prices."

JLL national director Ong Teck Hui said: "What I will be looking out for is whether the market has softened to a stable level, characterised by mild or gradual price decline of about one-odd per cent per quarter, and steady transaction volume - or whether the converse will happen: volumes could decline significantly further and leading to greater magnitude of quarterly price declines."

URA's Q2 data out yesterday shows that the price decline for landed homes has gathered pace - 1.7 per cent compared with 0.7 per cent in Q1.

The price decline for non-landed private homes, however, moderated to 0.8 per cent, from 1.3 per cent. Prices in suburban locations, or the Outside Central Region, retreated 0.9 per cent, faster than Q1's 0.1 per cent dip.

In the city-fringe, or Rest of Central Region, prices edged down 0.4 per cent, compared with a 3.3 per cent drop in Q1.

Core Central Region (CCR) fell 1.5 per cent, compared with Q1's 1.1 per cent drop. CCR covers the Downtown Core planning area, Sentosa and the traditional districts 9, 10 and 11.

Chia Siew Chuin, director at Colliers International, noted that "the CCR has been hit by a prolonged drought in foreign buying, high price tags and some potential buyers facing difficulty obtaining loans for higher-value properties due to TDSR".

She also said that developers of high-end properties affected by Qualifying Certificate rules are facing pressure to finish selling their projects within two years of obtaining Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP). This has made them more inclined to trim prices to move units.

Ms Chia forecasts a 10-15 per cent price drop for luxury and super-luxury condos for the year.

Meanwhile, URA's rental index for private homes dipped 0.6 per cent after shedding 0.7 per cent in Q1.

In the first half, 9,016 private homes were completed, that is, received TOP. With 8,066 more slated for completion in H2, taking full-year completions to a record 17,082, rents are expected to come under greater pressure.

The vacancy rate of private homes has risen to 7.1 per cent at end-Q2 from 6.6 per cent at end-Q1.

In the public housing market, substantial supply is also expected to put a dampener on resale flats. Based on HDB data, launches of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats are expected to total about 22,400 units this year, following 2013's 25,139 and 2012's 27,084.

On top of that, the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) will amount to some 6,400 units this year. In 2013 and 2012, the figures were 7,074 and 7,153 respectively. The large numbers of BTO and SBF flats will reduce appetite for resale flats, say market watchers.

Adding further pressure on HDB resale flat prices, said PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail, is an "imminent flood in supply of HDB resale homes from existing HDB flat owners collecting the keys to new BTO flats and private properties".

HDB resale transaction volumes, however, may improve slightly due to lower asking prices. Mr Ismail expects around 17,000 resale HDB flat transactions for this year. SLP International's Nicholas Mak forecast 15,500-16,800 units. Both their figures would be the lowest since 1997. Last year, 18,100 HDB flats changed hands in the resale market.