http://www.straitstimes.com/business...o-on-the-block

More properties to go on the block

Mar 19, 2016

Analysts cite weak rental market and job cuts in some industries

Wong Siew Ying


Analysts expect more properties to go under the hammer this year, amid a weaker rental market, tough business environment and job cuts in some industries.

Real estate consultancy Colliers International said there have been 154 auction listings so far this year, of which about 45 per cent or 70 units were mortgagee listings. The other 84 units were owner listings.

Mortgagee listings occur when a bank puts a property up for auction after its owner defaults on servicing the home loan.

"Borrowers who are holding on to multiple properties could be facing more pressures," said Colliers International deputy managing director Grace Ng.

Knight Frank Singapore noted that auctions are fast becoming a popular mode of sale as they provide wider exposure for sellers.

"We expect more properties to come up in the market; not just within the residential sector but in all sectors including factories, offices, retail units, shophouses," said Knight Frank Singapore head of auction Sharon Lee.

A case in point is JLL's upcoming auction on March 24, which will feature three industrial properties and six residential units.

The properties include a 1,808 sq ft unit on the 13th floor of high-end project The Orchard Residences, with a guide price of $6.2 million, said JLL head of auction and sales Mok Sze Sze. She added that a 1,776 sq ft penthouse with roof terrace at Axis @ Siglap will be available at around $1.3 million, $200,000 below its valuation. Both properties are owner listings.

The guide price for two mortgagee listings for residential properties at the JLL auction falls below the $1 million mark: $980,000 for a 1,206 sq ft unit at Tanamera Crest, and $730,000 for a 603 sq ft apartment at The Greenwich in Seletar Road.

Real estate consultancy DTZ yesterday said it is holding an auction on March 30, for a freehold single- storey detached house at 85 Branksome Road, near Tanjong Katong Road, in the city-fringe area.

The indicative price of the property is about $16 million or $1,200 psf, and it presents redevelopment potential, DTZ said. Prices of recent transactions of landed housing in the vicinity ranged from $1,200 to $1,400 psf, DTZ added.

The property has a land area of 13,189 sq ft and gross floor area of around 9,000 sq ft, as well as a frontage of about 30m.

DTZ head of auction Joy Tan said in a statement yesterday: "Given that it is a flat site, with a regular shape and a wide frontage, the site has potential for sub-division to accommodate either two detached houses or one detached house and a pair of semi-detached houses."

The DTZ and JLL auctions will take place at The Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar Road.