Download - Singapore Property Weekly Issue 257
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Issue 257Copyright © 2011-2016 www.propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.
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CONTENTS
p2 Do Property Agents Add Any Value?
Should Individuals Be Free to Transact
Their Own Properties?
p7 Singapore Property News This Week
p11 Resale Property Transactions
(April 11 – April 15)
Welcome to the 257th edition of the
Singapore Property Weekly .
Hope you like it!
Mr. Propwise
FROM THE
EDITOR
mailto:[email protected]://www.propwise.sg/advertise/http://www.propwise.sg/advertise/mailto:[email protected]
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By Various Guest Contributors
Our last article Is the CEA Being Fair to
Property Agents? touched off a raw nerve in
Propwise.sg readers - I received a number of
lengthy emails debating the points made in
that article, particularly on whether individuals
should be free to transact their own properties
or be forced to engage an agent, and more
broadly on whether agents add value in the
buying, selling and renting process. I've
selected three of the better argued pieces to
publish, mainly representing the perspective
of the individual investor and consumer.
Do Property Agents Add Any Value? Should Individuals
Be Free to Transact Their Own Properties?
https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/http://www.propwise.sg/http://www.propwise.sg/http://www.propwise.sg/http://www.propwise.sg/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/https://www.propwise.sg/is-the-cea-being-fair-to-property-agents/
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Individuals should be free to buy whatever
they please (at their own risk)
An individual in transacting his/her own
property sales and purchases need not beheld to the high competency levels that
professional real estate agents do because
they are not paid for the service they provide
(to themselves). So they bear the full gain of
their own judgement and negotiation and
save on agent fees, but they also bear the fullconsequences of their personal misjudgment.
The same is true of all other forms of
investments, even insurance products.
Professionals earning an income from advice
given have to be certified and qualified to do
so, and are held to high regulatory standards
and demands, while individuals are free to
buy whatever they please (at their own risk)
even if they are clueless about the
instruments.
Janelle Tan, co-founder and Managing
Partner of Dunn & Partners Pte Ltd, is a
licensed estate planning practitioner who provides consultation to families and
businesses on wealth protection, preservation
and transfer. She also runs financial literacy
seminars and workshops on an invite basis.
She may be contacted via email at
Absurd to prevent consumers from
transacting their own properties
I appreciate the value of the articles written in
the Singapore Property Weekly and they are
a good read. But I have some comments onthe recent article Is the CEA Being Fair to
Property Agents? The writer stated that
agencies should lobby to the Government to
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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"restrict" people from transacting and renting
their own properties to lift the professionalism
and levels of ethical conduct of the sector.
I feel this is totally absurd. Isn't this anti-competitive? For example (just for
wackiness), maybe I should also ask the
Government to "force" people to engage a
hair stylist to do their hair, because if they cut
their own hair they will screw it up and
become a national embarrassment in theeyes of foreigners.
If things go wrong, consumers will address it
via other means and channels. People should
be free to choose, and as always, it's caveat
emptor . People who choose not to be
represented by an agent (be it buy, sell or
whatever side) would have to grapple with the
consequences of their decisions. This has
nothing to do with whether they are cheated
or not. In the event they are cheated, then
they have to address it themselves too!
Much has also been said about the "work"
done by property agents, and the subjectivevalue that they bring to clients on both the
buy and sell side. We shall not go into the
ethical issues regarding the conduct of agents
- the CEA was set up for this very reason!
Another avid property investor
Singapore agents add less value
compared to their regional peers
I hope my views can be shared with the
Propwise.sg readers. Nobody cares more
than you when it comes to your money. I am
a property investor with investments invarious countries and Singapore agents add
relatively less value compared to their
brethren in other countries.
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I have tried to use property agents many
times and they have plenty of tricks up their
sleeves to get themselves appointed as an
exclusive agent, instead of figuring out a
strategy to help you market your unit. When Iwas based overseas and could not market
the unit myself, I engaged an agent who
claimed to specialize in commercial property,
but after two months and with no results I had
to take things into my own hands to advertise
the property myself, and ended up still havingto pay the co-broke agents who brought in the
customers to rent my industrial property.
Agents are often just gatekeepers rather
than facilitators
I wonder why should I pay the co-broke agentwhen I did all the work of showing and
advertising but unfortunately the tenants were
lazy and engaged agents for their services,
not knowing that some agents are
gatekeepers, meaning they swing customers
to properties that make them the highest
commission or where they do not need to
share commission.
In another situation, I tried to engage the
same agent who brought in my previous
tenant for my residential property after the
lease expired. In two months, the agent only
did three viewings and did not even know the
real market price. I decided to DIY by
advertising and dropping flyers and mailers.
Within a month, I got about 20-plus viewings
and managed to rent the unit out.
While doing this, I checked some online
property portals and found that the majority of
agents basically get exclusive marketingagreements for three months from consumers
and just inform their network to let the co-
broke agents do their advertising while the
exclusive agent basically does nothing except
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consolidate viewings once per weekend for
co-broke agents to bring in customers.
So, in this case do you think agents are worth
what they are paid? Very often, they are
gatekeepers more than facilitators. So choose
your agent wisely.
Do agents add any value?
When Person of Interest mentioned the
example of property agents checking for
cracks, it made me laugh because most of
the time in Singapore, the new owners will
renovate the unit they buy so checking for tile
cracks is unimportant, and it is better to bring
in a plumber because the biggest problem is
water leakage from the false ceiling. My
question to the agents: are they trained to
check for technical and plumbing defects in
order to add value to the consumer? Also, do
they help owners do a staging to add value to
the property? The answers to these questions
are obvious for more than 90% of the agents
I've come across.
In the Internet age, intermediaries who do not
add value will die a natural death, so agents
should ask themselves how they can add
value so customers will go to them, instead of
asking why customers can DIY. The reason
why customers DIY is obvious - the value
provided by the agents is often not worth thecommissions they earn.
Finally, engaging a good conveyancing lawyer
is important as they will tell you what to check
before doing a handing over. I have never
seen agents rolling up the carpets to check
for cracks before.
Eddy S., an avid property and financial
markets investor
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Singapore Property This Week
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Residential
HDB resale prices in Q1 remain flat
Quarter-on-quarter, HDB resale prices have
fallen by 0.1% in Q1 this year. Resale
transactions fell 10.9% from 4,992 units in Q4
last year to 4,449 units in Q1 2016. Marketexperts believe that this was due to the
festive season in February, which is also a
shorter month. Year-on-year, the transaction
volume increased by 7.6%. PropNex’s Ismail
Gafoor believes that resale transactions are
likely to increase gradually due to fallingprices. Eugene Lim from ERA Realty added
that the market is likely to be stabilising as
minute price movements have been recorded
in the resale market in the last 4 quarters. Lim
believes that resale flats in mature estates willcontinue to draw buyers as BTO flats in these
areas are rare. He predicts that there will be a
drop of less than 1% for HDB resale prices in
2016 while resale volumes will likely be
around 20,000 to 22,000 units this year. This
is up from the 19,300 units resold in 2015.
(Source: The Business Times)
Private home price index fell 0.7% in Q1
Quarter-on-quarter, URA’s private home price
index has fallen by 0.7% in Q1 this year,
following a 0.5% drop in Q4 2015. Since Q3
2013, the index has also fallen 9.1%. Market
experts believe that the index reflects market
sentiments as evidenced by the successful
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launches of Cairnhill Nine and The Wisteria.
Prices of non-landed private homes in the
outside central region have fallen by 1.3%
quarter-on-quarter in Q1. In the same period,
prices have gone up by 0.3% in the corecentral region while prices remained flat in the
rest of central region. Nonetheless, market
experts believe that it is still too early to lift
cooling measures. On the rental front, URA’s
rental index for private residential units has
gone down by 1.3% in Q1. With an increase
in expected completions by end-2016 and a
slowdown in the inflow of expats, market
experts believe that there will be an
oversupply in the next 3 years. This is
expected to further affect the rental index.
(Source: The Business Times)
Gramercy Park to be launched soon in
regional markets
Located at Grange Road, a freehold condo,
Gramercy Park is expected to be promoted in
regional markets including China and Hong
Kong. The 174-unit project will be subjected
to extension charges for unsold units from Q2
2018. Market experts said that Indonesians
and Malaysians may be keen to invest in
Singapore’s real estate due to businessdealings here and also because investors are
looking to hedge against their currencies’
depreciation. While there is a 15% additional
buyer’s stamp duty applicable to foreign
buyers, steep discounts offered for high-end
homes have piqued buyers’ interest.(Source: The Business Times)
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Commercial
Office rental index down by 2.1% in Q1
According to the Business Times, URA’s
office rental index has fallen 2.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 this year, following a 1.8% drop
in Q4 last year. Year-on-year, the index has
fallen by 9%. The URA price index for office
spaces also fell by 0.3% in Q1 this year after
falling 0.1% in Q4 2015. Vacancy rate for
office spaces fell to 9.2% in Q1 2016 from
9.5% in Q4 2015. Also, the stock of office
space shrank by 23,000 sq m (nett) in Q1
2016, which was a bigger drop than the
decrease of 21,000 sq m (nett) in Q4 2015.
However, market experts believe that
vacancy rates will continue to increase due to
the number of expected office completions in
the coming quarters. The fall in the office
rentals is likely to have been due to weak
business sentiments and a large impending
supply of office spaces, added JLL. Thus, JLL
predicts that URA’s office rental index will
drop another 10 to 15% this year.
(Source: The Business Times)
Retail space prices fall by 1.9% in Q1
After falling 0.1% in Q4 2015, prices of retail
spaces have fallen by 1.9% in Q1 this year.
Rentals of retail spaces also fell by 1.9% in
Q1 after falling 1.3% in the previous quarter.
Island-wide, vacancy rate for retail spaces
have gone up to 7.3% in Q1 2016 from 7.2%
in Q4 last year. In Q1, the amount of
occupied retail space increased by 11,000 sq
m (nett), while the stock of retail space
increased by 19,000 sq m (nett), this is said
to have caused the rise in vacancy. According
to the Business Times, at the end of March
this year, a total supply of
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783,000 sq m gross floor area of retail space
was also recorded to be in the pipeline.
(Source: The Business Times)
Shops and shophouses overtakeresidential units in auctions
A report by Knight Frank showed that shops
and shophouses have overtook residential
properties in total sales value in auctions in
Q1 this year. In that quarter, $5.5 million
worth of shops and shophouses were sold in
auctions, which more than doubled the total
sales value in the residential sector where
$2.5 million worth of sales was made.
According to Knight Frank, the shift in buyers’
preferences could be due to the additional
buyer's’ stamp duty, which is applicable only
to residential properties. Grace Ng from
Colliers said that prices for HDB shophouses
have been stable in the last 2 years. Asking
prices have not gone down as buyers would
still able to get good and stable yield for those
shophouses. On the other hand, mortgagee
sales have made up 42.6% of the auction
market in Q1. According to the BusinessTimes, there was also a higher proportion of
lower priced properties in auctions.
(Source: The Business Times)
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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Apr 11 – Apr 15
Postal
DistrictProject Name
Area
(sqft)
Transacted
Price ($)
Price
($ psf)Tenure
4 THE COAST AT SENTOSA COVE 2,895 4,923,200 1,700 994 CARIBBEAN AT KEPPEL BAY 1,356 2,000,000 1,475 99
5 ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES 592 915,000 1,546 99
5 VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,012 1 ,135,000 1,122 99
5 MONTEREY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,249 1,340,000 1,073 999
8 SOHO 188 592 630,000 1,064 FH
9 THE BEAUMONT 1,916 3,888,000 2,029 FH
9 THE BOUTIQ 861 1,650,000 1,916 FH
9 THE PATERSON 1,216 2,310,000 1,899 FH
9 ONE OXLEY RISE 710 1,285,000 1,809 FH9 PARC EMILY 549 985,000 1,794 FH
9 BELLE VUE RESIDENCES 2,713 4,838,000 1,784 FH
9 CLAREMONT 1,206 1,696,000 1,407 FH
9 8 @ MOUNT SOPHIA 861 1,200,000 1,394 103
10 GOODWOOD RESIDENCE 2,486 5,752,000 2,313 FH
10 REGENCY PARK 3,649 6,100,000 1,672 FH
10 DUKES RESIDENCE 980 1,620,000 1,654 FH
10 D'LEEDON 635 1,020,000 1,606 99
10 D'LEEDON 1,163 1,820,000 1,566 9910 SOMMERVILLE PARK 624 898,000 1,438 FH
10 CHIVERTON 1,292 1,825,000 1,413 FH
10 AVALON 1,765 2,460,000 1,394 FH
10 CHATELET 1,507 2,100,000 1,394 FH
Postal
DistrictProject Name
Area
(sqft)
Transacted
Price ($)
Price
($ psf)Tenure
10 THE PRINCETON 1,087 1,380,000 1,269 FH11 LINCOLN SUITES 474 1,071,000 2,261 FH
11 ADAM PARK CONDOMINIUM 893 1,200,000 1,343 FH
12 VISTA RESIDENCES 1,216 1,790,000 1,472 FH
12 TREVISTA 1,270 1,650,000 1,299 99
12 RITZ MANSIONS 1,302 1,200,000 921 FH
14 DAKOTA RESIDENCES 1,292 1,732,500 1,341 99
14 LA FLEUR 441 572,000 1,296 FH
14 WATERBANK AT DAKOTA 1,389 1,610,000 1 ,159 99
14 WINDY HEIGHTS 2,476 2,050,000 828 FH
15 THE SEAFRONT ON MEYER 1,615 2,650,000 1,641 FH
15 833 M B RESIDENCES 538 700,000 1,301 FH
15 THE ATRIA AT MEYER 1,475 1,840,000 1,248 FH
15 NATURALIS 517 585,000 1,132 FH
15 HAWAII TOWER 2,239 2,515,000 1,123 FH
15 CALLIDORA VILLE 797 880,000 1,105 FH
15 NATURALIS 1,066 1,145,000 1,074 FH
15 COTE D'AZUR 3,531 3,735,000 1,058 99
15 VILLA MARINA 1,281 1,198,800 936 99
15 CHELSEA LODGE 1,302 1,083,000 832 FH
15 LEGENDA AT JOO CHIAT 1,227 1,000,000 815 99
15 LAGUNA PARK 1,615 1,188,888 736 9 9
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NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale propertytransactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchasersigns an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.
Postal
DistrictProject Name
Area
(sqft)
Transacted
Price ($)
Price
($ psf)Tenure
16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,561 1,960,000 1,256 99
16 BAYSHORE PARK 1,292 1,300,000 1,006 99
16 CHANGI COURT 1,163 1,120,000 963 FH
16 AQUARIUS BY THE PARK 893 835,000 935 99
18 THE TROPICA 1,238 1,034,000 835 9918 CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM 1,281 1,025,000 800 99
18 MELVILLE PARK 936 712,000 760 99
18 ELIAS GREEN 1,528 900,000 589 99
19 KOVAN MELODY 1,410 1,538,000 1,091 99
19 SUNGLADE 1,044 1,065,000 1,020 99
19 COMPASS HEIGHTS 1,335 1,165,000 873 99
19 COMPASS HEIGHTS 1,324 1,150,000 869 99
19 REGENTVILLE 1,076 815,000 757 99
19 RIO CASA 1,679 730,000 435 104
20 RAFFLESIA CONDOMINIUM 1,302 1,330,000 1 ,021 99
21 THE NEXUS 1,335 1,918,888 1,438 FH
21 THE BLOSSOMVALE 1,335 1,700,000 1,274 999
21 HUME PARK II 1,249 1,300,000 1,041 FH
21 SIGNATURE PARK 1,690 1,730,000 1,024 FH
21 HUME PARK II 1,023 945,000 924 FH
22 THE MAYFAIR 1,227 1,030,000 839 99
23 HILLBROOKS 1,076 980,000 910 FH
26 THE CALROSE 1,658 1,850,000 1,116 FH
26 THE CALROSE 1,238 1,300,000 1,050 FH
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