singapore property weekly issue 224

8/20/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 224

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Issue 224Copyright © 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

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CONTENTS

p2 Fearing a Downturn? Here’s What to Do

p6 Singapore Property News This Week

p10 Resale Property Transactions

(August 19 – August 25 )

Welcome to the 224th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly .

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Property Soul (Guest Contributor)

In my earlier blog post “7 Reasons Why

Property Prices Won’t Recover Soon”, I

talked about 'regime uncertainty' and how the

recent China stock market crash further undermined market confidence.

During the free fall between June 12 and July

7 this year, Chinese equity investors lost

more than $3.4 trillion in equity value in less

than a month. By the end of August, investors

suffered a total of $4 trillion in losses, not to

mention China’s subsequent desperate move

to devalue the currency.

Fearing a Downturn? Here’s What to Do

http://www.propwise.sg/7-reasons-why-property-prices-wont-recover-soon/























Although foreign investors own less than one

percent of Chinese stocks, foreign hedge

funds still have billions of dollars at stake

through Exchange Traded Funds and other

types of investments. The rest of the BRIC

economies aren’t doing better. Last week

Brazil officially announced that the country is

now officially in recession, joining its

counterpart Russia which is in full-blown

recession amidst depressed oil prices and a

massive currency depreciation.

The ripple effect of a bear market

One might argue that only the privileged

minority invest in stocks in China. For most

people, life goes on as usual in the world’ssecond largest economy. Looking around,

you might not see many people suffering from

big losses in the recent global stock market

slump.

The reality is: it is not the money lost in real

terms, but the loss of market confidence and

the fear that the worse has yet to come that is

sending ripples down the line.

While everyone is blaming the “made in

China” problem, companies are already

taking necessary steps in anticipation of a

possible downturn. The common measures

include:

1. Having cost cutting measures in place tocut down expenses;

2. Calling a halt to ongoing business

expansion plans;

3. Holding back planned local or overseas

investments; and

4. Planning new rounds of company

restructurings and lay-offs.





The fear of the unknown

The article "Fearing slump, rattled Chinese

long for advice" (The Sunday Times: August

30, 2015) is an interesting read. Americanshave had their fair share of painful memories

riding through the dot com bust and

subsequent market recession in 2001 and

financial crisis in 2008. The Japanese have

experienced three lost decades after their

market crashed in the 1980s. Singaporeanshave survived the Asian Financial Crisis in

1998 and the SARS-related depression in

2003.If the current hiccups continue, we know

hat is going to happen next. But not the

Chinese.

The new Chinese generation who grew upduring their country’s best years and

experienced double-digit economic growth

every year may not be prepared for the

country’s first downturn since the economic

reform in the 1980s. As the article clearly

points out, “many young professionals have

known only boom times and fear the abyss of

a downturn.”

Although Chinese tourists are still the biggest

spenders in many countries and Chinese

investors are still buying properties overseas,

if they believe that times are going to be

tough ahead, they may over-react by

dramatically cutting down purchases.They know that salary increments,

commissions and bonuses will be frozen. A

higher unemployment rate is expected with

more workers losing their jobs. Older workers

are likely to delay their retirement plans.

To cushion the impact of the anticipated

downturn, families spend less and cut down

on vacations. Consumers refrain from buying

luxury goods, cars, properties and any big

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/fearing-slump-rattled-chinese-long-for-advice



















ticket items. Investors hold back any planned

investment to keep liquidity.

All these austerity measures have a big

impact on retail, tourism, luxury goods andreal estate. Over-reactions triggered by the

fear of the unknown become a self-fulfilling

expectation of a real economic crisis.

Actions to take when facing a downturn

Investors have at least three options when a

possible downturn is in sight, depending on

their financial situation and investment style.

Option 1: Time to cash out

In an economic crisis, cash is king. Savvy

investors know when to sell and keep a high

amount of liquidity.

Option 2: Wait and see

In times of uncertainty, hold your horses to

avoid making investments you may regret

later. Be patient and wait till the dust settles.Option 3: Bottom fishing

Be greedy when others are fearful. No one

knows when the bottom is. You will go for it

anyway. Just be prepared of the risks ahead

when you bottom-fish. Invest only with

calculated risk and always have a plan B in

place.

By guest contributor Property Soul, a

successful property investor, blogger , and

author of the No B.S. Guide to Property

Investment.

http://propertysoul.com/

http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/
















http://propertysoul.com/




Singapore Property This Week


Residential

S h u n f u Vi ll e l au n c h e s c o l le c ti v e s a le b y

tender

Located near Marymount Road, Shunfu Ville,

a privatised former HUDC estate has

launched its collective sale. The 358-unitresidential development which has an area of

408,927 sq ft is expected to be sold for about

$688 million. This translates to a land rate of

about $791 psf ppr after adding an estimated

differential premium of $218 million payable

to the state to top up the lease to a fresh 99years. The breakeven cost is expected to be

around $1,250 psf. Under the Master Plan

2014, the residential estate has a gross plot

ratio of 2.8 and could yield more than 1,100

units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft.

(Source: Business Times)

S ig n a tu r e a t Y i sh u n l au n c h e s f o r s a le a t

$750 psf

Signature, an executive condominium (EC) at

Yishun, has launched for sale at an averageof $750 psf —the lowest psf pricing for ECs

this year. According to market experts, this

reflects developers’ desire to move sales

quickly, because an estimated 3,650 units

could be launched in the next 15 months, said

Nicholas Mak from SLP International. The

Yishun residential site consists of 525 units,

and its e-application period will last from 11 to

20 September.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 224





Ong Kah Seng from R’ST predicts that any

EC project launched this year within the price

band of $750 to $780 psf should be fairly well

received as it is below the average $800 ps

for new ECs sold last year.


August’s HD B r es al e p r ic es u p b y 0.3%

wh i l e transact i on v ol um e fal l s by 6.8%

According to SRX Property, HDB resale

prices have increased by 0.3% month-on-

month while transaction volume fell by 6.8%

month-on-month to 1,447 units in August this

year. This is likely to be due to the Hungry

Ghost Festival, where sales are typically slow.

Eugene Lim from ERA Realty noted that there

as a 9% increase in resale transactions

year-on-year in August. Lim believes that

resale volumes may increase due to the

policies, such as the Proximity Housing Grant

and revised income ceiling for HDB loans and

CPF grants. Under the new policy, the

monthly gross household income for HDB

loan or CPF Housing Grant has been raised

to $12,000 from $10,000 previously. Thiswould widen the pool of buyers, said experts.


P r iv at e h o m e p r i c es s aw s ec o n d -l ar g e st

d r o p i n A s i a

Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index

showed that Singapore saw the second-

largest drop in private home prices in Asia in

the last quarter. Non-landed residential prices

fell 3.2% year-on-year, and 0.8% quarter-on-

quarter this year. Alice Tan from Knight Frank

Singapore believes that prices may continue

to fall due to weak buyer sentiments. Not only

so, the implementation of cooling measures

continues to keep demands low.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 224





Tan predicts that the overall private non-

landed home prices will continue to fall by 3

to 4% on a yearly basis by Q4 this year.


Commercial

Pri m e off i ce rents i n central regi on fal l s by

2.6% in Q2

Office rents in the central region has fallen by

2.6% in Q2 this year as more tenants opt for cheaper decentralised offices amid the

uncertain economic outlook. According to

Cushman & Wakefield, Grade A effective

direct rents in Marina Bay have fallen to

$11.01 psf per month in Q2, down from

$13.22 psf per month in Q1. In Raffles Place,the rent has fallen to $10.66 psf per month in

Q2 from $10.92 psf per month in Q1.

Christine Li from Cushman & Wakefield

predicts that there will be an overall 2% drop

in prime office rents in the central region for

each quarter in H2 this year. On the other

hand, Alan Cheong predicts that there will be

a 3 to 5 percent drop in prime office rents inthe same area, over the same period of time.


77 R ob in s on Ro ad ex p ec ted t o s el l f or

$649 mil l ion

A 35-storey office building at 77 Robinson

Road has been put up for sale again. Market

experts predict that it would be priced around

$2,200 psf on net lettable area or $649 million

based on net lettable area of about 295,000

sq ft. The building has a balance lease term

of 77.5 years and has 180 car parking lots. It

was acquired in 2007 for $526 million or

$1,783 psf.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Iss e 224





Under the Master Plan 2014, the site has

been zoned for commercial use with a plot

ratio of about 11.2.


C o m m er c ia l b u i l d in g at B u g is t o s el l f o r

$80 mil l ion

A nine storey commercial building at Bugis,

Prospex, is asking for $80 million or $1,913

psf of gross floor area. The owner has chosen

to sell the entire building through an

expression of interest rather than through

strata sales. The site has an approved gross

floor area of 41,806 sq ft. No space has been

leased out yet in the property, according to

the Business Times.


DC rate fo r in du str ial u se c u t b y an

average of 3%

Development charge (DC) rates for industrial

use have been cut by an average of 3% while

the rates for commercial, land and non-

landed residential, hotel/hospital use have

remained unchanged. The latest DC rates will

apply from 1 September 2015 to February 29

next year. Twice yearly, DC rates are revised

according to use groups across Singapore.Tan Tiong Cheng from Knight Frank noted

that the industrial property market has been

weak. This could have been factored into the

revision of DC rates, said market experts.







Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Aug 19 – Aug 25

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

3 ASCENTIA SKY 1,851 2,750,000 1,485 99

3 ASCENTIA SKY 1,001 1,460,000 1,458 99

4 CARIBBEAN AT KEPPEL BAY 1,281 1,870,000 1,460 99

4 THE INTERLACE 1,044 1,365,000 1,307 99

4 THE INTERLACE 1,873 2,335,900 1,247 99

5 ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES 1,324 1,800,000 1,360 99

5 THE PARC CONDOMINIUM 1,421 1,710,000 1,204 FH

5 GOLD COAST CONDOMINIUM 1,475 1,380,000 936 FH

7 TEXTILE CENTRE 915 790,000 863 99

9 WATERMARK ROBERTSON QUAY 1,938 2,935,000 1,515 FH

10 GOODWOOD RESIDENCE 2,508 5,612,922 2,238 FH10 BELMOND GREEN 1,066 1,790,000 1,680 FH

11 VIVA 1,345 2,650,000 1,970 FH

11 NEWTON SUITES 797 1,400,000 1,758 FH

11 MULBERRY TREE 635 1,030,000 1,622 FH

11 CUBE 8 1,421 2,100,000 1,478 FH

11 TREVOSE PARK 1,927 2,700,000 1,401 FH

11 PAVILION 11 1,485 2,064,000 1,389 FH

11 CHANCERY ESQUIRE 1,722 2,080,000 1,208 FH

12 SUNVILLE 1,184 1,060,000 895 FH

14 SUNFLOWER COURT 1,044 860,000 824 FH

15 SILVERSEA 2,465 4,938,000 2,003 99

15 ISUITES @ MARSHALL 592 845,000 1,427 FH

15 THE VERTE 1,109 1,300,000 1,173 FH

15 BUTTERWORTH 8 1,345 1,525,000 1,133 FH

15 COSTA RHU 1,012 1,135,000 1,122 99

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

15 TANJONG RIA CONDOMINIUM 1,206 1,340,000 1,112 99

15 GRAND RESIDENCE 915 975,000 1,066 FH

16 WATERFRONT KEY 1,442 1,600,000 1,109 99

17 COASTAL BREEZE RESIDENCES 2,271 1,430,000 630 99

18 LIVIA 1,324 1,235,000 933 99

18 MELVILLE PARK 1,044 820,000 785 99

19 KENSINGTON PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,668 1,850,000 1,109 999

19 NOUVELLE PARK 1,442 1,160,000 804 FH

20 FABER GARDEN 1,572 1,820,000 1,158 FH

20 CLOVER BY THE PARK 3,444 3,400,000 987 99

21 SPRINGDALE CONDOMINIUM 1,152 1,250,000 1,085 99921 CLEMENTI PARK 1,873 1,950,000 1,041 FH

21 PARC PALAIS 2,680 2,620,000 978 FH

21 CLEMENTI PARK 2,379 2,280,000 958 FH

21 PARC PALAIS 1,335 1,230,000 922 FH

23 HILLVIEW REGENCY 1,109 1,400,000 1,263 99

23 THE MADEIRA 936 890,000 950 99

23 MAYSPRINGS 1,399 1,038,000 742 99

26 BULLION PARK 1,238 1,230,000 994 FH

27 EIGHT COURTYARDS 861 852,000 989 99

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.






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singapore property weekly issue 224

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