Singapore Property News This Week #156

Residential

6,948 residential units remain unsold in March

As of March 2014, 6,948 residential units that were launched are still unsold. This was 252 units more as compared to the previous month. Market analysts believe that the sale of private residential units will remain slow in the next few months. A recently launched residential property in Pasir Ris, Coco Palms, saw more than 3,000 visitors since its opening last weekend. A 1-bedroom unit is priced at about $1,075 per square foot while a 2-bedder is priced at $960 per square foot. Property analysts believe that while prices have been competitive, demand might still trickle in slowly due to heavy competition from other residential projects in the area.

(Source: Channel NewsAsia)

Non-landed private resale prices plunge 1.7% in April

Resale prices of non-landed private houses are the lowest since December 2012 as it plunged 1.7 per cent in April this year, thus encouraging buyers to re-enter the market. According to flash estimates by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange, from March to April, there was a 24.6 per cent increase in resale transaction volumes. Eugene Lim, ERA Realty key executive officer believes that the market is stabilising as resale volume was the highest since October 2013. Prices in the Rest of Central Region and Core Central region fell by 3.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively. However, prices in the Outside Central Region increased by 0.4 per cent. Declining investor interest may have resulted in weakening prices, said R’ST Research director, Ong Kah Seng.

(Source: Business Times)

April’s private home sales highest since Nov 2013

Developers are offering more competitive prices as loan restrictions and cooling measures are taking effect. With the price cuts, April’s private home sales are the highest since November last year and property observers predict that prices will continue to fall. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), private home sales upped from 480 units in March to 745 units in April. The 55 per cent increase in sales transaction indicates a favourable response to the re-pricing strategy that developers have undertaken. Despite dwindling buying sentiments, it appears that there is still demand, if the price is right. According to property consultants, discounts of 10 to 15 per cent below previous levels are likely to encourage buyers to return to the market.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Kallang Wave to open in July

FairPrice Xtra, Uniqlo, H&M and Harvey Norman are among the tenants that will be retailing at Kallang Wave, an up-and-coming 41,000 square meter mall in the Singapore Sports Hub. The retail mall is expected to open in July and more than 80 per cent of its space has already been occupied said SMRT Alpha, Kallang Wave’s manager. Dawn Low from SMRT Alpha said that the tenants were chosen to appeal to a broad spectrum of Singaporeans. The sports-themed mall will feature a 1,000 square meter climbing wall, the largest and tallest indoor climbing wall in Singapore.

(Source: Business Times)

92.8% stake in Prudential Tower sold for $512 million

A consortium comprising of KOP Limited, Lian Beng Group, KSH Holdings and Centurion Global have bought over a 92.8% stake in Prudential Tower from Keppel Reit for $512 million. The 221,080 square foot net lettable area is going for $2,316 per square foot, which reflects a net yield of 3.5 per cent based on current income generated by the space. The tower which is a 30-storey Grade A office building near Raffles Place MRT station, has a remaining lease term of 81 years. Its sale is expected to be completed on September 26.

(Source: Business Times)

DFS Changi Airport stores undergoing facelift

DFS stores in Changi Airport will undergo an $85 million facelift for its existing stores and a new 20,000 square feet outlet is expected to open in the new Terminal 4 in 2017. The current store at the airport’s Terminal 2 is likely to increase by another 10,000 square feet by 2016, which means the DFS’ retail footprint for liquor and tobacco concessions will grow to 85,350 square feet. The Terminal 1 stores will be completed by December this year while the Terminal 3 store will be updated by 2015.

(Source: Business Times)