Singapore Property News This Week #206

Residential

5,000 ECs to be launched this year

According to the Business Times, about 5,000 executive condominium (EC) units will be launched this year. Market experts believe that this surge in supply may increase the number of unsold inventory. According to market experts, developers may not be able to lower the prices of the upcoming EC units as the EC sites were bought at high prices. Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that the vacancy rate of available and completed EC units have increased to 15.1 percent in Q1 this year, from 11.5 percent in Q4 last year. Nicholas Mak from SLP International said that the mortgage servicing ratio restriction and strong competition from the HDB market may have negatively affected the demand for EC units. Market experts believe that it will take two to three years for the market to absorb the estimated 7,100 units from the unsold inventory and upcoming launches.

(Source: Business Times)

Executive flat at Bishansold for $1.05m

An executive flat at Bishan has been sold for $1.05 million. The executive maisonette, which is 149 sqm large, was built in 1987. It occupies the 22ndto the 24th storey and has 71 years left on its 99-year lease. Last year, a maisonette that was located in Bishan also sold for a high price of $1,088,888. According to the Business Times, while HDB units within Bishan are known to fetch high prices, they face strong competition from the Pinnacle @ Duxton. This year, all five-room flats at the Pinnacle @ Duxton have been sold for more than $900,000. While the resale price index for HDB flats has fallen according to SRX, the price of larger executive flats have increase by 1 percent in Q1 this year from the previous quarter. The Business Times added that the location of the executive flats could be a deciding factor for its resale price. For example, an executive flat in Bedok that was 143 sqm, was sold for $570,000. This is significantly lower than the executive flat that was sold in Bishan, despite the similarities in unit sizes.

(Source: Business Times)

March resale condo prices increase by 0.2%

The National University of Singapore index showed that prices of completed non-landed private homes increased by 0.2 percent in March from February this year. According to market experts, February is typically a lull period as developers tend to cut back sales due to the festivities. Ong Kah Sengfrom R’ST Research added that the price increase in March was subtle. Nicholas Mak from SLP International said that the overall decline in prices in the price index has been slowing. However, Mak believes that there is still a need to monitor price changes in the coming months, in order to conclude that prices have stabilised. Based on the NUS resale price index, the sub-index for the central region has increased by 0.1 percent in March from February. Ong believes that this increase in resale prices for prime homes was an anomaly. According to the Business Times, the implementation of loan limits has resulted in a surge in demand for smaller non-landed private homes. This could have resulted in the 0.3 percent increase in the resale price sub-index for the non-central region, said the Business Times.

(Source: Business Times)

Two land parcelsup for tender

Under the Confirmed List of Government Land Sales Programme for H1 this year, two land parcels will be released for tender. Of the two sites, market experts believe that the site located at Toa Payoh will attract more interest than the other site at Dundee Road. Both sites have a 99-year lease and will yield about 1,180 residential units in total. Ong Teck Hui from JLL believes that the limited supply of residential land parcels may create an upwards pressure on the demand for such sites. Therefore, market experts believe that there will be an increase in the number of bids for each residential site. However, market experts added that the bid prices may not increase significantly as developers anticipate a shrinking market. Nicholas Mak from SLP International predicts that the Toa Payoh site will draw up to 25 bids and he believes that the winning bid will be around $680 to $725 psfprr. Mak believes that the prime location of the site will be a key selling point. Other experts predict that the land parcel at Dundee Road will attract up to 10 bids and the winning bid will be around $700 to $851 psfppr.

(Source: Business Times)

Tampines land parcel won for $227.8m

A 99-year private residential site at Tampines attracted 12 bids. Despite its mediocre location, the site attracted bids as high as $227.8 million, or $485.29 psfppr. The land parcel is located near large industrial Business 2-zoned areas. According to the Business Times, this reflects developers’ strong demand for residential sites. The high demand could be caused by a lack of supply, said market experts. The Tampines land parcel, which was won by MCC Land, will be developed into a 500 unit condominium project. According to market experts, the break-even cost for the Tampines site would be between $920 to $950 psf.

(Source: Business Times)

GCB at Binjai withdrawn from auction due to lack of bids

A Good Class Bungalow located at Binjai Rise was not well received at an auction held by Colliers International. The bungalow was priced at $19.5 million and comprises of about 17,035 sqft of land. While there were no bids for the bungalow, it is believed that potential buyers will be negotiating the sale of the bungalow privately with Colliers. The bungalow has been approved for redevelopment up to 13,378 sqft gross floor area. It is located near the Pan Island Expressway and is partially renovated. To complete the renovations, market experts believe that it would cost another $1 to $2 million.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Shophouse at JooChiat sold for $16.8m

Located at JooChiat Road, a freehold shophouse block has been sold for $16.8 million, or $1,357 psf. The shophouse block has a lettable area of 12,382 sqft and has been zoned for commercial use. This shophouse block was previously made up of 5 separate units. Currently, it has a gross floor area of 15,800 sqft and is partially leased. According to the Business Times, only the front part of the building has to be conserved. That section of the building comprises of two storeys and an attic. The rear of the building, which is four storeys high, may be redeveloped.

(Source: Business Times)