Singapore Property News This Week #213

Residential

Toa Payoh Condo site sold for $345.86 million at tender

A 1.2 hectare condominium site at Toa Payoh has been sold to the top bidder for $345.86 million or $755.30 psfppr in a tender. The site is located near Braddell MRT Station and will yield around 590 units. According to developers, half of the units to be developed will consist of one and two-bedders that are priced below $1 million. The project is expected to be launched in March or April next year. In line with experts’ expectations, the tender drew 14 bids. It was previously predicted that the top bids would be around $640 to $700 psfppr.

(Source: Business Times)

West Coast residential site up for tender

Located at West Coast Vale, a residential site has been put up for tender under the confirmed list for the government land sales programme. The site is expected to yield about 595 units. Desmond Sim from CBRE expects the West Coast site to draw much interest due to a cut in supply of residential sites in the second half of this year. Sim predicts that there will be about 10 to 14 bids; and the top bid should be more than $600 psfppr. On the other hand, Ong Kah Seng from R’ST believes that the top bid would be around $450 to $500 psfppr. The 18,909 sq m plot of land is located near commercial amenities such as Westgate and JEM. It is also situated near the Jurong Country Club golf course, which will be developed into a terminal for a high-speed rail link with Malaysia.

(Source: Business Times)

MND to look into helping buyers of resale flats near parents

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said that priority schemes have been enhanced to help Singaporeans who want to stay near their parents. Khaw acknowledges that more Singaporeans are looking for flats near those of their extended families in mature estates. To help this group of buyers, the ministry will look into improving current measures. Data from MND showed that 24% of build-to-order flat applicants have applied under one of the ministry’s priority schemes. Those who have applied under these schemes are more likely to obtain a flat. Khaw said more flats will be launched in mature estates to meet the needs of Singaporeans who wish to stay near their parents. Not only so, grants will also be provided to help first-timer families who wish to buy resale flats to live together or close to their parents or married children.

(Source: Business Times)

Developer sales fall to 845 units in May, down from 1,293 in April

Developer sales have been slow in May as only 845 units were sold in total that month as compared to the 1,293 that were sold in April this year. Of the 845 units, 638 units are private residential units and 207 are executive condominium units. Also, developers have released only 979 units in May, down from the 1,382 units released in the previous month. Mohammed Ismail from PropNex added that given the downwards trend, developer sales in June is expected to be slow too. Chia Siew Chuin from Colliers International added that he believes that about 500 units will be sold by developers in June. According to data from URA, three-quarters of the total number of private home sold in May took place in the outside central region. Also, market experts believe that the lending curbs will continue to limit the affordability of private homes, thus further impacting developer sales.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Singapore’s office market less attractive than Australia and Japan

According to Union Investment, Singapore’s office market is less attractive than Australia and Japan due to slow rental growth and an excess supply of office space.Not only so, several landlords are considering selling their Singaporean offices. It is believed that interest has been expressed for Singapore’s Asia Square Tower 1, which could be sold for more than $4 billion. Other landlords such as Keppel Land’s investing company is also planning to sell its 50% stake in Capital Square. According to Cushman & Wakefield, Grade A office rents in the CBD is expected to fall by 14% in the next two years to $9.12 psf per month from $10.60 psf per month.

(Source: Business Times)

Transaction for strata officeunits lowest since H1 2009

According to data from Knight Frank, the number of caveats lodged for strata office units between January and May fell by 72.7% from the same period last year. This is the lowest since H1 2009, where 63 caveats were lodged. Not only so, the number of caveats lodged for retail strata units have also fallen by 58.4% year-on-year in the January-to-May period this year. This is the lowest since H2 2008. Alice Tan from Knight Frank believes that the overall transaction volumes will remain low at around 400 to 600 units for the entire year. This is likely to be due to cooling measures such as the total debt servicing ratio framework. According to the Business Times, the average prices of new freehold office units are about $3,467 psf from January to May this year. This is 17.8% higher than the average price of $2,944 psf in H2 2014. Due to limited stock, office spaces in CBD remain highly sought after, said Tan.

(Source: Business Times)