SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

Q MY DAD has been bogged down by a share trading loss of more

than $500,000 as a result of the collapse of the Clob market back in the late 1990s.

Till this day, the monthly interest payment to the bank is about $2,000, which he has paid himself.

My dad is semi-retired and my mum is a housewife. My sister and I are working and live with our parents.

The property in which we live is under my dad’s name. He has been waiting for the property market to improve before selling the house and repaying the bank.

When my dad dies, will the bank insist on having an immediate sale of the property irrespective of the existing property market situation?

What significance (implied or otherwise) will there be, if my siblings and I were to help my dad pay the monthly interest? Will we become the implied guarantor to repay the bank instead?

If the property was to be sold and the proceeds are insufficient to repay the bank (and my dad is prepared to declare bankruptcy), will my siblings and I (and our spouses) be implicated and be forced by the bank/courts to help repay my dad’s debt?

Would the act of us moving out of the property make a difference?

A The bank can sell the property at any time it deems fit since the death of your father would be an event of default and the bank is not obliged to wait for better market conditions.

Your fears that the bank may ‘dump’ the property at a low price may be unfounded because the bank, as the mortgagee, would have a vested interest in obtaining the best possible price for the property.

Any informal arrangements between your father and you/your sister to help pay for the monthly instalments do not affect the relationship between the bank and your dad.

As far as the bank is concerned, it looks only to your dad for the debt. By the same token, your siblings and you have no interest whatsoever in the property notwithstanding your monetary contributions.

If the mortgage was taken out by your dad alone (and assuming none of you are the guarantors), only he would be liable to pay the bank for any shortfall after the sale of the property.

No one else, family or otherwise, will be forced or obliged to pay the bank, or become an ‘implied guarantor’.

Therefore, just because you are the occupiers of the property does not create a legal right against you by the bank.

By the same token, if the bank chooses to foreclose on the property and evict you in order to sell the property, as occupiers, you have no recourse since you have no rights vis-a-vis the bank.

Doris Chia Partner Harry Elias Partnership

Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive professional advice.

Source : Sunday Times - 29 Oct 2006

Developers’ new releases before year-end could lift launch volume to highest level in nearly a decade

HOME BUYERS can look forward to a wider range of homes in the coming months, including affordable finds in low- to mid-end projects.

This comes as the boom in the luxury market is seen spilling over to these other market segments, industry watchers said.

‘Given the sustainable pace seen in recent launches, coupled with optimism and great sentiment seen in the market, we can expect more launches from developers in the fourth quarter,’ said property firm ERA Singapore’s assistant vice-president, Mr Eugene Lim.

The firm said developers may release more than 1,000 units of mass market homes before the year is up, including those in fast-selling The Centris, Ferraria Park and YewTee Residences. ‘Last year, there were no new mass market launches,’ he said.

This year’s launches are likely to exceed the 9,500-unit mark if developers put out an expected 2,200 to 2,500 units in the last quarter of the year, said Colliers International director Tay Huey Ying. ‘This will not only be some 17 to 20 per cent more than last year’s launch volume of 8,201 units, it will also be the highest launch volume seen in the last eight to nine years.’

In 1996 and 1997, developers launched about 11,520 and 9,869 units respectively.

City Developments plans to launch its 175-unit freehold condominium in Jiak Kim Street next month and possibly its 341-unit posh inner-city project at No. 1 Shenton Way towards the year-end.

Another inner-city condominium, the 428-unit Marina Bay Residences, will also be launched soon.

This weekend, Koh Brothers’ two customisable bungalows in Andrew Road and Marlene Ville, comprising 17 cluster terrace units in Serangoon Gardens, are up for sale. The 472-unit Ferraria Park in Flora Drive, near Loyang Ave, is also being launched officially.

Next weekend, the 382-unit, 99-year leasehold The Metropolitan near Redhill MRT Station is expected to be released for sale. Eastern Mansion off Meyer Road will be launched in the first quarter of next year.

Mass market launches can also be expected soon. By year-end, NTUC Choice Homes should push out its 139-unit YewTee Residences next to Yew Tee MRT Station. The developer also plans to launch a 556-unit project near Tanah Merah MRT Station in February.

Until then, home buyers’ main mass market choices are set to be the 625-unit The Quartz in Buangkok, Ferraria Park and The Centris, a 610-unit project located above an extension to Jurong Point and a bus interchange.

Since its release late last month, Prime Point said it has sold 380 units of The Centris at $525 per sq ft (psf) on average and expects to clear at least 400 units by the end of today.

Closer to town, The Regency at Tiong Bahru saw brisk sales since its launch less than a fortnight ago. The freehold 158-unit project is priced at $830 to $850 psf on average, and at least 95 units have been sold.

Source : Sunday Times - 29 Oct 2006

ANG Mo Kio is about four months away from having a new mega mall, a development seen to bring a new buzz to one of Singapore’s oldest HDB estates.

Billed as a one-stop retail and entertainment experience, the four-storey AMK Hub with 262 shops will also be a focal point for a range of services provided by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) cooperatives.

These include a 2,000-sq-

ft lounge where the elderly can meet in air-conditioned comfort; a 4,400-sq-ft childcare centre; and an NTUC Club entertainment centre with an eight-screen cineplex.

It will also house FairPrice’s first-ever hypermarket and have a mega pharmacy run by NTUC Healthcare, the labour movement’s health-care arm

At least 90 per cent of floor space in the $340 million mall has already been taken up by the NTUC cooperatives and stores ranging from fashion and apparel outlets to banks, cafes and eateries.

The 19.3ha complex will also be connected to an air-conditioned bus interchange, slated for completion early next year, and an underpass to Ang Mo Kio MRT station.

Speaking at the mall’s

topping-off ceremony yesterday NTUC secretary-general Lim Boon Heng said its completion - hopefully in time for Chinese New Year - will complement the rejuvenation of Ang Mo Kio town centre.

‘By having a seamless linkage with the upcoming air-conditioned bus interchange and the underpass to Ang Mo Kio MRT station, the one-stop AMK Hub will also provide greater convenience and accessibility to the contemporary family needs of residents within and beyond Ang Mo Kio,’ he said.

Mr Lim believes that with a catchment of some 780,000 residents in Ang Mo Kio and nearby estates in Bishan, Hougang, Serangoon and Toa Payoh, the mall will become a ‘buzzing focal point’ for young and old alike.

It was a view shared by Mr Seng Han Thong, MP for Yio Chu Kang, who is NTUC assistant secretary-general.

‘We foresee that with the completion of AMK Hub, the town centre will be even more vibrant,’ he said.

‘The mall will attract shoppers from not just Ang Mo Kio, but other parts of Singapore as well.’

Mr Lim also saw the mall’s development as reflecting what NTUC spelt out in its Labour Movement 2011 vision for the next five years to serve workers at all levels - from low-income contract workers to executives.

‘The AMK Hub development is in line with an exciting phase for the labour movement,’ said Mr Lim, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Construction of the mall began last year, and when it opens next year it is expected to generate 1,500 jobs.

Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research at property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle’s office here, said the mall will benefit from the large human traffic flow.

‘Such a development will complement the surrounding retail landscape, providing residents and businesses alike with a wider choice of retail opportunities,’ he said.

However, Mr Goh Ang Jee who heads an association of neighbourhood shops was less certain.

‘We are only small-scale retailers, so it’ll be very difficult to compete against such a new large-scale and air-

conditioned mall,’ said Mr Goh, who runs a furniture shop in the area.

To cope with the competition, he plans to get shop owners to put their goods on sale more often, and organise stage activities during festive seasons to draw more shoppers.

Ultimately, consumers such as administration officer Jessie Quek, 49, are the ones who stand to benefit.

‘We have waited so long for this,’ said Madam Quek, who lives a five-minute walk away from the mall. ‘Ang Mo Kio Central used to be filled with activity until the old bus interchange was demolished some years ago.’

‘We are more than happy to have the bustle back.’

Source : Straits Times - 28 Oct 2006

Luxury segment closing in on 1990s levels; HDB flat prices dip, however

GOOD news rolled up on two fronts for the owners of private property yesterday - average prices are well up and rents have soared.

The strong sales and surging prices of posh developments ignited the market in the July-September period and drove overall prices up 2.7 per cent.

This is the biggest quarterly rise since 2000 and is well up on the 1.8-per-cent jump in the second quarter. It also confirms the recent upward trend.

Rents of private homes staged an even more spectacular recovery: Up 5 per cent in the quarter, more than double the 2.1 per cent rise in the April-June period.

‘The data showed that market fundamentals are looking positive. Mass market prices should start to climb across the board in 2007,’ said Mr Ku Swee Yong, a director at property consultancy Savills Singapore.

But the upswing in the private sector did not extend to Housing Board flats. Prices for the quarter dipped 0.2 per cent in this stubbornly lacklustre segment.

The figures - released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) - show prices for private property are now almost 12 per cent higher than the rock-bottom days of early 2004, but still 31 per cent below the mid-1990s peak.

While the overall average has been trending up by slightly below 2 per cent in the first two quarters of the year, the luxury apartment segment has been generating astonishing gains and is fast closing in on 1990s levels.

Prices rocketed 21 per cent in the first nine months of this year, far exceeding the 7 per cent growth chalked up for the whole of last year, said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International.

The average price of luxury apartments was $1,760 psf in the third quarter, just a shade off 1997’s peak of $1,778 psf, said Ms Tay.

Prices are forecast to climb by a further 5 per cent by the end of the year, and put on a further 10 to 15 per cent next year.

This will in turn drag up the overall price average. ‘We expect the URA residential property price index to chalk up a further 2 to 3 per cent growth in the final quarter and 10 to 12 per cent in 2007,’ said Ms Tay.

Private property rents, which had been on life-support for several years, are suddenly perking up and look in good health.

‘Rentals have caught up with the previous peak in 2000 and will provide very good support for the continued price rise,’ said Mr Ku.

Limited supply of prime, large rental homes - many of these are in properties earmarked for collective sales - could be partly behind the rental surge, said Mr Ku.

The 5 per cent rise in the September quarter should keep rental yields at about 3 per cent for freehold homes.

URA figures also point to a thriving office market, with vacancies falling from 12.3 per cent to 10.5 per cent, a level not seen since early 2001.

Supply is getting tighter, so rents will likely rise further over the next 12 months, said consultancy CB Richard Ellis.

But the HDB market has stayed trapped in the doldrums since anti-cashback measures kicked in from April last year.

But Mr Eugene Lim, ERA Singapore’s assistant vice-president, said: ‘The third quarter decrease is very marginal… What is important is that we are continuing to see consistent and healthy resale volumes.’

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

Private homes

Prices up 2.7%Rents up 5%

HDB flatsPrices down 0.2%

Source : Straits Times - 28 Oct 2006

Non-landed properties see highest rise of 3.2%, followed by detached houses at 1.4%

Prices for private housing are rising at their fastest in six years, latest figures show.

According to statistics from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, prices of private residential properties were 2.7 per cent higher in the third quarter of this year than in the previous quarter, the highest quarter-on-quarter increase in six years.

Non-landed properties registered the highest increase of 3.2 per cent, while prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses rose 1.4 per cent, 0.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

Rents also rose significantly, up 5 per cent in Q3 compared to 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

But the latest huge rises are confined to the private sector. For public housing, the Housing and Development Board Resale Price Index dipped slightly by 0.2 of a percentage point, compared to the previous quarter, although resale prices are now some 1.4 per cent up on the same period last year.

As at the end of Q3, there were 25,259 uncompleted units with prerequisite conditions for sale. Of these 15,119 units had been sold. The remaining 10,140 units which had yet to be sold comprised 3,314 units which had been launched for sale and 6,826 units which had not. There were also 849 completed but unsold units.

There was a small drop in the number of uncompleted units launched and sold in Q3 by developers. For Q2 and Q3, uncompleted units launched by developers came to 3,005 and 2,257 respectively.

The number sold directly by developers for Q2 and Q3 was also down from 2,369 to 2,133 respectively.

Click here for URA’s Q306 Real Estate Information

Units sold in the secondary market dipped by about 7 per cent to 2,901 but the cumulative number of 8,352 units for the first three quarters of 2006 already exceeds the total of 7,582 units for the whole of last year.

Sales in the secondary market are largely attributed to the number of collective sales although the prices are not reflected in the price index.

Tay Huey Ying, Colliers International director for research and consultancy, says that the latest quarterly rise in private housing prices was driven by the continued surge at the top end of the market, landed and non-landed. She says that the growth in the average price of luxury non-landed homes accelerated this year to 21 per cent in the first nine months of the year. ‘It far exceeds the 7 per cent growth chalked up for the whole of last year,’ she points out.

According to Colliers’ data, average prices of luxury apartments are now $1,760 psf, just a shade off 1997’s peak of $1,778 psf. High prices for landed property, especially at Sentosa Cove, also helped to push up the price index.

Ms Tay notes that the highest price there was $1,039 psf, 75 per cent higher than the average land price of freehold good class bungalows on the mainland.

Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore, believes that transactions of city-fringe developments have helped boost property prices. But he adds: ‘It is too soon to say if this indicates a broad-based recovery in the property market.’

Subsales are sometimes considered an indicator of investor confidence, and Mr Ku notes that Icon in Tanjong Pagar saw 23 subsale transactions in the third quarter. In the same quarter, The Sail @ Marina Bay saw 46 subsale transactions. Icon was launched in 2003 at about $650 psf but prices have since increased to about $900, with one unit on a high floor recently transacting at $1,200 psf.

Even in Tiong Bahru, Twin Regency, which is fully sold, saw 16 subsale transactions.

In the luxury segment, URA data reveals that St Regis Residences is still 50 per cent unsold, with one subsale transacted in Q3. The 73-unit Scotts Highpark has sold 13 of the 37 units launched.

‘When the price gradient for properties in a district gets too steep, people will start looking further down the road,’ says Mr Ku, showing that buyers are still price sensitive.

Indeed, Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president of estate agency ERA Singapore, says that he has seen more transactions in the suburban secondary market although prices have remained flat.

But there are indications that the mass market is strengthening, this following the good response for The Centris in Jurong, which is more than 80 per cent sold at $500-550 psf. ‘We estimate developers are preparing to launch over 1,000 units of mass market projects in the coming months,’ he adds.

URA’s Rental Index has also increased significantly across the board. Apart from the 5 per cent increase in residential rents, office rents are up even higher this quarter at 7 per cent compared to the previous 6.6 per cent in Q2. Shop rents have dropped slightly from 1.4 per cent in Q2 to 1.2 per cent but all industrial rents are up 0.3 per cent from 0.1 per cent in Q2.

Moray Armstrong, executive director of offices services at CB Richard Ellis, points out that latest figures reveal that office vacancy fell from 12.3 per cent in Q2 to 10.5 per cent in Q3, ‘a level not seen since Q1 2001′.

And the office sector looks set for a broad-based recovery, too. Mr Armstrong says: ‘With Grade A space close to full occupancy, we expect the Grade B and Fringe Office micro-markets to benefit from overspill of the prime location.’ Office rents for Central Area rose 7.2 per cent from 7.1 per cent in Q2. Rents for Fringe Area offices also rose 5.8 per cent, up from 3.5 per cent in Q2.

Source : Business Times - 28 Oct 2006