SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

With the property market sizzling at the top end and with talk of record prices with every new launch, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is keen to remind listed developers of their obligation to observe disclosure standards when they make projections on the selling prices of their projects.

The exchange will take action if disclosure rules are breached, it said

BT had asked the SGX for its comments following a commentary the newspaper published last week which argued that property developers should be subject to greater scrutiny and bound by disclosure rules when they make price forecasts for their projects, just as other listed companies are when they make earnings projections.

Typically, developers make forecasts on the selling prices of their projects to the media but not on SGXNET, the exchange’s official electronic dissemination platform.

‘We would like to highlight that all listed companies, including developers, have to observe the same high standards of corporate disclosure,’ said Yeo Lian Sim, executive vice-president and head of risk management and regulation at the SGX.

‘The listing manual gives guidance on disclosing material information to analysts, investors, stockholders and media parties, without being faulted for selective disclosure.’

Under listing rules, material information includes information concerning, among other things, the issuer’s property, assets, business, financial condition and prospects.

The rules also make it clear that if an issuer releases material information to the media but does not announce it to the market via SGXNET, it would be in breach of selective disclosure rules.

Ms Yeo noted that a price estimation or a target selling price of an individual property launch does not automatically translate into profit forecast for the whole company.

The number of projects, completion dates, cost factors and take-up rates are some of the other elements that have to be taken into account for making a profit forecast.

‘The property developer, like other listed companies, will judge the materiality of the information at hand and make the necessary disclosure,’ she said. ‘As such, SGX does not second-guess disclosures of listed companies. If inadequate disclosure comes to light, we will take the necessary action.’

Said a corporate watcher who works with listed companies: ‘We have a situation where other listed companies are so cautious about making any statement that would suggest an earnings projection. If they say anything on earnings to the media or analysts, they have to announce it to the SGX immediately, which will then hold them accountable for what they say. And here we have developers freely making forecasts on the selling prices for their projects without announcing it to the SGX and being held accountable.’

The property market is so upbeat that target prices for projects are being revised by the week. Two weeks ago, upmarket developer SC Global told the media it hoped to set a new benchmark with the launch of its latest luxury project, the marQ on Paterson Hill, which is expected to fetch prices upwards of $2,800 per square foot (psf). Just a week later, SC Global said in another media interview that it planned to price the project at ‘north of $3,000 psf’.

It is little wonder then that SC Global’s shares have surged some 70 per cent since the start of the year and it is the best performer on the Singapore property index.

Source : Business Times - 29 Jan 2007

Indian nationals are now third-largest group of foreign property buyers here

It has been a passage from India, and they connected so well that they now call Singapore their home away from home.

An estimated 90,000 Indian nationals happily hold on to their links to their homeland - like celebrating India’s national events here - while laying down roots in Singapore.

And some have laid even deeper roots - getting permanent residence status or buying property.

Indian nationals are now the third-largest group of foreign buyers, behind Indonesians and Malaysians, with 425 properties bought in the first 11 months of last year - a jump from 2005’s 292 and 2004’s 108.

But while home is here in Singapore, for many, their heart is still with India.

Last Friday morning, for example, Mr Atul Patel and his family stood solemnly at attention with several hundred other Indian nationals as the flag was hoisted at the High Commission of India to mark the country’s 58th Republic Day.

That was when its constitution came into force.

Indian nationals like Mr Patel, 36, who has been here for 10 years, also celebrate India’s Independence Day on Aug 15.

Mr Patel sees to it that his daughters - Radhe, five, and Meera, three - are with him on these occasions.

‘I want to give them a perspective on their heritage… a window to our country, our culture and traditions,’ said the senior manager at IT firm SAP Netweaver.

Another Indian expatriate, Mr Amuleek Bijral, 31, director of business operations with EMC Corporation, held a Republic Day barbecue with his wife, Mrs Gagan Bijral, 26, and friends.

‘Republic Day was huge when I was in school. We had a huge parade, a lot of buzz. As you grow older, it’s nostalgic,” he mused.

Other significant events and festivals are also observed by this diaspora.

On Jan 14, for example, Mr Patel and his family were at West Coast with almost 500 other Singapore Gujerati Society members to fly kites, a tradition during the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti.

Other major festivals like Diwali (Deepavali) and Holi - the festival of colour - are also celebrated fervently, said housewife Vanitha Narasimhan, 36, who has been here for 10 years. She too wants her son Prashant, 14, to be reminded of home.

‘I don’t even do that in Chennai,’ she said with a laugh, adding: ‘I guess I have to be more diligent. I don’t want him to forget.’

It is all part of a cultural-survival strategy for living in a global world, they all say.

The number of Indian expatriates in Singapore has gone up since the 1990s, said Deputy High Commissioner R.K. Sachdeva, adding that the increase has been in both the professional and non-professional sectors.

He was unable to give exact figures, but estimates that more than 35,000 work in professional fields from finance to IT.

The increase has been felt by societies and associations catering to the community, like the Indian Women’s Association, whose membership has grown from 200 women in 2004 to over 300 now.

The Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society has also seen a boost in both expatriate and non-expatriate membership, bringing current membership to 1,100.

Indian schools have also seen numbers rise, said Mr Atul Temurnikar, co-founder of the Global Indian International School. Enrolment in its two schools has grown from 48 in 2002 to 2,500 now.

New clubs have also been formed, like Golf Parivaar (Hindi for family), which held its inaugural golfing event on Republic Day.

Most Indian expatriates cite similar reasons for being here: a welcoming, well-run country, English-speaking population, and the presence of an existing Indian culture.

The fact that Singapore is well connected to India, only hours away by air, helps. The 142 flights between the countries are set to increase.

Many have, along the way, also formed bonds with Singapore. Mr Patel’s daughters consider August the Independence Day ’season’ - they unfailingly watch Singapore’s National Day Parade on television.

Even for those who are definite that their stays will be temporary, like Mr Ram Kapoor, 42, a creative director at Leo Burnett, Singapore has become an endearing place.

He and his wife, private banker Indu Tandon, came here in 1996. They find Singapore ‘a familiar environment with all the trimmings of the West”.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Jan 2007

Speculators can get bigger units on higher floors by pooling money, but some warn that it’s risky business deck deck

As the property boom picks up speed, led by the luxury market, groups of people are banding together to buy high-end homes in the hope of making a quick profit.

Popular targets for these groups are high-profile or freehold new launches, particularly those that may attract foreign buyers.

Though the prices of these properties are often astronomically high, all they need to pool together is enough to cover an initial payment of 23 per cent, including stamp duty.

One agent said he knows a group of three who bought units at The Sail@Marina Bay, Oceanfront in Sentosa Cove and Marina Bay Residences.

‘For the prime locations, some people are pooling their resources to get the bigger, higher-floor units,’ said another agent.

The practice, though, is confined to a small portion of the market, she said.

On Friday, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that while sub-sales rose from 290 in the third quarter of last year to 426 in the fourth quarter, they formed just 5.4 per cent of total sales. Sub-sales refer to the sales of uncompleted homes by their buyers.

Most of them were in districts 9, 10, 11, Sentosa and downtown, where prices of uncompleted homes rose 25.4 per cent last year, from 7 per cent in 2005.

The URA said it released sub-sales data to enable the public to have a better sense of the level of speculative activity in the private homes market.

The Sunday Times managed to track down three people who are buying homes in groups. All of them said that there must be trust among the buyers.

One of them is joining hands with five friends to invest in a $4.43 million unit at the newly launched St Thomas Suites. His share is just $50,000.

They will sell the property - hopefully at $5.2 million to $5.47 million - within 10 months, regardless of gains, before more payments kick in or a loan is needed, said the lawyer, who is in his early 40s.

‘If we can’t agree on when to sell, the one with the biggest share will have the say,’ he said.

As the property won’t carry all their names, a legal agreement stating the share and objectives has been drawn up, he said.

Retiree Howard Wang, who has bought a few properties with his group of friends since the last bull run in the mid-1990s, said they always draw up a simple trust that states their shares.

‘It’s a very loose arrangement,’ he said. ‘We always have a trust in case someone passes away or somebody gets involved in a divorce.’

And the money that he invests is all spare cash, he said. Still, there is clear risk involved. Mr Wang was burnt once in the mid-1990s when the bull run ended and he had to absorb a $60,000 loss.

In the event of a slowdown, the danger is that these buyers could dump their property and this could cause the market to slide even faster, said a finance company executive in her 40s.

Earlier this month, she bought a $4.8 million four-bedroom unit at One Shenton with two strangers.

It was unplanned. Her trusted agent managed to get just one unit at the soft launch for her three clients and therefore asked if they would like to share it.

She said: ‘Agents were fighting to hold on to their reserved units, so five minutes was all I had to decide.’

The upturn does not last forever, so ‘like everything else, you should know when to stop’.

‘If not for a few people banding together, you would miss out on the chance to ride on the crest of the property boom. This consortium is born out of greed, optimism and timing. It is to generate as much wealth in as short a time as possible.’A LAWYER IN HIS EARLY 40s

Source : Sunday Times - 28 Jan 2007

Private home buyers will need to use their own cash first, then apply for reimbursement

The recent withdrawal of stamp duty deferment has given some buyers an extra headache but at least they now know their Central Provident Fund (CPF) money is there to ease the burden.

The CPF Board has confirmed that stamp duty payments can be reimbursed from CPF savings.

Uncertainty arose when the stamp duty rules were changed last year. Under the new rules, home owners can no longer defer duty payments on new properties till they are ready for occupation.

The change doesn’t appear to have deterred buyers, but some were unsure if the duty - up to about 3 per cent of a property’s value - could be paid with or reimbursed from CPF savings.

The stamp duty must now be paid within two weeks of the date of accepting the option to buy or of exercising the sales and purchase agreement.

Unfortunately, the CPF Board cannot release funds in time for stamp duty payments paid on private property purchases as it needs time to perform legal requisitions.

On Jan 12, the board informed local law firms that stamp duty payments can be reimbursed.

‘In cases of private property purchases, where the necessary legal documentation may take a longer time to complete, buyers may use cash or take up loans to pay the stamp duty in the first instance, and subsequently apply for reimbursement from their CPF (savings),’ the board told The Sunday Times.

This is consistent with CPF’s practice before 1998, when the concession was introduced, the board said.

Buyers face being levied a late payment penalty if they do not pay the duty in time.

Many buyers will have to use their own cash as the process of releasing CPF monies can take about four weeks for new homes and two to three months for completed properties, said lawyer Rita Chew of KKYAP LAWHUB.

HDB buyers do not have such a problem. They will generally be able to meet the requirements for CPF money to be released to pay stamp duty within the 14-day deadline, said the CPF Board.

However, HDB flat buyers have to submit their applications to the CPF Board at least 10 days before the expiry of the payment due date, said Ms Chew.

Taking a bridging loan to cover the reimbursement gap is not a ready option for buyers, as only one of the six banks contacted by The Sunday Times offers such a facility.

‘Standard Chartered offers a bridging loan to pay for the stamp duty on a property purchase as long as the customer is selling a property such that there are sales proceeds which we can lend against,’ said its spokesman.

‘The maximum tenor of such a loan is six months.’

DBS, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank, HSBC and Citibank do not offer bridging loans for stamp duty.

DBS and Citibank noted that their customers have not asked for such loans.

‘Customers can use their CPF funds to pay for the stamp duty and they should get their lawyers to apply for the usage of the CPF funds,’ said Mr Koh Kar Siong, managing director, secured loans at DBS Bank’s consumer banking group.

Citibank Singapore business director, Mr Tan Chia Seng, said: ‘We will consider offering such a facility if there is demand for it.’

Lawyer Mabel Lim of Harry Elias Partnership said some people were displeased with the sudden stamp duty change, but none had issues with the payment as it has always been required.

‘It was only a question of timing,’ she said.

‘Most prospective buyers would have factored in the payment of stamp duty when deciding on the purchase of a property as it is a substantial amount.’

Source : Sunday Times - 28 Jan 2007

1 Work out how much you can afford.

Upfront costs include a minimum 5 per cent cash down payment, legal fees of 0.5 to 1 per cent of the loan amount, an agent’s commission of 1 to 2 per cent of the purchase price and a stamp duty of up to about 3 per cent of the purchase price.

Total monthly debt servicing should not exceed 35 per cent of your gross monthly income.

Also take into account such ongoing expenses as property tax, fire insurance, mortgage insurance, and conservancy or maintenance tax.

2 Choose a suitable home loan and get in-principle approval from your banker on the loan amount.

Decide based on your individual risk appetite and financial situations.

3 Search for your dream home. Check to see if approvals have been obtained for any additions or alterations done. Otherwise, the bank will only provide financing subject to the property being restored to its original condition.

4 Ascertain the market value of the property. The bank can provide an indicative value if you can provide some details of the property you want to buy.

5 Appoint a lawyer to coordinate your purchase. The lawyer will, among other things, conduct a bankruptcy search on the seller.

6 Make an offer on the property to the seller. You have to place an option fee of 1 to 10 per cent to make an offer.

7 Formally apply for the loan. Once it is approved, you will receive a letter of offer from the bank.

8 Meet your lawyer. Your lawyer will help you to exercise your option to buy and apply to the CPF Board for the use of funds for your purchase.

Later on, he will go through the CPF, mortgage and other documents with you.

9 Arrange for the bank’s valuers to carry out a formal valuation. They will submit their valuation report to the lawyer and the bank.

10 The lawyer will receive the funds from the bank and the CPF Board to complete the purchase. Stamp duty and legal fees are payable at this stage. Now you just need to collect the key to your dream home.

Source : Sunday Times - 28 Jan 2007