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Suburban, HDB homes post best quarterly price growth in years.

NEW government figures released yesterday will bring cheer to the average Singaporean homeowner.

This is because prices for so-called ‘mass market’ properties - comprising mainly suburban condominiums and HDB homes - have posted their best quarterly growth in years.

This has brought the prices of both public and private homes to their highest level in a decade.

The flash estimates for the third quarter, which are based on home sales in July and August, show that private home prices rose 8 per cent, while prices of HDB homes jumped 6.5 per cent for the same period.

The numbers show that the effects of Singapore’s property recovery, which have been largely focused on high-end luxury apartments for the last year or so, are finally filtering down to the typical homeowner.

Most significantly, prices of non-landed private homes outside the central region - in areas such as Clementi and Bedok - surged 8.1 per cent, almost on par with the increase of 8.3 per cent for homes in the core, or central, area.

Growth in prices of homes located in prime areas like districts 9, 10, 11, downtown and Sentosa have far outstripped that of suburban homes since 2004, the earliest period for which price changes in different districts are available. But the gap in price increases has now narrowed to just 0.2 percentage points.

Property analysts say the figures show a confident local market generally unshaken by the recent volatility in the stock market - due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US.

Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong said future growth is now likely to be fuelled ‘from the bottom up’ by mass market homes.

CBRE Research’s executive director Li Hiaw Ho also marked this quarter as a ‘big step’ for suburban projects, which were launched at $850 to $1,000 psf.

Suburban projects were usually defined as those costing around $600 psf - but projects like The Parc Condominium in West Coast, for example, fully sold all 659 units in August at a median price of $880 psf, said Mr Li.

Meanwhile, HDB home prices are also driving the mass market recovery. The 6.5 per cent jump in prices is the highest since 1999, and comes on the back of a 3 per cent rise in the last quarter.

‘HDB home prices have languished in the doldrums for many years so it’s heartening for homeowners to see them pick up pace now,’ said property firm Propnex’s chief executive Mohamed Ismail.

The bullish figures have prompted some analysts to revise their forecasts. Property experts say private home prices have increased 21.1 per cent so far this year, already surpassing their forecasts of between 20 and 25 per cent.

Knight Frank’s director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak gave a revised forecast of between 23 and 32 per cent.

As for HDB homes, Mr Mohamed expects the HDB price index to rise 15 per cent for the whole year.

Last year, in comparison, HDB’s price index only rose 2 per cent for the whole year, while for private homes, it was about 10 per cent.

The Government also highlighted that about 43,000 new private homes are expected to be completed from now till 2010, and almost half are still unsold.

Separately, the HDB also said it plans to launch up to 6,000 new homes in the next six months, subject to market demand.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority and HDB’s official third-quarter statistics will be released at the end of this month.

Source : Straits Times - 2 Oct 2007

Another 228 buildings in the Joo Chiat/Katong area identified for preservation

FROM landmark churches to picturesque pre-war shop houses, the Joo Chiat and Katong area is an undisputed hotbed of architectural diversity and the historical home for the local Eurasian and Peranakan community.

Given its unique mix of exquisite architecture, history and culture, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has identified another 228 buildings for preservation. These are in addition to the more than 700 historical landmarks located along key roads such as Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road, as well as 15 bungalows on Mountbatten Road, that have already been gazetted for conservation.

Speaking at the URA Architectural Heritage Awards presentation ceremony at the National Museum of Singapore yesterday, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said that the URA recently embarked on public consultation with the owners of the 228 buildings earmarked for conservation.

Said Mr Mah: “The aim of this conservation proposal is to complete conservation of the street block and add to the critical mass of heritage buildings and rich architectural diversity in Katong and Joo Chiat.”

Seeking the individual owners’ views, he added, was in line with the URA’s consultative approach.

“It also contributes to a more transparent process in gazetting buildings for conservation (and) will take into account the owners’ feedback,” he said.

Among the buildings targeted in this proposal will be the bungalows, terrace houses and shop houses in Koon Seng Road, Onan Road and Carpmael Road, as well as landmarks such as St Hilda’s Church at Ceylon Road and the single storey Bethesda (Katong) Church at Pennefather Road.

Mr Mah also announced plans to build a new 4.9km waterfront promenade stretching from Punggol Point to Sungei Serangoon, as well as projects to revitalise the older housing estates of Woodlands and Siglap Village “in order to enhance the distinct character, identity and overall environment of each area”.

These improvements are targeted for completion between 2008 and 2010.

“As a land-scarce nation, we have to take a pragmatic and balanced approach towards conservation,” he said.

“Creating an endearing home goes beyond individual heritage buildings, it is also about strengthening the identity of places where we live, work and play.”

Since 1989, the URA has gazetted more than 5,600 buildings for conservation. In addition, 55 buildings with historical significance have been earmarked as national monuments.

Source : Today - 2 Oct 2007

Resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats have risen to levels not seen since 1996, benefiting from a spillover of the bullish sentiment in the private home market.

In the third quarter of this year, HDB flats commanded an average 15-per-cent premium to their prices in the fourth quarter of 1998, which is used by the HDB as the base quarter for price comparison (base=100). Early estimates by the HDB showed the resale price index grew from 108 to 115 — a strong 6.5 per cent, in the three months ending September this year. This is more than double the 3-per-cent growth registered in the previous quarter.

“This means good news for the mass market — for people who have bought homes in the last six years, as they are now able to realise some profit,” said Mr Mohamed Ismail, the chief executive of real estate agency PropNex.

Mr Ismail noted that the HDB resale price index had shown positive increases for three consecutive quarters. He estimated that with the current trend expected to continue into the final quarter of the year, the total number of resale units registered for the year could surpass last year’s by about 4 per cent to hit 31,000.

Mr Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president at real estate agency ERA, said: “While the overall price increase was expected, the larger-than-usual jump in the HDB resale price index is probably caused by the filter-down effect from the private property market.”

Earlier this year, several resale HDB flats were snapped up at record prices by cash-rich beneficiaries from the en bloc sales of private housing estates. Some prospective sellers of HDB flats in choice areas such as Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Tiong Bahru and Toa Payoh are now asking for premiums between $50,000 and $200,000 above valuation, ERA noted.

“With these kinds of asking prices, we are beginning to see some resistance in the market as the typical HDB home buyer does not have or does not want to fork out too much cash,” said Mr Lim. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Mr Nicholas Mak, director, Consultancy and Research Department at Knight Frank, believes that the growing demand for resale HDB flats will drive the lower end of the private property market.

“If the HDB resale home prices continue to grow by more than 3 per cent per quarter on average, it will give that extra push to the private mass-market segment in 2008, and we can expect very robust upgrader demand for private homes,” said Mr Mak.

For private non-landed properties, prices continued to rise, but at a slower pace, in the third quarter — the first time since the current market upturn that started two years ago. The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) preliminary estimates showed that private property prices rose 8 per cent compared to the second quarter, when they grew 8.3 per cent from the previous quarter — the fastest growth rate in eight years.

“Despite the stock market turbulence in August, the average private residential property prices in Singapore increased by 8.3 per cent,” said Mr Mak. “The surge is even more obvious when compared with last year, where the average private residential property prices rose by less than 4 per cent per quarter.”

“The demand drivers for the increase in the price of private homes could be attributed to several factors, including the increase in foreign talent to Singapore, optimism of the market, economic growth, and the increase in the price of the rental market,” said Mr Mak.

Singapore created a record 64,400 new jobs in the second quarter of this year, and recorded a seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of only 2.3 per cent.

About 43,000 new units of private housing are expected to be completed between the second half of this year and 2010, the URA said. Of these, about 19,900 units, or 46 per cent, have yet to be sold by developers.

Mr Mak predicts that “for the whole of 2007, private home prices could increase between 23 per cent and 32 per cent year-on-year, while HDB average resale flat prices could rise by 13 to 20 per cent”.

Source : Today - 2 Oct 2007

The prices of private residential property in Singapore increased by eight per cent in the third quarter of this year, compared to the previous three months, according to the flash estimate by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Based on the estimated price index of private residential property, it said prices rose from 147.8 points in the 2nd quarter to 159.6 points in the 3rd quarter.

This represents an increase of 8.0 per cent, compared with the 8.3 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

According to geographical regions, prices of non-landed private residential properties in the Core Central Region increased the most - by 8.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, those in the Outside Central Region went up by 8.1 per cent and in the rest of the Central Region by 7.7 percent.

The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in caveats lodged during the first ten weeks of the quarter, supplemented by information on the number of new units sold.

The information will be updated four weeks later when the URA releases the full 3rd Quarter 2007 real estate statistics.

The URA said the government will continue to monitor prices closely.

It is currently reviewing the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the first half of 2008 and will announce the details at the end of the year.

More sites for private residential development will be made available next year if the demand continues to remain strong.

Currently, about 43,000 new units of private housing are expected to be completed from the second half of this year to 2010.

URA said about 19,900 units or 46 per cent of these have not yet been sold by developers.

Property consultant Knight Frank, responding to URA’s 3rd quarter flash estimate released on Monday, said that for the whole of 2007, private home prices could increase by between 23 and 32 per cent.

It noted that the Singapore property market is still going strong. This is especially in the private suburban residential property market segment, where average prices only started to rise significantly in 2007.

In the third quarter, the increase in the price level was at almost the same rate as that in the prime areas.

As for the HDB market, it expects the average resale flat prices to rise by 13 per cent to 20 per cent year on year.

CB Richard Ellis said the URA’s preliminary estimate shows the confidence in the residential market was unshaken despite periods of volatility in the worldwide stock markets caused by the sub-prime mortgage problems during the third quarter.

The property consultant expects the upward trend in high-end market to continue as there are more high-end projects to be rolled out in the fourth quarter.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it says residential prices may rise by a total of 25 per cent to 30 per cent for the whole year.

In total, the residential price index rose by 22.6 per cent in the first nine months of 2007, following a 10.2 per cent increase in 2006. - CNA/vm/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 01 Oct 2007

Public housing resale prices went up by 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared to the previous three months.

According to HDB’s flash estimate, the Resale Price Index (RPI) stood at 115.0 in the third quarter, an increase of 6.5 percent over the second quarter.

The RPI for the full quarter and more detailed public housing data will be released at the end of October.

The HDB said that in tandem with the improved market conditions, it has observed good response for new flats offered under its recent sales exercises.

To meet demand from households, it plans to offer about 4,500 units under the Build-to-Order (BTO) system over the next six months.

It also plans to release three new sites under the Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) with a combined yield of about 1,500 units in central and eastern Singapore over the same period.

The board said the plans are subject to market demand, and the details of the BTO and DBSS sites will be released when they are ready for launch. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 01 Oct 2007