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Prices for public housing on the resale market have risen, while those for private property have moderated for the second quarter of 2008.

According to latest official figures, there has also been little upward movement in the private property rental market.

Data for the HDB resale and rental markets based on transactions in Q2 saw HDB’s Resale Price Index (RPI) up 4.5 per cent, compared to the 3.7 per cent increase for the previous quarter.

Reflective of the interest in public housing was the rise in resale transactions, from about 6,360 cases in the first quarter to about 7,760 cases in the second quarter, an increase by about 22 per cent.

Meanwhile, subletting transactions in HDB flats increased by about 15 per cent to about 4,120 cases in the second quarter from about 3,580 cases in the first quarter.

In contrast, the private property market was a little more subdued, with home prices increasing 0.2 per cent, the third straight quarter of slower growth, signalling a definite slowing of the four-year housing boom.

Prices for non-landed properties saw a modest 0.1 per cent rise compared with 3.7 per cent in the previous quarter as prices for condominium and apartments in districts 9, 10, 11, downtown district and Sentosa fell 0.1 per cent compared to similar properties in areas outside of the region which rose between 0.7 and 0.9 per cent.

As for landed property, prices rose 0.6 per cent compared with 3.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Indicative of the cooling in the property market are the 43,473 new units still unsold from a total supply of 67,569 uncompleted units from private housing projects.

This number includes more than 12,000 which developers have held back from launch and another 28,282 which are pending approval.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jul 2008

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay project is on track for completion by the end of 2010.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the project is unaffected by the government’s recent decision to defer S$1.7 billion worth of public-sector building projects - a move meant to ease the pressure on the construction industry in Singapore.

Mr Mah was speaking to the media at the official opening of the Singapore Garden Festival on Friday at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

One of the key highlights of the Singapore Garden Festival is the much-anticipated Singapore Orchid Show, which is jointly organised by the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia and the National Parks Board (NParks).

The exhibition - a teaser for the World Orchid Conference in 2011 - covers 3,000 square metres, with over 8,000 cut orchids and some 10,000 orchid plants on display.

Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay project is expected to be completed by the time the conference is held.

“The Marina Bay Gardens work has already started, so it is not possible to defer it. It is something that we would like to complete around 2010, 2011 because this is part of our longer term plans to develop the Marina Bay area, so it forms an important part of the Marina Bay development,” said Mr Mah.

Future garden festivals will be held at the Gardens by the Bay. But for now, visitors can visit this year’s festival at Suntec till August 1.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jul 2008

PropNex’s sacking of 2,800 inactive associates seen as bold, drastic

Many more property agents could quit the industry - or be forced to leave - in light of the current market downturn, say industry players.

‘The market was very bullish in the last two years, so the barriers to entry were not there for a lot of agents,’ said Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han. ‘Now that the market is tightening, property companies want to look for the performers, and let the rest go.’

On Wednesday, PropNex Realty said that it was firing more than one-third of its agents. About 2,800 agents who have been with the firm for over a year but have yet to record a single transaction will be terminated, PropNex said.

Industry players told BT that during the property upturn in the last two years, a number of ‘non-typical’ agents entered the industry in order to make a quick buck. One property analyst told BT that at the height of the property boom, he had ‘civil servants, clerical staff and others with regular day jobs’ looking to join his firm to ‘make some extra cash’.

‘There were a lot of fly-by-night agents - people who didn’t know the rules,’ he said.

But with the current property slowdown, many of these agents have been unable to close deals and therefore have left the industry, market players said. More could follow, they added.

PropNex said that many of its inactive associates may no longer be familiar with current market trends or the latest policies. ‘If that is the case, then they would hardly be able to best serve the customers’ interests,’ said chief executive Mohd Ismail.

The agents were first given a choice to remain with PropNex by signing up for Professional Indemnity Insurance and a refresher course.

Observers called PropNex’s move ‘bold’ and even ‘drastic’. The industry here is largely unregulated and there is sometimes confusion over agents’ qualifications and accreditation.

Industry veterans, however, pointed out that some of the agents fired by PropNex could be registered with multiple agencies and so could have recorded transactions for other firms instead. There is also nothing preventing fired agents from joining another agency, they added.

What the industry needs is more education, said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore. ‘If they (the fired agents) are serious about the industry, they should take advantage of the now relatively stable market to upgrade themselves and deepen their knowledge,’ he said.

Source : Business Times - 25 Jul 2008

SINGAPORE has been ranked the best place in the world to live in, based on a poll of expatriates.

The Expat Explorer survey for HSBC Bank International revealed that, as well as being top overall, expats rate Singapore best for quality of accommodation and second in terms of luxury living.

The survey was conducted between February and April, with data analysis conducted by Freshminds. It looked at a range of topics relevant to expats’ lives, including living standards, an expat’s ability to earn and save, a country’s popularity and the level of luxury experienced.

On luxury, countries were rated on a number of categories, including access to private healthcare, access to more than one property, and ability to own a pool and to employ staff (such as cleaners).

Across the 11 categories of perceived luxuries, on average, expats reported an increase in eight of these factors, with employing staff ranked as the highest increase.

The United Arab Emirates was the most luxurious destination, with expats enjoying increases in 10 of the 11 categories, followed by Singapore and India.

The UK was ranked the least luxurious with decreases recorded in nine of the 11 luxuries.

The survey polled 2,155 expats in more than 49 countries. However, only countries with at least 30 respondents were analysed in the league tables.

Accommodation is a key concern of expats and almost three-quarters of expats living in Singapore said that the quality of their accommodation had improved since moving away from home, the highest amount recorded in the study.

This was followed by those living in the United States and Belgium.

The UK was identified as the most expensive expat location for accommodation, with over three-quarters of expats living there revealing that their living costs had increased.

In terms of remuneration, expats in Hong Kong (ranked fifth overall) have the world’s highest salaries, with almost half earning more than £pounds;100,000 (S$271,000) per annum.

It was found that Europe is a popular destination overall in terms of the length of stay. More than three-quarters of expats now living in the Netherlands have been there for three or more years, followed by Germany and Spain. Hong Kong and Singapore were ranked fifth and sixth respectively.

HSBC head of consumer banking (Singapore) Wendy Lim estimates that there are over 300,000 expatriates residing in Singapore. She said: ‘Singapore’s safe, tax-efficient environment makes it an ideal location for expatriates to grow and protect their savings and investments.’

Singapore is home to one of HSBC’s five offshore banking centres around the world, the others being Hong Kong, Dubai, New Jersey and Miami.

Source : Business Times - 25 Jul 2008

Poll of foreigners in 49 locations puts the Republic ahead of US, HK

SINGAPORE has emerged as the best place to live in the world in a survey of more than 2,000 expatriates by HSBC Bank.

The Republic also ranked first for quality of accommodation and second for luxury living.

Its closest rival, Hong Kong, was ranked fifth overall, though it took top spot in terms of an expat’s ability to earn and save.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States came in as joint second-best overall destinations, with Belgium next in the rankings.

HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey - a first for the bank - interviewed 2,155 expats across 49 countries and territories to rank places based on living standards, the ability to earn and save, a country’s popularity, and the level of luxury experienced.

HSBC’s survey, released yesterday, comes after human resources consultancy Mercer ranked the Republic the fifth most expensive Asian city for expats - up a notch from a previous survey.

ECA International, also a human resources consultancy, ranked Singapore as the best place for Asian expatriates to live worldwide earlier this year.

In a separate survey, it found that Singapore has become a more expensive place for expats to live, but that it is still cheaper than Hong Kong.

The Republic jumped 17 places to land at the 114th spot in a global survey of the costliest cities for expatriates, on the back of higher inflation and a stronger Singapore dollar in the past year.

But despite rising living costs, especially in housing, Singapore remains competitive with its Asian neighbours such as Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, and other global financial centres such as London, said Mercer.

HSBC’s head of consumer banking in Singapore, Ms Wendy Lim, said there are an estimated 300,000 expats residing here.

The safe environment and relatively low taxes make it ‘an ideal location for expats to grow and protect their savings and investments’, she said.

Other countries such as Britain and France scored poorly as expat destinations in the survey, especially on accommodation and luxury. The UAE was the most luxurious destination, followed by Singapore and India.

Project manager Pham Nguyen Hung, 34, a French-Vietnamese expat living in Singapore, said he was not surprised at the survey results.

Singapore, US cities such as San Francisco and New York, and Hong Kong are among his top picks.

‘It’s hard to compare cities directly, because each of them offers different lifestyles. But I agree Singapore has quite a high quality of life, and its accommodation standards are among the best,’ he said.

Source : Straits Times - 25 Jul 2008