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PRIVATE home prices rose a slender 0.2 per cent over the second quarter. That’s half the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s earlier flash estimate of 0.4 per cent growth. This was the third consecutive quarter in which prices rose more slowly, after rocketing 31.2 per cent last year.

“The continued weakening of the property price index continues to reflect cautious sentiment in view of the slowing US economy, concerns about the sub-prime crisis and erratic stock market,” said Eugene Lim, assistant vice president at ERA Asia Pacific.

According to the latest government figures, prices of non-landed private residential properties fell by 0.1 per cent on quarter in the core central region, swinging from a 3.8 :per cent increase in the previous three months.

Prices of properties in the rest of the central region increased by 0.7 :per cent in the quarter, compared with a 3.3 :per cent increase in the previous period. Outside the central region, prices increased by 0.9 :per cent, slower than a 3.8 :per cent rise previously. Prices of office, shop and industrial properties increased by0.7 and 4.1 :per cent respectively. The Government also said the increase in rentals of private residential properties slowed in the second quarter, rising 2.5 :per cent compared with6 :per cent in the previous quarter. Agencies

Source : Weekend Today - 26 Jul 2008

More choice for home-buyers

HAD you $20,000 in cash to pay for the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) component of a resale 4-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, you would have better bargaining power now than in the last quarter of 2007.

Back then, you might just have been able to afford such a flat in far-flung areas such as Bukit Panjang, Chua Chu Kang, Jurong or Woodlands.

But between April and last month, you could have had choice pickings from locations such as Ang Mo Kio, Tampines or Hougang.

On Friday, second-quarter data from the HDB showed that even as resale prices rose by 4.5 per cent, the good news for home-buyers was that the median COV dipped to $20,000 - $1,000 lower than in Q1 and down from $22,000 in Q4 last year.

Reflecting strong demand that was a contrast to weakening sentiments in the private sector, the total number of HDB resale transactions grew 22 per cent to 7,760 in Q2.

Industry players attribute the dip in COV prices to the higher valuation of resale flats :(this is based on the previously transacted price of similar flats).

:This has led to buyers being far less willing to pay inflated COVs which, last year, :hit peaks of $80,000 to $100,000 in choice locations.

:Still, rare exceptions stood out in the second quarter: The highest median COV of $93,000 for a five-room flat was recorded in Bukit Timah. And home-buyers were willing to pay a higher cash premium for three, four and five-room flats in Toa Payoh and Kallang/Whampoa.

:In the latter area, five-room flat buyers paid some $38,000 in cash over valuation, which analysts attributed to the proximity to the CBD, riverside living and plans to transform it into a new lifestyle district with retail and entertainment facilities.

:On the whole, demand in the resale market is coming “from up-graders, down-graders and permanent residents”, said :ERA’s assistant vice president Eugene Lim.

At the same time, with there being hardly any surplus stocks - compared to five years ago when the HDB had 25,000 unsold flats - buyers have few choices if they do not want to wait for a new HDB flat to be built on demand.

But Mr Lim and :Propnex chief executive Mohamed Ismail expect COVs to continue tapering, even if resale flat prices rise further.

Mr Ismail calls the situation a win-win one: Buyers do not have to fork out so much out of pocket, and sellers can still command a high price for their flats through valuation.

Source : Weekend Today - 26 Jul 2008

Prices of private homes in Singapore grew at a slower pace in the second quarter than initially projected - climbing at just 0.2 per cent against an earlier estimate of 0.4 per cent.

This is a far cry from the 3.7 per cent growth in the previous three months.

Analysts said this is the first time that final numbers have come in lower than flash estimates, suggesting that home prices are finally softening.

Mass market homes are carrying the overall price increase in the private residential property sphere as luxury home prices nudge downwards.

Prices outside the central region were up by 0.9 per cent, compared to a 0.1 per cent dip in the core central region.

Leonard Tay, director of Research, CB Richard Ellis, said: “Overall, we see a return of volume in (the) residential market in second quarter as quite encouraging.

“In the next two quarters, at least for the whole of 2008, we think volume will be sustainable and we expect transaction volumes for new home sales to finish the year at 4,000 to 5,000 units.”

In the second quarter, 70 per cent of new home sales were from the non-central areas. Colliers said Singapore’s positive mid-term prospects on the back of the completion of its two integrated resorts and Marina Bay Financial Centre will help to hold prices steady, and ensure that they do not decline by more than 3 per cent in the third quarter.

Overall, analysts said the residential property sector fared reasonably well in the first half of 2008, given the difficult external environment.

Ku Swee Yong, director of Marketing and Business Development, Savills (Singapore), said: “Transaction levels, price levels have held up pretty well. Most people have forgotten that the transaction in the first half of 2005 is similar to that of today. So it’s not as bad as what the market thinks.”

In the public housing market, resale prices continued to increase on the back of strong demand. They rose by 4.5 per cent, up from 3.7 per cent in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, office rentals went up by 6.3 per cent in the second quarter - the lowest increase in the past two years.

Analysts said they expect rents to remain flat for most of 2009 before trending downwards in 2010 to what they call more sustainable levels of S$12 to S$15 psf per month in the core business district.

In the next six to 12 months, landlords are expected to shift from profit focus to tenant retention as tenants start resisting further rental price increases.

In the industrial property sector, strong demand has pushed the average occupancy rate for factories to its highest since 2000, at 93.1 per cent. The take-up for warehouses also increased by 0.4 percentage point in the second quarter.

Despite the healthy take-up for both types of industrial space, the rental index for warehouses has remained unchanged for the quarter, while the index for factories rose by only 2.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, compared to a quarter-on-quarter increase of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter.

As such, demand for industrial space is expected to remain healthy in the third quarter, but rents may only see a slight increase.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jul 2008

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