Singapore Property News This Week #221

Residential

July’s private condo resale prices increased by 0.3%

According to SRX Property, resale prices of private condominiums have increased by 0.3% in July 2015 from the previous month. However, market experts believe that the private property resale market continues to appear weak. Resale prices of condominium units in the city and suburban areas have increased by 1.7% and 1% respectively, while, resale prices in the city fringe fell by 2.2%. Eugene Lim from ERA said that this could mean that prices are stabilising. He added that large changes in price levels are unlikely in the near future, provided there are no economic shocks. Nonetheless, as the government has made known that property cooling measures will not be lifted soon, Lim believes that it is too early to say if resale prices will continue to rise. Ong Kah Seng from R’ST Research agreed. He added that with the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework in placed and with an oversupply of residential property, buyers’ sentiments may still remain weak. Year-on-year, resale prices for condominiums have fallen by 0.9% this July. Resale volume also fell from 575 units in June to 515 units in July—a 10.4% fall in resale volume.

(Source: Business Times)

July’s rental leasing volume increase by 15%

Data from SRX Property showed that in July, leasing volumes for private condominium units have increased by 15% year-on-year. In the Core Central Region, rentals for private condos fell less than those in the Outside Central Region. This was also observed in the HDB rental market where there was a smaller drop for flats in mature estates than those in the non-mature estates. Tan Tiong Cheng from Knight Frank said that in mature estates, fewer HDB flats were put up for lease. This is likely because flat owners would rather live in those prime locations than to lease out the unit. As such, rental demand is stronger for flats in mature estates. According to SRX Property’s rental index for HDB flats, rental for flats in mature estates have eased 1.1% year-on-year in July 2015. On the other hand, rentals for flats in non-mature estates have fallen 1.4% year-on-year in the same period of time. Market experts believe that tenants are relocating from the suburbs towards the city. This could have contributed to the rise in leasing volumes for HDB flats, said market experts.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Two blocks at Dempsey Road to be developed for F&B and retail use

In a joint announcement by Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), a tender to develop Blocks 17 and 18 at Dempsey Road for food and beverage and retail use will be conducted. The tender aims to strengthen the sites’ position as a unique lifestyle enclave. The tender will be evaluated according to its price and quality. Currently, the asking rents for retail and F&B units in the surrounding blocks range from $6.50 to $8 psf. The two sites have a total of 5,268 sqm of land with a gross floor area of 3,086 sqm. Both sites will be tendered as a single unit.

(Source: Business Times)