Singapore Property News This Week #234

Residential

Condo resale prices fell 0.6% month-on-month in October

In October, non-landed private residential resale prices dropped 0.6%, following a 0.3% month-on-month drop the previous month. On the other hand, resale volumes increased by 9.8% to 505 units in October, according to SRX Property’s flash estimates. Ong Kah Seng from R’ST Research said that attractive pricing had driven sales. Not only so, sales may have increased as both buyers and sellers had wanted to close the deal before the year-end period, which is typically quieter. Eugene Lim from ERA Realty added that prices have decreased only by a marginal 1.7% since the start of the year because sellers are not pressured to cut prices to make sales. The overall private residential property price index is expected to drop by 3.8 to 4.8% year-on-year this year, said Nicholas Mak from SLP International.

(Source: Business Times)

Redhill site sold for $851 psf ppr

Located at Redhill, a 0.84 ha site was won for $851 psf ppr. The site, which is 99-year leasehold, had attracted 10 bids. Ong Teck Hui from JLL said that the conservative bid prices could indicate that developers are cautious of the market. Ong added that this may also have been because there is a fair amount of unsold supply in nearby projects. Nicholas Mak from SLP International predicts that the breakeven price for the Redhill site is about $1,350 to $1,400 psf. Mak believes that the site’s prime location could have been a pull factor. Not only so, the first storey of the development may be use for commercial purposes such as for the development of shops, cafes and restaurants.

(Source: Business Times)

HDB rents fall by 0.5% month-on-month in October

According to SRX Property, HDB rents had fallen 0.5% month-on-month in October. Market experts believe that the fall in rents could have been due to slower leasing activities which are typically seen in H2. Besides that, market experts believe that an increase in private residential completions may have negatively affected HDB rents. According to Eugene Lim from ERA Realty, the downward rental pressure on the outside central region (OCR) could be because a majority of the non-landed private residential projects are located in suburban areas. Lim added that while HDB rental volumes had decreased, the demand is still strong in the HDB leasing market.

(Source: Business Times)

Application period for HDB sales exercise extended for launch in December

HDB will be extending the application period for the HDB sales exercise from 7 to 10 days in the upcoming sales launch in December. At this mega launch, 12,000 flats will be offered for sale. Of these flats, 7,000 are BTO flats while the remaining units are balance flats. The BTO flats will be offered in Bidadari, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang and Sengkang. Ong Kah Seng from R’ST Research believes that the Bidadari site will draw the greatest interest due to its prime location. He added that flat prices may not be low due to the location of the development. Eugene Lim from ERA Realty added that the Punggol Northshore flats may also be a hit with buyers as it offers sea views.

(Source: Business Times)

Singapore’s luxury residential market weakest-performing in the world

According to Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index, Singapore’s luxury residential market is the weakest-performing one for 7 consecutive quarters. Prices of prime homes took the largest hit in Q3 this year, according to the report. Market experts believe that transaction volumes are low because of the additional buyer’s stamp duty and uncertain market conditions. On the other hand, cities like Vancouver, Sydney and Shanghai have bucked the downwards trend by showing double-digit annual price increases.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Adjoining shophouse at Chinatown up for sale

Two adjoining shophouses at Chinatown have been put up for sale for $30 million. Both have a combined land area of 3,010 sq ft and a built-in area of 9,226 sq ft. The three and a half-storey conservative shophouses have been zoned for commercial use and are fully occupied. The development is located just 50m away from ChinaTown MRT and is situated near tourist attractions like the Chinatown Heritage Centre. The expression of interest will close on Nov 27.

(Source: Business Times)

Ground-floor shop at Shenton House to auction for $13.3 million

A ground-floor shop unit at Shenton House with an indicative price of $13.3 million has been put up for auction at the Colliers International’s auction on Nov 20. The monthly rental for the development is at $39,786 inclusive of service charge and the lease runs till August 2017. Based on the indicative price and current rental the gross rent works out to $6 psf a month. Shenton House is a 25-storey commercial development with retail units from levels 1 to 3.

(Source: Business Times)