RESIDENTIAL MARKET
Prices and sales still holding up
Home buyers seem to have shrugged off the latest round of market-cooling measures.
Both prices and volumes of non-landed private homes that changed hands last month held firm. Most sales came after the measures were unveiled on Oct 5.
Resale prices flatlined at $1,209 per sq ft (psf) last month, unchanged from September's prices, according to data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX).
Strong sales volumes were posted, with 1,328 homes changing hands last month, more than the monthly average of 1,190 units in the April to September period.
The figures cover only resale non-landed transactions.
New projects such as eCO in Bedok and Sky Green off Upper Paya Lebar Road also continued to post healthy sales, with hundreds of units snapped up.
The SRX collates transactions, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the private market, by major property agencies.
This robust showing comes despite the sixth round of cooling measures announced last month designed to stop home buyers from over-extending themselves.
For instance, home loans are now capped at a tenure of 35 years.
Buyers taking a loan of more than 30 years, or extending past the retirement age of 65, will have to fork out more in cash.
City-fringe homes posted the strongest showing, with average resale prices last month rising 4.5 per cent compared with the July to September period. Suburban homes posted gains of 4.2 per cent while city-centre home prices rose 1.8 per cent, the SRX said.
Experts say that ample liquidity in the market, low interest rates and the fact that the previous five rounds of measures have failed to bring prices down have kept buying sentiment positive.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said the resilience could indicate that most do not go for long-mortgage loans.
He expects prices to continue inching up as land and construction costs remain elevated. The Housing Board resale market, which has seen prices continue to climb, also provides a support for suburban home prices.
"For demand and hence prices to be affected, it must mean an economic downturn, external shocks or if interest rates rise and the holding power of owners is lessened," Mr Lim added.
Buyers who are affected by the new measures are not leaving the market entirely but could be buying smaller, more affordable units instead, he added.
But the rental market saw slimmer gains, with average unit rents rising just 0.5 per cent to $3.89 psf a month.
This weaker rental showing relative to strong price gains led to overall gross rental yields falling to 3.87 per cent last month from 4.01 per cent in the third quarter.
SRX data also pointed to the narrowing price gap between city-centre and suburban homes.
The price premium for resale city-centre homes has fallen to 85 per cent, the lowest since 2007. This is even lower than the trough of 92 per cent at the height of the global financial crisis in the first quarter of 2009.
Source: The Straits Times –10 November 2012
House hunters head for Seletar Hills
It is easily overlooked but the quiet private residential enclave of Seletar Hills, with its bungalows and semi-detached houses, is poised for take-off.
The estate, nestled between major transport arteries, is on the doorstep of the upcoming Seletar Aerospace Park, perfectly placed to reap the benefits when the project is completed around 2018.
It is dominated by low-rise landed homes, mostly bungalows and semi-detached houses on freehold or 999-year leases.
Recent launches include the uncompleted Luxus Hills, which has semi-detached and terrace houses and is being launched in phases. The terrace homes were launched at $1,612 per sq ft (psf) on average this year. Other uncompleted projects include Este Villa, a 121-unit strata landed development that is fully sold.
There are only a few condominium projects in the estate. The two defining condo projects in the area are the 276-unit Seletar Park Residence and the 319-unit The Greenwich.
The Greenwich is right next to two-storey shopping mall Greenwich V, which has Cold Storage and Kopitiam.
Several other condos in the area are fairly old. Mimosa Park was completed in 1979, Nim Gardens in 1986 and Serenity Park in 1995.
Luxus Hills' developer had sold 252 out of 288 available units as at Sept 30. At The Greenwich, 313 out of 319 units were moved and Seletar Park Residence had 200 out of 276 units sold.
The aerospace park being built nearby is expected to boost demand for housing even further.
Source: The Straits Times –10 November 2012
Up: Prices of suburban landed homes
Prices of landed homes in areas such as Bishan and Ang Mo Kio have surged in the past year even while those in the more central Watten Estate and Novena areas have dipped.
The price movements signal that cost-conscious buyers are increasingly shunning expensive inner-city property for more affordable homes on the fringes.
Average resale prices in District 20 - which includes Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Braddell Road and Thomson - rose to $1,266 per sq ft (psf) of land area in the three months to Sept 30.
This is up from $1,028 psf in the same period last year, according to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) last week. The 23.2 per cent increase is well above the 16 per cent rise in overall average prices for the landed segment in the same period.
District 16 - made up largely of Bedok, Upper East Coast and Kew Drive - recorded the next highest price rise, with values up 22 per cent in the period, while District 23, comprising areas such as Hillview, Dairy Farm and Bukit Panjang, racked up an average increase of 21.5 per cent.
But prices in prime District 11 - covering Watten Estate and Novena - dipped 0.7 per cent to $1,483 psf. It was the only landed home district that recorded an average price drop.
Experts say the introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) last December could have affected the demand for centrally located landed homes.
Prices of leasehold terraced homes in suburban areas lodged the highest increase of 8.5 per cent in the third quarter compared with a year ago.
In the prime 9, 10 and 11 districts, prices of freehold terraced homes rose 4.5 per cent.
The Serangoon planning area recorded the highest number of sales in the third quarter, possibly indicating its growing popularity among buyers. About 160 landed homes were sold, 33 per cent more than the quarter before.
The SRX collates transactions by major property agencies, which account for more than 80 per cent of the landed market.
Districts with fewer than 10 transactions for at least one of the quarters being compared were left out of the analysis.
The remaining districts surveyed recorded gains of between 7 per cent and 23 per cent.
Source: The Straits Times –12 November 2012
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