Author: My Exclusive Condo

As per recent updates from Singapore real estate market, the home buyers need to prepare themselves for facing a considerable hike in the price of private homes for the new properties in the area because almost 71% of the developers expect the unit price to go up in the coming six months. The poll conducted almost three months ago on this price expectation analysis reported that 60% of homeowners are in favor of price hikes.

A detailed real estate sentiment index survey was published recently by the National University of Singapore Real Estate, and it shows that as per the first-quarter survey of the year 2022, almost 24% of developers are looking forward to maintaining the prices for new launch at the same level; however, only 5% expect prices to stay at a lower level. The fourth-quarter poll from the year 2021 revealed that 35% of developers expected property prices to stay the same.

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Although new property cooling measures were applied to Singapore’s real estate market by the end of 2021, reports present a considerable rise in the sales of luxury homes with an increasing number of foreign investors. Buyers invested in 653 recently built new homes during the month of April; however, the count was 654 in the month of March. But if we compare the transactions with the previous year’s data, there is a huge rise of 48.7% from 1270 units sold at that time.

The developers launched 397 new launch condos in the previous month, and this count is almost 28.5% higher than the 309 units rolled out in March. However, the volume of new units launched into the market is almost 61.8% less in comparison to the 1038 units launched during the previous year.

If we talk about executive condominiums, only 48 units were sold during March, but this count increased to 186 units during the month of April. This count was increased due to the launch of North Gaia EC in Yishun, where 166 units were sold out of a total of 616.

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The rents of various private non-landed properties increased by almost 4.1% during the first quarter of the year 2022. It is almost 2.7% higher than the value reported during the last quarter of the previous year.

As per the information available from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the rents for the city and prime areas grew by almost 4.7% and 3.8%, respectively. Furthermore, the rents for landed properties surged by 5.3%, which shows a rise of 1.2% from the previous quarter.

Observations state that buyers have switched to the rental markets after experiencing turbulence in the market due to recently applied cooling measures. The vice president of R&A at OrangeTee & Tie, Ms. Christine Sun, recently stated that many of these are prospective home buyers that stepped out of the market due to cooling measures and are now putting their eyes on the rental market. The rising demand for rental properties is further pushing rents to higher levels.

Nicholas Mak, the head of ERA Singapore research and consultancy, recently reported that the new regulations pose a rise in additional buyer’s stamp duty from 12% to 17% for all the second time buyers in Singapore. In this scenario, several homeowners may not be able to arrange upfront capital for selling their existing properties. Once these people close the sale for their existing home, they need to move to the rented properties until they get new properties to move in.

It is also important to mention that the additional buyer’s stamp duty is increased from 20% to 30% for foreign investors in the Singapore real estate market. Experts in the real estate market state that buying a new home has become a costly affair for foreigners in Singapore. This is the main reason why even foreigners are showing interest in the rental markets, as they find it more convenient to pay rent instead of making a huge investment in a new purchase. Furthermore, the shrinking rental stock and the limited supply of new homes will also drive rents at some locations.

Several private homeowners have sold their units due to a considerable rise in the resale prices in Singapore real estate market. Moreover, the new completions in the local market are not able to meet up the rising demands in Singapore.

The construction sector is also affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and operations have been slowed down. Analysts even project a further rise in the rental market during the coming months, mainly due to the ease of restrictions for traveling and rising inflation rates. The climbing interest rates, maintenance charges, and heavier property taxes may further contribute to the rise in rental prices.

The reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia border will further increase the rental property demands near Jurong, Woodland, Sembawang, Yishun, and Causeway area. The rental demands will also be fuelled up by properties that are still waiting to complete due to lack of labor. Mr Sun has expected a rise of 8 to 11% in the rental market this year; however, Mr Mak estimated a 10 to 15% rise.

Find out more from the webpage here,

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/private-home-rents-surged-in-q1-2022-amid-cooling-measures-lack-of-new-homes

The very first EC (executive condominium) housing project at Sign Holdings’ North Gaia is expected to be the biggest attraction for real-estate investors this year. Surprisingly, 164 units of this project out of a total of 616 units were sold this weekend. As per stats reported on Sunday at 5 pm, 27% of the 616 apartments were taken up in the project. They received 1045 applications from potential buyers at the time of the closure of e-applications on 19th April.

The professionals at Sing Holdings recently stated that almost 62% of the total sold units had been processed under the DPS (deferred payment scheme), and the average sale price turned out to be $1301.93 psf while holding the total sales value of up to $232.528 million.
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Recent updates from the market reveal that approximately 6000 Housing Board (HDB) flats will be designed in the Keppel Club site at Greater Southern Waterfront along with the first Built Order projects within three years.

These flats are a part of the large 9000 homes project which is proposed for a 48ha site, and it is expected to offer a breath-taking waterfront living experience while keeping residents close to nature. The remaining 3000 flats of this project will be categorized as private housing.

The experts at Urban Redevelopment Authority recently stated that this creative mixture of new launch condos and public housing development would be scheduled for launch in the coming three to five years.

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Recent reports reveal that the rental volumes for condos as well as Housing Board (HDB) flats rebounded in the last month after a great decline in the previous quarter. However, rents hit the peak highs in the month of March while surpassing the last peak reported in August 2013 by almost 1%. On the other side, the rental price for condos went off the peak by 0.8% in comparison to stats observed from January 2013.

The experts in the real estate industry consider this a safe management measure that can facilitate viewings. The main contributing factors to this rise are the return of expatriates and foreign workers after relaxation in lockdown measures and the reopening of borders.

The rental volume for Singapore condos climbed by almost 21.2%, with an estimate of 4683 units in the previous month; however, it was 3863 units in February. A huge number of HDB flats in Singapore were leased last month. The range was high by 31.3% to the estimated 1767 units in comparison to 1346 units reported in the previous month. Observations reveal that condo rents increased by 2.9% at a quicker pace in comparison to the 1.4% in the February month. The HDB rents further increased by 1.4% as compared to the 1.7% estimate of the previous month. It is reported to be the 15^th straight month for condo rental growth and the 21^st for rental of HDB flats.

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The Singapore real estate market is known for its red hot private properties that experience sizzling price variations every year. However, as per the recent reports, the overall price growth for property slowed down by almost 0.4% during the first quarter of 2022.

Analysis reveals that the recent quarter marked the slowest price increase on a quarter on quarter basis. The last rise was reported in the second quarter of the year 2020, when prices went up by 0.3%. This trend further experienced a rise of 5% during the fourth quarter of the year 2021, which is the highest quarterly release reported after the second quarter of the year 2010, when prices of property increased by 5.3%.

Several aspects are responsible for the considerable fall in the property prices, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflicts, the sharp surge in the Covid-19 crisis, and the Chinese New Year. The head of the research wing at CBRE, South East Asia, recently reported that the new launches of this quarter were actually restricted to the smaller boutique housing projects because developers preferred a wait-&-see approach after recent cooling measures. In a similar manner, buyers also held back in the market due to reassessing the property market.
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Resale prices at the Housing Board  (HDB) have climbed up for the almost eighth consecutive quarter, even after the signs that prices of residential properties may settle in. Reports reveal that flat resale prices increased by 2.3% during the first quarter of this year in comparison to the last quarter of the previous year. Moreover, this is the lowest price growth recorded since 2020’s third quarter, when the property prices increased by 1.5%. When compared with the stats from one year ago, the Housing Board flat resale prices have increased by almost 12%.

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Reports reveal that Singapore developers put a higher number of new private homes for sale during last month; however, they sold lesser units due to the lull of Chinese New Year and the absence of new launches.

The sentiments related to Singapore residential market are also affected by rising interest rates, the surge reported by covid-19 cases, and the heightened tensions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.

As per the data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the buyers in Singapore have invested in 527 private residential properties which are 23% lesser than 680 units sold in January. Furthermore, the count is 18.3% lesser than 645 units sold in the previous year. It is reported to be the lowest new home sale on the monthly basis right since the sale of 487 units in May 2020.

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The development charge rates for commercial, residential, and industrial use properties were raised for the very first time right since March 2019 and the new implications became active from March 1 for the next six months. This happened as a result of the broad-based recovery of the property market in Singapore; however, the hotel segment is an exception as it went down due to the pandemic effect.

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The Singapore homes will be improved more and more as the government has undertaken the Home Improvement Programme (HIP). The old houses need time to repair and upgrade and that is why the HIP or Housing Improvement Programme was introduced in 2007. Now, under the extended HIP, the housing flats built between 1987 and 1997 are eligible for this programme. Around 230,000 housing flats built during these years will come under HIP.

As per the report of HDB on Feb 20 (Sunday), about 56,000 flats will be taken at the first phase and their upgrading work will start soon.

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Singapore is witnessing a rise in the rental market for HDB flats and Singapore Condos in recent months. The market rising is continuing and as it seems will be a continuous rise for the coming months also. There are several reasons that may be behind this.

1. Holidays are over:
This is quite normal that the rental activities pick up after the holiday at the end of the year ends. So, this is also one of the reasons behind high demand in the rental market.

2. Recovering of Labour Market:
The labour market is recovering now and there seems to increase inflow of labors, there has been an increasing number of workers that are non-resident for the first time in the past 2 years. According to the report from the ministry, there is an increase of 47,400 in the total number of employment. So naturally, the demand for housing also increasing.

3. Employment in other sectors also increasing:
Employment is also growing in other sectors like information and communication, financial services, etc. So, naturally again the demand in the rental market also growing.

4. Border Relax:
Singapore is relaxing its border control, so more and more overseas employees are going to come and thus the demand for rental houses is also increasing.

5. People are looking for bigger space:
As more and more overseas people are coming, the landlords are observing an increase in demand for bigger properties. The main reason behind this is people are mostly doing work from home.

Percentage of increases in rental:
If we sum up the various types of rental properties, the picture will be as follows:

Type of Property Increase percentage

Not only the rent but also there has been increasing in rental volume too. For example, the rental volume of Singapore condominiums has increased by 3.9 percent in January. The suburbs are getting the biggest share of rental volume is around 39.9 percent of the total share.

The leasing of property is also on high along with the rental. There is also an uprise in selling existing flat and going for a new one. This has increased after the new cooling measures for residential properties took effect in December 2021. There has been an increase in the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) if the citizens are buying a second property and it increases as you go for a third property. So, citizens are now selling the old one before going for the new one. So, naturally, the rental house comes in between selling the existing one and buying the new one.
If we observe the rental market closely, it seems that the volume of Singapore condos for rental will increase by 3 percent this year and the rent will be increased by 8 to 11 percent.

The same is the case for HDB also. The record 35000 HDB flats that will be hitting their MOP this year, could ask to rent out their units at a high price than the older flats they have in the same estate or neighborhood.
So, if you are planning to shift to Singapore for your job or for any other reasons and planning to rent a house, start the process immediately. The rental market is in high demand and the price will gradually increase. So, don’t wait just finalize it.

Learn more from the link below,

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-hdb-rentals-rise-in-january-as-labour-markets-recover-and-border-controls-ease

The recent stats from the Housing Board resale market shows that prices in 2021 grew to 12.7% which was the steepest rise since the year 2010. Studies from Friday revealed that a total of 259 HDB resale flats were sold last year with an estimated price of $1 million. It was reported to be the highest number so far and the count was high by 82 units since 2020.

Out of these total 259 units, around 40 were sold for approximately 1.2 million in the year 2021. However, this amount was locked for only 7 units in 2020.
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The recent observations from the construction sector reveal that the industry will be resuming to the same activity level that it enjoyed prior to the pandemic-related shutdown.

The estimates obtained from Building and Construction Authority show that the contracts of around $27 to $32 million may be awarded this year and this turns out to be the same as that of the year 2019.

Furthermore, projections show that demand from 2023 to 2026 may also rise up to $25 – $36 billion on annual basis.

Tan Kiat How, the National Development Minister at the state level recently revealed that the backlog for work and the construction demands is likely to experience a steady rise now and it may affect the economy to great extent. Observations also show fast recovery to the manpower demands as several foreign laborers have started returning to their work.

In comparison to the period when the travel restrictions, social distancing measures, and entry approvals were tightened, the previous month recorded a great inflow of foreign workers.

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At the old Caldecott Broadcast Centre (CBC) Site which is located near Andrew Road, developer is planning to have a total number of fifteen GCB (good class bungalows) build. These GCBS will have a tenure of 99 years.  Note that this will likely be the largest cluster of GCB leasehold developments within the Caldecott Hill area. The Caldecott Hill are comprises of mainly freehold GCB.

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