Although the real estate market in Singapore is at peak these days, some discouraging practices are affecting the sales figures by a considerable level. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is now taking hard steps to tighten the property market monitoring practices so that deals for private developers can be controlled.

The main trouble occurs due to special arrangements of some private homebuyers with developers or property agents. They try to reissue options to purchase after expiry. This idea can be used for almost one year and can be even extended to 18 months right from the first OTP date. It gives buyers extra time to sell their existing homes.

Read more

What is currently happening in the real estate market was not foreseen by specialists, as everybody was expecting a significant decrease considering the worsening of the economic background because of the pandemic. However, despite all this, private homes are still in demand and, more than this, are being purchased. Thus, the month of July brought an increase of 8.2% regarding the number of units that were sold under these unprecedented conditions. More precisely, the newly-built homes manage to grab the attention of homebuyers. This particular sector enjoys an increase for the 3rd month in a row, even if the economics are far from being ideal.

What we are talking about are not just mere assumptions. The numbers speak for themselves, as developers providing non-landed private units managed to sell a number of 1,080 in the month that just passed. Taking the numbers from June, the increase reached a threshold of 8.2%, which is indeed unexpected. The increase is more than welcome after the circuit breaker that marked the month of April, an event that almost set the lowest value for the past 6 years. However, even with this increase, the sales are still well below those recorded in the same month of the past year. A year ago, in the same period, 1.179 units were sold, which means that this year sales are going down with 8.4%.

Read more

After a year that started mostly with bad news and uncertainties generated by the recent events, we are more than glad to announce that a batch of BTO units is ready for launch in the soon-to-be-famous Park District. When will this happen? Those interested in finding a home in the Park District should know that these units will be out for sale this month. The launch is within the Parc Residences @ Tengah project and it will provide the very first 1,040 built-to-order residential units in this area. Known as the “forest town”, the Park District is a gorgeous green area, an oasis of peace and relaxation for all those looking to get away from the busy sectors of the city.

Read more

Considering the events that marked the first half of this year, it’s no secret that the real estate market is not doing so well. Demand for new homes went down in a significant manner, plus developers had to stop or delay any launches they had planned because of social distancing rules and restrictions. Thus, it was quite a surprise to notice that the price of private homes managed to record a slight increase after the rather difficult past months. More precisely, the prices of homes from the private sector enjoyed an increase of 0.3% in the second quarter of this year.

Read more

While The Second Quarter Housing Board Flat Resale Transaction Period Plummeted, There’s Hope For The Future

During the second quarter of this year, the housing board flat resale transactions plummeted due to the circuit breaker measures. According to data from the HDB, transactions dropped by 41.9% from 5,893 during the 1st quarter to 3,426 over the 2nd quarter.  In comparison to the data from last year, the percentage this year is 45.4% lower

According to the Housing Board, units dropped during the second quarter due to Say at Home Orders. Singapore’s shut down led to severe measures that lasted from April to June.

Read more

Not all businesses could sustain the tough phase of a pandemic. Many of them closed the door and moved to some other world by leaving the business industry. You can now see so many vacancies in the big malls where shop owners left their work due to extensive loss during the extended lockdown.

As people around the world are keen about following social distancing protocols, people have stopped to explore the malls anymore. It was a big business cycle breaker incident for the small businesses, and they are now failing to work at full capacity.

Read more

The Ministry of National Development (MND) stated that the supply of residential housing that belonged to the government land sales (GLS) program for the last 6 months of 2020 has been curbed because of the fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 1,370 units of private home supply from the three confirmed units is around 23% lesser (405 units) than the 1,775 units that were allotted from such sites during the first half of this year.

If statistics are to be believed, this is the lowest number that has been ever recorded since the second half of the global financial crisis of 2009 when no confirmed lists for the sites were released. The current confirmed list comprises of an executive condominium site that alone is capable of yielding 615 units.

Read more

Yesterday’s report showed that during the pandemic, investment property sales declined in the first half, although the market showed signs of stabilization in the second quarter.

According to preliminary data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield, total investment sales for the six months to Tuesday were $ 6.13 billion, down 45% from $ 11.24 billion in the year-ago period.

The investment in the first three months of this year was US $ 3.07 billion, more than a third lower than in the fourth quarter of last year, but Q2 sales volume remained stable, with total sales of US $ 3 .06 billion.

Christine Li, head of research in Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield, said, “With a lack of catalysts, market sentiment is expected to remain sluggish and sales are unlikely to increase significantly in the next 6 months of the year.”

Ms. Li predicts that investment turnover will be between $ 12-15 billion this year. However, if the participant supports the merger between CapitaLand Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Mall Trust, he will increase the total treasury for the year by $ 10 billion to $ 22 billion to $ 25 billion. By comparison, last year it was $ 32.87 billion.

Cushman & Wakefield said the second-quarter investment market was driven by large-scale commercial transactions, and the total value of transactions increased to $ 2.02 billion, more than ten times than the first quarter. The transaction sales was at $183.4 million then. The commercial sector accounts for 66% of total investment sales. The biggest transaction this quarter was the 50% purchase of AXA Tower by leading e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, which valued the property at $ 1.68 billion.

Perennial sold its 30% stake in TripleOne Somerset to Sind Group for $ 155.1 million, while Olaya Group acquired the retail and banking division of 30 Raffles Place, the former Chevron Building, for $ 315 million. Much of the investment for the quarter came from the merger of Frasers Logistics Trust and Frasers Commercial Trust,. In tital, they are accounted for about 41% of the total sales which is equivalent to $ 1.25 billion.

The $ 1.25 billion transaction includes the $ 648 million (commercial) China Plaza Central transaction and the Alexandra Technology Park (industrial) transaction $ 606 million. This resulted in industrial sales of $ 701.3 million in the second quarter, slightly higher than the $ 661.4 million in the first quarter.

Without Alexandra Technology Park, industrial revenue would drop to $ 95.3 million. In the second quarter, land sales by the government were not closed, meaning home sales fell 85% from $ 2.02 billion in the previous three months to $ 305.4 million. While buyers waited to see prices drop further, there was no deal in the hotel industry.

Kushman said that uncertainties about how long the Covid-19 crisis will last and when the tourism industry returns to pre-pandemic levels may have led to a large number of hoteliers looking to leave the field, concluding in the coming quarters can trigger some transactions.

The Executive Director of Capital Markets Mr. Shaun Poh, added: “In the ensuing power outage period and economic recession, some owners might have to sell their assets to free up liquidity”.

Learn more from the link here:

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/spore-property-investment-sales-fall-45-in-first-half-of-year-report

The interest rates for floating home loans have reached the lowest this year and as a result of which, more and more homeowners are considering the recourse of refinancing their mortgage.

Several banks in Singapore have decided to slash down their interest rates on loans that correspond to the Singapore interbank offered rate thereby, furnishing homeowners with a chance to subscribe to more advantageous rates. For the uninitiated, the rate at which all banks borrow from one another is known as Sibor rates and presently, they are declining; courtesy, the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In May 2019, the Sibor rates stood at its highest (2%) since the 2008 global financial crisis. However, the three-month Sibor which happens to be the most reliable benchmark for pricing most home loans is around 0.56% this month.

Read more

Although Singapore was going through its COVID-19 circuit breaker during April and May, interestingly, the sales of new private homes went up last month.

As per the figures put forward by sales caveats, Knight Frank Singapore, the developers sold 484 new private homes in May. This is about 74.7% more than the 277 private homes that were marketed in April. Knight Frank also clarified that around 967 caveats for private homes were registered during the period of April 7 to June 1. Out of these, 380 units were categorized under resale transactions and 577 for new sales, whereas only 10 were assigned for sub-sales.

Read more

In light of the recent events, the number of sales for HDB flats and private apartments may have reached its bottom in June during the period of the circuit breaker but, rents continued to go down further. This data has been put forward by market observers as a rejoinder to the flash data revealed by Singapore property portal SRX Property.

According to the report, the total volume of private residential properties that belong to the non-landed category handed out on lease witnessed a proliferation of 1%; that is, its numbers escalated from 2,853 units in April to 2,881 units in May. Coming to the rental volume of the private flats in concern, it was still 45.7% lesser than what it was a year ago and 38.8% lower when compared to the five-year average volume for the same month.
As far as the HDB rental market is concerned, the number of leased flats tumbled by 4.2% to 1,147 in May from 1,197 in April. When contrasted against the figures of 2019, the rental volumes for HDB flats fell by approximately 45.1% this year and dropped by 42% corresponding to the 5-year average volume for the month of May.

Read more

Interest rates at the bank have fallen to the lowest level as compared to the trend in recent years, and with this, more people are looking for mortgage refinancing opportunities.

Banks in Singapore have lowered their loan interest rates, especially that are attached to the Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor). With this initiative, homeowners can secure their mortgages are more favourable rates.
Note that Sibor is a standard term used for the rate at which banks keep on borrowing from one another. But as coronavirus pandemic has disturbed the economy activities all over the world, this rate is now trending down for the next few months.

Read more

Singapore agrees at Malaysia’s request for the deadline extension

Singapore has finally agreed over the suspension request of HSR (high-speed rail) project for another seven month’s duration. This project is expected to link Kuala Lumpur via high-speed rail line to reduce the overall travel time for people.

As per a recent Facebook post made by Mr Khaw Boon Wan, the Transport Minister of Singapore. The Senior Minister from Malaysia, Azmin Ali, had written to him to discuss regarding proposed extension-related changes for the respective project. He also added that a reliable agreement is necessary to carry out any project between two countries, and this extended suspension will help them to access the changing mindset of Malaysia. Following the bilateral cooperation, Singapore has now decided to suspend the final extension up to 31^st December 2020.

Read more

Singaporeans love to buy properties rather than keeping money in banks. In the current era, banks are offering near-zero interest rates. Therefore, the better choice for Singapore investors is to own units in a trust that passes 90 percent of rental income. Banks are not so beneficial during this time.

REIT (real estate investment trust) is one of the most beneficial trusts that you will come across in Singapore. People are investing in real estate investment trust, causing a change in the Singapore Exchange rate. The question that arises is whether Remit has taken it too far?

Read more

April 2020 witnessed a new low, the sales of new private homes tumbled to a 5 year low. And, the month of May is predicted to be a total bummer as new launches are postponed and show-flat galleries remain closed on account of the circuit breaker extension.

April 2020 recorded sales of only 277 private homes, the month witnessed a down by 58 percent from 660 homes sold in March. And, in comparison with the sales recorded in April 2019, the sale faced a down by 62.4 percent as the real-estate market was stagnant this year. It is after 5 years, the real estate market has experienced a significant low. In December 2014, only 230 units of private homes were sold, and the all-time low was recorded in Jan 2009 when only 108 units of private homes were sold.

Read more