Singapore Property Weekly Issue 100.pdf

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CONTENTSp2 The Multi-Million Dollar Mistake

p6 Property Renting Tip #4: Utilities handover

p7 Singapore Property News This Week

p12 Resale Property Transactions

(April 3 – April 9)

Welcome to the 100th edition of the Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.propwise.sg/advertise/

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 100

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Mr. Propwise

Here's the story of a property investor who

missed a once-in-a-decade opportunity. The

date is early March, 2009. Post the onslaught

of the Global Financial Crisis property prices

had corrected sharply and everywhere he

looked there were bargains to be had. At

many projects prices were down 30+% from

the early 2008 highs.

To Buy or Not to Buy?

He found a large unit in a prime area with a

desperate seller, asking for $1,600+ PSF,

15% below what he had paid for it. He had

done his homework, liked the up-and-coming

area,

The Multi-Million Dollar Mistake



and thought the pricing was attractive, but

was uncertain whether to pull the trigger.

Everyone he talked to, every newspaper or

website he read, was still all doom and

gloom. "Gurus" were talking constantly about

how this next Great Depression would last for

years, about the likelihood of a Double Dip in

the face of any rally, about how the Singapore

property market would bottom at the end of

the year and that would be the best time to

buy.

And so he hesitated and didn't pull the trigger.

By June 2009 the asking prices had risen by

20% to $2,000 PSF, and prices have now

reached $3,000 PSF. That hesitation had cost

him several million dollars.

The Thirst for Certainty

I get it. We want exact forecasts, to know

exactly how much property prices will go up

or down by and when.

And thus an entire industry of "gurus" have

come forth to help quench this thirst for

certainty, telling you confidently in the

newspapers and TV news clips that property

prices will rise by 5% over the next 12

months.

But if we get right down to it, the truth is that

nobody (at least in the secular realm) can

foresee the future with any certainty.

Putting your faith in these "guru" forecasts to

time your property investments will almost

guarantee that you'll be following the crowd

like a troop of lemmings right over the cliff.

The Smarter Approach to Timing

"It is better to be vaguely right than exactly

wrong." - Carveth Read

While we can't forecast the market with any



certainty, we can make use of continually

occuring cycles to guide our investment

timing the decisions.

Rather than focusing on trying to predict

exactly how the future will turn out, it's more

important to figure out where we stand right

now. What are the current conditions and

DATA telling us about where we are in the

property cycle?

Armed with this knowledge, we can then look

at leading indicators such as interest rates,

urban planning directives (e.g. Master Plan,

zoning), government and population policies,

upcoming supply, and stock market

movements to corroborate this view.

In other words, while we can't predict the

exact timing and movement of the market, we

can make use of our analysis of the current

situation to guide our decisions as today's

events leads to tomorrow's trends.

This is how the smart, sophisticated investors

make their decisions.

The Genesis of Property Market Insights

In late 2010 I started Propwise.sg as I was

sick of the misinformation out there in the

market. There was no reliable, unbiased

source of information on Singapore property

that the regular person could turn to back

then.

Many of the burning questions I've been

getting from readers since then are about the

timing of their property purchases. And while

sophisticated investors might spend both the

time and money to gather and analyze the

data, or pay tens or hundreds of thousands of

dollars to brokers and analysts to help them

do it, the regular person had no such access

to this information.

http://propwise.sg/

http://propwise.sg/

http://propwise.sg/



And thus Property Market Insights (PMI) was

born. My goal was to give access to regular

property buyers and investors access to this

knowledge, at a tiny fraction of the cost it

would take to pay for the data and support

the small team needed to analyze and update

the data.

I also spent close to a year to develop the

Property Market Cycle Model, the centerpiece

of PMI, that incorporates both the current

property market data and also leading

indicators to help investors know where we

are in the cycle, and the best actions to take.

In the next part of this series, I will discuss

how to get on the right side of the property

cycle by being a contrarian investor. Till next

time!

By Mr. Propwise, founder of top Singapore

property blog Propwise.sg, a Chartered

Financial Analyst and resident real estate

analyst at PropertyMarketInsights.com, a site

to help property owners and investors make

profitable decisions in uncertain times. Click

here to learn more

http://propertymarketinsights.com/





http://propwise.sg/

http://propwise.sg/

http://propwise.sg/













http://www.propwise.sg/secretsofsingaporepropertygurus/



Property Renting Tip #4: Utilities handover

(Reference: www.singaporepower.com.sg)

You do not need to terminate the existing

power supplies or utilities for the new

Tenant.All you have to ensure is that the next

occupier submits a request to SP Services

(Singapore Power,an energy utility company)

to change the billing party of the said premise

with an effective date.

If you have a Real Estate Broker who has

introduced the Tenant to you, the Broker can

assist you on the utilities handover so there

will be no disruption in the utilities supplies

when the Tenants take over the unit.

By Eileen Tan and Ui Wei Teck, property

investors and authors of Enjoying Mid-Life

Without Crisis. This tip and dozens more are

from their book.

http://www.singaporepower.com.sg/







http://aktive.com.sg/store/enjoying-mid-life-without-crisis/











Singapore Property This Week


Residential

6 freehold units at 8 Nassim Hill up for

bulk sale

The six units are part of 8 Nassim Hill, a

freehold condominium project with 16 luxury

triplex apartments with private rooftop pools

and gardens. They consist of three

penthouses and two townhouses (3,218-

4,338 sq ft) and a corner townhouse (5,759

sq ft). Originally meant to be kept for rental

income, unsolicited interests in the units have

led the developer into putting them up for sale

at a price of $58-59 million or $2,400-2,450

psf. Only 10 units at the development have

been sold so far, at an average of $3,060 psf,

with the highest at $3,316 psf. It is located

near Botanic Gardens and Orchard Road as

well as the upcoming Napier and Orchard

Boulevard MRT stations. The expression of

interest will close on May 8 at 4 pm.

(Source: Business Times)

Developer sales in March break records

Developers sold a record 2,793 units in

March, up from the 712 units sold in

February, a result of pent-up demand after

the traditionally slow Chinese New Year

period in February and the cooling measures

in January. Specifically, the OCR accounts for

almost 65% or 1,814 of the 2,793 private

homes sold in March while the RCR accounts

for 29.4%.



However, sales are expected to slow to

around 1,500-2,600 units in the next few

months. The record sales in March can also

be attributed to the record 3,489 private

homes released, compared to 261 in

February, the more attractive prices from

discounts and rebates in light of the increased

ABSD rates, the proximity to MRT stations for

many new launches and buyers’ fear of more

cooling measures. The latest figures brought

Q1’s total to 5,533 units excluding ECs,

compared to the 4,353 units in Q4 2012.

Resale deals, on the other hand, fell from

3,466 in Q4 2012 to 1,838 in Q1.

279 ECs were sold in March, compared to

209 in February. This resulted in a total of 744

ECs sold in Q1, compared to the 1,682 units

sold in Q4 2012.


Tender for 3 EC sites to close on the same

day

Four residential sites have been released

under the H1 2013 GLS, one of which is a EC

site at Punggol Central whose tender will

close on July 30 together with two other EC

sites in Punggol Drive and Yuan Ching Road.

These two sites will be launched in June. This

is aimed at lowering tender bids and property

prices since this may result in developers

having to consider their choices carefully.

Some believed that this may moderate the

number of bidders but not the bid prices and

having the sites in the same area close on the

same day might be a better measure.

Furthermore, a lower bid prices may not

result in a lower property price since the

developer will still launch the development at

the market price.



The Punggol Central EC site is a 146,010 sq

ft plot with a maximum building height of 64

metres above mean sea level (AMSL) and a

maximum GFA of 438,030 sq ft that can yield

395 homes. It will be launched on April 29.

Next is another EC site located at Anchorvale

Crescent. The 247,570 sq ft site has a

maximum building height of 64 metres AMSL

and a 742,709 sq ft GFA which can yield 690

units. Tender closes on May 30. The two EC

sites are expected to attract an average of

five bids per plot, with bids in the range of

$300-$350 psf ppr.

Also released is a 162,808 sq ft residential

site at Faber Walk with a maximum building

height of five storeys and a maximum GFA of

227,936 sq ft which can yield 210 units. The

tender will close on June 18. It is expected to

draw a top bid of around $480 psf ppr.

The last site is a 160,710 sq ft residential site

at Fernvale Close with a maximum building

height of 80m AMSL and a maximum GFA of

482,131 sq ft that can yield about 495 homes.

The tender will close June 13 for this site

which expected to draw a top bid of $450-520

psf ppr."


99-year Kim Tian Road private residential

plot draws record-breaking top bid

The 99-year leasehold private housing site

located at Kim Tian Road near Tiong Bahru

MRT Station and Tiong Bahru Plaza attracted

a total of 11 bids, with the record-breaking top

bid of $550.28 million or $1,162.86 psf ppr

from Keppel Land unit Harvestland

Development.



This is despite the height restrictions of 25, 30

and 40 storeys for different sections of the

site and a maximum of 500 homes, and the

requirement for a basement carpark instead

of a relatively cheaper multi-storey carpark.

The developer plans to develop the site into a

project with around 500 one to four-bedroom

units of 500 sq ft to 1,350 sq ft. The expected

breakeven cost and average selling price are

$1,660-1,800 psf and $2,000 psf respectively.


Commercial

Suburban mall Jem® 100% leased

100% of the 241 shops in Jem®, a 76,000 sq

ft 70-30 retail and office mixed-use

development located in the Jurong Gateway

regional centre, have been leased. Tenants

include H&M, and Books Kinokuniya, many of

which do not have outlets in the region. The

lack of competition for such big brands in the

area and the mall’s proximity to the Jurong

East MRT station are attractive to retailers.

Other retailers include hypermarkets like

Fairprice Xtra, F&B outlets and entertainment

facilities.


Two new wings to be added to Marina

Square in a $95m expansion

The first new wing to be added to Marina

Square is The Dining Edition, a $15 million

new gourmet dining zone to be completed by

June. There will 16 F&B outlets, with 14

tenants committed and already renovating

their premises. The second is a $80 million

three-storey retail wing to be completed by

Q4 2014.



There will be 60 to 80 shops in 150,000 sq ft

of NLA in the new retail wing, which would

feature a 200m frontage facing the Marina

Bay area.


Two adjoining JTC industrial properties in

Jurong up for sale

The two sites zoned for "Business 2" use,

located at 1 Gul Avenue and 3 Gul Circle in

the Jurong Industrial Estate, will be jointly

sold through expression of interest. The first

has a 24-year lease while the latter has a 16-

year lease. Combined, the two sites consists

of two single-storey warehouses with ancillary

office space and four

workshop/showroom/office buildings with

527,418 sq ft of GFA on sitting on the total

land area of 639,454 sq ft. The scarcity of

such large industrial sites and its proximity to

the AYE and PIE and the proposed Gul Circle

MRT station are attractive factors to potential

buyers. The expression of interest will close

on May 16, 2013 at 1pm.


http://www.moneymatters.sg/



Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Apr 3 – Apr 9

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

3 TWIN REGENCY 980 1,780,000 1,817 FH

4 MARINA COLLECTION 2,390 7,050,500 2,950 99

4 CARIBBEAN AT KEPPEL BAY 1,227 1,900,000 1,548 99

4 HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS 1,249 1,046,000 838 99

5 VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,302 1,600,000 1,228 99

5 VISTA PARK 603 698,000 1,158 99

8 CITYLIGHTS 560 990,000 1,769 99

8 CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES 1,216 2,060,000 1,694 FH

8 KENG LEE COURT 1,044 1,210,000 1,159 FH

8 KENTISH COURT 1,259 1,368,000 1,086 99

9 URBANA 1,012 2,100,000 2,075 FH

9 KIM SIA COURT 1,421 2,720,000 1,914 FH

9 BELLE VUE RESIDENCES 3,606 5,850,000 1,622 FH

10 BEVERLY HILL 3,778 7,300,000 1,932 FH

10 VIZ AT HOLLAND 818 1,400,000 1,711 FH

10 THE ASTON 667 1,100,000 1,648 FH

10 CLIFTEN 1,066 1,740,000 1,633 FH

10 HOLLAND PEAK 2,551 3,680,000 1,443 FH

10 DUCHESS CREST 1,744 2,500,000 1,434 99

11 SOLEIL @ SINARAN 936 1,820,000 1,943 99

11 ROCHELLE AT NEWTON 1,012 1,668,000 1,649 99

12 CITY REGENCY 990 1,450,000 1,464 FH

12 THE MARQUE @ IRRAWADDY 883 1,227,500 1,391 FH

12 DE ROYALE 1,281 1,720,000 1,343 FH

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

12 CITY REGENCY 990 1,060,000 1,070 FH

13 WOODSVILLE 28 1,195 1,400,000 1,172 99

14 DAKOTA RESIDENCES 1,292 1,850,000 1,432 99

14 ASTORIA PARK 850 1,000,000 1,176 99

14 EUNOS GREEN 1,432 1,475,000 1,030 FH

14 THE HELICONIA 1,335 1,355,000 1,015 FH

14 GUILIN COURT 1,216 955,000 785 FH

15 PALM GALLERIA 495 765,000 1,545 FH

15 SPRING @ LANGSAT 474 685,000 1,446 FH

15 OLA RESIDENCES 1,636 2,285,000 1,397 FH

15 THE MONTAGE 958 1,200,000 1,253 FH

15 THE NCLAVE 732 847,500 1,158 FH

15 DUNMAN VIEW 1,216 1,380,000 1,135 99

15 GOLD LEAF MANSIONS 1,496 1,450,000 969 FH

16 EASTWOOD REGENCY 420 640,000 1,525 FH

16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,238 1,700,000 1,373 99

16 BLEU @ EAST COAST 1,012 1,220,000 1,206 FH

16 SUNHAVEN 1,259 1,350,000 1,072 FH

16 EAST MEADOWS 1,216 1,290,000 1,061 99

16 CHANGI COURT 1,163 1,180,000 1,015 FH

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 950,000 1,014 99

17 BLUWATERS 818 828,000 1,012 946

18 LIVIA 1,345 1,450,000 1,078 99

18 CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM 1,130 1,120,000 991 99



NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land

Authority. Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a

purchaser signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

18 CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM 1,658 1,340,000 808 99

19 CHUAN PARK 710 805,000 1,133 99

20 SIN MING PLAZA 1,507 1,520,000 1,009 FH

21 JARDIN 1,701 3,220,000 1,893 FH

21 THE NEXUS 1,206 1,850,000 1,535 FH

21 CLEMENTI PARK 1,722 1,900,000 1,103 FH

22 THE CENTRIS 958 1,190,000 1,242 99

23 HILLVIEW HEIGHTS 980 1,068,000 1,090 FH

23 MAYSPRINGS 818 820,000 1,002 99

23 GUILIN VIEW 1,281 1,190,000 929 99

23 MAYSPRINGS 1,292 1,060,000 821 99

26 CASTLE GREEN 1,152 1,030,000 894 99

27 ORCHID PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,195 955,000 799 99

28 SELETAR SPRINGS CONDOMINIUM 980 830,000 847 99


Documents

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 100.pdf