Singapore Property Weekly Issue 108

7/28/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 108

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Issue 108Copyright 2011-2013 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.
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CONTENTS

p2 6 Tips to Help You Deal Successfully withRenovation Contractors

p6 Property Selling Tip #1: All Markets are Cyclical

p7 Singapore Property News This Week

p11 Resale Property Transactions (May 29 June 4)

Welcome to the 108th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 108

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Property Soul (guest contributor)

Are you looking to renovate a property? I

have done four major renovations and

countless fixing projects for my properties in

Singapore. Over the years, I manage to find

at least one good electrician, plumber,

carpenter, handyman, etc. But for whateverreason perhaps its because Im unlucky, or

maybe its simply the nature of the business

I have yet to find an honest contractor or a

reliable renovation company. Yes, not even

one.

Bad experiences with contractors

What I have had are some unpleasant

experiences that you may have encountered

before if you have commissioned any

6 Tips to Help You Deal Successfully with Renovation Contractors


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renovation project:

1. After placing a deposit, the salespersons

prompt responses become delayed or you

get no reply.

2. The contractors are very busy and you

have to bear with the fact that they are often

late for (or absent from) any appointment

with you.

3. Timelines agreed beforehand are almost

always delayed. As clients, you are expectedto be flexible to cater to all unforeseen

circumstances.

4. You can only expect 60 to 80 percent of

what was originally agreed to be done. Be

prepared to accept materials, end products

and workmanship different from your

expectations.

Of course there are some good contractors

who are different from the above. But they

are not cheap. Those who provide good

customer service, quality workmanship and

acceptable completion timeframe usually

have reasonable prices missing from their

quotations.

Tip #1 Get good recommendations

I strongly recommend talking only to

renovation companies or individuals with

referrals from a trusted source. Dont just get

anyone from the local paper, the yellowpages, a sales leaflet or a tradeshow. It is like

going for a blind date. You never know who

will show up. You really dont want to deal

with any surprise and disappointment.

For small tasks like fixing the lights, giving

the place a new coat of paint, repairing theleaking roof, etc., ask your trusted property

agent for recommendations. Agents arrange

handymen to do fixes for landlords and

tenants every day. I am sure that they use


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efficient and reasonably-priced ones to get

the job done. It allows them to rent or sell the

owners properties without any delay.

Tip #2 Be firm with contractors

I agree with the advice in Margaret

Heffernans The Naked Truth: A Workin

Womans Manifesto on Business and What

Really Matters:

Once youve hired a contractor and

negotiated a budget, my best advice foryou is to be tough on them. Ifyoure not,

theyll think youre soft and a pushover.

(Contractors) will try to get away with as

much as they possibly can. If you call

them on it, theyll shape up.

Even if your contractor is a good friend or

your close relative, having a friendly

relationship doesnt automatically mean that

you can trust a person. When evaluating

whether a contractor can get the job done,

differentiate between sociability and

capability.

Tip #3 Be clear and upfront about timing

and the inflexibility of your budget

If you need the job finished by a certain time,

hold the contractors to that date. If you keep

an eye on their work and act as

knowledgeable as possible, you increase the

chances that the contractors will respect you

and get something done.

Tip #4 Get at least three quotations from

different companies

Compare quotes item-by-item. Before you get

back to the selected one, draft your own

listing of work items with full descriptions. For

each item, add in what you think are the

reasonable prices. If there is an obvious price

gap of a work item between two contractors,

negotiate to see whether your selected


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contractor can match the price.

Tip #5 Draft your own payment terms

For example, 10 percent deposit after signing

the contract, 30 percent of the fee payablewhen job commences, and another 50

percent after job completion. Always leave 5

to 10 percent to be paid after fixing all defects.

Allow flexibility for delay in completion.

However, do add a penalty clause for delay at

the end of the contract.

Tip #6 Put everything in writing

In every subsequent meeting with the

contractor, put everything in writing and take

detailed notes. The notes can serve as both a

proof and a reminder for both parties. It will

also come in handy next time when there is

any argument on what has been agreed.

Good and bad times

When times are good, contractors are very

busy. It is more difficult to bargain on prices.

Give a reasonable timeframe for completion

but stick to the major deadlines.

When times are bad, dont be too happy if you

get too good a bargain. Contractors tend to

cut corners to get your business.

Be careful of commissioning a project when

the market is recovering. Costs of raw

materials and manpower will be on their way

up when your place is work-in-progress. To

make ends meet, the contractor may ask you

to top up the difference so that they can afford

to pay their suppliers and finish your job.

Worse still, some contractors may go bust

because of their under-quoting in too many

projects.

By Property Soul, a successful property

investor and enthusiast who shares her

experiences and knowledge on her blog.
http://propertysoul.com/http://propertysoul.com/http://propertysoul.com/http://propertysoul.com/


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Investing in real estate requires patience but

the rewards are immense.Once you have

invested a sum of money as downpayment

for a property, it is possible to have two-fold

gains from both capital appreciation and

rental income.

The rental income is a good source of incometo reduce or cover your monthly mortgage

loan repayments, maintenance fees, property

tax, fire insurance and all related expenses in

this investment.

During the investment period, you are actually

accumulating equity in an asset which is a

good hedge against inflation.

However, do be aware that all markets are

cyclical, and the real estate market is of no

exception.In other words, if you have to sell

your property at the wrong time, you could

lose money!

Having holding power is therefore important

to ensure that you can hold the property till it

appreciates.While there is no guarantee howmuch your property will appreciate, it does

offer long-term investors an opportunity to

earn a solid return when the property

appreciates due to inflation, population or

economic growth.

By Eileen Tan and Ui Wei Teck, property

investors and authors of Enjoying Mid-Life

Without Crisis. This tip and dozens more are

from theirbook.

Property Selling Tip #1: All Markets are Cyclical

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 108
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Singapore Property This Week


Residential

A f i n i ti R e s id e n c es s o l d o u t o n f i rs t d a y o

l a u n c h

Afiniti Residences, a 147-unit condominium

project in Iskandar Malaysia, was sold out on

its highly anticipated launch by the 50:50 jointventure between Temasek Holdings and

Pulau Indah Ventures. 25% of the buyers

were Singaporeans, while the rest were

mainly Malaysians. Some 88 units were open

to the public and the remaining 59 units were

for developers and partners. The residential

project includes 21-storey towers with studio,

1+study, 2 and 2+study units. The selling

price per square foot ranges from S$345 to

$406, and unit sizes range from 484 square

feet to 1,064 square feet. Construction forthe residences is expected to finish in 2015.

(Source: Business Times)

R o o m r a t e s e a s e d , o c c u p a n c i e s r e m a i n e d

s t r o n g

Singapore room rates have softened for thefirst four months of 2013, yet occupancies

remained strong. The Singapore Tourism

Board (STB) estimates that the Average

Room Rate fell by 2.2 percent year-on-year

while the average occupancy only decreased

by 0.3 percent. STBs figures put the numberof visitor arrivals in Singapore in the first

quarter of 2013 at 3.8 million, increasing 6.4

percent year-on-year.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 108


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The strong occupancy is said to help prevent

any sharp fall in revenue per available room.


P r i v at e a p a r t m e n t r e s al e p r i c e s d e c r e as e s in May

Resale prices of non-landed private

apartments decreased slightly in May due to

weak transaction volumes. The NUS

Singapore Residential Property Index showed

resale prices for May easing 0.5 percent fromApril, while April increased by 0.1 percent

from March. Transaction volume for May is 40

percent lower than that of last May, which

could be explained by a mismatch in

expectations between buyers and sellers. The

index decreased by 0.5 percent in the CoreCentral Region and 0.4 percent in the Rest of

Central Region, while the Outside Central

Region (OCR) gained 0.3 percent. The

reason for the gain in OCR is thought to be

the narrowed price gap between private

residential homes and HDB resale flats to

only 5 percent.


P as i r R i s C h a l e t s t o b e u s e d a s q u a r an t i n e

h o u s i n g

The Home Team NS (HTNS) Pasir Ris

Chalets will be on standby to be used as

possible quarantine housing by the

government from June 17. This is due to thethe Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

Coronavirus (MERSCoV) with 55 cases

confirmed worldwide, even though no such

case has been discovered in Singapore.

Members of HTNS can continue to use to

chalets but they will have to check out within3 hours if the chalets are needed as a

quarantine facility. HTNS members who have

booked the chalets on or after June 17 may

choose to cancel the bookings.



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In either cases, they will be given the full

refund and vouchers of $100.


CommercialRMGs T h o n g S i a u n i t s u p f o r t e n d e r s a l e

Raffles Medical Group (RMG) has put the

commercial podium at Thong Sia Building up

for tender sale, after its plan of building a new

medical centre failed. The podium consists of

8 strata-titled units from level 1 to 7. The retail

and office unit sizes range from 710 square

feet to 8,826 square feet, with their price

between $2,500 and $6,000 per square foot.

Thong Sia Building is opposite the Paragon

shopping centre, and is a freehold mix-use

commercial and residential property. Jones

Lang LaSalle (JLL) agent is the exclusive

agent handling the sale. JLL claimed that the

units can be up to $35 million in price and

would provide more freehold, retail and office

strata units in the Orchard Road area. Lower

floors are expected to attract flagship store

developers , while upper floors are suitable

for offices. The tender ends at 3 pm on July

15.(Source: Business Times)

T he S ai l @ M ar i na Bays 2 2 r et ai l u n i t s

sold f or $105m

The 22 retails units at the Sail @ Marina Bay

were sold for $105 million to Wen WayInvestments Pte Ltd, a Singapore-

incorporated company controlled by China

interests. This makes one square foot of the

units priced at $4,582. All 22 units are leased

mainly to food and beverage establishments.

The units were reported to previously belongto a Singapore couple who paid $32 million

for them in 2009. Upon acquiring the units,

Wen Way Investments was said to be looking

out for more strata retail units in Singapore



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for long-term investment, not to subdivide and

sell. Wen Way is also embarking on joint

development of commercial and industrial

property projects in Singapore. Wen Way has

purchased about $200 million of real estate in

Singapore.


S i n g a p o r e R E IT s r e t a i n c o m p e t i ti v e e d g e

am i dst m arket vol at i li ty

Despite Hong Kong being a strong contender

in the real estate investment trust (Reit) field,

Singapore Reits still have plenty of buying

opportunities. Singapore Reits are believed to

be more active in their managing asset

portfolio through asset enhancement

initiatives and portfolio renewal, according to

John Stinson, executive managing director of

Cushman and Wakefield Asia-Pacific. Even in

the middle of market volatility, Mr Stinson said

now is the time to buy because most Reits

show strong returns and are trading at five-

year highs on a year-on-year basis.

Singapore Reits have average returns of

about 6%. Industrial Reits offer the highest

yields, but office Reits are considered the

most attractive segment.


http://www.moneymatters.sg/


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of May 29 Jun 4

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

1 MARINA BAY RESIDENCES 710 1,739,500 2 ,449 99

1 PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX 1,119 1,010,000 902 99

3 RIVER PLACE 797 1,180,000 1,481 99

4 THE PEARL @ MOUNT FABER 1,819 1,966,000 1,081 99

5 ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES 592 990,088 1,672 99

5 ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES 1,421 2,028,000 1,427 99

5 ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES 1,335 1,850,000 1,386 99

5 THE PARC CONDOMINIUM 1,292 1 ,744,200 1,350 FH

5 CARABELLE 1,302 1,738,000 1,334 956

5 PASIR VIEW PARK 1,012 1,275,000 1,260 FH5 THE PARC CONDOMINIUM 2,476 2,308,800 933 FH

5 PALM MANSIONS 1,098 1,000,000 911 FH

8 CITYLIGHTS 678 1,000,000 1,475 99

9 PATERSON RESIDENCE 1,313 3,282,500 2,500 FH

9 ONE DEVONSHIRE 1,410 3,313,500 2,350 FH

9 VISIONCREST 1,109 2,343,000 2,113 FH

9 LEONIE HILL RESIDENCES 1,141 2,290,000 2,007 FH

9 LEONIE STUDIO 689 1,380,000 2,003 99

9 UE SQUARE 1,055 1,700,000 1,612 9299 BELLE VUE RESIDENCES 3,681 5,889,600 1 ,600 FH

10 SOMMERVILLE PARK 624 1,260,000 2,018 FH

10 AVALON 1,830 3,300,000 1,803 FH

10 ASTRID MEADOWS 2,745 4,800,000 1,749 FH

10 ONE JERVOIS 2,368 4,120,000 1,740 FH

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

10 THE ASTON 667 1,125,000 1,686 FH

10 CLIFTEN 1,066 1,790,000 1,680 FH

10 VALLEY PARK 1,701 2,710,000 1,593 999

10 DORMER PARK 1,238 1,885,000 1,523 FH

10 RIDGEWOOD 1,981 2,500,000 1,262 999

10 BEAVERTON COURT 4,349 3,600,000 828 FH

12 D'LOTUS 570 830,000 1,455 FH

12 DE PARADISO 904 1,200,000 1,327 FH

12 PARC HAVEN 1,249 1,520,000 1,217 FH

12 CASA IRRAWADDY 1,119 1,260,000 1,126 FH14 LE CRESCENDO 1,313 1,500,000 1,142 FH

14 CANBERLIN LODGE 1,152 928,000 806 FH

15 MEIER SUITES 2,207 3,480,000 1,577 FH

15 THE ESTA 1,313 1,980,000 1,508 FH

15 PEBBLE BAY 2,336 3,200,000 1,370 99

15 CRYSTAL RHU 1,055 1,420,000 1,346 FH

15 CENTRINA 721 890,888 1,235 FH

15 SANCTUARY GREEN 1,356 1,600,000 1,180 99

15 GALLERY 8 1,163 1,320,000 1,135 FH15 CAMELODGE 990 1,040,000 1,050 FH

15 EASTERN LAGOON 2,024 2,100,000 1,038 FH

15 BLU CORAL 1,195 1,220,000 1,021 FH

15 FORTUNE SPRING 2,088 1 ,668,000 799 FH

16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,313 1,680,000 1,279 99



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NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale propertytransactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore LandAuthority. Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after apurchaser signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

16 BAYSHORE PARK 1,292 1,380,000 1,068 99

16 THE BAYSHORE 1,432 1,520,000 1,062 99

16 THE BAYSHORE 1,238 1,280,000 1,034 99

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 950,000 1,014 9916 TANAMERA CREST 861 840,000 975 99

16 CASAFINA 1,464 1,380,000 943 99

17 EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,453 1,370,000 943 FH

17 AZALEA PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,507 1,388,888 922 999

17 CASA PASIR RIS 1,130 950,000 841 946

18 THE TROPICA 1,518 1,400,000 922 99

19 THE QUARTZ 1,130 1,300,888 1,151 99

20 CLOVER BY THE PARK 1,572 2,000,000 1,273 99

21 THE CASCADIA 1,216 2,150,000 1,768 FH21 ASTOR GREEN 1,528 1,628,000 1,065 99

21 CLEMENTI PARK 2,497 2,620,000 1,049 FH

22 THE MAYFAIR 1,227 1,180,000 962 99

22 PARK VIEW MANSION 1,335 918,000 688 99

23 HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,345 1,360,000 1,011 999

26 FOREST HILLS CONDOMINIUM 1,163 960,000 826 99

27 YISHUN EMERALD 1,399 980,000 700 99

27 THE SENSORIA 1,152 715,000 621 FH

27 THE SENSORIA 1,270 715,000 563 FH
http://propertymarketinsights.com/

Documents

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 108