Singapore Property Weekly Issue 171

8/11/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 171

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Issue 171Copyright 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.
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CONTENTS

p2 6 Key Considerations When Buying into

an Older Development

p6 Singapore Property News This Week

p11 Resale Property Transactions

(August 13 August 19 )

Welcome to the 171st edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 171

Page | 2Back to Contents

By SG Proptalk (guest contributor)

So you are on a budget and desire a home

with an interior living space that is much

larger than what new condominium projects

can offer these days. Your current option,

other than moving to Iskandar, is to look atapartments in an older development.

By "older", the wife and I are talking about

developments that are at least 10 years old.

For those that really crave space, this is not

so much a "choice" rather than a

"requirement". There are few options, for

example, for a 3-bedroom apartments of at

least 1,600sqft that was built after 2004 (as

far as we know anyway).

6 Key Considerations When Buying into an Older Development


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And if you only want to consider those that

come with no bay windows and planter

boxes, you would probably have to go further

back than 10 years!

So your best bet if you want space is to buy

an older apartment. But what are some of the

key considerations you have to take into

account before buying in an older

development?

1. Number of years remaining (for

leasehold condos)You may want to think hard before buying a

leasehold condo that has less than 60 years

on its land lease. This is because should you

need to resell your unit, it will be challenging

as many buyers still frown upon older

developments with less than 60 years oflease remaining.

2. General upkeep of the estate

This is especially important for older

developments. Other than keeping an eye

open on the general cleanliness around theestate and whether the landscape is properly

maintained, you may also want to inquire

about when the estate was last repainted and


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when the last time the lifts (especially for

high-rise developments) were upgraded. All

these will have a direct impact on the

maintenance and sinking funds of the

development, which will ultimately affect your

purse.

3. Maintenance/Sinking funds

It may be prudent to ask how much the estate

has in terms of maintenance/sinking funds.

This tells you how financially adequate theestate is currently and more importantly,

whether you need to be around during the

next AGM to vote on any proposed increase

in the maintenance/sinking fund contribution.

And by knowing whether an estate repainting

or lift upgrading exercise is round the corner,

this gives you further idea on whether more

money is needed from each household vis--

vis the current amount of funds that the

estate has.

4. Your immediate neighbours

While it is normally a case of "what you

moved-into is what you get" for brand new

developments, you can typically make"informed decisions" about your neighbours

when you buy into an older estate. If you are

a sucker for tidiness and you see tons of

shoes and other knick knacks lying all over

the outside of your immediate neighbours'

home, you have to decide if you can live withthat mess whenever you step out of the lift

coming home.

The wife and I will also advise you to make at

least two visits to the apartment before you

make that purchase decision once during

the day over a weekend and once on a

weekday evening (say, between 7 to 8pm,

when all the school-going kids have come

home).


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This will give you a true indication of the noise

levels generated by your immediate

neighbours, especially the family that lives on

top of you. Doing so may save you from

another "Everitt Road" type of incident.

5. Any impending/on-going collective sale

activity?

Some people will deliberately buy into an

estate when they hear that it is preparing to

go en-bloc. But if you are really buying tostay, the last thing you need is to spend time

and money completing that ideal renovation,

move into your new home and then realize

that 80% of your neighbours are ready to sell-

out within the next 12 months!

6. Plot ratio and building restrictions

As potential new owners, questions about plot

ratio and building restrictions may be the last

thing on your mind. But we deem it important

to have some idea of how "marketable" your

estate is when comes to collective sale before

you consider buying into it. Even if this does

not happen anytime soon, the likelihood

persists simply because the estate is, well,

old.

The above considerations may be elementary

to some of you. Please bear with us if this is

so. And if you have anything else to add toour list, we would be most happy to hear from

you!

By The Folks @ SG Proptalk, a blog and

forum on buying Singapore property.
http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/http://sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/


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Singapore Property This Week


Residential

Dev el op m en t c h ar ge r at es f or p r iv at e

r e s id e n t ia l la n d lo w e r e d

The development charge rates for non-landed

residential use fell by an average of 1.6 per

cent from 25 August to 30 August. According

to an analysis by JLL, this is the first time

since March 2012, that there is a drop in the

average development charge rates for non-

landed residential use. According to Ministry

of National Development, development

charge rates for non-landed residential use

have fallen between 2.8 per cent to 5 per cent

in 55 sectors. On the other hand,

development charges for industrial use rose

by 1.9 per cent in the same period of time.

Development charges which are imposed on

sites that are undergoing enhancements have

been revised on 1 March and 1 September

across 118 sectors. The revision will be

effective from 1 September this year to 28

February next year. Changes in the rates

were made by the Ministry of National

Development, based on current market

values. According to Business Times, the

development charge rates on hotels, hospital,

places of worship and civic and community

institutions are expected to increase by an

average of 9 per cent. As hotel values remain

inflated, it is no surprise that there the

government will be increasing development

charges, said Donald Han from Chestertons.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 171


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Chia Siew Chuin from Colliers International

said that development charge on industrial

land has not changed this year most likely

because bid prices for industrial land tenures

have been unpredictable. Chia believes thegovernment might still be monitoring the

industrial market before any making changes.

(Source: Business Times)

Fal l i n h o m e eq u it y r ed u c es c red i t f or

c o n s u m p t i o n

According to Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng,

the amount of credit for consumption may

have decreased because there is a drop in

home equity prices. Data from the

Department of Statistics showed that the total

value in housing assets fell to $820.6 billion

due to corrections in home prices. On the

other hand, mortgages went up by 5.6 per

cent year-on-year to $210.8 billion in Q2 this

year. While Kit is concerned about the effect

of falling home equity on consumption, other

experts argue that there is no cause of

concern as employment rates have been

high. Nonetheless, Song Seng Wun fromCIMB Research believes that the Total Debt

Servicing Ratio has moderated private

consumption. Selena Ling from OCBC Bank

said that the falling prices may negatively

affect property owners who already have

difficulties financing their properties.


Commercial

S tr ai t s Tr ad i n g B u i l d i n g p r ed i c t ed t o s e ll

f o r r e c o r d p r i c es

The Straits Trading Building, which is located

at Battery Road, is expected to sell for at

least $2,800 per square foot or $450 million,

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 171


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the highest offer made for any office block in

the past six years. The 999-year leasehold

office tower has a net lettable area of about

159,000 square feet. If the transaction pulls

through, the Straits Trading Building willgenerate a net yield of about 3 per cent. Its

long leasehold tenure and its prime location

ustified the high pricing, said market experts.

According to market experts, other nearby

office blocks sold for similar prices this year.

For example, a strata office floor at the 999-

year leasehold Samsung Hub, at Church

Street, was sold for $3,030 per square feet.

Nonetheless, the Straits Trading Building has

been priced higher than office blocks at

Equity Plaza, which sold for $2,181 per

square feet, because it had a longer lease

remaining. Furthermore, Straits Trading

Building is almost fully let. While it was built in

1972, it has undergone renovations and was

redeveloped in 2009.


L a n d b i d s f o r i n d u s t r i a l s i t e s f a ll

Land bids for a site at Gambas Crescent and

another at Tuas South Avenue 7 have fallen.

Both sites have a 30-year leasehold and were

released for tender as part of the H1 2014

Industrial Government Land Sales list. The

winning bid for the Gambas Crescent site was

sold for $83.03 per square foot per plot ratio

to NSS Realty. This was 19 per cent lower

than Parcel 3, a neighbouring site that was

sold last December for $102.20 per square

foot per plot ratio. Parcel 2 and 1 were sold in

October last year for about $127 per square

foot per plot ratio and $138 per square foot

per plot ratio respectively. The four sites have

been zoned for B1 use and have a maximum



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gross floor to land area of 2.5 plot ratio.

Parcel 1 has since been converted into 130

factory units. 44 out of its 55 released units

have been sold for an average of $325 per

square feet. On the other hand, the Tuas sitewas sold for $56 per square foot per plot

ratio. This was about half the value of the

winning bids for earlier sites such as The

Index, at Tuas South Avenue 3. Ong Kah

Seng from RSTResearch said that the site at

Tuas South Avenue 7, which was released

this year, may have been less appealing to

investors because it was zoned for B2 use.

According to Ong, industrial land zoned for

B1 zone are more popular because it typically

attracts tenants that require modern strata

factories.


Te n d e r la u n c h e d f o r 7 s i t e s a t Bu k it Me r a h

Seven industrial units at Kewalram House in

Bukit Merah Industrial Estate have been

launched for tender on Aug 25. The total land

area of all seven units is 18,800 square feet.

All units are 99-year leasehold units and still

have 45 years remaining on their tenures.

They have been zoned for B1 use and have a

maximum gross plot ratio of 2.5. Of the seven

units, two units are sized 3,100 square feet

and 4,300 square feet respectively. They are

located on the ground floor and can be

converted into a warehouse or factory space.

The other five units are located on the third

floor and are between 2,100 square feet to

2,400 square feet. The units are pricedbetween $480 per square foot and $620 per

square foot. Its marketing agent,



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JLL believes that there are en bloc

opportunities for the building, because its

gross floor area is within the maximum gross

floor area permitted under the Master Plan

2014.


J l n B e s a r c o m m e r c ia l s i t es o n s a l e

A three-storey freehold commercial site that

has about 2,726 square feet and a gross floor

area of about 7,887 square feet is on sale.

The commercial building has a mechanised

car park and an internal lift. Another four-

storey residential building with commercial

land space on its ground floor is also on sale.

The four-storey building has about 1,335

square feet of land and has a gross floor area

of about 4,324 square feet. Both properties

are located at Sam Leong Road, at Jalan

Besar, but are not zoned for conservation. As

such, they may be redeveloped. Both

buildings are being marketed by Chestertons

Singapore. Their indicative price is about

$17.5 million or $1,433 per square feet.

(Souce: Business Times)

http://propertymarketinsights.com/


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Aug 13 Aug 19

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

3 CENTRAL GREEN CONDOMINIUM 1,292 1,620,000 1,254 99

4 THE AZURE 1,765 2,950,000 1,671 99

4 THE PEARL @ MOUNT FABER 1,173 1 ,420,000 1,210 99

4 HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS 1,615 1,650,000 1,022 99

5 CARABELLE 1,259 1,520,000 1,207 956

5 LE HILL CONDOMINIUM 1,206 1,280,000 1,062 FH

5 DOVER PARKVIEW 1,249 1,310,000 1,049 99

5 NORMANTON PARK 1,270 1,090,000 858 102

9 THE ORCHARD RESIDENCES 1,808 5,600,000 3,097 99

9 CAVENAGH COURT 1,862 2,400,000 1,289 FH

10 ARDMORE PARK 2,885 7,750,000 2,687 FH

10 CUSCADEN RESIDENCES 1,485 3,000,000 2,020 FH

10 GARDENVILLE 2,874 4,250,000 1,479 FH

11 THE LINCOLN RESIDENCES 1,367 2,550,000 1,865 FH

11 PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM 893 1,650,000 1,847 FH

11 THE LINCOLN RESIDENCES 1,884 3,449,000 1,831 FH

11 RESIDENCES @ EVELYN 1,539 2,750,000 1,787 FH

11 SKY@ELEVEN 2,713 4,650,000 1,714 FH

11 THE TREVOSE 1,776 2,338,000 1,316 99

12 PRESTIGE HEIGHTS 344 603,000 1,751 FH

14 THE TRUMPS 947 1,150,000 1,214 99

14 SIMS MEADOWS 1,066 820,000 769 FH

15 PARC SEABREEZE 1,378 2,780,000 2,018 FH

15 IMPERIAL HEIGHTS 592 885,000 1,495 FH

15 AXIS @ SIGLAP 818 1,055,000 1,290 FH

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

15 PEACH GARDEN 2,766 3,280,000 1,186 FH

15 THE MAKENA 1,636 1,840,000 1,125 FH

15 SANCTUARY GREEN 1,356 1,500,000 1,106 99

15 SUITES @ EASTCOAST 1,292 1,340,000 1,037 FH

15 VILLA MARINA 1,249 1,250,000 1,001 99

15 UNITED MANSION 1,367 1,275,000 933 FH

15 MANDARIN GARDEN CONDOMINIUM 1,528 1,370,000 896 99

15 EAST BAY GARDENS 1,711 1,348,000 788 99

16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,561 2,080,000 1,333 99

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 920,000 982 99

18 SAVANNAH CONDOPARK 1,023 970,000 949 99

18 SAVANNAH CONDOPARK 1,367 1,005,000 735 99

19 SUITES @ PAYA LEBAR 1,249 920,000 737 FH

20 SEASONS VIEW 1,141 1,180,000 1,034 99

21 JARDIN 1,098 1,870,000 1,703 FH

21 CASA ESPERANZA 1,152 1,400,000 1,216 FH

21 HIGH OAK CONDOMINIUM 1,044 970,000 929 99

22 THE CENTRIS 915 1,140,000 1,246 99

23 REGENT HEIGHTS 1,023 855,000 836 99

23 PARKVIEW APARTMENTS 980 812,000 829 9925 CASABLANCA 926 830,000 897 99

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

Documents

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 171