Mainland purchases of Singapore homes up 3%

The proportion of mainland Chinese buying Singapore residential properties jumped three percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, from 20 percent in the previous quarter.

For the full-year 2010, their proportion among non-Singaporean buyers hit a yearly high of 19 percent, against 15 percent in the previous year.

Ms. Chua Chor Hoon, Head of DTZ South East Asia Research, commented: “Mainland Chinese buyers are expected to continue to be among the top two groups of foreign buyers, as the implementation of property market curbs in China and growing wealth of the mainland Chinese will motivate more of them to make purchases overseas, including Singapore.”

The proliferation of small units in new projects has resulted in an increase in the number of transacted units, each measuring less than 1,000 sq ft, in 2010 than in the previous year. The number of transactions for units of less than 500 sq ft rose 114 percent, while units measuring 500 to 1,000 sq ft saw a 28 percent increase in transactions.

Purchases by companies also rose to four percent in Q4 2010, from three percent in Q3. This increase was attributed to investment funds which acquired units in bulks, especially in prime developments.

After the January announcement of more measures aimed at stabilising the residential market, DTZ looks forward to quieter market activity this year. Sub-sales activity will likely drop in 2011, as short-term speculation will probably affect the seller’s stamp duty (SSD), which was announced in August 2010 and increased in January this year, said Ms. Chua.

Sino Land H1 profit rises 20% to HK$2.43b

SINO Land Co, the Hong Kong developer controlled by Singapore billionaire Robert Ng, said first-half profit excluding revaluation gains rose 20% after it completed more apartments in projects including the Hermitage. Profit excluding changes in the value of real estate investments rose to HK$2.43 billion (S$397 million) in the six months ended Dec 31 from HK$2.03 billion a year ago, Sino Land said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement yesterday. That fell short of the HK$2.8 billion median estimate of 5 analysts. Sales fell to HK$2.56 billion from HK$4.42 billion. Sino Land, which derives almost all of its earnings from Hong Kong, sold about 95% of the apartments in the Hermitage project in the city's West Kowloon district, which is built on land the company acquired with its partners in 2005. Hong Kong home prices have gained more than 60% in the past 2 years on record low mortgage rates and an influx of buyers from China. Sino is earning a 38% return from the project, of which it owns 50%, the analysts said. Hong Kong developers begin selling apartments before they are built and book profit only upon completion. Sino Land's shares declined 2.2% in Hong Kong trading this year, compared with the 4.9% drop in the Hang Seng Property Index, which tracks 7 of the city's biggest developers including Sino Land. Sino Land has been 1 of the most aggressive developers in buying land and buildings in Hong Kong. The company may this year begin selling apartments in projects including Providence Bay in Pak Shek Kok, One Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong and the Welfare Road in Aberdeen district. 

- The Business Times, P35

Couples frustrated by long wait for flats under SBF exercise

The anxiety heightens when they see applicants of some build-to-order (BTO) launches - held after the SBF exercise - selecting their flats. The HDB told MediaCorp that the selection period for each SBF exercise varies, depending on the number of flats offered, towns/flat-categories offered for sale and the response of the applicants. An SBF exercise generally needs more time to complete than a BTO exercise because of its high application numbers and the number of "queues" in each exercise, said a spokesperson. "The larger number of applicants for SBF exercises, therefore, lengthens the time needed to complete the processing, which includes eligibility checks on the applicants, the balloting process and notifying applicants of the results." The HDB said it received 11,500 applications for the 1,624 units of flats offered under the SBF exercise. It added it was doing its best to complete each selection exercise quickly, including extending operation hours. Since last January, the HDB has been conducting selection exercises after office hours on weekdays from 5.30pm to 8pm, and on Sundays from 8am to 5pm. The HDB also first schedules the selection exercise for completed flats with available keys to allow applicants who select a flat to collect their keys earlier. As of end January, about 80% of the selection exercises had been completed, said the HDB. The SBF exercise was launched in October 2009 to simplify the flat application process and provide buyers with a wider choice of flats across a range of locations in one exercise. It offers flats from earlier BTO exercises, the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme and repurchased flats. The exercise is launched when sufficient flats accumulate. If it is a completed flat, an applicant can collect the keys within 3 months. If not, the keys can only be collected when the flat is completed.

- Today News Online

Bartley Road residential site up for sale

Located between Bartley Road and Lorong How Sun, the Bartley Road land parcel was made available for sale on 30 November 2009 through the reserve list system. On 18 January 2011, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it received an application from a developer who committed to bid at least S$191.78 million for the site.

The site has a total land area of 22,094.4 sq m, with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 61,865 sq m. It is zoned for a residential development, which could yield up to 620 housing units.

The 99-year leasehold residential site is situated within an established housing estate in the northeast region and is well connected to major roads and expressways, such as the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and Central Expressway (CTE).

The URA said the tender for the site will close on 30 March 2011.