Govt releases 3 sites to yield 1375 homes

The government has released three residential sites that could yield around 1,375 homes providing more choices for home buyers, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB). 

Launched for sale under the confirmed list, two sites slated for executive condominium (EC) developments will be located at Sengkang West Way / Fernvale Link (Parcel B) and Pasir Ris Drive 3 / Pasir Ris Rise. The other site at Alexandra View (Parcel B) was made available under the reserve list. 

With a land area of 14,100.8 sq m and offered under a 99-year lease term, the site at Sengkang could accommodate around 420 ECs. 
 
It enjoys close proximity to Layar LRT station and the upcoming Seletar Mall, as well as to dining, shopping and educational amenities. 

“More activities are expected in this area over the next one to two years upon completion of the nearby HDB estates, H20 Residences and other facilities,” said Png Poh Soon, Head of Research at Knight Frank Singapore.

He expects around five to seven bidders for the site with a top bid of around S$295 to S$310 psf ppr which could translate to a selling price of between S$720 and S$750 psf. 

The site’s tender will close on 8 November. 

Meanwhile, the other 99-year leasehold site in Pasir Ris is 27,660 sq m and could yield 580 ECs. 

The site is served by an efficient transport network and is within walking distance to Pasir Ris MRT station and Pasir Ris Bus Interchange. It is also close to schools and lifestyle offerings. 

Available for sale until 22 November, the site and could draw “cautious bids” of between five to seven bidders with a winning bid of between S$295 to S$305 psf ppr and an expected selling price of S$740 to S$750 psf, said Png. 

As for the 99-year leasehold site at Alexandra View, it has a land area of 6,501.5 sq m. It could house up to 375 dwelling units and is close to the CBD, Marina Bay and Orchard Road and is accessible via the nearby Redhill MRT station. 

Png expects bids for the plot “to be competitive as developers seek well-located sites in the central region”. 

There will likely be four to six bidders with an expected winning bid of S$900 to S$930 psf ppr, while the expected selling price will range between S$1,680 and S$1,750 psf. 

Heron Bay one of most popular ECs in recent times

A total of 1,664 e-applications were lodged for 394 units at Heron Bay (pictured) in just one week, according to The Business Times. 

Located at Upper Serangoon View, the executive condominium (EC) project now has one of the highest subscription rates in the last few years, with 4.2 applications for each unit. 

Its appeal lies mainly in the luxury features, said Vincent Ong, Managing Partner of Evia Real Estate Management, one of the developers. 

Among the EC’s lavish features are European household appliances, a basement car park, hydroactivated swimming pool, and free fibre broadband service for a year. There’s also an upcoming sea sports recreational centre with kayaks and tandem bikes.

Some ground floor units come with the choice of a garden pond or Jacuzzi pool of up to six-metres long. 

Units were selling from S$715 to S$720 psf on average. The smallest unit (775 sq ft) is priced at around S$560,000, while the five-bedroom penthouse (2,841 sq ft) is believed to cost between S$1.5 million and S$1.6 million. 

Meanwhile, applicants included young couples and multi-generational families who prefer bigger penthouse units. Notably, Heron Bay’s five-room penthouses are the first in an EC. 

Scheduled for completion in 2016, the EC is being jointly developed by Ho Lee Group, CNH Investment, See Hup Seng and Evia. 

Balloting for units will take place after about two weeks and successful applicants could book them starting 26 October.

Pinnacle@Duxton residents won't sell, even for S$3 million

With all the news of resale HDB flats being sold at record prices, the majority of homeowners at Pinnacle@Duxton (pictured) have come forward to say they’re reluctant to sell their units, The New Paper reported. 

Eight out of 10 residents said they are unwilling to sell. Similar sentiments were also expressed by residents living near the top floor.

For instance, C.M. Foo, a resident on the 49th floor, said she would not sell her flat for S$1 million, or even S$3 million, because of the view available from the unit.

She and her husband, Foo Soo Lim, acquired the five-room flat in 2004 for S$450,000. The unit is on the highest residential level of the building and there is a sky garden on the 50th floor.

However, unit owners could change their mind come 2014 when the five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) expires.

Units at Pinnacle@Duxton could reach record-level prices since it is the first 50-storey project in Singapore. It comprises 1,848 units spread over seven blocks.

Even National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that there would be “many millionaires” when the flats at Pinnacle@Duxton enter the resale market.

Foreign home buying sees slight increase in Q2

The number of expatriates, including non-permanent residents (NPRs) and permanent residents (PRs) buying private properties in Singapore, inched up to 22 percent in the second quarter of this year from 21 percent previously, Knight Frank said. 

However, this figure is substantially lower than last year’s level when foreigners accounted for 31 percent of overall transaction volumes. This sharp decline is mainly attributed to rising macroeconomic uncertainties and the introduction of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD).

Meanwhile, the proportion of Chinese home buyers fell to 19 percent in Q2 from 23 percent in Q1. Notably, the total number of buyers from China slumped by 50 percent to 361 in Q2 from 738 in the same period last year.

On the other hand, Malaysians remain the leading buyers of Singapore homes accounting for 26 percent of overseas transactions in Q2, with cultural similarities and geographical proximity being key factors.

Singapore Properties Price Will Remaind High?

Laterly people have been asking me if Singapore properties prices will remain high? And my answer to them is YES!!!

Why do i say so???

As many of you may have notice recently what, Bernanke had announced..

He said that interest rate confirm Sibor maintain very low to zero % until mid 2015...

The possibility of a fresh wave of capital flows into Singapore as a result of the latest round of quantitative easing (QE3) in the United States has raised the prospect that the property market could heat up again

The Federal Reserve's decision to pump US$40 billion into the US economy each month until sustained jobs growth kicks in.

An influx of foreign funds into the property market thats means they will be still lots of moneys thats flowing in the market. Clearly Singapore is one of the destination people look to as a safe heaven to park their money.

Development In Singapore

Singapore goverment is still carry on to develop Singapore into a country for people to work, live and place.

Opening of IRs, Gardens By The Bay, F1 Nite Race etc...

Up and coming,Seletar Aerospace Park thats going to create thousands of new jobs here. As more and more people are still coming into Singapore. They will sure need a place to stay... Demand is high and supply is low.. Do you think that the price will drop?

Real estate is all about demand and supply in the market..


This posting is just my own personal point of view..

Legoland opens in Malaysia

Thousands of visitors flooded through the gates of Legoland Malaysia (pictured) on its opening day this past Saturday.

According to an AsiaOne report, some 10,000 people attended the launch of the 76-acre theme park in Johor, the first of its kind in Asia. They were welcomed by costumed characters and a performance by a marching brass band from Denmark.

Located within the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone, the attraction is the sixth Legoland in the world, along with those in Denmark, Britain, Germany, and California and Florida (US).

Legoland Malaysia offers various rides for children up to 12-years old and family attractions such as the “4D Lego Studios” and “Miniland” – which has miniatures of Asian landmarks like Singapore’s Merlion.

Approximately 15 million Lego bricks were used to create 15,000 Lego models. The theme park is divided into seven zones, including “Lego Kingdom”, “Lego Technic” and “Lego City”.

“It's incredible to see Asia's first Legoland Park come to life,” said John Jakobsen, Managing Director at Legoland Parks for Merlin Entertainments, the operator of Legoland Malaysia.

He added that up to two million visitors are expected annually, mostly from Asia.

Visitors to the park were full of praise. Jason Ng from Singapore said: “Everything looks so colourful and the designs make me want to come back again soon.”

Nur Sakina Jamaludin, also from Singapore, added: “It’s not just an attraction for kids. There are many activities for the adults too…in short, it’s for everybody.”

Meanwhile, Siegfried Boerst, General Manager at Legoland Malaysia, said the smiles and laughter from guests are the reason they built the theme park, adding that they chose Johor “because we are confident about Iskandar Malaysia's economic development”.

Suspension of land sales for DBSS to continue

This follows the suspension of the DBSS land sales a year ago.

The DBSS was introduced in 2005 to give flat buyers more choices by allowing private developers to design and build some public flats.

The priority is to ramp up the supply of Build-To-Order flats and Executive Condominium units.

Mr Khaw was responding to a question by Member of Parliament (MP) Ang Hin Kee on whether MND has completed the review and if the review looks into how it will impact owners of DBSS flats.

Mr Khaw also spoke on HDB’s role. While HDB provides broad planning parameters such as the mix of flat sizes and range of social and community facilities, the developer is responsible for the design, construction quality and the pricing of the flat.

Nonetheless, HDB would actively engage the developers by sharing good practices and relevant experiences in public housing development.

HDB would also provide feedback to the developers and their consultants during both the design and the construction phase, with particular attention on safety, security and maintenance issues.

DBSS flats are sold directly by private developers to flat buyers, and any resolution of contractual disputes, including defects, rests with the buyer and developer.

But Mr Khaw said the government can play a role to help them, counsel them and advice them to resolve the conflicts. Whether the government can play a mediating role, it depends on what is the specific issue involved.

Responding to a Parliamentary question, Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the Ministry of National Development (MND) is not rushing to complete the review of the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) for HDB flats.

He said, “But at the end of the day, I think that we must be mindful that it is a contractual obligation between the buyer and seller. But we can advice the residents, perhaps together with the local MP, to see what the problem is and whether there are ways to resolve some of the issues.”

Singapore no longer low-cost business location

With business costs have generally increasing, Singapore is no longer a low-cost business location as the government recognised.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said this in a written reply to MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Inderjit Singh.

Mr Singh asked if Mr Lim could provide data on the changes in labour and rental costs, and whether the increasing costs would make it difficult for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to remain viable in the Singapore economy.

Between 2007 and 2011, nominal average monthly earnings raised at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent.

Rentals of factory space also increased at a compound annual growth rate of 7.3 per cent.

Unit labour costs for the overall economy went up at a compound annual growth rate of 1.5 per cent, but dipped 2.9 per cent in the manufacturing sector.

Firms have coped well with increasing costs through restructuring and improving productivity and assured that the government has in place broad-based and sector-specific programmes to help businesses remain competitive, said Mr Lim.

This is done through upgrading their capabilities and improving productivity, which will help moderate costs.

Mr Lim added that SMEs which restructure by moving up the value chain and upping productivity will remain viable in the Singapore economy.

Allowing singles to buy new flats will help cool resale market: analysts

Plans are under way to allow singles to buy new flats directly from the HDB in the future.

Some analysts estimate that if the new policy is implemented, half the number of singles buyers in the resale flat market will move to Build-To-Order (BTO) flats.

Analysts say this will cool the resale flat market, but only in two or three years’ time when the BTO flats are completed.

Latest data from local property firm PropNex show that singles form some 16 per cent of buyers in the HDB resale market.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the additional demand from the singles is unlikely to be small. One option is to launch more BTO flats next year, he said.

Couples who cancel their applications will also help boost the supply of flats.

PropNex Realty’s reginal director, David Poh, said: “It’s quite common that couples who buy (BTO flats) will not collect the keys, because they regret, they don’t like the location or they have even separated before they collect the keys. All these leftover BTO flats, the government can introduce them into the market immediately. At that time, you’ll really see the influence on resale prices.”

Land parcel at Punggol Way/Punggol Walk receives 3 bids

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) tender for the land parcel at Punggol Way/Punggol Walk for Executive Condominium Housing Development has attracted three bids at the close on Tuesday.

The top bid came from Qingjian Realty (South Pacific) Group Pte Ltd at S$189.87 million or $3,375.86 per square metre.

This works out to S$314 per square foot per plot ratio.

The top bid was just 1 percent higher than the second bid of S$188 million by Verspring Properties Pte Ltd.

Meanwhile, the lowest bid came from Opal Star Pte Ltd & Binjai Holdings Pte Ltd at $175.88 million.

The 99 -year leasehold site was launched for public tender on 23 Jul 2012.

It has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 56,243.4 square metres.

Miss Chia Siew Chuin, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International said the tender for the executive condominium (EC) site at Punggol Way and Punggol Walk was contested by just three contenders, due mainly to the location of the site which is some distant from the MRT station.

“Nonetheless, the three developers remain optimistic about the residential market’s potential and are attracted to the increasingly popular Punggol address” she added.

Miss Chia says the units for this new site could possibly be priced at $750 per square foot (psf) and above,

She also estimates the break-even cost for the developer to be around $600-$650 psf.

HDB said a decision on the award of the tender will be made after the bids have been evaluated.

The result will be announced at a later date.