Property News

Private home resale prices up slightly in October: SRX
POSTED: 11 Nov 2014 10:43
UPDATED: 11 Nov 2014 10:46

SINGAPORE: Resale prices of non-landed private homes climbed marginally in October by 0.4 per cent month-on-month, according to flash estimates from SRX Property on Tuesday (Nov 11).

When compared with October 2013, resale prices of non-landed private homes have dropped 4.5 per cent. Compared with the recent peak in January 2014, prices have declined 5.2 per cent, SRX said.

Resale prices of private homes in the Rest of Central Region and Outside of Central Region drove the climb, with both increasing 0.6 per cent. In contrast, prices in the Core Central Region dipped 0.3 per cent.

However, the number of resale transactions slipped by 2.2 per cent from September, with an estimated 451 units resold in October compared to the 461 transacted units from the previous month.



TOX REMAINS IN NEGATIVE RANGE

The overall median Transaction Over X-value (TOX), which measures whether people are overpaying or underpaying the SRX Property X-Value estimated market value, dipped to -S$4,000 in October from -S$2,000 in September.

For districts with more than 10 resale transactions, districts 9, 10 and 25 saw a positive median TOX, with district 10 posting the highest median TOX of S$30,000, followed by district 9 with S$22,000 and district 25 with S$15,000.

Conversely, districts 14 had the lowest median TOX, posting -S$41,000, followed by district 12 with -S$40,000 and district 11 with -S$31,000.



http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/private-home-resale/1465684.html

cheerguan said:

Hi,
I've bought a unit in the Hibiscus@Port Dickson by KL Metro group. Is this considered under GRR scheme properties? What do you think of this project and it's developer? Thanks.

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I 've heard about this Hibiscus in passing, have no idea on it (prospects, developer). very sorry unable to give you info. anyway you bought into it already so wish you good fortune on it.

malpaso said:

I 've heard about this Hibiscus in passing, have no idea on it (prospects, developer). very sorry unable to give you info. anyway you bought into it already so wish you good fortune on it.

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Ok, thanks. Can only just hope for the best.

cheerguan said:

Ok, thanks. Can only just hope for the best.

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have you been to the site? you like P/D? already VP?

malpaso said:

have you been to the site? you like P/D? already VP?

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Yes about a year ago. PD good for short relaxing getaway and makan with kids. 3d2n should be ok though nothing really much to do. They send their circular to my home every quarter since day one. Progress not bad, should VP sometime next year.

Stayed in their other resort in PD, Lexis water homes twice 5 years apart. Quite impressed and noticed standard still well maintained during 2nd visit. Both time, occupancy rate quite good.

Here their website with updates.
http://klmetropolitan.com/Port Dickson/circular.html

Condo resale prices flattish in October: SRX
But analysts do not think it is a sign that prices are recovering

By Lee [email protected] @LeeMeixianBT
12 Nov 5:50 AM
Singapore

RESALE prices of non-landed private homes stabilised in October, leading some in the industry to wonder if the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework has exhausted its effectiveness in bringing prices down.

Resale prices rose a slight 0.4 per cent in October, compared to September. Prices in the city fringe and suburbs each climbed 0.6 per cent, while prices of city apartments fell 0.3 per cent, according to flash figures released by SRX on Tuesday.

Again, analysts cautioned against calling this a price recovery.

"There is no change in the market fundamentals...The cooling measures and TDSR framework are still in place and the government has mentioned that it would not remove these curbs any time soon," said SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak.

"Overall prices are expected to continue on a downward trend, but the rate of decline seems to be decelerating. Barring any changes in current housing policies, a rebound in prices is not expected to happen in the short term. We expect prices to continue to edge lower," said Wong Xian Yang, manager of research and consultancy at OrangeTee.

Year-on-year, resale prices have dropped 4.5 per cent from October 2013, and 5.2 per cent since its recent peak in January 2014.

The latest flattish price movement came on the back of lower resale volume which slipped 2.2 per cent. About 451 units were resold in October, compared to 461 in September.

But R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng is among those who disagrees that TDSR has lost its effectiveness.

"I think prices are flattish or slightly higher in October because buyers who have been waiting for prices to fall further finally decided to conclude the deals ahead of the festive season, which would have further dwindled their options. TDSR will still be effective in controlling prices from increasing and, I believe, will lead to some slide in prices after December," he said.

OrangeTee's Mr Wong concurred, saying: "I would say that the market has adjusted to TDSR, thus explaining the slower rate of decline. TDSR, together with other cooling measures, is still very effective in tempering demand in the market and keeping prices from moving up."

The overall median "transaction over X-value (T-O-X)" also remained negative in October. The median T-O-X measures whether people are paying above or below the property's estimated market value, so a negative indicator shows poor market sentiment. The median T-O-X has been negative since October last year.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-resale-prices-flattish-in-october-srx

CDL warns of fire sales in high-end market
While the residential property market is on a downturn, group can ride on 'shining stars' of offices and hotels

By Kalpana [email protected]@KalpanaBT
13 Nov5:50 AM
Singapore

CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng has warned that the current subdued state of the Singapore housing market particularly in the high-end segment, if it continues, could ignite fire sales.

Mr Kwek made this point in CDL's third quarter results statement. CDL posted net earnings of S$127.21 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2014, up 4.7 per cent from the same year-ago period. Revenue rose 58.3 per cent to S$1.32 billion.

"The domestic residential real estate market will need to battle headwinds as sentiments remain subdued with little signs of property curbs being tweaked or removed in the near-term. Transaction volumes and prices continue to face downward pressures as homebuyers maintain a wait-and-see approach," he lamented.

The high end market, in particular, remains subdued with prices still below their 2008 peak. "Average residential rents across all market segments, particularly the high-end . . . are on the decline, coupled with a weak secondary market.

"From the group's experience, having gone through many property cycles, if this trend continues, with prices dipping more, some mortgage borrowers affected by lower rentals may have difficulty servicing their loans, possibly leading to forced fire sales," Mr Kwek said.

On a more positive note, Mr Kwek noted that savvy investors who believe in Singapore's prospects will continue to read positively into the property market with a medium to long-term perspective. "New launches that are priced carefully will continue to sell, as buyers only need to make progressive payments based on stages of construction, and they are confident that the market will recover over time," he added.

The group can also count on two "shining stars" - the office and hotel markets. "Office and hotel properties have become most desirable assets. Demand for Grade A office space in Singapore is improving; and capital value for hotels has increased significantly, even though earnings have not caught up yet. With over 120 hotels globally, the group is able to counterbalance by geographical spread," Mr Kwek said.

In the first nine months of this year, CDL's net earnings shrank 17.1 per cent to S$384.74 million despite revenue surging 20.3 per cent to S$2.92 billion.

CDL said that the earnings drop was due to absence of significant divestment gains from non-core investment properties as compared to the corresponding period, which had accounted for gains largely from the sale of 100G Pasir Panjang and strata units in Citimac Industrial Complex, Elite Industrial Building I, Elite Industrial Building II and GB Building. "Excluding such divestment gains from YTD Sept 2013, on a like-for-like comparison, the group's core earnings would have increased by 25.5 per cent for YTD Sept 2014," CDL said in its results statement.

The group's net gearing ratio as at Sept 30, 2014, was 36 per cent, up from 25 per cent as at Dec 31, 2013. Interest cover was 11 times for YTD Sept 2014, down from 13 times in the same period last year.

This does not factor in any revaluation gains in investment properties but takes into account the consolidation of CDL Hospitality Trusts and acquisition of new hotels by the group.

Third quarter earnings per share rose 4.5 per cent to 14 Singapore cents. Net asset value per share rose to S$8.79 as at Sept 30, 2014, from S$8.50 as at Dec 31, 2013.

On the stock market, the counter closed two cents lower at S$9.36 on Wednesday. CDL released its results after trading.

In Q3 FY2014, profit before income tax (including share of after-tax profits of associates and jointly-controlled entities) from property development rose to S$99.82 million from S$88.90 million previously. Profit from hotel operations too improved to S$87.59 million from S$67.13 million. Profit from rental properties rose to S$34.40 million from S$28.32 million.

Giving an update of the South Beach project (a joint venture with Malaysian group IOI), CDL said that the consortium is confident of hitting about 90 per cent occupancy at South Beach Tower (the office component) by end-2014. The 654-room hotel in the development is expected to soft open by Q2 2015.

CDL's London-listed property arm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has a stake in Tanglin Shopping Centre, where efforts to launch a collective sale failed to garner the requisite 80 per cent consent level from owners - resulting in the collective sale agreement (CSA) lapsing on Aug 27, 2014. "As M&C holds approximately a 34 per cent interest, it does not anticipate that a new CSA will be negotiated. It is unlikely to participate in further attempts in the foreseeable future, given that this committee has already tried twice and the asking prices have not been realistically determined," CDL said.

Giving an update on its UK projects, CDL said that planning approval has been secured on the projects in Belgravia, Knightsbridge (at 32 Hans Road), Reading and Croydon. "The group expects to secure the consents for 90-100 Sydney Street in Chelsea and the Knightsbridge carpark (at 28 Pavilion Road) in Q1 2015," it added.

Mr Kwek also said that the "group's DNA is evolving" as it enters cautiously into new frontiers to expand its overseas property development business.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-warns-of-fire-sales-in-high-end-market

Rents squeezed by new demand-supply scenarios
By Kalpana [email protected] @KalpanaBT

13 Nov 5:50 AM Singapore

RENTALS for private condos/apartments as well as HDB flats continued to come under presure in October, latest SRX flash estimates show.

Market watchers blame this on the tightened inflow of foreign talent crimping leasing demand on the one hand and a ramp-up in private home completions. Moreover, HDB upgraders are choosing to put their flats up for rent after they have moved into their new private condos given current weak buying demand for HDB resale flats due to the 30 per cent mortgage service ratio cap.

This scenario is expected to continue in the near future, with more than 20,000 private homes forecast to be completed for each of the next two years - mostly in the suburbs, note industry players. The nearly 18,000 private homes estimated for completion this year reflect a substantial increase from 13,150 units last year and 10,329 units in 2012.

Flash estimates for October 2014 released on Wednesday show that since December last year, SRX's overall rental index for non-landed private homes has eased 3.9 per cent, a bigger drop compared with the 2.5 per cent fall for the whole of last year.

In the suburbs or Outside Central Region (OCR), the rent drop so far this year has been 5.5 per cent, more than double the 2.5 per cent decline last year.

ERA Realty's key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that almost 60 per cent of the 18,000 private homes expected to be completed this year are in surburban areas.

Agreeing, R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng added: "Expats, especially those from Western countries, have not massively decentralised to rent suburban condos. A typical mass-market project has at least 300 units and is crowded on weekends. These expats prefer city-fringe or smallish developments that offer a quieter environment; so tenant demand for suburban condos tends to be mainly from Asian professionals who are cost savvy and open to even renting rooms in a HDB flat."

Going by SRX's flash estimates, the rent deterioration has been even more pronounced in Core Central Region (CCR), the so-called high end segment; so far this year, the subindex for the region has shrunk 4.8 per cent - contrasting with an increase of 1.3 per cent in 2013.

In the city fringe, or Rest of Central Region (RCR), SRX's October 2014 flash estimate was 2.8 per cent lower than December 2013. Last year the subindex slipped 3.8 per cent.

For HDB rents, SRX's flash estimate for October was 1.7 per cent below last December. Full year 2013, the index declined 2 per cent.

R'ST Research's Mr Ong estimates that HDB rents will contract by up to 4 per cent for the whole of this year and weaken further by as much as 8 per cent in 2015. "Rents of HDB flats will better match tenants' affordability by the end of 2015," he argued.

For private condo and apartment rents, Mr Ong estimates a full-year 2014 drop of around 7 per cent, to be followed by a further decline of up to 10 per cent next year. "The fall will be most pronounced in Core Central Region as companies are cutting back on housing allowances. For Outside Central Region, the drop will be due to increased completions of sububurban condos," he said.

Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International, argues that the OCR may face the greatest downward pressure on rents given that this is the segment with the biggest private home completions over the next few years. On the whole, notes Mr Mak, "Without a substantial increase in the population of foreigners boosting leasing demand in both the private and HDB housing markets, rents (in the two segments) are likely to continue to slip gradually in 2015".

ERA's Mr Lim said that competition for tenants among suburban private property owners who are lowering their rents for family-sized units to S$2,500-3,500 a month are drawing tenants away from the HDB rental market.

While he expects this trend to continue given that the bulk of newly completed private homes are in suburban locations, Mr Lim reckons that the "HDB rental market will continue to have firm support from tenants with monthly rental budgets of S$2,500 or lower".

For October itself, the SRX overall non-landed private home rental index dipped 0.9 per cent compared to September, marking the ninth consecutive monthly fall. The October flash estimate reflects a year-on-year contraction of 5.3 per cent.

Month-on-month, the subindices for CCR, RCR and OCR slipped 0.7 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Leasing deals were entered into for an estimated 3,208 non-landed private homes last month, a slight dip from 3,250 units in September. Year-on-year, the rental volume in October 2014 was up 11.8 per cent.

SRX's rental index for HDB flats shed 0.5 per cent month-on-month in October. Year-on-year, the drop was 2.1 per cent.

Rentals of four-room, five-room and executive flats registered respective month-on-month decreases of 0.8 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent. On the other hand, three-room flat rentals inched up 0.2 per cent.

SRX estimates rental contracts were inked for 1,559 HDB flats last month, up 0.8 per cent from 1,546 units in September. Year-on-year rental volume in October 2014 was down 2 per cent.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/rents-squeezed-by-new-demand-supply-scenarios

Expect Johor to face downward rental pressure and some big discounts for high price quantum homes (>$2 mil RM) in 1-2 years' time.

Seems like the ground is reporting quite a lot of bad news.
Certainly it's putting a chill on real estate investments.
Hope this downturn cycle will revert for the better.

New theme park coming soon

http://tantannews.com/剪报/47336

Organic said:

New theme park coming soon

http://tantannews.com/剪报/47336

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Wow, bigger than LEGOLAND !

I bet its Warner Bros?

Where is zhuozu garden mentioned in the news?

Not the one sunway is planning right?

At sunway lah. Will announced in april 2015. Intergrated theme park similar to gold coast

Organic said:

New theme park coming soon

http://tantannews.com/剪报/47336

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at which place??

No wonder so confident, don't even bother to advertise for the Citrine. Think only saw the advert in the newspaper once or twice.

PR1MA under fire over ‘unrealistic’ targets
By Joseph Wong
Friday, 14 Nov 2014, 12:11 AM

Some two years after launching the ambitious 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA), Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia has only 7,336 housing units under construction of the first 80,000 it is to deliver.

According to the Economic Report 2014/2015 released last month by the Ministry of Finance, PR1MA plans to start building 31,469 units only by year-end. That means the agency tasked with implementing the affordable housing programme has already failed as it is supposed to deliver 80,000 homes each year.

By the end of this year, PR1MA is to deliver 160,000 homes and come next year, it should construct 240,000 units using the total of RM2.8 bil allocated by the government.

With the second year of the programme set to end in just over a month, PR1MA has yet to deliver even a single unit. PR1MA has set itself to fail even before it started, say several property observers.

The entity was established under the PR1MA Act 2012 to plan, develop, construct and maintain high-quality housing with lifestyle concepts for middle-income households in key urban centres.

“The goal is to build 80,000 homes every year. It was allocated RM500 mil during the 2013 Budget to build 80,000 houses in major locations nationwide with the selling price ranging between RM100,000 and RM400,000 per unit,” says an observer.

http://www.focusmalaysia.my/Assets/PR1MA under fire over ‘unrealistic’ targets#sthash.wwQoGE2x.dpuf

Manhattan said:

No wonder so confident, don't even bother to advertise for the Citrine. Think only saw the advert in the newspaper once or twice.

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Let's wait for it to get built first, which may take several more years. I suspect Angry Birds may close down in 1-2 years and there could be cannibalisation of Legoland's visitors if the new theme park is started. 2nd link simply cannot take the traffic to sustain the growth rate required.

Valdez said:

At sunway lah. Will announced in april 2015. Intergrated theme park similar to gold coast

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No need to get those branded theme parks. Sunway already had developed Sunway Lagoon and Sunway Tambun theme parks and both of them are very successful. All they need is to photocopy the blue prints.

I also have this feeling that Kidzania JB would be the next in line as it is owned by Khazanah. The one in Kota Damansara is packed everyday.