SINGAPORE - Once living in the shadow of their inner-city and city fringe cousins, suburban residential properties are now stepping out on their own - with some of these properties located in more remote areas only accessible by feeder buses and light rail transit (LRT).

And property experts say such mass market homes remain in high demand from owner-occupiers, who are unscathed by the new round of cooling measures that target mainly speculators.

The Tennery, one of Far East Organization's newest properties, is a prime example of an outlying property hot in demand. According to Far East Organization, more than 90 per cent of the 338 units - 620 sq ft to 950 sq ft for one- and two bedroom units - have been sold.

Located at the crossroads of Woodlands Road and Bukit Panjang, The Tennery units sold at prices ranging from $1,118 to $1,317 per square foot (psf), according to December sales figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The 16-storey property will be built above the Ten Mile Junction LRT station and the upcoming Junction 10 shopping mall.

A little over a year ago, a unit at another Far East Organization's property, Mi Casa in the Choa Chu Kang/Bukit Panjang area, transacted at a price of $692 psf in November 2009. Mi Casa's homes cater to families, with two- to four- bedroom units ranging from 990 sq ft to over 2,000 sq ft for the largest units.

Analysts say more home buyers and investors are looking at suburban properties, now that plans to revamp regional centres have been announced by both developers and the Government.

"Home buyers who are buying properties, especially those that are away from the city centre, are predominantly Singaporeans. Almost eight out of 10 of them will be Singaporeans. But we are also seeing an increasing number of foreigners - predominantly permanent residents - who are considering buying such properties, especially as Singapore increases its intake of immigrants," said Mr Nicholas Mak, research head at real estate consultancy SLP International.

And despite the new cooling measures, property developers are capitalising on the trend. For instance, CapitaLand is building a 24,902-sq-m mixed retail and residential property at Bedok Town Centre. The developer is also going ahead with plans to release the project's 500 units for sale this year, regardless of the new measures.

The property is located within a shopping catchment of 300,000 residents in the Bedok area, atop a new integrated bus and MRT interchange, and is a short walk from new and revamped family-friendly amenities.

Other suburban locations that may present property development opportunities is the Jurong Lake District - home to Jurong Gateway, Cleantech Park and a number of business and leisure destinations - as well as Seletar Hills, where The Greenwich retail and residential development was recently launched.

"Far-flung suburban properties tend to be more for owner occupation. If they are not very accessible to local transport, they tend to be less attractive to tenants. Therefore, investors would buy it only if they think there is good capital appreciation of some of these properties," said Mr Mak.

"Once the authorities have announced plans for a new MRT track or stations around the area, the owners of some of these properties would immediately increase their asking price," he added.

With the Government Land Sales programme set to release 10 sites on the confirmed list located near MRT stations this year, analysts expect new developments to break into these areas.

"Singapore has come a long way. In the past, if you had properties in places like Changi, it could take a long journey time of at least two hours to get to the city. But now, we have a good network of MRT and expressways in Singapore. And in that sense, some Singaporeans are looking at these properties in a better light," said Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International.

Investors who intend to ride on growing rentals can now look to suburban properties. As Singapore's population and economy grows, demand for rental properties in suburban areas will also be on the rise. Rentals grew by 27.5 per cent from November 2009 to November 2010.

Even buyers with deeper pockets are seeking out homes in suburban areas. Mid-tier developments such as Suites @ Eunos were sold at a median launch price of $1,339 psf, while The Lanai was sold at the latest price of $1,450 psf. Both properties are in the Outside Central Region, with Suites @ Eunos located at Jalan Yasin and The Lanai located near Hillview Avenue.

The sentiment for such homes will be affected by the new cooling measures but the effect will be short-lived, Mr Tan said.

"The market is just reeling from shock, but normal service will resume in a couple of weeks," he said.

by Jo-Ann Huang Limin
05:55 AM Jan 21, 2011

Source: www.todayonline.com

Published December 29, 2010

By UMA SHANKARI

FAR East Organization has sold 181 Soho-style (small office, home office) apartments in its 338-unit The Tennery.

The developer said yesterday that it released 217 units of its newest residential project, at Bukit Panjang, in a preview. A total of 181 units were sold at prices ranging from $950 per sq ft (psf) to $1,300 psf.

The 99-year leasehold The Tennery is part of an integrated residential and retail development Far East is building on the Ten Mile Junction site it won in a government tender in February.

Far East paid $164 million or $437 psf per plot ratio for the site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands roads.

In addition to The Tennery, the site will also house a 121,000 sq ft retail development called Junction 10.

Some 80 per cent of The Tennery's buyers are Singaporeans and permanent residents, Far East said. It added that most of the buyers are professionals living in the Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Hillview areas, who are familiar with the neighbourhood.

Far East Organization's executive director and chief operating officer Chia Boon Kuah said that an increasing number of people are looking for versatile living spaces that allow them to work from home.

This development, he said, is flexible, expandable and designed for maximum functionality.

The Tennery's one-bedroom apartments range from 619 sq ft to 640 sq ft in size, while two-bedders range from 860 sq ft to 950 sq ft in size. Far East will release more units during the project's official launch on Jan 1, 2011.

In 2010, including The Tennery, Far East has launched nine residential projects in Singapore. Other launches included Altez in the Tanjong Pagar area, The Greenwich at Seletar Hills and Skyline@Orchard Boulevard

Source: www.businesstimes.com.sg

Sept saw fall in private homes sold by developers and more units being returned

Published October 16, 2010
By KALPANA RASHIWALA


THE cooling measures are leaving their mark on the property market - and the latest developer sales data for the month of September seems to underline that.

After the cooling measures were announced on Aug 30, the number of private homes sold by developers fell 27.6 per cent month on month to 911 units in September. BT's analysis also showed that at least 60 units were returned to developers in September, compared with nearly 30 units in August.

Figures released by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also show that the number of private homes launched by developers slid 9.2 per cent month on month to 1,058 in September.

Property consultants readily attributed the slowdown in last month's sales to the cooling measures. Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui says: 'I think we can expect sales to slow down further for the rest of the year due to a seasonal year-end slowdown combined with the effect of the cooling package.'

Property consultants are predicting that between 1,000 and 2,000 private homes (excluding executive condos) could be sold in the current quarter. That could still take the full-year tally to over 14,000 units.

Knight Frank managing director (residential services) Peter Ow suggests that those who returned units to developers last month were more likely to have been short-term investors worried that the market would collapse. 'At that point (when the measures were introduced on Aug 30), the downside risks were a lot higher than any price upside. What's walking away and forfeiting 1.25 per cent of the purchase price compared with being caught by a turn in the market?' he said.

'But now some of these people may go back to the market again. Sentiment has improved slightly this month,' he added.

BT's analysis showed that 13 units were returned to the developer for The Scala at Serangoon Avenue 3 last month, which had been fully sold by the end of August. Of these, 12 units were again sold by the developer, leaving only one unit available at end-September in the 468-unit condo.

Other projects with units surrendered last month include The Greenwich in the Seletar/Yio Chu Kang area (seven units), Cyan at Bukit Timah/Keng Chin roads (five units), Jardin along Dunearn Road (five units) and Waterfront Gold along Bedok Reservoir (six units). The Cascadia, Stevens Suites and Tivoli Grande were among the projects which had a unit returned each.

Analysts point out that the actual number of units given back to developers may have been higher, with the number offset by some of these units being again sold by the developer during the month.

A market watcher acknowledged that 'there was a spike in units returned in September but we're seeing a levelling-off in returns'.

Developers' top-selling project in September was the 99-year-leasehold NV Residences in Pasir Ris, with 347 units sold at a median price of $859 per square foot (psf). This was followed by the freehold Vacanza @ East in the Kembangan area with 89 units transacted at $1,107 psf median price.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho noted that projects with small-format apartments continued to do well in September, thanks to their location and affordable absolute price quantum - such as Jupiter 18, Dorsett Residences and ISuites @ Marshall.

In terms of per square foot pricing, the most expensive unit sold by a developer last month was an apartment at The Orchard Residences which was sold at $4,258 psf. Another three units were also sold at Tomlinson Heights (the former Beverly Mai site) at $3,060 psf (median price).

While the number of homes sold in the Core Central Region and the Rest of Central Region fell about 49 per cent and 59 per cent respectively month on month in September to 84 units and 226 units, sales in the Outside Central Region rose nearly 10 per cent to 601.

'This is contrary to market expectation that the cooling measures would have greater impact on sales of mass-market homes,' says Colliers International director Tay Huey Ying.

Developers have sold 3,723 units in Q3 2010, taking the tally for the first nine months of this year to 12,136 units. This compares with 12,828 units in the same period last year and 14,688 units in the whole of last year.

URA will release the final developer sales figure for Q3 2010 on Oct 22, which may be slightly different as it will take into account, among other things, options which are not exercised.

Market watchers point out that the 911 units sold last month still represented a decent showing, coming in above the 847 units for June (when sales slowed down due to eurozone woes and the World Cup season).

Jones Lang LaSalle's SE Asia research head Chua Yang Liang went so far as to say that the latest set of cooling measures on Aug 30 this year fell short of the first set unveiled in September last year in terms of moderating developers' sales volume.

Based on his analysis of the weighted sales volume 30 days before and after the date of intervention, the latest measures led to a 24 per cent drop in sales volume compared with a 33 per cent decline when the first set of measures was announced in September 2009.

'The numbers suggest that the initial shock of government policies is over as the market adjusts to a stricter regulatory environment each time,' he adds.

DTZ's SE Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon suggests that while the measures are cooling sales volumes, they're unlikely to make a significant dent in prices as interest rates remain low and the economy is still growing.

Knight Frank's Mr Ow expects developers to proceed to launch mass and mid-market projects 'as there's still good demand. It's a matter of whether pricing is reasonable.'

'For the high-end and luxury markets, I believe they'll be more careful about releasing new projects just yet as the buyers have not yet returned, especially foreign purchasers,' he adds.

Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg

Cooling measures sideline buyers and sellers, further drop expected in Q4

05:55 AM Sep 24, 2010
Ryan Huang

SINGAPORE - The number of new private homes sold in the third quarter has continued to fall from the previous quarter, according to CB Richard Ellis, which estimates between 3,300 and 3,500 units being sold in the three months to September.

This would be significantly lower than the 4,033 and 4,380 units sold in the second and first quarters, respectively.

CBRE says residential market activity in the third quarter moved at a steady pace until September, after the government introduced its latest set of property cooling measures on Aug 30.

The real-estate consultancy believes market sentiment was dampened and sales activity slowed down as both sellers and buyers took time to digest the implications of the measures.

In the third quarter, projects in good locations and those with small-format units continued to be the star performers. Those fully sold included 368 Thomson (157 units), The Scala (468 units), Terrene (172 units) and small-format projects Haig 162 (99 units) and Dorsett Residences (68 units).

Meanwhile, suburban 99-year leasehold condominiums, The Greenwich at Seletar Road and NV Residences at Pasir Ris Grove, set new price benchmarks of $1,095 psf and $830 psf in their respective locations.

During the quarter, developers acquired more than 10 sites from the private sector.

The more prominent deals included the purchase of Goodrich Park for $86 million or $629 psf/plot ratio and Meng Gardens, a prime site in District 9 for $137 million or $1,380 psf/plot ratio.

A total of six residential sites and one mixed commercial-residential site were bought from the Government. This included the purchase by Far East Organization of a 444,136-sq ft site at Jalan Eunos for $257.8 million or $415 psf/plot ratio.

CBRE says developers will continue to look for development sites but will likely be less bullish in their bids.

It expects the residential market to mellow in the fourth quarter. The sales volume of new homes in the fourth quarter is expected to be lower, at around 2,000 units.

New projects primed for launch include Vacanza @ East and two executive condominiums - Esparina Residences and The Canopy.

by Ryan Huang

Source: http://www.todayonline.com

Updated 03:00 PM Sep 20, 2010
by Ephraim Seow Siew Lee

SINGAPORE - The Singapore housing market was well and alive during the Hungry Ghost Month as demand for new private homes continued to be strong in the month of August, with sales staying above the 1,000 level.

Latest figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority revealed 1,248 units were sold last month, a 19-per-cent dip from the 1,549 sold in July.

In total, 1,326 units were launched in August with buyers snapping up 94 per cent of the new units launched.

Traditionally, demand for homes are more sluggish during the Hungry Ghost Month. The Government's package of anti-speculation measures, however, had come on the second-last day of August, meaning market watchers would have to wait another month before confirming its impact on market sentiment.

The strong sale was well beyond analyst expectations of 500 to 800 units and brought the number of new homes sold in the first eight months of this year to 11,210 units (corrected at 2:50PM, Sept 20).

"There is a lot of liquidity out there and a lack of financial investment alternatives with the low interest rates," said Ms Chua Chor Hoon, senior director of research at property consultancy DTZ.

She added many still see property as a safe haven, citing its potential for capital appreciation and rental yield of 3 to 3.5 per cent - higher than savings and housing loan rates.

The hottest development last month was The Greenwich at Yio Chu Kang and Seletar Road, which sold 207 units for a median price of $1,095 per square foot (psf). The units ranged from 616 square feet (sq ft) to 738 sq ft.

Viva Vista at South Buona Vista Road came in second as it sold 139 units of between 334 sq ft and 485 sq ft. at the median price of $1,509 psf.

"Their attraction lies in the affordable price quantum as well as proximity to major transport nodes," said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director, CBRE Research.

Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle said the Core Central Region remained the quietest despite the 406 units launched by developers to stir up the market. Only 155 units from Core Central Region were sold there. This is much lower than the 1,093 units sold in both the Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region.

Market experts said the latest URA figures showed escalating prices, where 88.2 per cent of units sold had a median per square foot price of over $1,000.

However, looking ahead, observers expect the recent cooling measures by the government to impact buying sentiments. Jones Lang LaSalle estimates September private home sales to contract 30 to 35 per cent on-month as the policy takes effect.

"Although the full quarter numbers have not been released, we estimate resale volume (for all residential properties excluding executive condominium) in the third quarter could decline by 20 to 25 per cent quarter-on-quarter or 25 to 35 per cent year-on-year," said Dr Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research South-east Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com