Chatsworth bungalow sells at $22m record price

The Marq condo sets S$19m price record

DBSS is not HDB, says Khaw

Minister Khaw profiles May BTO applicants

NATIONAL Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan - in his latest blog entry posted on Thursday morning - provides a breakdown of the nearly 14,000 flat applicants for the latest May BTO launch.

This saw more than half of the 65 percent first-timers applying under HDB's Fiance-Fiancee's Scheme.

In his blog entry titled 'Know Our Customers', he started off by writing: 'The first rule of good customer service is to know our customers: Who are they? What are their needs? In my first BTO launch last month, nearly 14,000 Singaporeans applied for 4,000 units. I asked HDB for their profile.'

He made the following observations.

He wrote on (as is carried here exactly from his blog post): 'First, 65% of the applicants were first-timers. Second, 55% of the applicants were making their first BTO attempt (35% first-timers, 20% second-timers).

'Third, 35% of the applicants were first-timers and making their first BTO attempt. Fourth, among the first-timers, more than half applied under HDB's Fiance-Fiancee Scheme. Their median age was 27. As for the other first-timers (i.e. those already married), their median age was 34. There is therefore justification to revise the HDB income ceiling, given the rising age of applicants.'

He went on to make other points, before adding that HDB is now processing the applications, of which 4,000 will be successful and that his team must analyse the profile of the successful applicants after the exercise, for further insights. To read more, go here:

New Measures To Cool Property Market

A new set of property-cooling measures were released by the government on Thursday, reported The Straits Times (ST).

This is the fourth time in less than two years and barely five months, after tighter financing and ownership rules were announced, that the government has stepped in to cool the property market.

And according to analysts, these measures, which take effect on Friday, are targeted at short-term speculation.

Some changes include hiking sellers stamp duty to a maximum of 16 per cent, up from 3 per cent, and making it payable for up to four years from the date of purchase of a property.

Those with an existing home loan looking to buy a second property for investment will also have to fork out more cash and Central Provident Fund savings since the loan limit for such properties is now 60 per cent of the property’s value, from the previous 70 per cent.

First-time buyers and property owners without outstanding home loans can still borrow up to 80 per cent of the value of the property.

In a statement, the government said previous measures had moderated the market to some extent but sentiment remained buoyant, reported ST.

“’Low interest rates plus excessive liquidity in the financial system – both in Singapore and globally – could cause prices to rise beyond sustainable levels based on economic fundamentals,” it said.

“’Moreover, when interest rates eventually rise, it could strain purchasers who have over-extended themselves financially.”

Proof of a buoyant property market could be seen on Thursday with local developer Oxley Holdings announcing that its 41-unit Loft@Holland condominium sold out within two hours of its soft launch.

Prices ranged from $1,630 per sq ft to $2,166 per sq ft.

Institutions will also see tighter financing rules arising from the latest batch of cooling measures, said ST.

The loan limit will be lowered to 50 per cent on housing loans granted to property purchases of such types who are “not individuals or natural persons”. There were no rules specific to this class of investors previously.

Property developers for en bloc sales or land zoned for residential purposes will be exempted from these tighter rules, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.

Industry players believe buying interest will dry up initially and new property launches will slow down.

CapitaLand was expected to launch around 1,700 new homes this year, while City Developments and Far East Organisation also had new launches slated for the next few months. They declined comment.

Mr Lim Yew Soon, managing director of EL Development which is expected to launch its Skysuites 17 in March, said if the market reacts drastically to the measures, “we may decide to hold off the launch by three months or so”.

Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International, revised her price growth forecast for this year to between 5 and 8 per cent, down from 10 per cent.

The Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore told ST, the measures will discourage speculative demand and encourage longer-term holding of properties. This will help stabilise the market.

Property consultancy International Property Advisor’s (IPA) chief executive Ku Swee Yong described the move as a ‘sledgehammer’ that came as a surprise to the industry.

‘Many of our clients who are genuine investors are now re-assessing their loans situation. The market will be frozen stiff for a while,’ he said.

Developers may also have to reduce their asking price, and may drop them by 1 to 2 per cent to test the market, he added.

He added, the stamp duty will “cripple” sellers who buy private property (from Friday onward) but need to dispose of them in the short-term, such as those who have suffered losses in business or fallen critically ill.

First-time private home buyer Valerie Lee, 24, welcomed the new measures. She said, property prices have been too high for her, even after the last set of measures were introduced.

New Measures:

• Increase the holding period for imposition of Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) from the current three years to four years.
• Raise the SSD rates to 16 per cent, 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent for residential properties bought from Friday onward, and which are sold in the first, second, third and fourth year of purchase respectively.
• Lower the Loan-To-Value (LTV) limit to 50 per cent on housing loans for property purchasers who are not individuals.
• Lower the LTV limit on housing loans from 70 per cent to 60 per cent for property purchasers who are individuals with one or more outstanding housing loans.

Top 10 most expensive houses in Singapore

With the opening of the two casinos and luxury home prices hitting new highs, there’s been a lot of talk about Singapore becoming the Monaco of the East, or a playground for the super rich.

I thought it would be fun to look at the priciest homes on the market, to see whether any had the price tag and cache to be ranked as one of the world's most exclusive. I used PropertyGuru to filter out the most expensive homes on the market (the prices below are the asking prices).

My findings? Amongst the top ten, all are landed properties and all but one are Good Class Bungalows. And unless you’re a multi-millionaire, you can’t afford one.

Here are the top 10 most expensive homes in Singapore in ascending order (from the least expensive to the priciest):

10) The “cheapest” property on our list is a S$48 million Good Class Bungalow situated along Victoria Park Road. Sitting on 32,088 square feet of freehold land (or S$1,496 per square foot), it has an aged two storey colonial style house with 8 bedrooms, a newly renovated two and a half storey house also with 8 bedrooms, and an outhouse for your staff with 2 maids rooms and a driver’s room. This is better than a buy one get one free deal!

9) For “just” S$48.5 million, you get a stately looking Good Class Bungalow in the Queen Astrid Park area sitting on a massive 40,500 square feet of land (or S$1,198 per square foot). You get 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms in this two storey house (enough to house all your visiting friends and relatives from abroad), two swimming pools and a garden. Entrepreneurial types can subdivide the plot of land into two GCBs.

8) In eighth place we have a buy one get one free deal. For S$50.5 million, you get a 32,088 square foot piece of freehold land (or S$1,573 per square foot) located in Victoria Park and zoned as a Good Class Bungalow. Sitting on this land are two bungalows, each 8,000 square feet in size. One has 5+1 bedrooms and the other 4+1 bedrooms.

7) Going for S$52 million, in seventh place we have a tropical style 22,000 square foot Good Class Bungalow located in Bishopsgate, which has 5+1+1 bedrooms, a lovely “matured” garden and swimming pool.

6) Located in the Holland area, this Good Class Bungalow in sixth place is going for S$53 million. It sits on 32,000 square feet of land (or S$1,656 per square foot) and has 5 bedrooms and 16,000 square feet of built up area. The listing doesn’t say much more – if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

5) In fifth place we have a S$55 million dollar colonial style Good Class Bungalow along Leedon Road sitting on 43,927 square feet (or S$1,252 per square foot) of freehold land. You get a relatively small house for your money, with 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms being squeezed into “only” 6,000 square feet of built up area. But this is compensated by having a huge garden and your own swimming pool.

4) In fourth place is a S$58 million dollar Good Class Bungalow located in the exclusive enclave of Leedon Park. Situated on 42,000 square feet of land (or S$1,381 per square foot), this 6 bedroom house (17,000 square feet of built up area) has its own lap pool and baby pool. It’s being sold with vacant possession, so if you can cough up the money, you can move in right away.

3) In third place at S$60 million we have a brand new detached house with full sea view in Sentosa. Advertised as the largest landed property you can own on the resort island, this 6 bedroom house sits on 20,000 square feet of 99-year leasehold land (or S$3,158 per square foot) and has a built up area of 19,000 square feet.

2) Coming in second is a S$73 million dollar Good Class Bungalow in Leedon Park. Sitting on 41,852 square feet of freehold land (or S$1,744 per square foot), the house has 16,500 square feet of built up area, which contains 6+1 bedrooms, a wide frontage with two automatic gates, a garage and a swimming pool.

1) And in first place (drumroll please)…For a cool S$90 million, you can pick up a 20,000 square foot Good Class Bungalow sitting on 45,000 square feet of freehold land (or S$2,000 per square foot). Situated along Nassim Road, it is within walking distance to the bustling Orchard Road shopping district. This massive house has 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, and is advertised as being “priced to sell” – to billionaires, that is.

Collective sale market gaining momentum

Collective sales in Singapore are gaining momentum, with en bloc sale transactions hitting S$975 million year-to-date, according to property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

About 90 percent of the total transactions came from residential segments, with more than 10 residential deals recorded in the third quarter.

“The rise in popularity of collective sales this year could be attributed to improving fundamentals of the Singapore property market and the widening gap between new sale and resale prices for residential property,” said Ms. Stella Hoh, Head of Investment at JLL Singapore.

“Median prices for new sales average at 48% above that of resale transactions during the first three quarters of 2010. These factors seem to have encouraged owners of older properties to band together and attempt a collective sale of the estate,” she added.

Investor interest seems to be focused in areas around Central, City fringe and East Coast, but successful en bloc transactions have been predominantly recorded in locations like Balestier and Toa Payoh in District 12, Geylang and Eunos in District 14 and Hougang, Serangoon and Serangoon Gardens in District 19.

Recently, JLL closed the en bloc sale of Glenville located at the Upper Serangoon Road for S$39.51 million, setting a benchmark price of S$740 psf ppr for the Serangoon area.

So far, the largest collective sale transaction recorded this year was Meng Garden, sold for S$137 million or $1,380 psf ppr. This became a significant quantum and still competitive compared with the latest transaction in the area in Q3 2007.

Although mixed-use en bloc transaction value comprises only 5 percent of the total transaction volume to date, Ms Quek Soh Hoon, head of commercial investments at JLL, said: “While historically the focus has been on the residential sector rather than mixed use developments, large plots of freehold land such as Paramount Hotel and Shopping Centre (tender closing on 23 November 2010) are still generating interest among investors.”

“As long as economic conditions continue to improve, we expect that collective sales prices will continue to trend up. Collective sales volumes will be maintained during 2011 in line with moderate growth in capital values expected off the back of recent government measures even as the price gap between new sale and resale prices remains large,” she added.

Locals Driving Up Home Sales

Five reasons why you should buy a property now

With house prices on the rise, despite the new cooling measures, is now really the right time to buy a property? Award-winning property agent Kelvin Fong thinks so. Here are his five reasons why buying a property today could be the best decision you ever make.

1. Low interest rates
People with money to invest can use the current low interest rates – which are as low as 0.88% at present – to leverage a passive income from their purchased property. In fact, the returns from a property can be more than what a bank’s fixed deposit account can offer.

For example, a unit at Southbank costing about $1.2million could generate a rental income of about $4800 per month, while the mortgage is about $3000. The buyer would enjoy a passive income of $1800 per month, as compared to depositing it in the bank to get 0.4% of around $1000 per year.

2. Property is an appreciating asset (eventually)
Barring any dramatic economic upheavals, property prices will likely stabilise or slowly, but progressively, increase from now till 2011. Most sellers will not want to sell at a lower price today, and will not suffer when paying a relatively high mortgage due to low borrowing costs. The 30% down payment rule will actually act as an incentive because purchasers, having come up with this capital, will not want to sell.

Provided you do not sell your property during the downturn – as you will almost inevitably lose money on it – the value should increase. The key is that the buyer must have holding power when the market deteriorates and should not buy until they have the holding power to weather any market conditions. Prices will eventually rise again – as witnessed in 2008, when prices were down but did eventually rise to and, in some cases surpass, the 2007 peak.

3. Assets beat playing the market
Many people will choose to purchase an asset like property because the market liquidity – essentially the asset’s cash value – is still strong and, due to the last financial crisis in 2008, people felt safer putting the money in asset rather than financial instruments. The asset will always be there, and even when market conditions are not as good, as long as you do not sell it, you will not lose money.

4. Market conditions don’t matter
Buyers who are looking at property as a long-term investment will be less concerned about the market’s movement up or down.. Property will – nearly always – appreciate in the long term in Singapore due to the scarcity of land and available real estate. While having a diverse portfolio is preferred, as a long-term investment, property is generally going to make more money than other comparable instruments. Investing in bonds, for example, is a safe investment instrument, but capital appreciation is weak.

Property is not the ideal market for speculators though – not only has the government introduced measures to discourage property speculation – but you will be much more at risk of market fluctuations.

5. Property keeps on giving
Buying public housing in today’s market is not cheap, with HDB’s executive condominiums going at around $600 – 700psf, close to mass market private property prices. A HUDC unit has already reached the $1 million mark, and the trend looks set to continue. Parents may see buying an asset, not only as a hedge against inflation, but also as an eventual inheritance to their children. If house prices continue to rise – and with the cost of construction materials inevitably going to rise too – there is the fear that the younger generation could be priced out.

Singapore's Top Four Cooling Measures

1. The Seller Stamp Duty
The Seller Stamp Duty is a government-imposed tax on persons selling their property within a set period. If you bought a property after 20 February 2010 (but before 30 August 2010), you will have to pay the Seller Stamp Duty on it if you sell it within a year. If you bought a property after 30 August, you will have to pay a Seller Stamp Duty if you sell the property within three years of purchasing it.

How much?
The Seller Stamp Duty is 3% of the value of the property minus S$5,400. If you sell in the first year, you pay the full amount, if you sell in the second year, the Stamp Duty is two-thirds the amount, and if you sell it in the third year the the Stamp Duty is one-third the amount.

Example:
If you sell your property at a million dollars, the stamp duty would be S$24,600 (S$30,000 minus S$5,400), which is what you would pay if you sold in the first year. In the second year you would pay S$16,400, and in the third year you would pay S$8,200. Remember, if you bought a property in January of this year, you are not affected and can sell it without any penalty.

2. Housing Loan Limit
On 20 February, financing was brought down from 90% to 80%, so if you sought a housing loan the bank would only loan you 80% of the property’s value. On 30 August, the government further tightened the financing by ruling that if you have an outstanding loan at this time and you wish to purchase another property by taking a loan, the banks will only now loan you 70% instead of 80%. The move is seen as an attempt to encourage financial prudence and not to take on loans beyond their means.

3. Cash Portion Increased
From 30 August, if you have an outstanding loan on a property, don’t wish to sell that property, and choose to buy a second residential property, the cash portion of the payment has been increased from 5% to 10%.

4. No Dual Ownership of Private and HDB Properties
If you buy a private property, and are eligible to buy a HDB, you will be forced to dispose of your private property within six months.

If you bought your HDB before 30 August, you will not be forced to dispose of the HDB because you bought your HDB before the measures were implemented. Of course, if you took advantage of any governmental grants or loans when purchasing your HDB you will have to hold it for five years before you can private property – in order to discourage people from owning a government-subsidised flat and private property at the same time.

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