Singapore Property Set New Record Despite Looming Recession

A 3,003 square ft four-bedroom apartment off Orchard Road has been sold to an overseas buyer for S$19mn (US$15.7mn), setting a new record in property prices.

According to The Straits Times, the Marq on Paterson Hill already held the record of highest price per square foot at S$5,842 (US$4,847) when it was launched in 2007. With the newest sale, the price per square foot jumped to S$6,400 (US$5,310).

The Marq is a freehold condominium comprising 66 units ranging in sizes from around 3000 square ft to 15,000 square ft in two 24-storey buildings, one of which features private pools for all units.

The four-bedroom sale is believed not to include a private pool.

Despite a few high end sales, the luxury home market in Singapore is declining. According to real estate services firm, CB Richard Ellis, Singapore luxury home prices declined by 1.7 per cent in April-June from the preceding quarter. Average rents fell by 1.9 per cent as completed units came onto the market.

“Tightened mortgage lending and rising interest rates continued to impact on buyer demand in most Asian markets in the second quarter of 2011,” noted CBRE.

$918k for a HDB apartment in Pasir Ris?

$100k-plus cash premiums offered for Tampines flat
By property_guru

Following our breaking story on the asking price of $900,000 for an executive apartment in Pasir Ris, PropertyGuru received an exclusive tip-off from a property agent representing Knight Frank.

The agent, who only wants to be identified as Ravin, said he sold an executive mansionette flat at Block 151 Tampines Street 12 in March this year for $772,500.
According to the valuation report, the flat had a market value of $625,000 in December last year.

It was sold above valuation at $147,500 in March this year. "We were marketing this property over two Sundays and had about 50 plus buyers come for the viewing. Almost half were able to offer COV of more than $100,000," said Ravin.

According to Ravin, the profiles of the potential buyers were Singaporeans in their late 30s to late 50s.

About five were able to offer a COV of more than $125,000.

"These buyers had the cash as most had sold off their landed property, private apartments, or HDB flats with good profits. Most were business owners," said Ravin.
Record COV?

Despite the high COV the mansionette achieved, it will soon be overshadowed by the executive apartment in Pasir Ris should it be able to command the asking price of $900,000, which had shot up to $918,000 after the story broke.

Taking recent transactions as a benchmark valuation price in Pasir Ris, executive apartments in the area are about $600,000.

The new asking price of $918,000 will translate to a record COV of $318,000.
COVs unlikely to go down

Despite the cooling measures, experts say COVs are unlikely to go down.
"The average COV now is about $30,000 to about $40,000 (or) to $50,000 in better and prime locations. I believe that's because of the demand in the market, which comes from newlyweds as well as new PRs and new immigrants coming to Singapore. Although there's a lot of BTO coming up, COV unfortunately will still be going up in the near future," Mark Teo, senior group division director at ERA was reported as saying to Channel NewsAsia.

Others say the new Build-to-Order announcement will ease pressure from the resale market.

"COV prices are bottoming out at around $21,000 and many first-time buyers will still be priced out of the resale market for this reason. Hence, they will definitely find great relief in this bumper crop of BTO flats," said Adam Tan, PropNex corporate communications manager.

New BTO flats eases pressure from resale market
The new HDB flats wil comprise seven BTO projects spread across five estates, namely Sengkang, Tampines, Jurong West, Bukit Panjang and Yishun.
Most of the flats on offer are four and five-room units priced at $217,000 and $274,000 respectively.

According to HDB, it is on track to deliver 25,000 BTO flats in 2011.
The supply of new flats is expected to ease pressure from the resale market which could see their prices falling in the next six months.

This is partly due to economists' recent revision of weaker economic growth in the second quarter and a 25 percent drop in private property transactions in June.
The Resale Price Index (RPI) was 179.9 points in the second quarter, an increase of 2.9 percent over the first quarter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Priciest flat in Pasir Ris goes on sale for S$900000

Following Sim Lian Group’s highly controversial Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in Tampines, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is once again under fire after an eye-popping listing was posted on PropertyGuru.

The listing shows a 1,528 sq ft HDB executive flat in Block 780, Pasir Ris Street 71, with a selling price of S$900,000.

The unit’s asking price is higher than the average selling price in the area, considering that it is a public housing project situated in a non-prime area and has no facilities.

It is also not within walking distance to White Sands mall or Pasir Ris MRT station.

Roza Sure Bagus, Managing Director of Sure Bagus (Asia) Pte Ltd, said, “The asking price of S$900,000 is definitely way beyond the market price. It is certainly a one-off case which if the agent is able to get, it will be a record price for Pasir Ris.”

Roza sold a flat in Pasir Ris recently for S$696,000, which is S$96,000 above valuation.

“The S$96,000 (in) above valuation is still okay, provided the house has a good view, high floor and good interior. Nevertheless, if they are buying at S$96,000 above valuation, the buyer’s taste in the décor may not be the same. They may renovate everything.”

Caveat data reveals that the average psf pricing of similar properties sold in the area this year is between S$400 psf and S$500 psf.

The asking price for the executive flat translates to S$589.01 psf, which is well above the market price.

However, Roza believes there might still be a willing buyer.

“For a person who buys such a flat, he might buy it for sentimental value. Perhaps, it has a breathtaking view which he may not be able to get elsewhere.”

“The buyers are likely to be from the private property market who have already sold their properties or who were en bloc owners who made a huge profit. It is unlikely they will take any loan. They would buy this unit in cash, full settlement,” said Roza.

Condominium Project Collapsed

A amateur cameraman living nearby took this video of the concrete collapsing at Gilstead Road near the Bukit Timah area.were starting to show. And the safety manager of a condominium construction project in Bukit Timah knew something had to give - soon.

To prepare for the worst, he called in the authorities at 7.30am yesterday. Half an hour later, more than 1,000 concrete blocks - weighing 2,800 tonnes - came crashing down onto Gilstead Road, blocking traffic access.

Click here to find out more!
The impact damaged a gas valve in a nearby gas pipe, but no one was hurt. By this time, police and officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force had already cordoned off an area about the size of two badminton courts on the two-lane road.

The incident also caused church-goers of the nearby Life Bible-Presbyterian Church to cancel or relocate their service sessions after police evacuated the premises.

Speaking to my paper, a project manager of the affected worksite explained that the concrete blocks had toppled due to "settlement of the earth", which could have been a result of recent heavy rains.

The concrete blocks, which were stacked on one side of Gilstead Road, had been visibly leaning forward, he said, declining to be named. He estimated that it would take two to three days to remove all the concrete blocks safely.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman said that the concrete blocks had collapsed during a pile load test.

The test determines the safe load-carrying capacity of a pile, which is a deep foundation of a building.

The condominium being constructed, Gilstead Two, is a 34-storey freehold apartment block slated for completion in 2013. Its developer, Malaysian company Chedstone Investment Holdings, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Singapore Power PowerGrid said that repairs to the damaged gas valve was completed at about 10.30am. There was no interruption in gas supply to residents in the area.

MOM said it has instructed the worksite's contractor, Ryobi- Kiso, to work with a professional engineer to remove the concrete blocks - each weighing 2.5 tonnes - from the road safely.

The MOM spokesman added: "Meanwhile, all pile load tests on site have been stopped pending further investigations."

Pap admits manipulating Property Market

Newsgroups: soc.culture.singapore
From: "truth"
Subject: papist leegime confirmed property market NOT FREE

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,378562,00.html?

(SINGAPORE) The government yesterday defended its policy of managing price
movements in the private housing market and also stood by its method of
supplying developers with state land sites.

It was responding to Wednesday's speech by the president of the Real Estate
Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas), Simon Cheong, who said that
the government should allow the private property market here to operate as a
completely free market.

Mr Cheong also questioned the need for government intervention to manage the
rise of private home prices and asked if the state should be so concerned
with private housing prices when the segment serves only 16.5 per cent of
the overall population.

His speech took some developers by surprise but most said that it was
'brave'. There was also broad agreement that the government should reveal
the reserve price of each site it puts up for sale.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said it would 'like to respond to
the key points he (Mr Cheong) raised'.

'The government's objective is to maintain a steady and healthy property
market where price movements are supported by economic fundamentals,' MND
said in a statement. 'A property market bubble, if allowed to form, may not
only impact housing affordability but also severely impact the economy when
it bursts.'

MND does this by making sure that there is an adequate supply of land to
meet demand and by providing timely and comprehensive real estate
information to the public.

'When necessary, the government will also introduce measures to dampen
market exuberance and prevent prices from running ahead of economic
fundamentals,' MND added.

The ministry has in recent months taken several steps to keep private
housing affordable, including the introduction of a stamp duty for sellers
and the removal of the deferred payment and interest absorption schemes.

In his speech, Mr Cheong also cited two sites - one in Tampines and another
at Ten Mile Junction - that were not awarded in 2008 after government land
tenders as examples to illustrate how market forces were not allowed to act
freely and were constrained by the reserve price system.

Both sites were recently awarded in new tenders at much higher prices than
the bids in 2008.

Mr Cheong argued that if the government had awarded the sites at lower
prices in 2008, it could have helped to moderate the recent hike in private
home prices.

But MND 'disagrees totally with his view'. Firstly, it is arguable if
awarding the two sites at the low bid prices in 2008 would have moderated
property prices, MND said. It could have instead simply allowed the bidders
to achieve higher profit margins.

MND also said that the potential yield from the two sites is small (around
800 units) compared to the total supply of 60,476 uncompleted private
housing units from projects in the pipeline (as at Q4 2009) - of which
34,234 units are still unsold. It is 'questionable' whether the added supply
of the two sites in 2008 would have affected prices today in any way, the
ministry said.

The reserve price also did not deter the successful sale of sites under the
government land sales programme in 2008, MND pointed out. That year, seven
residential sites which could yield a total of 2,464 units were sold through
the confirmed list.

The Tampines and Ten Mile Junction sites, which were released for sale
through the confirmed list but not awarded, were among the few exceptions.

MND added that a reserve price is necessary, as it is the government's duty
as the custodian of state land to ensure it obtains a fair market price for
a site. But the reserve price serves only as a guide, and is not a rigid
formula for the government in deciding whether to award a sale site.

Said MND: 'The government had awarded sale sites in the past even when the
top bid was below the reserve price. However, for the two sites cited by Mr
Cheong, the government was not convinced that the bids represented fair
market value rather than opportunistic bids, as there were very few bids for
the sites, and the bids were exceptionally low.'

Developers BT spoke to said that MND's response was 'as expected'.

'MND has always stuck to its line about maintaining a sustainable property
market and so we didn't expect changes just because of his (Mr Cheong's)
speech,' said the chief executive of a property group here.

But while not everyone agreed with all parts of Mr Cheong's speech, most
developers were in favour of asking the government to disclose the reserve
price of each site it puts up for sale by tender.

'For future tenders, if the reserve price is released, there won't be cases
where bids come in under the minimum price,' said EL Development managing
director Lim Yew Soon. 'By simply listing the reserve price, it makes the
whole process easier.'

Two Chinese nationals bought $30m bungalow at Sentosa Cove

It's getting hotter at Sentosa Cove
By Kalpana Rashiwala

Homes in Sentosa Cove drew strong interest from high-net- worth investors in the first 10 months of this year - more properties costing $10 million and above were transacted during this period than in the preceding four years.

Property consultancy Savills Singapore said that its analysis of URA Realis data as at Dec 1, also shows that September and October this year were particularly active months.

In fact, the three biggest ever residential transactions in Sentosa Cove - at $20.18 million, $22 million and $30 million respectively - took place during this period. The largest involved a completed bungalow at Ocean Drive which changed hands in the secondary market in October. The $30 million sale price works out to $1,753 per square foot, based on a land area of 17,115 square feet.

BT understands that the bungalow was purchased by two Chinese citizens who are also Singapore permanent residents. The seller is a locally incorporated company.

The second and third largest deals involved subsales of two villas at Paradise Island for $22 million and $20.18 million in September.

Overall, Savills' analysis shows that the number of caveats lodged for homes in Sentosa Cove costing $10 million and above shot up to 24 in the first 10 months of 2009 - from just 17 between Q4 2004 and Q4 2008.

Over half or 14 of the 24 deals were sealed in September and October. The firm said that a more positive global economic outlook at the time, before the recent news of Dubai World's debt problems, gave confidence to investors to make big-ticket purchases such as super-luxury homes.

Other above-$10 million homes sold in the two months include four condo units at SC Global's Seven Palms Sentosa Cove; a villa at Sandy Island that fetched $16.57 million or $1,950 psf of land area in the resale market; and a bungalow at Treasure Island which sold for $14.25 million or $1,662 psf, also in the resale market.

Savills said that the steady recovery of the Singapore economy in the past few months and the Republic's renewed prominence on the global financial map have helped fuel optimism among investors to park monies here.

Singapore is also a 'relatively cheaper' destination to buy luxury properties compared with, say, Hong Kong. Luxury property prices here are still below their peak levels.

Savills director of investment sales & prestige homes Steven Ming offered another reason for the surge in transactions in October: according to anecdotal evidence, some high-networth mainland Chinese were in Singapore shopping for properties during their National Day Golden Week holiday.

Across all price bands, the total number of caveats lodged for private homes in Sentosa Cove shot up from 72 in the whole of last year to 133 in the first 10 months of 2009. Even so, the latest figure is just 26 per cent of the peak 516 transactions in 2006.

Savills said that the bulk of the 2009 transactions were in the subsale and resale markets. Primary market deals involving developer sales accounted for just 9 per cent of caveats, reflecting the limited release of new projects this year.

A breakdown of 2009 transactions shows that the number of caveats (both primary and secondary markets) lodged rose from nine in Q1, to 49 in Q2, and 51 in Q3. In October, there were 24 deals - the highest monthly figure for 2009 - bucking the trend of slowing property sales seen generally in Singapore.

Savills credits the approaching opening of the integrated resorts (IRs) with helping to generate a renewal of interest in the super-luxury residential market.

Prices also appreciated with the increase in transactions - the average unit price for landed homes rose from the recent low of $1,150 psf of land area in Q1 this year, to $1,533 psf in Q3 - up 33 per cent. It was up 12.2 per cent from September to $1,647 psf in October. But this figure was still about 38 per cent below the peak figure of $2,643 psf in Q1 2008.

Condominium prices in Sentosa Cove have also firmed. The average price climbed from a low of $1,200 psf in Q4 2008, to $1,804 psf in Q3 this year and $2,117 psf in September before easing to $2,030 psf in October.

The latest figure is 16.5 per cent shy of the $2,431 psf high seen in Q1 last year. Savills said that the October figure was shored up by four caveats lodged for units at Seven Palms Sentosa Cove with prices ranging from $3,091 to $3,353 psf.

Excluding these transactions, the average price for the month would have slipped to $1,658 psf.

DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah reckons that Sentosa Cove prices will continue to appreciate next year, although a lot will depend on the wider property market. 'Prices in Sentosa Cove could be more volatile than in the prime districts on the mainland because Sentosa Cove buyers are relatively more investment driven than motivated by owner occupation, compared to the prime districts. When markets go up or down markedly, investors may be more inclined to sell than owner-occupiers, whether it is to cut loss or realise a gain,' she added.

rainbow 999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How come those from PRC so rich while world class singaporeans
cannot afford a place of their own at Sentosa?

Sentosa conquered by Foreign Talents

From: "icon"
Subject: Re: Sentosa island becomes an influx foreigner workers land

They will pay rent for the whole island for billions of dollars every year,
for exclusive use.

"truth" wrote in message
> The vast majority of those who bought property on Sentosa are
> rich foreigners.
> In time to come Sentosa will be the playground for the rich and
> famous of the world. When that time comes, Singaporeans may
> be barred from entering Sentosa for security reason.

> "Rainbow ?" wrote in message
> news:db3669b4-9a3e-4e5f-9867-05192a43ec57@u18g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
>>I went to Sentosa today, to my very surprised, more than 60% of the
>> the people in Sentosa are foreign workers who jammed up the beach near
>> the Beach station. I saw many Singaporean family could not even find a
>> peaceful place on the beach to enjoy their day, because you could see
>> constant streams of groups of foreign workers walking pass the beaches
>> non-stop. Many of these workers even stopped by to take picture of
>> ladies wearing in bikini. Singaporean can't even enjoined their
>> peaceful relaxing moment in the beach.

>> To make it worse, these groups of foreign workers are littering our
>> environment, they spitted, throwing dirts and left all the after meals
>> rubbish on the beach wherever they used.

>> It is time for Sentosa to charge higher fee, and giving discount to
>> Singaporeans for such compensation. Or else, it is a matter of times,
>> Sentosa will lost its status of tourist spot and become a gathering
>> ground for foreign workers

Selling HDB and renting Condo in JB

Singlion wrote:
I take having a piece of property in Singapore as a hedge against inflated asset prices. It is a form of tax imposed on the citizens. So long as you hold on to passport, there is no way you can have no exposure.

If you all try to sell, your so called asset falls.

I think we must find a balance to "milk" the system.
Depending on your circumstances, a look at our neighbours is not a bad idea as the asean area is the next wave.

Like all things in nature, there is a way to do it. You may agree or not agree and with it the reward and pitfall.

The era of one way up for Singapore is over. The American crisis is not over. It is frightening. It maybe just be the beginning. USD1440trillions of OTC derivatives cannot see the light is still buried in the Shadow Banking system.

So long as there is no innovation in Singapore and with present policy , there is no hope.

In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
–Eric Hoffer – Longshoreman, Philosopher

Singapore property market booms despite recession

Today, 12 August, 2009, 7 hours ago
SINGAPORE: Despite Singapore's worst economic slump since independence, the residential property sector is in the midst of a new boom reminiscent of 2007, when the city-state was known as the world's hottest real estate market.

FOREIGNERS PAY $690.000 FOR CONDO - SINGAPOREANS PAY $980,000

From: "AleXX"
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:55:05 +0800
Local: Tues, Jul 28 2009 9:55 pm
Subject: Re: FOREIGNERS PAY $690.000 FOR CONDO, SINGAPOREANS PAY $980,000!

If they got the money to throw around, why not?
Just like Singapore's Temasek are created to loss money.

"Pak Tun" wrote in message

> Huge crowds gather each time a new condo project is luanched. Many bought
> these units thinking they had a good buy. many of these buyers are just
> kiasu and followed the herd mentality. One sheep jump over the cliff and
> the
> rest follow.

> The truth is that they are paying much higher than foreigners. Many of
> these
> developments are already presold to foreigners in Indonesia, Malaysia,
> Thailand, taiwan and Hongkong, before being offered to Singaporeans. Many
> foreigners bought these units at a much lower price. For example, a
> similar
> unit sold in Indonesia at $690,000 ( conveyance and stamp fee included) is
> priced at $980,000 here at a soft launch!

> Go to any sales office and one can actually sense the "take it or leave it
> attitude" of these developers. When did developers become so cocky
> especially so many people are still jobless and bankruptcy is still on the
> rise? The answer is that they already presold a good percentage of their
> developments overseas!

> Buyers beware!

Is there a law against priest or monk owning property

From: "truth"
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:21:30 GMT
Subject: Re: Is there a law against priest or monk owing property...dealing in real estates ... having diving holidays?

The central tenet of Buddhism is to "let go" of
your desires.
If a Buddhist monk keep on acquiring more and more
he is going against this basic teaching of Buddhism.

"baldeagle" wrote in message

news:338be41e-2415-4c4e-b8c8-3f9ec57b20cb@l5g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
On Jul 22, 5:33 am, baldeagle wrote:

> http://news.asiaone.com/News/The%2BNew%2BPaper/Story/A1Story20090719-...
> Quote:
> "From a multi-million dollar condominium in Singapore to properties
> in Australia and Seattle, the 47-year-old monk had them all. He also
> owned a luxury car, a racehorse named Venezuela and went on
> diving holidays."

> The propaganda organ painted a picture of a monk, who
> own property, dealing in real estate, having holiday overseas
> as if it is illegal.
> Is there a law in Singapore against priest or monks owing
> properties, dealing in real estates...or having diving holidays
> overseas ?

On Jul 22, 3:34 pm, "truth" wrote:

- For a monk to engage in such excessive materialistic pursuits,
- is wrong and absolutely unworthy of his status as a monk.

Who say a monk or a priest cannot properties, dealing in real
estates...or having diving holidays overseas ?

Whose rule or law is that ? Yours ?