(B) Private property sales in Singapore

Patience is wearing out fast. While the “wait-and-see” attitude is still prevalent, a few major developers such as the Far East Organisation and Wing Tai are already coming down from the fence and foraged into the unknown territory with their usual tactic – slashing prices. However, the overall private new home market still looked listless, though asking prices are generally high.

• (B.1) Sale prices and rental of private residential properties rose amidst thin volume

Prices of private residential, office, shop and industrial properties increased by 3.7%, 1.1%, 2.6% and 3.4% respectively in the 1st Quarter 2008.

Rentals of private residential, office, shop and industrial properties increased by 6.0%, 7.3%, 1.0% and 5.7% respectively in the 1st Quarter 2008.

The rates of increase in prices for all properties and the rates of increase in rentals for private residential, office and industrial properties have moderated in the 1st Quarter 2008 as compared to 4th Quarter 2007.

Non-Landed Properties
Prices of non-landed properties across the island have risen slightly in the first quarter. However, when compared with the last quarter, the growth was much smaller. Below shows the price growth of non-landed private homes quarter-on-quarter by regions:

Table [ 1 ] price growth of non-landed private homes by regions

Source of information: URA

Landed Properties
Prices of landed properties rose 3.9% in the 1st Quarter 2008, compared with the 4.2% increase in the previous quarter. Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses rose 3.5%, 4.7% and 4.0% respectively in the first quarter of 2008.

Rentals of private residential properties also rose but the growth was smaller when compared to the previous quarter. This shows that the rental market could be in similar decline.

• (B.2) Increased in unlaunched and unsold new homes in the first quarter of 2008

The number of new homes that has been held back from public launches has increased to 10,239 in the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 44.2% over the 7,099 units in the fourth quarter of last year [B.2.(a)].

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) property data for the quarter revealed that there were 2,526 homes launched, but remain unsold at the end of the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 22.4% over the previous quarter.

It appears that if the market lull persists, the backlog of unsold could pose a potential over-supply situation in the future; but drawing from previous experience, not all the developers will rush to build. Those with deeper pockets may hold on to the land for more than 10 years

• (B.3) Developers testing water with some new launches

Floridian condo in Bukit Timah
Far East Organization's listed unit Orchard Parade Holdings and Wing Tai have begun the official launch of their Floridian condo in Bukit Timah. The average net price is in the range of $1,600 to $1,700 psf after discounts.

The freehold project has 336 units in 11 towers on a site of 230,000 sq ft but only 75 units in Towers 2 and 9 have been launched. The project is near good schools / junior colleges, and the Canadian International School.

Quartet on Vanda
It is a freehold cluster development of four bungalows in Vanda Crescent off Dunearn Road (near Eng Neo Avenue). Built-up areas range from 4,844 sq ft to 4,919 sq ft. The units are reportedly priced around $6 million each. Each two-storey unit has an attic, a basement and a swimming pool.

Parc Seabreeze
In Marine Parade, developer Tiong Aik has begun the preview of Parc Seabreeze. The average price for the freehold project is understood to be in the $1,600-1,700 psf range.

• (B.4) Far East Organisation cut prices of some new homes - A sign of all things to come?

FEO has slashed the prices of three 99-year leasehold projects in the outlaying areas by about 3% to 5%. The three developments are (1) La Casa executive condo in Woodlands, (2) The Lakeshore in Jurong West, and (3) Hillview Regency in Bukit Batok.

FEO has reportedly sold 50-plus units at The Lakeshore, around 20 units at Hillview Regency as well as the last 20-odd units at La Casa following the price cuts.

• (B.5) Singapore is the world’s eighth most expensive city

When it comes to luxury homes in prime locations, Singapore had the eighth-most expensive properties in the world in 2007, ahead of other Asian cities.

Average prices of top-end properties in the Republic rose by 31% to £1,197 (S$3,232) per sq ft (psf), according to a survey by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.

Table [ 2 ] The cities having the most expensive luxury homes in the world

Other global cities which ranked behind Singapore included Moscow (11th), Hong Kong (13th), Sydney (15th) and Paris (16th).

• (B.6) Performance of Sub-Sale Market

The total number of sub-sales fell to 346 in 1st Quarter 2008, compared to 649 sub-sales in the previous quarter. The decline in sub-sale transactions reflected a bearish market sentiment as a result of the uncertainties in the job market and the global economy.

Below shows the significant drop in sub-sale activities across the island quarter-on-quarter.

Table [ 3 ] - Comparison of sub-sale activities in Core Central Region (CCR) between 1Q 08 and 4Q 07

Source of information: URA
Table [ 4 ] - Comparison of sub-sale activities in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) between 1Q 08 and 4Q 07

Source of information: URA

Table [ 5 ] - Comparison of sub-sale activities in the Outside Central Region (OCR) between 1Q 08 and 4Q 07

Source of information: URA

^ Back to top