Singapore Property Weekly Issue 221

8/20/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 221

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Issue 221Copyright © 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

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CONTENTS

p2 Are Executive Condominiums Still an

Attractive Investment? (Part 1)

p7 Singapore Property News This Week

p10 Resale Property Transactions

(July 27 – August 4 )

Welcome to the 221st edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly .

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 221

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Gerald Tay (guest contributor)

The Executive Condominium (EC) concept

was an innovative public housing initiative

launched by the Government in 1997 for

Singaporeans and PRs to enjoy “private

property” without the huge price tag that

comes with it. With rising property prices in

recent years, more buyers have taken to ECs

with the government releasing ample land for

such developments.

But is buying an EC as attractive as before?

Or are ECs simply an over-hyped purchase?

Are Executive Condominiums Still an AttractiveInvestment? (Part 1)


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Smaller unit sizes, higher PSF prices

Some EC projects had penthouses that sold

at unrealistically high prices for buyers who

had to have an income ceiling of $12,000.The Government thus decided in January

2013 to limit the maximum allowed apartment

size in ECs to 1,700 square feet.

In the new EC launches, sizes like 860

square feet for a 3-bedroom and 1,200

square feet for a 4-bedroom flat are common.The sizes include an oversized balcony and

A/C ledge, while the bedrooms can be small

as 66 square feet.

Today's unwitting EC buyers will thus pay

higher per square foot prices to compensatefor the developer’s loss of profit margins. It’s

questionable whether buyers of flats with

such high per square foot prices will be able

to earn a reasonable profit when they sell,

unlike previous EC buyers of the early 2000s.

Potential Oversupply of ECs

Owners hoping to sell their EC units in the

future have to contend with the large number of units of both ECs and private property

projects that were launched in the last five

years.

From 1997 to 2004, only 14 ECs were built.

No EC was built between 2005 and 2009, as

the HDB phased out the EC scheme in favour

of the DBSS scheme. EC land sales only

resumed in 2010.

From 2010 to 2015, developers built and

launched a total of 41 Ecs!

In those five years, 23 out of the total 41

launches (56% of total launches) were

located in the Sengkang/Punggol and

Woodlands area.


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2012 and 2014 registered the highest number

of ECs with 11 and 10 new launches

respectively.

Whether with the five year MOP (MinimumOccupation Period) or ten year private

property conversion process, these ECs

entering the future resale property market will

face tough competition. Who’s going to

absorb this supply?

ECs have lost the exclusivity they enjoyed inthe past decade, with so many such

developments sprouting up within a short five

year time span.

Potential oversupply of private properties

As at the end of 2nd Quarter 2015, there wasa total supply of 61,237 uncompleted private

residential units (excluding ECs) in the

pipeline, compared to the 68,201 units in 1st

Quarter 2015. Of this number, 24,435 units

remained unsold as at 2nd Quarter 2015.

After adding the supply of 14,701 EC units in

the pipeline, there were 75,938 units in the

pipeline.

Based on expected completion dates

reported by developers, 13,191 units

(including ECs) will be completed in the

second half of 2015. Another 25,841 units

(including ECs) are expected for completionin 2016. In comparison, 23,298 units

(including ECs) were completed in 2014.

In recent years, plenty of mass market sub-

urban condos and apartments have been

sprouting up all over the Outside Central

Region (OCR). Like it or not, ECs that meetthe 10-year private property conversion status

will be facing tough competition from these

private mass market properties.


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Home buyers will have plenty of choices.

Sellers cannot be choosy then.

Ageing population and low GDP growth

Singapore has enjoyed favourabledemographics for the past five decades, with

a post-war baby boom. Within a generation,

the nation was able to educate baby

boomers, create enough jobs for them and

make them wealthier through rising home

prices. We saw how our parent’s generationprofited from rapidly rising HDB prices since

1965. This wealth was passed on

subsequently to the next generation.

Between 1965 and this year, Singapore’s

population grew from 1.9 million to 5.5 million.

However, the number of citizens aged 65 and

above is increasing rapidly, as population

growth slows. The size of this group of

citizens doubled from 220,000 in 2000 to

440,000 today, and is expected to increase to

900,000 by 2030.

Last year, the total population here grew by1.3 per cent, its slowest pace since 2005,

while the total fertility rate continued to fall

despite the Government’s incentives and

encouragement.

This aging population will eventually have a

profound impact on every segment of theproperty market and society as a whole.

Like private properties, ECs that reach their

10 year private property conversion status

between 2025 and 2030 will potentially

experience the negative impact of an aging

population:low population, consumption and

GDP growth will curb any price appreciation.


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All of these will happen within the next couple

of decades. Notwithstanding any shocks to

the global economy, we shall see what luck

brings to buyers who have overpaid for

properties in recent years.

This is the end of part 1 of this article. In part

2 Gerald will examine further whether ECs

still represent an attractive investment

opportunity.

By guest contributor Gerald Tay, who is thefounder and coach at CREI Academy Group

Pte Ltd , an organization dedicated to

empowering retail property investors with

smarter investing philosophy and strategies.

He is a full-time investor with over 13 years of

solid experience in building his wealth

through Property Investment and is financially

wealthy today.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 221

http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://propertymarketinsights.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/


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Singapore Property This Week


Residential

July’s pr iv ate c o nd o r es ale p ri c es

inc reased by 0.3%

According to SRX Property, resale prices o

private condominiums have increased by

0.3% in July 2015 from the previous month.However, market experts believe that the

private property resale market continues to

appear weak. Resale prices of condominium

units in the city and suburban areas have

increased by 1.7% and 1% respectively,

hile, resale prices in the city fringe fell by2.2%. Eugene Lim from ERA said that this

could mean that prices are stabilising. He

added that large changes in price levels are

unlikely in the near future, provided there areno economic shocks. Nonetheless, as the

government has made known that property

cooling measures will not be lifted soon, Lim

believes that it is too early to say if resale

prices will continue to rise. Ong Kah Seng

from R’ST Research agreed. He added thatwith the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework

in placed and with an oversupply of

residential property, buyers’ sentiments may

still remain weak. Year-on-year, resale prices

for condominiums have fallen by 0.9% this

July. Resale volume also fell from 575 units inJune to 515 units in July—a 10.4% fall in

resale volume.

(Source: Business Times)

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 221


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July’s r en t a l l e as i n g v o l u m e i n c r ea s e b y

15 %

Data from SRX Property showed that in July,

leasing volumes for private condominium

units have increased by 15% year-on-year. In

the Core Central Region, rentals for private

condos fell less than those in the Outside

Central Region. This was also observed in

the HDB rental market where there was a

smaller drop for flats in mature estates thanthose in the non-mature estates. Tan Tiong

Cheng from Knight Frank said that in mature

estates, fewer HDB flats were put up for

lease. This is likely because flat owners would

rather live in those prime locations than to

lease out the unit. As such, rental demand isstronger for flats in mature estates. According

to SRX Property’s rental index for HDB flats,

rental for flats in mature estates have eased

1.1% year-on-year in July 2015. On the other

hand, rentals for flats in non-mature estates

have fallen 1.4% year-on-year in the same

period of time. Market experts believe that

tenants are relocating from the suburbs

towards the city. This could have contributedto the rise in leasing volumes for HDB flats,

said market experts.


Commercial

Tw o b lo c ks at Dem p s ey Ro ad to b e

d e v e lo p e d fo r F&B a n d r e ta i l u s e

In a joint announcement by Singapore Land

Authority (SLA) and Singapore Tourism Board

(STB), a tender to develop Blocks 17 and 18

at Dempsey Road for food and beverage andretail use will be conducted. The tender aims

to strengthen the sites’ position as a unique

lifestyle enclave. The tender will be evaluated

according to its price and quality.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Iss e 221


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Currently, the asking rents for retail and F&B

units in the surrounding blocks range from

$6.50 to $8 psf. The two sites have a total of

5,268 sqm of land with a gross floor area of 3,086 sqm. Both sites will be tendered as a

single unit.



http://www.moneymatters.sg/


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jul 27 – Aug 4

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

3 QUEENS 1,195 1,515,000 1,268 994 THE INTERLACE 1,873 2,391,300 1,277 99

4 THE INTERLACE 2,056 2,476,000 1,204 99

5 BLUE HORIZON 1,163 1,250,000 1,075 99

5 BLUE HORIZON 1,163 1,190,000 1,024 99

7 CONCOURSE SKYLINE 1,130 1,950,000 1,725 99

7 THE PLAZA 840 800,000 953 99

8 CITYLIGHTS 893 1,270,000 1,422 99

8 KENTISH GREEN 1,270 1,230,000 968 99

8 CITIGATE RESIDENCE 753 600,000 796 FH

9 MARTIN PLACE RESIDENCES 592 1,302,400 2,200 FH

9 THE LIGHT @ CAIRNHILL 2,034 3,860,000 1 ,897 FH

9 THE IMPERIAL 2,024 3,440,000 1,700 FH

9 MIRAGE TOWER 1,227 2,030,000 1,654 FH

9 CITYVALE 1,281 1,730,000 1,351 FH

9 CAVENAGH GARDENS 1,163 1,400,000 1,204 FH

10 GARDEN APARTMENT 2,648 3,900,000 1,473 FH

10 BELMOND GREEN 1,399 2,050,000 1,465 FH

10 JEWEL OF BALMORAL 1,345 1,900,000 1,412 FH

10 CORONA VILLE 1,528 1,900,000 1,243 FH

11 BUCKLEY CLASSIQUE 1,410 2,988,000 2,119 FH

11 VIVA 1,959 4,050,000 2,067 FH

11 L'VIV 2,228 3,760,000 1,688 FH

11 CUBE 8 893 1,380,000 1,545 FH

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

11 ROSEVALE 1,518 2,200,000 1,450 FH11 CHANCERY ESQUIRE 1,206 1,580,000 1,311 FH

14 COSMO 398 650,000 1,632 FH

14 VACANZA @ EAST 807 930,000 1,152 FH

14 ASTORIA PARK 850 900,000 1,058 99

14 EUNOS PARK 1,389 1,300,000 936 FH

15 THE MEYERISE 2,056 3,286,000 1,598 FH

15 38 I SUITES 463 690,000 1,491 FH

15 MEIER SUITES 2,228 3,200,000 1,436 FH

15 MELROSE VILLE 592 800,000 1,351 FH

15 EASTERN LAGOON 893 1,160,000 1,298 FH

15 PARC ELEGANCE 721 905,000 1,255 FH

15 SANCTUARY GREEN 850 1,058,000 1,244 99

15 BLU CORAL 1,173 1,220,000 1,040 FH

15 LE M RESIDENCE 969 1,000,000 1,032 FH

15 MARTIA RESIDENCE 1,582 1,315,000 831 FH

15 MANDARIN GARDEN CONDOMINIUM 1,572 1,210,000 770 99

16 LANDBAY CONDOMINIUM 1,238 1,480,000 1,196 FH

16 THE BAYSHORE 980 958,000 978 99

16 LIMAU PARK 1,518 1,420,000 936 FH

16 THE BAYSHORE 1,184 1,065,000 899 99

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 825,000 881 99

16 STRATFORD COURT 1,507 1,240,000 823 99

17 EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,055 900,000 853 FH



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NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchasersigns an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

18 OASIS @ ELIAS 980 900,000 919 99

18 EASTPOINT GREEN 958 875,000 913 99

18 MELVILLE PARK 990 765,000 773 99

19 OASIS GARDEN 1,475 1,720,000 1,166 FH

19 ROSALIA PARK 1,119 950,000 849 FH

19 GRAND REGALIA 1,206 1,008,000 836 FH

19 CASA ESPANIA 1,658 1,375,000 829 FH

19 EVERGREEN PARK 1,087 840,000 773 99

19 RIO VISTA 1,249 960,000 769 99

20 GRANDEUR 8 1,227 1,290,000 1,051 99

21 MAPLEWOODS 2,702 3,500,000 1,295 FH

21 SPRINGDALE CONDOMINIUM 1,109 1,080,000 974 999

21 GOODLUCK GARDEN 1,948 1,850,000 950 FH

21 SELANTING GREEN 1,658 1,530,000 923 FH

21 THE CASCADIA 1,970 1,720,000 873 FH

21 SHERWOOD TOWER 1,421 938,000 660 99

22 PARC OASIS 1,076 960,000 892 99

22 LAKEPOINT CONDOMINIUM 1,001 795,000 794 99

22 LAKEPOINT CONDOMINIUM 2,217 1,250,000 564 99

23 FORESQUE RESIDENCES 667 840,000 1,259 99

23 PARK NATURA 1,442 1,612,156 1,118 FH23 TREE HOUSE 1,249 1,335,000 1,069 99

23 HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,324 1,250,000 944 999

23 HILLVIEW RESIDENCE 1,259 1,155,000 917 999

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

23 HILLVIEW REGENCY 904 800,000 885 99

23 PALM GARDENS 1,216 920,000 756 99

23 NICON GARDENS 1,938 1,320,000 681 99

23 NORTHVALE 1,798 1,105,000 615 99

25 PARC ROSEWOOD 431 530,000 1,231 99

26 BULLION PARK 807 830,000 1,028 FH

27 YISHUN EMERALD 1,356 968,000 714 99

27 EUPHONY GARDENS 1,163 800,000 688 9 9

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 221

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