Singapore Property Weekly Issue 50

8/2/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 50

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Issue 50Copyright 2011-2012 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.
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CONTENTS

p2 Singapore Property News This Week

p7 Should Short Term Room Rentals Be Allowed?

p11 Resale Property Transactions

(April 18 April 24)

Welcome to the 50th edition

of the Singapore Property

Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR
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3/14

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 50

Singapore Property This Week

Page | 2Back to Contents

Residential

ABSD reimbursing may be a cause for

concern

To prevent the ABSD from affecting sales,

developers have been offering discounts,

rebates and even reimbursing the ABSD. Thismay potentially distort property and loan

values and obscure transparency in the

market especially since these discounts are

given only after the transaction, meaning that

the prices may not be reflected in sale

caveats. While the Ministry of National

Development (MND) has yet to step in, it

stated that it is watching the market closely

and will intervene when needed. The

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) alsostated that any rebates or discounts received

from the seller or any other party in the

transaction must be declared when apply for

home loans.

NUS SRPI sub-index for small apartments

grew the most in March

The NUS Singapore Residential Price Index

(SRPI) sub-index for small apartments/condo

units (up to 506 square feet) increased by

2.8%from February to March, compared to

0.8% and 0.7% respectively for the SRPIsub-indices for the Central Region and Non-

Central Region which does not include small

units.


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The overall SRPI for March 2012 was a 0.8%

increase from February. Such shoebox units

are said to be the reason behind high prices,

the profile of buyers (mainly with HDB

addresses) also suggests an investment

demand. This, coupled with the anticipated

increase in supply from 2,400 at end-2011 to

8,200 units by end-2015, has led to worry that

there is no genuine demand for the units.

While some feel that there may be cooling

measures targeting these units, others feel

that it may not happen as there is genuine

demand for young singles and couples who

want to own a private property. Since most of

these units are not ready for occupation,

whether the rents will continue to fetch high

yields is a question. In Q1 2012, the average

monthly rental of these units is $6.51 psf,

compared with $3.80 psf for 501-1,500 sq ft

units. As the supply of completed units

increase, rents for these units are likely to fall.

Government may intervene in growth of

shoebox units

National Development Minister Khaw Boon

Wan clarified the perception that HDB flats

are getting smaller and stated that there

might be a potential governmental

intervention if the proportion of "shoebox"

units in Singapore rises too much at the

annual Reach Contributors Forum. He

allayed concerns over the perceived shrinking

of HDB unit sizes by stating that flat sizes in

Singapore have not changed in the past 15

years but also stated that both smaller and

larger units will be built to meet demand and

needs. He also stated that the government

may intervene if shoebox units grow to a

worrying proportion, especially if there may

not be much demand for these units.


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Latest figures showed that such units

accounted for over 25% of private home sales

in Q1 2012, compared to the 15% in Q4 2011.

He also stated that the sharp increase in

home prices was a temporary imbalance of

supply and demand where the supply could

not catch up to the increase in population and

added that 100,000 new flats could be built in

the following five years if deemed necessary.

FLO Residence at Punggol to be launched

FLO Residence located at Punggol Field

Walk near Coral Edge LRT is to be launched

at an average of $850 psf, with prices of two-

bedroom units starting at $620,000, three-

bedroom units at $750,000 and four-bedroom

units at $990,000. Out of the 530 units, 106

are two-bedroom units between 764 sq ft to

861 sq ft, 317 three-bedroom units ranging

from 926 sq ft to 1,044 sq ft, 92 four-bedroom

units between 1,227 sq ft to 1,346 sq ft and

15 penthouse units between 1,500 sq ft to

2,500 sq ft. The project is likely to be

attractive given that the adjacent site is

reserved for an international school.

Woodlands EC site attracts $247m top bid

The 99-year leasehold EC site at Woodlands

Avenue 5/Woodlands Drive 16 drew five bids,

with the top bid at $247 million or $317.65 psf

ppr within expectations of consultants. This

bid reflects that confidence of the developer

since there are no new EC projects in the

area but the number of bids is rather low,

possibly due to the recent tender for the more

attractive Tampines Central 7 EC site. The

developer plans to develop the site into a

700-unitresidential project comprising three

and four-bedroom apartments with an

expected launch date by this year.


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The expected breakeven cost is around $630-

650 psf.

Commercial

StarHub Green sold at $210m

StarHub Green located at Ubi Avenue 1 near

MacPherson MRT Station is sold to

Blackstone Group for $210 million or $500-

550 psf based on a 421,000 sq ft net lettable

area, out of which over 90% has been let. Twotowers (six and seven storeys) sit on the site

zoned for Business 1 use with a 2.5 maximum

plot ratio. The site has a remaining lease of

about 45 years out of its 60-year lease.

Other recent deals include the sale of freehold

nine-storey Three Rifles Building located at 50

MacPherson Road which was sold for $19.1

million or $650 psf based on its 30,000 sq ft

NLA.

Other properties potentially up for sale include

the Park Regis Singapore hotel at New

Market Street-Merchant Road. The mixed

hotel-and-office project consists of the 203-

room hotel and a seven-storey office block

with about 42,000 sq ft NLA which sits on a

site with a remaining lease of about 95 years.

Meanwhile, the99-year office development at

7&9 Tampines Grande is asking for $400

million and above or $1,400 psf on its 287,000

sq ft NLA, of which 95% has been let. The

project includes two eight-storey towers with

147 basement carpark lots. The eight-storey

office block at 99-year 700 Beach Road may

also be sold at $115 million or $1,650 psf

based on the fully let 70,000 sq ft NLA. 66

strata office units at Burlington Square (with

83 years lease remaining) located at

Bencoolen Street is also on the market for

$100 million.


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Higher proportion of financial firms in

Marina Bay than in Raffles Place

The proportion of financial and insurance

companies in Marina Bay (75%) is higherthan that in Raffles Place (55%). The

absolute amount of office space occupied by

such firms in Raffles Place, however, is much

higher at four million sq ft than the 2.6 million

sq ft in Marina Bay. This may change as more

firms move into spaces in newly completedbuildings in the region. The space occupied

by such firms in Marina Bay will increase to

more than 3.3 million sq ft in the next couple

of quarters based on pre-commitments in

Asia Square Tower 1 and Marina Bay

Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3.

Average occupancy rate of office space in

Marina Bay decreased by over 30 percentage

points from 2011 to 68.1% in Q1 but

increased to 86% when the one million sq ft

pre-committed space is included, while the

occupancy rate in Raffles Place fell 3.6

percentage points to 91.3% in the same

period. The net increase in supply in 2012 is

around 1.1 million sq ft, but rents may see a

decline as a good 700,000 sq ft of space is

expected to be returned to the market as

shadow space or when lease expires and

tenants shift to new spaces.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 50
http://www.moneymatters.sg/


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Should Short Term Room Rentals Be Allowed?

By Mr. Propwise

A recent article in The Straits Times

highlighted the growing trend of home owners

and tenants renting out spare rooms to

paying guests for short periods of times (such

as a few days). Websites such as Airbnb,

Wimdu, 9flats and Roomorama have

sprouted out to facilitate these lettings by

effectively creating a marketplace for renters

and rentees.

Airbnb currently has over 230 listings for

rooms for rent in Singapore, which can be

stayed in for as low as $40 a day, or less than

one fifth what a typical hotel room would cost.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 50


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Some hosts even offer premium services

such as breakfast and complimentary

toiletries and EZ-link cards.

From the hosts perspective, its a great wayto earn some extra dollars from a spare

room, while from the guests perspective they

can save a lot of money and get a different

experience versus staying in a hotel.

The catch? Its illegal

Sounds like a win-win idea but its illegal.

According to the Urban Redevelopment

Authority (URA), private residential properties

can only be rented out or sublet for periods of

six months or more. A spokesman said theywould investigate cases of breaches, and

those caught will be issued enforcement

notices. If they do not stop they can be fined

up to $200,000 and/or jailed for up to a year.

Neither the HDB nor JTC allow short-term

subletting either, so those caught doing so

can face penalties. HDB homeowners may

even get their flats confiscated.

The URAs rationale for banning this practice

is that transientoccupiers may disturb and

inconvenience other residents. A Singapore

Hotel Association (SHA) spokesperson

voiced concerns about how unregulated

guesthouses could compromise the safetyand health of the guests, and that any

complaints from tourists might create

adverse publicity for Singapore.

Is the renting out of rooms really that

bad?

Personally, I believe that short-term room

renting should be allowed. As one of the

hosts in The Straits Times article put it,



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doing so democratizes the marketplace and

is a win-win for both the hosts and guests.

For the hosts, they can earn extra income

from their asset while meeting new people

from around the world. For the guests, they

have a greater choice of accommodation at

affordable prices, and can choose the

experience they would like to have. In my

travels, my favorite places to stay were often

not the fancy hotels but small bed and

breakfast places where you get to enjoy the

local hospitality.

If this practice became widespread, the losers

would be the hotels and hostels as they

would face greater price competition and an

increased supply of rooms, which is probably

why they are against it. In my opinion, the

risks stated by the URA and the SHA are

probably overstated, given that this practice

has been going on for over five years and we

do not seem to have any major incidents

arising from it.

Of course, if renting out rooms were allowed,

the URA would still play a vital role in

investigating any complaints lodged by

neighbors and residents if a nuisance was

being created, and could take action against

offenders instead of banning it outright.

While negative incidents could indeed affect a

tourists impression of Singapore, I believe on

the whole that allowing the short-term renting

of rooms would actually have the opposite

effect it would allow tourists to experience

true Singaporean hospitality, and get an

understanding of the local culture that they

would never get by staying in a fancy hotel.



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It would also allow asset rich and cash poor

homeowners to monetize their asset and

increase their incomes, while exposing

Singaporeans to people from all over theworld, leading to increased cultural tolerance

and understanding.

Hopefully the regulations can be

reconsidered, and amended to benefit the

homeowners and not just the hoteliers.

http://www.propwise.sg/secretsofsingaporepropertygurus/


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Apr 18 Apr 24

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

1 THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY 1,701 3,520,000 2,070 99

1 PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX 1,119 950,000 849 99

1 PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX 1,604 1,350,000 842 99

2 ICON 560 1,038,000 1,854 99

2 ICON 926 1,600,000 1,728 99

3 RIVER PLACE 786 988,800 1,258 99

3 RIVER PLACE 786 960,000 1,222 99

3 THE ANCHORAGE 1,765 2,150,000 1,218 FH

3 RIVER PLACE 2,067 2,460,000 1,190 99

4 MARINA COLLECTION 1,873 5,338,050 2,850 99



4 TERESA VILLE 1,927 2,080,000 1,080 FH

5 THE STELLAR 1,389 1,450,000 1,044 FH

5 BLUE HORIZON 936 945,000 1,009 99

5 THE CASSANDRA 1,453 1,390,000 957 FH

5 MONTEREY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,249 1,150,000 921 999

5 WEST BAY CONDOMINIUM 893 815,000 912 99

5 VISTA PARK 883 800,000 906 99

5 VISTA PARK 646 575,000 890 99

5 VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM 2,207 1,858,000 842 99

5 PARK WEST 1,894 1,439,900 760 99

8 CITYLIGHTS 678 1,090,000 1,607 99

8 CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES 1,496 2,060,000 1,377 FH

8 SOHO @ FARRER 506 665,000 1,314 FH

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

8 KERRISDALE 1,270 1,180,000 929 99

9 THE CLAYMORE 3,348 8,950,000 2,674 FH

9 ORCHARD VIEW 2,530 6,619,000 2,617 FH

9 THE PATERSON 1,206 2,532,600 2,101 FH

9 RIVERGATE 1,755 3,250,000 1,852 FH

9 ESTILO 517 908,000 1,757 FH

9 WATERMARK ROBERTSON QUAY 1,572 2,730,000 1,737 FH

10 NASSIM JADE 2,250 5,250,000 2,334 FH

10 BELMOND GREEN 980 1,750,000 1,787 FH

10 MELROSE PARK 1,345 2,265,000 1,683 999

10 ONE ROBIN 1,948 3,220,000 1,653 FH

10 WATERFALL GARDENS 2,196 3,623,400 1,650 FH

10 VIZ AT HOLLAND 818 1,300,000 1,589 FH

10 DUKES RESIDENCE 1,711 2,600,000 1,519 FH

10 DALVEY COURT 2,164 2,880,000 1,331 FH

10 DUCHESS CREST 1,378 1,650,000 1,198 99

10 THE SERENADE @ HOLLAND 1,507 1 ,600,000 1,062 99

11 AMARYLLIS VILLE 657 1,038,000 1,581 99

11 AMARYLLIS VILLE 657 1,030,000 1,569 99

11 PAVILION 11 1,485 2,170,000 1,461 FH

11 TREVOSE PARK 2,185 3,183,000 1,457 FH

11 THE LINCOLN MODERN 1,109 1,530,000 1,380 FH

12 DE PARADISO 1,238 1,485,600 1,200 FH

12 BALESTIER 288 624 608,000 974 FH

14 THE HELICONIA 1,335 1 ,230,000 922 FH



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Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

14 EUNOS GREEN 1,206 1,028,000 853 FH

14 EUNOS MANSION 1,453 1,222,000 841 FH

14 CANNE LODGE 1,410 1,128,000 800 FH

14 SIMS GREEN 1,249 975,000 781 99

14 THE ALCOVE 1,324 1,025,000 774 99

14 WING FONG MANSIONS 1,130 850,000 752 FH

14 WING FONG MANSIONS 1,238 900,000 727 FH

15 PALAZZETTO 818 1,250,000 1,528 FH

15 THE WATERSIDE 2,411 3,650,000 1,514 FH

15 THE SEAFRONT ON MEYER 1,066 1,588,888 1,491 FH

15 THE WATERSIDE 2,142 2,830,000 1,321 FH

15 COTE D'AZUR 1,141 1,400,000 1,227 99

15 COASTARINA 678 830,000 1,224 FH

15 WATER PLACE 1,216 1,380,000 1,135 99

15 CASERO @ DUNMAN 872 980,000 1,124 FH

15 THE SERENNIA 980 1,080,000 1,103 FH

15 COSTA ESTE 850 920,000 1,082 FH

15 THE HACIENDA 1,206 1,270,000 1,053 FH

15 TANJONG RIA CONDOMINIUM 1,399 1,410,000 1,008 99

15 THE GLACIER 1,259 1,232,000 978 FH

15 PARK EAST 1,755 1,710,000 975 FH

15 PINEHURST CONDOMINIUM 1,066 1,000,000 938 FH

15 ESTIQUE 1,410 1,310,888 930 FH15 TAIPAN GRAND 1,399 1,230,000 879 FH

15 VILLA MARINA 1,582 1,268,888 802 99

16 LANDBAY CONDOMINIUM 980 1,068,000 1,090 FH

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 1,000,000 1,068 99

16 THE BAYSHORE 1,012 970,000 959 99

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

16 THE BAYSHORE 926 880,000 951 99

16 THE BAYSHORE 1,001 928,000 927 99

16 CHANGI COURT 1,163 1,050,000 903 FH

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 835,000 892 99

16 STRATFORD COURT 1,884 1,318,800 700 99

17 EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,335 1,210,000 907 FH

17 EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,335 1,000,000 749 FH

17 BALLOTA PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,249 860,000 689 FH

17 AZALEA PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,679 1 ,150,000 685 999

18 RIS GRANDEUR 1,066 960,000 901 FH

18 SAVANNAH CONDOPARK 1,023 900,000 880 99

18 CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM 1,259 988,000 785 99

18 MELVILLE PARK 1,044 810,000 776 99

19 KOVAN MELODY 1,690 1,750,000 1,036 99

19 SUNGLADE 1,044 1,080,000 1,034 99

19 KENSINGTON PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,658 1,630,000 983 999

19 THE SPRINGBLOOM 1,119 1,060,000 947 99

19 COMPASS HEIGHTS 1,055 910,000 863 99

19 CHUAN PARK 1,173 980,000 835 99

19 ROSYTH RESIDENCE 1,905 1,500,088 787 999

19 RIO VISTA 1,238 960,000 776 99

19 NOUVELLE PARK 1,582 1,170,000 739 FH

20 BISHAN 8 1,163 1,300,000 1,118 9920 THE GARDENS AT BISHAN 883 875,000 991 99

20 THE GARDENS AT BISHAN 1,227 1,100,000 896 99

20 GRANDEUR 8 1,216 1,080,000 888 99

20 BISHAN PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,324 1,010,000 763 99

21 THE CASCADIA 1,249 2,137,000 1,711 FH



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NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale propertytransactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore LandAuthority. Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after apurchaser signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal


Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

21 THE BLOSSOMVALE 1,421 1,750,000 1,232 999

21 SUMMERHILL 1,561 1,650,000 1,057 FH

21 THE RAINTREE 1,432 1,415,000 988 99

21 THE HILLSIDE 1,302 1,260,000 967 FH

21 THE HILLSIDE 1,044 908,000 870 FH

22 THE LAKESHORE 1,109 1,080,000 974 99

22 IVORY HEIGHTS 1,851 1,270,000 686 100

22 IVORY HEIGHTS 1,948 1,200,000 616 100

23 THE DAIRY FARM 1,948 2,200,000 1,129 FH

23 HILLINGTON GREEN 1,755 1,700,000 969 999

23 THE PETALS 1,604 1,530,000 954 FH

23 MERAWOODS 1,345 1,280,000 951 999

23 HILLVIEW 128 1,044 910,000 872 999

23 CENTURY MANSIONS 936 788,000 841 FH

23 REGENT GROVE 926 750,000 810 99

25 ROSEWOOD 2,734 1,650,000 603 99

26 FOREST HILLS CONDOMINIUM 1,227 900,500 734 99

27 YISHUN EMERALD 1,399 970,000 693 99

27 ORCHID PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,249 858,000 687 99

27 ORCHID PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,668 1,033,000 619 99

27 YISHUN SAPPHIRE 1,389 830,000 598 99
http://www.propwise.sg/secretsofsingaporepropertygurus/

Singapore Property Weekly Issue 50

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