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Strong demand expected for new Bidadari flats
Property watchers expect strong demand for the first batch of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Bidadari that are going on sale this month.
Over 50 percent of the 2,139 units available being four-room flats, another 567 will be three-room flats, 192 will be two-room units under the Flexi scheme, and 151 will be five-room flats. According to HDB, the flats will be progressively completed from Q3 2019.
Situated within Singapores central region, the new Bidadari estate will have four districts Alkaff, Woodleigh, Park Edge and Bartley Heights. The first three housing projects to be launched in this months BTO exercise will be in Alkaff district, which is the biggest in the estate. Alkaff Vista, the first project, is expected to be ready by Q3 2019, Alkaff LakeView in Q4 2019, and Alkaff Courtview in Q2 2020.
The housing board noted that the new estate, which is envisioned to be a community in a garden, will feature a 10-hectare park and a greenbelt that passes through the estate from Bartley Road to Upper Serangoon Road. It will also have social and commercial facilities, as well as cycling and pedestrian networks.
We hope to encourage residents to take on walking and cycling as an alternative form of transport and moving around, rather than (driving) a car. We have also planned to have more bike-sharing and car-sharing within the estates, so it will be easier for residents who do not own cars to be able to move around as well, said Lim Shu Ying, Director of Urban Planning at HDB.
The flats in Bidadari will be part of the 7,000 BTO flats to be launched this month, alongside other flats in Bukit Batok, Punggol Northshore, Hougang, Choa Chu Kang and Sengkang.
As the first BTO launch after the income ceiling was raised to S$12,000, Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Realty, believes a lot of buyers have actually been holding back, waiting for Bidadari launch.
We will expect the take up to be very, very hot, he said. He predicts that a majority of the buyers to be families, as well as those planning to start a family. The flats are also expected to attract those with young children, given that the estate is near reputable schools.
Even though this was previously a cemetery, there is already a success story in the case of Bishan, where the flats are among the most highly priced in Singapore and are highly sought after, said Lim.
Chris Koh, director of estate agency Chris International, also expect buyers to pay a premium for the flats due to their central location. According to him, prices will likely be 10 percent higher than that of flats in Sengkang and Punggol.
Condo sizes on GLS sites smaller: study
A new study has found that the average size of condominium units on sites acquired through the government has been shrinking, and the trend was most evident in new projects located within the city fringe areas.
In a Straits Times report, average sizes on these sites dropped from 1,051 sq ft (as with those seen at Waterbank in Dakota Crescent in 2010) to 810 sq ft from three new projects launched within the region this year.
The study, conducted by SLP Research and Consultancy, examined condo projects that were launched on Government Land Sales (GLS) sites since 2010. It then derived an average unit size from the sites maximum allowable gross floor area (GFA) and divided it by the number of houses to be built.
Over at the suburban areas where the majority of GLS condo sites were sold during the last six years the average GFA per unit shrank to 811 sq ft in four condos launched this year, from 878 sq ft across six condo launches in 2010.
According to SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak, there are two reasons why a developer would turn to building smaller units.
The developer could be trying to boost profit margins by increasing the psf price of the development. Alternatively, the move may reflect the fact that the purchasing power of most homebuyers has been curbed by the various property cooling measures rolled out by the government since 2010.
The Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) and Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework have limited the housing budget of many buyers. As a result, the absolute price quantum of the unit has become the primary consideration of a large majority of owners, said Mak.
Developers offering fewer indirect discounts
Once popular with private homebuyers, indirect discounts like furniture vouchers and cash rebates have become less prevalent.
In a report by The Business Times, only three percent of some 3,850 non-landed private homes sold by developers since 25 May had indirect discounts, with an average discount of 1.7 percent of the transacted price.The units were from 18 of the 132 projects that sawsales since 25 May, according toan analysis of developers new sales data.
Notably, legislative amendments requiringdevelopers to submit detailed transaction data to the Controller of Housing every week took effect on 25 May this year. The said data is then published by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Aside from the transacted prices of units, developers are also required to declare the value of benefits given to buyers, such as rental guarantees, cash rebates, furniture vouchers, and the absorption of legal fees or stamp duties, which would otherwise concealthe actual value of the units sold.
There was a season when discounts, rebates and other perks were dangled as carrots to attract buyers. However, these may be relatively pass today, said Tan Tee Khoon, managing director of KF Property Network, a Knight Frank subsidiary.
This is because developers may find it pointless to give out cash rebates now that such data hasbecome public information, said Savills research head Alan Cheong. As such, developers who need to urgently clear their stock in order to meet the Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) and Qualifying Certificate (QC) requirements are more likely to lower prices directly.
The QC rule requires developers to pay extension fees for condominium units sold within two years ofthe projects completion. Since December 2011, housing developers were also required to develop residential sites acquired and sell all the units within five years to qualify for an ABSD remission on land cost.
DLeedon among top winners at FIABCI Spore
This years FIABCI Singapore Property Award saw dLeedon and Twentyone Angullia Park win in the Residential (High-Rise) category, while Senibong Cove clinched an award in the Master Plan and Environmental category.
Developed by CapitaLand, dLeedon is Singapores largest private residential development and is designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid. The 36-storey condominium project features 1,703 apartments, as well as 12 exclusive semi-detached houses.
Offering unobstructed views of the skyline, the development enjoys an excellent location, given its proximity to reputable schools, Dempsey Hill, Holland Village, Orchard Road and the Botanic Gardens.
With this award, dLeedon will qualify for the prestigious FIABCI (The International Real Estate Federation) Prix dExcellence Awards 2016, which recognise developments that are a cut above the rest in the global real estate sector, said CapitaLand Singapore CEO, Wen Khai Meng.
Another winner was freehold luxury development Twentyone Angullia Park, developed by Anguilla Development Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of China Sonangol Land.
The 36-storey building is situated at the junction of Orchard Boulevard and Paterson Road. Green Mark-certified under BCA requirements, the development features a total of 54 exclusive residences and penthouses. It secured its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in April 2014, and is currently ready for occupation.
Senibong Cove, on the other hand, is developed by Front Concept Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian subsidiary of Australias Walker Corporation. Located in the Iskandar Development Region in Johor, the master-planned development spans 208 acres and features different precincts to cater to various residential needs, including apartments, semi-detached houses, and waterfront villas.
Inspired by some of Walker Corporations most successful Australian waterfront projects, homes within the development are designed with quintessential tropical features like large roof overhangs, sun-shades, canopies and balconies over the canal, which provide usable outdoor spaces.
As part of Walker Corporation, we have a longstanding heritage of large-scale developments spanning residential, retail, industrial and commercial, in Australia and globally, said Quay Chew Keong, Project Director at Senibong Cove.
To be honoured at FIABCI is a strong validation of our good work, and we will continue to enhance Senibong Cove to best benefit our residents and the community-at-large.
Private home sales up 60.1% in October
Developers sold 546 private homes in October, up 60.1 percent from September, but a 30.4 percent decline year-on-year, said JLL.
434 units were launched during the same period, an 11 percent increase from the previous month but a 35.8 percent decrease year-on-year.
Compared to the same period last year, the private home market is at a slower momentum. Market sentiment and buyer interest appear to have softened as economic and business conditions have become more difficult, noted JLL.
Despite the challenging environment, two new projects were launched for sale during the period. The 663-unit Principal Garden sold 113 of the 200 units launched at a median price of S$1,633 psf, while the 288-unit Thomson Impressions sold 80 of the 150 units launched at a median price of S$1,399 psf.
Other top-selling projects were Sims Urban Oasis, which sold 46 units, The Panorama (39 units) and High Park Residences (33 units). Meanwhile, the executive condominium (EC) market registered some activity in October, with the launch of The Criterion. The project launched all of its 505 units and found buyers for 41 units at a median price of S$805 psf.
Notwithstanding the slight improvement in private home sales in October over the previous month, the market generally remains subdued as the effects of the cooling measures have been compounded by the economic slowdown and impending interest rate hike in the US, said Ong Teck Hui, National Director, Research & Consultancy at JLL.
Market sentiments will remain soft through the year end, so we may expect muted market activity in the remaining two months when the holiday season begins. Using developer sales of 653 units in November and December 2014 as a guide, new private home sales in the last two months of 2015 are likely to taper. With 6,383 units sold in the first 10 months of 2015, the full year figure is likely to be below last years 7,316 units, he added.
CBD office demand remains subdued in Q3
Singapore saw lacklustre demand for CBD office space in Q3 2015, as economic uncertainty as well as expectations for further rental declines affected leasing activity, said JLL in a report.
Despite the subdued demand, the report said there were still some companies that looked to leverage on Singapores position as a regional hub and set up new offices within the city during the period under review.
Meanwhile, tenants planning to relocate in Q3 2015 continued to show preference for deals that offered lower rents in higher quality buildings within the Marina Centre and Raffles Place submarkets. According to JLL, these deals were particularly attractive to tenants coming from older buildings, usually in the Shenton Way submarket.
The report revealed that the overall CBD vacancy rate slightly increased to 6.1 percent in Q3 2015. JLL expects vacancy to gradually increase over the next few quarters as select occupiers, mostly in the financial sector, give up space.
Overall CBD rents fell 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to S$9.61 per sq ft per month in Q3 2015.
Landlords continued to take pre-emptive steps to retain and attract occupiers ahead of a large wave of supply (107 million sq ft) due to be completed in 2016.
With this, JLL expects rents across all submarkets to continue trending lower in the short term, while pre-leasing activity is expected to remain challenging as existing occupiers are hesitant to sign new leases until shortly before the expiration of their existing contracts due to the expectation of further rental declines.
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