Oct 16, 2007
Record prices for some properties despite sliding salesSentiment steady last month despite fears over impact of US credit crisis
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
PROPERTY sales slumped last month, as buyers stayed on the sidelines but there was a silver lining with prices at some projects hitting record levels.
The cause of the sales dip was clear - concerns in the United States over its subprime mortgage industry triggered meltdowns in share markets across the globe.
Many spooked buyers put purchases on hold but the fact that prices of the deals that were done stayed buoyant reflects the firm undertone for private residential properties.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data showed that the number of new homes sold last month fell nearly 70 per cent to just 529 units, from 1,731 in August. July sales amounted to 1,378.
Developers typically sell about 7,500 new homes a year, though the recent boom has lifted figures. The URA data is based on sale options given by developers to buyers.
With more sales in the lower price ranges, median transacted prices, or the mid-point in prices, fell 27.7 per cent, from $1,328 per sq ft (psf) in August to $960 psf last month.
And with the lunar seventh month barely over, there were only a few new launches. One of them was Hillcrest Villa, a cluster of 99-year leasehold terrace homes near Dunearn Road.
Yet MCL Land still sold 162 out of the 163 units with a median price at $865 psf - said to be fairly high for a landed project in the area.
‘The high sales volume in August has caused a bit of indigestion in the market,’ said Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak.
‘September’s figures can thus be viewed as a healthy breather before the market resumes its momentum.’
Mr Mak said monthly sales would gradually improve to 800 to 1,000 units.
Sub-sales of residential property accounted for 6.8 per cent of all transactions last month, compared with 9.4 per cent in August, according to Colliers International.
Prices in some projects managed to hit records.
In the high-end segment, Ho Bee sold 36 units of its latest Sentosa Cove project Turquoise. The 91-unit project’s median price hit $2,587 psf while the highest was $2,772 psf, a record for the Cove.
In Scotts Road, Wheelock Properties sold 27 units of Scotts Square, of which 12 were above $4,000 psf.
A high for the month of $4,359 psf was recorded, with the median price at $3,985. It was the only project to sell above $4,000 psf last month.
There were also a few record highs for suburban projects. Two units at the 318-unit Gardenvista in Dunearn Road were sold at $1,223 psf and a record high of $1,449.
Sales at The Lakeshore in Boon Lay Way ranged from $695 psf to a record $1,080.
‘These buyers could be buying for their own use because the properties have just obtained their temporary occupation permit,’ said Savills Singapore director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong.
New projects such as The Beacon Edge in Tembeling Road also did relatively well. Six of the 32 units sold at
a median price of $1,306 psf, with a high of $1,327.
Achieving record highs in a slow month could mean there are serious buyers out there, said Mr Ku. ‘Right now, there is strong demand in the mid-tier and mass markets.’
These are homes costing $800 psf to $1,600 psf, he said.
Mr Ku said the market was doing better this month but sub-prime hangovers may keep activity slightly muted.
Showing posts with label StraitsTimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label StraitsTimes. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
ST : Build dream homes on small govt plots
Oct 14, 2007
PROPERTY Build dream homes on small govt plots Infill sites to come back on market after over a decade - buyers likely to get cheap land in choice areas
By Fiona Chan
THE idea of building a house on a former septic tank site might seem noxious to some.
But it could mean the chance to build your dream home on that rarest of commodities in Singapore - cheap land.
The Government will release smallish plots - likely to be big enough for just one home each - over the next few months, to meet the sizzling demand for land.
The fine print: The sites might previously have been used for public purposes, so they could have housed parks, gardens, sub-stations, or possibly even septic tanks.
Individual investors and small developers can build homes on these plots, known in the industry as 'infill sites'. The sites usually have adjacent buildings on either side.
Such plots have not been put on the market in more than a decade, but the booming economy and high demand for land have convinced the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to resume sales, said its deputy director for land sales, Mr Teo Jing Kok.
Infill sites were introduced in 1990 to ease housing demand. By the time sales stopped in 1993, 20 plots had been snapped up at public tenders amid growing interest.
The lowest price paid for an infill site was $402,000, in 1991. The parcel of open space, near Braddell Road, was more than 9,000 sq ft, so the price worked out to less than $45 per sq ft (psf) of land area - relatively cheap even for those times.
Over the following two years, the popularity of these sites increased sharply. A 5,581 sq ft plot on Ceylon Road, off East Coast Road, drew a whopping 62 bids when it went on sale in 1993. The highest bid was $1.3 million, or just over $230 psf.
All the plots offered in the early 1990s were zoned for building homes, and most now host bungalows or other landed homes.
Several of the plots once housed septic tanks, some were empty spaces, while a site at Mount Sinai was a cul-de-sac.
Buyers in the past were mainly boutique property development firms or individuals who wanted to build their own homes, said the SLA.
The previous sales 'showed that owners are free to create their own types of houses and are generally more satisfied with the outcome', the agency told The Sunday Times.
'They are able to exercise control in the interior and exterior designs, as well as the colours, resulting in their 'dream home'.'
The first sites, sold in 1991, came with 999-year leases. The remaining sites in following years were 99-year leasehold. The upcoming plots are believed to be mainly leasehold as well.
The SLA said it has not finalised the sites to go on sale, but based on the plots offered in the past, they are likely to be in popular residential locations.
The parcels sold in 1991 were mostly in Upper Bukit Timah and Yio Chu Kang.
The year after, the Government released sites in Sixth Avenue and Namly Drive in Bukit Timah. In 1993, plots along Dunearn Road, the East Coast and Mount Sinai went on the market.
Consultants expect a good response for the upcoming sales, as long as the locations are desirable.
'There is likely to be demand as many homebuyers are now seeking good landed homes and are willing to pay higher prices,' said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.
Recent launches of 99-year leasehold cluster housing, such as MCL Land's Hillcrest Villas and the latest phase of Far East Organization's Greenwood project, have been well-received.
However, Mr Mak added that the Government might have to allay concerns from potential buyers about possible 'leaks from a previous septic tank or remaining electromagnetic waves from a former substation'.
In response, the SLA gave reassurances that the sites it puts up for sale will be safe to build homes on. It said it will obtain the necessary clearances and conduct certified tests of the soil conditions for each site before allowing the site to be offered.
It will also outline the locations of any waterpipes or sewers within a sale site for the benefit of all bidders, the agency said.
As for likely pricing, Mr Mak said landed homes have risen roughly 2.5 times in price since 1990. If the prices of infill sites match this pace, a 10,000 sq ft plot could go for less than $1.5 million - a fairly good deal.
By comparison, each unit at Hillcrest Villas sold for $2.5 million to $3 million. Nearby, the strata bungalows at 8 @ Kings Road are going for about $5.5 million each for 2,000 sq ft of land area.
PROPERTY Build dream homes on small govt plots Infill sites to come back on market after over a decade - buyers likely to get cheap land in choice areas
By Fiona Chan
THE idea of building a house on a former septic tank site might seem noxious to some.
But it could mean the chance to build your dream home on that rarest of commodities in Singapore - cheap land.
The Government will release smallish plots - likely to be big enough for just one home each - over the next few months, to meet the sizzling demand for land.
The fine print: The sites might previously have been used for public purposes, so they could have housed parks, gardens, sub-stations, or possibly even septic tanks.
Individual investors and small developers can build homes on these plots, known in the industry as 'infill sites'. The sites usually have adjacent buildings on either side.
Such plots have not been put on the market in more than a decade, but the booming economy and high demand for land have convinced the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to resume sales, said its deputy director for land sales, Mr Teo Jing Kok.
Infill sites were introduced in 1990 to ease housing demand. By the time sales stopped in 1993, 20 plots had been snapped up at public tenders amid growing interest.
The lowest price paid for an infill site was $402,000, in 1991. The parcel of open space, near Braddell Road, was more than 9,000 sq ft, so the price worked out to less than $45 per sq ft (psf) of land area - relatively cheap even for those times.
Over the following two years, the popularity of these sites increased sharply. A 5,581 sq ft plot on Ceylon Road, off East Coast Road, drew a whopping 62 bids when it went on sale in 1993. The highest bid was $1.3 million, or just over $230 psf.
All the plots offered in the early 1990s were zoned for building homes, and most now host bungalows or other landed homes.
Several of the plots once housed septic tanks, some were empty spaces, while a site at Mount Sinai was a cul-de-sac.
Buyers in the past were mainly boutique property development firms or individuals who wanted to build their own homes, said the SLA.
The previous sales 'showed that owners are free to create their own types of houses and are generally more satisfied with the outcome', the agency told The Sunday Times.
'They are able to exercise control in the interior and exterior designs, as well as the colours, resulting in their 'dream home'.'
The first sites, sold in 1991, came with 999-year leases. The remaining sites in following years were 99-year leasehold. The upcoming plots are believed to be mainly leasehold as well.
The SLA said it has not finalised the sites to go on sale, but based on the plots offered in the past, they are likely to be in popular residential locations.
The parcels sold in 1991 were mostly in Upper Bukit Timah and Yio Chu Kang.
The year after, the Government released sites in Sixth Avenue and Namly Drive in Bukit Timah. In 1993, plots along Dunearn Road, the East Coast and Mount Sinai went on the market.
Consultants expect a good response for the upcoming sales, as long as the locations are desirable.
'There is likely to be demand as many homebuyers are now seeking good landed homes and are willing to pay higher prices,' said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.
Recent launches of 99-year leasehold cluster housing, such as MCL Land's Hillcrest Villas and the latest phase of Far East Organization's Greenwood project, have been well-received.
However, Mr Mak added that the Government might have to allay concerns from potential buyers about possible 'leaks from a previous septic tank or remaining electromagnetic waves from a former substation'.
In response, the SLA gave reassurances that the sites it puts up for sale will be safe to build homes on. It said it will obtain the necessary clearances and conduct certified tests of the soil conditions for each site before allowing the site to be offered.
It will also outline the locations of any waterpipes or sewers within a sale site for the benefit of all bidders, the agency said.
As for likely pricing, Mr Mak said landed homes have risen roughly 2.5 times in price since 1990. If the prices of infill sites match this pace, a 10,000 sq ft plot could go for less than $1.5 million - a fairly good deal.
By comparison, each unit at Hillcrest Villas sold for $2.5 million to $3 million. Nearby, the strata bungalows at 8 @ Kings Road are going for about $5.5 million each for 2,000 sq ft of land area.
Cluster Lustre
Oct 14, 2007
Cluster Lustre Who says Singaporeans are an introverted bunch? They are snapping up clusterproperties which offer good ol' kampung-style livingBy Noelle Loh
INSTEAD of a phone call or a knock on the door, 11-year-old Cornelius Leesays hello to his neighbours with five loud claps. Within seconds, thepitter-patter of hands in a similar rhythm resounds through aMediterranean-style courtyard that provides a centrepiece for a grouping ofterrace houses.
Welcome to cluster housing living - the modern-day kampung, or village,where neighbours who live in individual landed dwellings share facilitiesand their lives. Cornelius, his elder brother and his parents live in Kew Residencia in theEast Coast. It is one of Singapore's early cluster housing developments,having been launched in 1996.
Cluster housing refers to uniformly designed, landed properties that arebuilt in clusters within a gated estate. Inhabitants get to enjoy the perks of condominium-style facilities likesecurity, a swimming pool and gymnasium, as well as private basement parking.
According to real estate company Colliers International, 20 cluster housingprojects have been launched so far this year, the latest being The Ambienceat Punggol by developer DB2. Inspired by old kampung communities where people 'enter a community beforetheir own house', architect Andrew Tan of ATA Architects submitted the ideain 1991 to a contest by the Ministry of National Development seeking newhousing designs. His design of groups of houses surrounding a courtyard, which is in turnconnected to a main courtyard, won top honours but was never built.
The public, too, initially took a while to latch on to the idea. Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at ColliersInternational, says early developments such as the 20-unit NorthshoreBungalows in Punggol built in 1995 took over two years to sell. Prices werebetween $3.1 million and $3.7 million for a house of about 4,000 sq ft. Meanwhile, Kew Residencia took 11/2 years to sell 25 of its 37 units at anaverage of $980,000 each, says Ms Tay.
She adds that it is difficult to compare prices of the cluster developmentswith that of existing landed or condominium projects then because they werean entirely new market. But four years later, people were cosying up to clusters.
D'Manor in Tanah Merah and Horizon Garden in Ang Mo Kio - launched around 1999 at prices ranging from $880,000 to $1.5 million - hit headlines forbeing snapped up within two weeks.
Mr Tan says the initial apprehension in the early 1990s was probably due toworries about forking out large sums for a house for which you still had toshare communal space. 'Then, terrace housing was still widely available and people probablythought if they had to pay over $1 million for a house, why should theyshare,' he says.
New generation BUYERS of cluster homes - regulatory guidelines state they must be Singaporean or seek permission from the Government to buy if they aren't -have changed their tune amid soaring property prices and an increasinglyscarce amount of available land.
Knight Frank realty adviser Eddie Koh says Singaporeans tend to buy clusterhouses in prime areas, such as the 163-unit Hillcrest Villa in Dunearn Road,for investment. A check with home owners show that those eyeing projects outside the central region tend to be looking for a roof over their heads.
At Horizon Garden in Ang Mo Kio, the mix between local and expat residentsis currently about 50:50, says resident Eleanor Foong, who is in her 40s. Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's ruling, expats can only be tenants, not owners, of cluster houses. Meanwhile, at Gardens At Gerald, a 25-unit cluster housing project in Seletar Hills completed in January, resident Roger Tan, 36, says all his neighbours are Singaporean.
And contrary to the notion that Singaporeans are a conservative, introvertedlot, all seven families LifeStyle spoke to say they enjoy thecommunity-centric living that cluster housing provides. All are fairly young couples in their 30s and early 40s with young children,which Ms Tay says is the pattern among such home owners.
In May, for example, Mr Tan invited the five other families who had moved into his estate at that point to his house to celebrate his daughter's sixth birthday.
At Kew Residencia, it is common for residents to have dinners and wine-drinking sessions or go bowling together.
'It's really like a modern-day kampung,' says Kew Residencia resident Bernard Teo, who is in his 40s.
'You have to be open to the idea of mixing with your neighbours if you are moving into a cluster house. If not, you'll stick out like a sore thumb.'
Best of both worlds UNDER URA guidelines, a strata title arrangement is used to mark public and private space within cluster housing. The strata title ensures that individual homeowners have rights not only to their own unit, but also communal facilities. Simply put, it is a marriage of condo- style facilities with the luxury ofstaying in a landed house.
Gardens At Gerald resident Roger Tan points out that children can run about more freely because of the availability of security.
At the same time, unlike condominium living, where parking can be quite far from your apartment, cluster housing allows residents to 'park your car,walk and you're inside (your home)', says Mr Olivier Honore, 40. He lives in the Sixth Avenue cluster housing project The Teneriffe. 'Clusterhousing is really designed for the people,' he says.
Prices of cluster homes have shot up with the boom - Hillcrest Villa, for example, went for $870 psf at its launch last month in comparison to the nearby Teneriffe, which was launched at $410 psf in 2000. But industry experts and buyers say the cluster is still good bang for your buck. Mr Malek Ali, who was a real estate consultant for two years until he switched careers recently, says cluster houses are usually between 10 and 15per cent cheaper than condos.
'Developers tend to give a bit of a discount when they take into consideration that spaces in cluster houses such as the carpark are actually unusable space,' says Mr Ali, who lives in a cluster development in Gilstead Road.
Knight Frank realty adviser Eddie Koh agrees. 'A condominium in the vicinity of Hillcrest Villa would probably cost $1,000psf,' he says. 'And, these days, you'll never find a condo as big or with five rooms as you would in a cluster house.'
Investors, too, are increasingly game to put their money into the once-alien market. In fact both Mr Koh and Ms Audrey Wong, an agent with JC Properties(Singapore), say all the Singaporeans they have dealt with bought their cluster homes to reap rental yields.
Cluster housing is popular among the expatriate community because of the quality of life it provides and can fetch monthly rentals of between $10,000and $13,000, Ms Wong says.
'Especially when it's in a location close to international schools and amenities.' A retiree who wants to be known only as Mr Fong is one such investor. 'Many of these properties tend to be leasehold projects that wouldeventually be returned to the Government. It thus makes sense to investinstead of stay in them, especially when they give fairly good returns,'says Mr Fong, who rents out three cluster houses he owns in the expat-friendly Bukit Timah area.
Too close for comfort BUT cluster housing is not all kampung glam. Mr Tan says some development stake integrated living too far by incorporating too many elements onto the land.
'I had seen so many before Gardens At Gerald that were very cramped and lacked exclusivity, which defeated the purpose of upgrading from a flat,' hesays. And not everyone fits in with the friendly vibe of the tribe.
'As much as we have good neighbours, we also have very strange ones,' says Ms Joyce Lim, who lives in Kew Residencia, but declines to divulge more. However, if and when your neighbours get too in your face, you just have togo inside, says The Teneriffe's Mr Honore. 'Just like in a college dorm.'
Cluster Lustre Who says Singaporeans are an introverted bunch? They are snapping up clusterproperties which offer good ol' kampung-style livingBy Noelle Loh
INSTEAD of a phone call or a knock on the door, 11-year-old Cornelius Leesays hello to his neighbours with five loud claps. Within seconds, thepitter-patter of hands in a similar rhythm resounds through aMediterranean-style courtyard that provides a centrepiece for a grouping ofterrace houses.
Welcome to cluster housing living - the modern-day kampung, or village,where neighbours who live in individual landed dwellings share facilitiesand their lives. Cornelius, his elder brother and his parents live in Kew Residencia in theEast Coast. It is one of Singapore's early cluster housing developments,having been launched in 1996.
Cluster housing refers to uniformly designed, landed properties that arebuilt in clusters within a gated estate. Inhabitants get to enjoy the perks of condominium-style facilities likesecurity, a swimming pool and gymnasium, as well as private basement parking.
According to real estate company Colliers International, 20 cluster housingprojects have been launched so far this year, the latest being The Ambienceat Punggol by developer DB2. Inspired by old kampung communities where people 'enter a community beforetheir own house', architect Andrew Tan of ATA Architects submitted the ideain 1991 to a contest by the Ministry of National Development seeking newhousing designs. His design of groups of houses surrounding a courtyard, which is in turnconnected to a main courtyard, won top honours but was never built.
The public, too, initially took a while to latch on to the idea. Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at ColliersInternational, says early developments such as the 20-unit NorthshoreBungalows in Punggol built in 1995 took over two years to sell. Prices werebetween $3.1 million and $3.7 million for a house of about 4,000 sq ft. Meanwhile, Kew Residencia took 11/2 years to sell 25 of its 37 units at anaverage of $980,000 each, says Ms Tay.
She adds that it is difficult to compare prices of the cluster developmentswith that of existing landed or condominium projects then because they werean entirely new market. But four years later, people were cosying up to clusters.
D'Manor in Tanah Merah and Horizon Garden in Ang Mo Kio - launched around 1999 at prices ranging from $880,000 to $1.5 million - hit headlines forbeing snapped up within two weeks.
Mr Tan says the initial apprehension in the early 1990s was probably due toworries about forking out large sums for a house for which you still had toshare communal space. 'Then, terrace housing was still widely available and people probablythought if they had to pay over $1 million for a house, why should theyshare,' he says.
New generation BUYERS of cluster homes - regulatory guidelines state they must be Singaporean or seek permission from the Government to buy if they aren't -have changed their tune amid soaring property prices and an increasinglyscarce amount of available land.
Knight Frank realty adviser Eddie Koh says Singaporeans tend to buy clusterhouses in prime areas, such as the 163-unit Hillcrest Villa in Dunearn Road,for investment. A check with home owners show that those eyeing projects outside the central region tend to be looking for a roof over their heads.
At Horizon Garden in Ang Mo Kio, the mix between local and expat residentsis currently about 50:50, says resident Eleanor Foong, who is in her 40s. Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's ruling, expats can only be tenants, not owners, of cluster houses. Meanwhile, at Gardens At Gerald, a 25-unit cluster housing project in Seletar Hills completed in January, resident Roger Tan, 36, says all his neighbours are Singaporean.
And contrary to the notion that Singaporeans are a conservative, introvertedlot, all seven families LifeStyle spoke to say they enjoy thecommunity-centric living that cluster housing provides. All are fairly young couples in their 30s and early 40s with young children,which Ms Tay says is the pattern among such home owners.
In May, for example, Mr Tan invited the five other families who had moved into his estate at that point to his house to celebrate his daughter's sixth birthday.
At Kew Residencia, it is common for residents to have dinners and wine-drinking sessions or go bowling together.
'It's really like a modern-day kampung,' says Kew Residencia resident Bernard Teo, who is in his 40s.
'You have to be open to the idea of mixing with your neighbours if you are moving into a cluster house. If not, you'll stick out like a sore thumb.'
Best of both worlds UNDER URA guidelines, a strata title arrangement is used to mark public and private space within cluster housing. The strata title ensures that individual homeowners have rights not only to their own unit, but also communal facilities. Simply put, it is a marriage of condo- style facilities with the luxury ofstaying in a landed house.
Gardens At Gerald resident Roger Tan points out that children can run about more freely because of the availability of security.
At the same time, unlike condominium living, where parking can be quite far from your apartment, cluster housing allows residents to 'park your car,walk and you're inside (your home)', says Mr Olivier Honore, 40. He lives in the Sixth Avenue cluster housing project The Teneriffe. 'Clusterhousing is really designed for the people,' he says.
Prices of cluster homes have shot up with the boom - Hillcrest Villa, for example, went for $870 psf at its launch last month in comparison to the nearby Teneriffe, which was launched at $410 psf in 2000. But industry experts and buyers say the cluster is still good bang for your buck. Mr Malek Ali, who was a real estate consultant for two years until he switched careers recently, says cluster houses are usually between 10 and 15per cent cheaper than condos.
'Developers tend to give a bit of a discount when they take into consideration that spaces in cluster houses such as the carpark are actually unusable space,' says Mr Ali, who lives in a cluster development in Gilstead Road.
Knight Frank realty adviser Eddie Koh agrees. 'A condominium in the vicinity of Hillcrest Villa would probably cost $1,000psf,' he says. 'And, these days, you'll never find a condo as big or with five rooms as you would in a cluster house.'
Investors, too, are increasingly game to put their money into the once-alien market. In fact both Mr Koh and Ms Audrey Wong, an agent with JC Properties(Singapore), say all the Singaporeans they have dealt with bought their cluster homes to reap rental yields.
Cluster housing is popular among the expatriate community because of the quality of life it provides and can fetch monthly rentals of between $10,000and $13,000, Ms Wong says.
'Especially when it's in a location close to international schools and amenities.' A retiree who wants to be known only as Mr Fong is one such investor. 'Many of these properties tend to be leasehold projects that wouldeventually be returned to the Government. It thus makes sense to investinstead of stay in them, especially when they give fairly good returns,'says Mr Fong, who rents out three cluster houses he owns in the expat-friendly Bukit Timah area.
Too close for comfort BUT cluster housing is not all kampung glam. Mr Tan says some development stake integrated living too far by incorporating too many elements onto the land.
'I had seen so many before Gardens At Gerald that were very cramped and lacked exclusivity, which defeated the purpose of upgrading from a flat,' hesays. And not everyone fits in with the friendly vibe of the tribe.
'As much as we have good neighbours, we also have very strange ones,' says Ms Joyce Lim, who lives in Kew Residencia, but declines to divulge more. However, if and when your neighbours get too in your face, you just have togo inside, says The Teneriffe's Mr Honore. 'Just like in a college dorm.'
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