TWO months of strong home sales may have sparked hopes of resilience in certain parts of the property market here, but the sector is still plagued by problems, said a CIMB-GK Securities report yesterday. A supply overhang - due to default threats from deferred payment scheme buyers - and potential price falls in the high-end market, continue to weigh on property fundamentals, said Mr Donald Chua, who...
Market Reports
THE buzz continues at property launches on the island. City Developments said yesterday that it achieved about $190 million of sales from selling about 150 units at The Arte at Thomson since March 21. The freehold project is priced at $880 psf on average. No premium is being being charged for an interest absorption scheme (IAS) that CDL has extended to buyers. The scheme means buyers pay just the...
City Developments (CDL) said sales at "The Arte" condominium project have surpassed the 80 per cent mark. The developer said 150 units were snapped up in a Phase 1 launch recently with S$190 million of deals recorded. Most of those sold went for under S$2 million. The 336-unit freehold project at Thomson Road has been priced at an average of S$880 per square foot, with units ranging from 1,055 sq ft for...
Sales of private homes dipped 8 per cent in March to 1,220, compared to 1,323 in February. Latest data from the Urban Development Authority (URA) showed that new properties in suburban areas saw strong sales. Double Bay in Simei saw the biggest sales, with 264 units changing hands. Mi Casa in Choa Chu Kang came in second with 101 units sold. Properties located just outside the city also drew strong...
The cost of prime office space in Singapore is expected to halve by the end of the year, to hit almost five-year lows. It fell sharply by 25 per cent to about S$9.20 per square foot per month in the first quarter this year, compared to the previous quarter. Analysts expect a similar fall in the second quarter, before a moderation in the second half of the year. 2.4 million square feet of office space...
Singapore's investment property market was quiet in the first quarter of the year, as the global recession continues. The first three months of 2009 saw only 10 investment transactions, compared to 15 in the fourth quarter of last year. All the deals were below S$40 million. Real estate adviser DTZ said all the investment sales in the first quarter took place in the private sector. This is partly due...
Although private residential property prices saw one of the worst declines in the first quarter of this year, analysts noted that the mass market segment is still well supported by HDB upgraders. This can be seen by the sales of units at Mi Casa, the first private condominium in Choa Chu Kang Town Centre in eight years. It has been one week since the developer pre-launched 200 units, and 65 per cent of...
Singapore’s residential property market is likely to bottom only at some point of time in 2010, says a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The US investment bank noted that although local residential prices have already fallen 21% from the peak in mid-2008, they are likely to fall at least another 30% this year and a further 10% early next year before they stabilise. Indeed, Merrill...
Prices for private property and public housing fell steeply in the first three months of the year. In the Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale market, the first drop since 2006 was seen. HDB's flash estimate, based on its Resale Price Index, showed a decline of 0.6 per cent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of last year, which had registered a 1.4 per cent increase. Still, some...
Office occupancies and rentals in Singapore fell sharply in the first quarter of 2009, according to latest figures from property consultancy DTZ. DTZ said the data showed that companies continued to consolidate space and put expansion plans on hold in the wake of the global financial crisis. According to DTZ, office rents slid 18 per cent on average island-wide. This was the steepest decline since the...