It is that time of the year when many Chinese Singaporeans shy away from undertaking major projects or "risky" activities during the Hungry Ghost Festival. The festival, which occurs during the 7th month of the lunar calendar, has affected everything from renovation to marriages. But observers said the property market has not really been affected this year. Property analysts said new projects are still...
Market Reports
Two weeks ago, a front page news report in a business daily blasted the commonly held notion that Singapore's private housing market is red hot, at least where developer sales are concerned. The report - drawing on a study by Savills - said that compared to 2007, the market actually underperformed last year, even as home sales in terms of total units sold were higher. It said the market would most...
Demand for private residential properties in Singapore rebounded in July, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Figures showed that excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs), sales of private properties rose to 1,943 units last month, up nearly 42 per cent from June. Three out of the top four best selling projects were located in the suburban areas. They were Parc Centros...
For the last three years, the trend in Singapore's residential property market has been virtually one-directional: Up. Despite the Government's repeated efforts to cool the market, home prices have remained resilient and recently hit new highs. It is not hard to see why. Population growth has been on an uptrend, there has been a housing shortage for years, and borrowing rates are currently low. I have...
Sentiment for the property development industry in Singapore has improved marginally in the second quarter. This according to the latest survey jointly developed by the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS) and the NUS Department of Real Estate. According to the Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI), the outlook for Singapore's real estate market is showing a modest improvement compared...
Despite concerns over the eurozone debt problems, Singapore saw buoyant purchase demand from investors and home buyers in the second quarter of 2012. According to DTZ Research, real estate investment rose 48 per cent quarter-on-quarter to S$6.9 billion in the second quarter, lifted by an increase in both domestic and cross border investments. Whilst government land sales (GLS) contributed to 43 per cent...
With suburban housing prices hitting new highs, markets awash with liquidity and banks introducing longer home loan tenors, I believe it is inevitable that another round of cooling measures will be introduced simply to keep potential price increases in check. In my commentary in Today last week ("Is the glass half empty or half full?" July 27), I said you could choose to interpret the findings of the...
In the private residential market, developer sales continued to slow down in June, when only 1,371 new homes were sold. The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) price index for the second quarter also showed that prices of uncompleted non-landed private homes fell by 0.9 per cent from the previous quarter, while those for completed non-landed private homes increased by 2.3 per cent. The slowdown in...
Brisk sales by developers for private homes continued last week. In the CBD, United Industrial Corporation (UIC) is said to have moved close to 50 units at its V on Shenton project, taking total sales in the project to over 140 units. The 54-storey tower was launched on 20 July with 190 out of its 510 units released. Apartments at the 99-year leasehold project are being sold at an average price of S$2,200...
Prices of resale private homes in Singapore were flat month-on-month in June, according to flash estimates of the Singapore Residential Property Index (SRPI) by the National University of Singapore (NUS). The index covering small units of 506 square feet and below - otherwise known as shoebox apartments - fell most sharply, by 1.4 percent. This is in contrast to the 1.9 percent increase recorded in...