Issue 211

Copyright 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2

FROM THE

EDITOR

New Rules for a More Transparent Property

Market Enforcement is Key

Welcome to the 211th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.
Hope you like it!

p6

Singapore Property News This Week

p11

Resale Property Transactions

Mr. Propwise

(May 20 May 26 )

Contribute

Advertise

Do you have articles and insights and articles that youd like to share
with thousands of readers interested in the Singapore property
market? Send them to us at info@propwise.sg, and if theyre good
enough, well publish them here, on our blog and even on Yahoo!
News.

Want to get your brand, product, service or property listing out to

thousands of Singapore property investors at a very reasonable
cost? Head over to www.propwise.sg/advertise/ to find out more.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

New Rules for a More Transparent Property

Market Enforcement is Key
By Property Soul (guest contributor)
Since my letter to The Straits Times Forum in
December 2014 regarding the accuracy
issues of private property transaction data,
the URA has improved the property market
data by releasing the nett prices of individual
units sold by developers by the first half of
2015.
In URAs 1 April 2015 press release, there
were six major changes in the revision of the
URA Property Price Index that promised
higher representation of transactions and
more
meaningful
comparisons
among
projects.

On May 18, URA finally put together the last

Back to Contents

Page | 2

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

missing piece by enforcing the publishing of
actual transacted prices of uncompleted
private properties sold directly by developers.
There are also new rules that were
amendments to the Housing Developers
(Control and Licensing) Act passed in April
2013.
New rules announced by URA on May 18
Below is a summary of the URAs press
release on 'Fostering a more transparent
property market'.

since they have been mentioned by the URA

earlier.
The long-awaited transparent property
transaction prices are now available with the
compulsory submission of actual selling
prices of units bought directly from
developers, less all the stamp duty
absorption, legal subsidy, cash rebate, rental
guarantee, purchase incentive, etc. offered by
the developer.
Developer tricks deployed in show units
A more interesting rule that comes into effect
on July 20 is the requirement of accurate
depiction of the show units.
As I pointed out in my book No B.S. Guide to
Property Investment, there are countless
tricks used by developers in showflats to
make the units look spacious:

The first two rules are somewhat expected

Back to Contents

Page | 3

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

1. Replace a brick wall with a glass panel
separating the living room and an adjacent
bedroom;
2. Remove the wall separating two bedrooms
to join together for a bigger room in order to
hide a tiny bedroom;
3. Remove the wall and door of the kitchen,
or show an open kitchen which is an ID
concept for display only;
4. Extend the living room all the way to the
balcony;
5. Build a ceiling higher than the actual unit;
6. Remove the doors for all bedrooms and
bathrooms;
7. Hide any pillar, beam or air-con ledge that
exists in the original flat;
8. Minimize the width of walls and depth of
wardrobes for a more spacious bedroom;
Back to Contents

9. Show rooms, furniture and appliances not

built to scale; and
10. Place full length wall mirrors, install seethrough wardrobes or use transparent
furniture.
Enforcement is key
Back in April 2013, Parliament had already
approved amendments to the Housing
Developers (Control and Licensing) Act to
improve
safeguards
for
buyers
of
uncompleted private residential properties.
Besides providing the public with better
information on the private residential property
market, the Housing Developers (Show Unit)
Rules also required developers showflats to
follow the same dimensions of structural walls
and ceiling height as approved in the building
plan.

Page | 4

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

The amended act also empowered the
Controller of Housing to investigate cases of
non-compliance. For non-compliance, the
maximum fine imposed on developers was
raised from $20,000 to $100,000, while also
imposing an imprisonment term of up to 3
years.
But the questions are: Did we notice any
difference in developer showflats at all in the
new project launches? Have we heard about
any incidence of non-compliance and fine
being imposed since passing of the act?
While we appreciate the governments efforts
in introducing new rules to protect the
interests of home buyers, it is also critical to
see how the authority implements them
effectively.

Back to Contents

In a nutshell, while a truly transparent

property market can enable prospective home
buyers to make better-informed purchasing
decisions, the rights of the consumers can
only be protected through strict enforcement
of the laws by the relevant authority,
especially when people are buying off plans in
uncompleted residential projects.
By guest contributor Property Soul, a
successful property investor, blogger, and
author of the No B.S. Guide to Property
Investment.
Posted
courtesy
of
www.Propwise.sg, a Singapore property blog
dedicated to helping you understand the real
estate market and make better decisions.
Click here to get your free Property
Beginners and Buyers Guide

Page | 5

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Singapore Property This Week

Residential
MOF: ABSD
necessary

will

be

removed

when

According to the Ministry of Finance, cooling

measures such as the additional buyers
stamp duty (ABSD) may be removed when
appropriate. Market experts believe that the
measure should be lifted either fully or in part
for Singaporean citizens as the market
stabilises. The removal of such cooling
measures may increase the affordability of
homes, thus encouraging citizens to purchase
another property, said The Business Times.
While some experts anticipate the removal of
the ABSD, others like Alex Toh from Withers
KhattarWong believe that there would not be
Back to Contents

a total removal of the cooling measure. Lee

Liat Yeang from Rodyk & Davidson Real
Estate Practice Group added that it is still too
early to lift the stamp duties completely.
(Source: Business Times)
Luxury condos in
among foreigners

Singapore

popular

Luxury condos that are priced from $10

million are popular among foreign buyers this
year, according to the Business Times. Sun
Tongyu, Alibabas co-founder bought a
penthouse in April this year for $51 million. In
the same month, a Hong Kong businessman
had paid $22.5 million, or $3,271 psf, for a
penthouse at Nassim Park Residences.
Page | 6

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Other noteworthy foreign buyers include a
regional executive who works at Facebook
who purchased a 4,700 sq ft penthouse for
$11.3 million this year. Not only so, luxury
condos have also been quickly snapped up
by well-heeled Singaporeans, said the
Business Times. Andy Chua, the owner of
Yun Nam Hair Care had purchased a $12.2
million penthouse at St Regis Residences in
February this year. Alan Cheong from Savills
Singapore believes that the competitive
prices of high-end condos in Singapore
compared to countries like Hong Kong have
appealed to buyers.

(Source: Business Times)

Authorities expected to maintain private
residential land supply in H2 this year
According to the Business Times, market
experts believe that authorities will maintain
Back to Contents

private residential land supply in the second

half of this year. Market experts believe that
supply would be kept constant as a
substantial number of new homesare being
developed. Not only so, authorities may be
encouraged to maintain supply as developers
appetite for land at state tenders has been
healthy. Nonetheless, other experts predict
that supply may be cut slightly to avoid the
problem of having an oversupply of
residential properties. As demand for publicprivate housing hybrid is low, market experts
believe that there is no need to release any
executive condo sites on the confirmed list in
the H2 2015 Government Land Sales
programme. According to the Business
Times, land supply for private homes on the
confirmed list has fallen from 8,100 units in
H2 2010 to around 7,000 units in H1 2012.
More recently, the number of private homes
Page | 7

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

supplied fell from 4,630 in H1 2014 to 3,335
units in H2 2014 and finally 3,020 units in H1
2015. Ong Teck Hui from JLL predicts that
this trend will be maintained in the second
half of the year as MND will take into
consideration the problem of oversupply.
(Source: Business Times)
HDB resale volumes increases 19.3% yearon-year in May
Data from SRX Property showed that HDB
resale volumes have increased by 19.3%
year-on-year in May this year compared to
May 2014. Nonetheless, resale HDB flat
transaction volumes have fallen by 2.2%
month-on-month from 1,610 in April to 1,575
in May. Wong Xian Yang from OrangeTee
added that year-on-year increases in volumes
have been observed in the first five months of
this year, except in March. This indicates that
Back to Contents

the resale market is stabilising, said Wong.

However, Wong said that cooling measures
such as the mortgage servicing ratio cap and
rising interest rates may still affect the
demand for HDB flats. Not only so the
increase in supply of build-to-order flats and
executive condos will negatively affect
demand for HDB resale flat units. According
to the Business Times, resale prices of HDB
three and four-room flats have fallen by 0.2%
and 0.9% respectively in May from April this
year. In mature estates, prices have fallen by
3.9% year-on-year while prices in non-mature
estates have fallen by 6% in the same period,
added the Business times.
(Source: Business Times)
Sophia Road development launched for
collective sale
A 15-unit residential development at Sophia
Page | 8

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Road has been launched for collective sale
by public tender. This follows two other en
bloc sales tender at Amber Park Condo and
at Thong Sia Building, which is a residentialcum-commercial building. Market experts
believe that collective sales will not flourish as
owners high expectations may not be met by
the markets demand. The owners of the
development at Sophia Road are seeking
offers of more than $45 million, or $1,169 psf
ppr. The development has a land area of
about 16,600 sq ft and has been zoned for
residential use. It has a gross plot ratio of 2.1.
To capitalise on the site, Yong Choon Fah
from JLL said that buyers of the development
may consider building small apartments that
are between 40 and 50 sqm. The tender for
the Sophia Road site will close on July 1.
(Source: Business Times)

Back to Contents

Experts: sale of landed properties

increasing due to pent-up demand
According to William Wong from RealStar
Premier Group, the sale of landed properties
has picked up due to pent-up demand, and
also due to the anticipation that cooling
measures will be lifted. Following the
implementation of the total debt servicing
ratio and other cooling measures, transaction
volumes for landed properties fell up to 50
percent by the end of 2013, said Wong.
Nonetheless, Wong believes that sales has
picked up in the recent months as the number
of enquiries from potential customers have
risen. Not only so, RealStar Premier Group
has moved $400 million in transaction sales
since the start of the year, added Wong.
Noteworthy transactions this year include two
Good Class Bungalows at Bishopsgate and

Page | 9

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Swettenham Road, which were sold for $33
million and $23.52 million respectively, said
Wong. Wong believes that if the cooling
measures are lifted, the affordability of homes
will increase and this would encourage
demand.
(Source: Business Times)
Commercial

ERA Realty and PropNex reported

substantial profits due to economies of
scale
ERA Realty and PropNex have recorded a
10.6% and 3.8% increase in profits after tax
respectively, as the organisations were able
to reap the benefitsof economies of scale.
According to the Business Times, larger
agencies such as ERA Realty and PropNex
are able to provide value-added services that

Back to Contents

are difficult to be replicated by smaller firms.

Despite a 9.9% fall in revenue in 2014, ERAs
profits were propped up by higher-margin
investment
sales
and
commercial
transactions. On the other hand, PropNex
had reaped a $7.9 million profit due to a cut in
headcount as it streamlined its processes.
Yet, OrangeTee suffered a net loss of
$690,000 for FY 2014. The agency has said it
will improve on branding, training, project
marketing and research to boost revenues.
According to the Business Times, over 50
agencies and 4,000 real estate agents had
exited the market in the last year as the
market shrank. However, as of January 1st
this year, there are 1,369 licensed agencies
and 30,830 registered salespersons with the
Council of Estate Agencies.
(Source: Business Times)

Page | 10

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of May 20 May 26

Postal
District
1
2
3
5
5
5
5
5
7
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10

Project Name
THE CLIFT
ICON
THE METROPOLITAN CONDOMINIUM
THE MAYLEA
CLEMENTIWOODS CONDOMINIUM
MONTEREY PARK CONDOMINIUM
BUONA LODGE
THE PARC CONDOMINIUM
CONCOURSE SKYLINE
CAVAN SUITES
MERA SPRINGS
TYRWHITT 139
SCOTTS SQUARE
SCOTTS SQUARE
PARC EMILY
NEWTON EDGE
WATERMARK ROBERTSON QUAY
8 @ MOUNT SOPHIA
8 @ MOUNT SOPHIA
ASPEN HEIGHTS
TOMLINSON HEIGHTS
GRANGE RESIDENCES
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
527
560
1,356
1,012
1,055
1,367
1,647
2,648
829
377
1,550
947
624
635
549
797
1,302
861
1,378
1,324
2,745
2,852
2,680

Transacted
Price ($)
1,050,000
1,030,000
1,515,000
1,190,000
1,230,000
1,500,000
1,696,410
2,550,000
1,480,000
610,000
2,050,000
1,050,000
2,250,893
2,084,832
1,045,000
1,352,000
2,118,000
1,390,000
2,150,000
1,970,000
7,655,000
7,300,000
6,600,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,991
99
1,840
99
1,117
99
1,176
FH
1,166
99
1,097 999
1,030
FH
963
FH
1,786
99
1,619
FH
1,323
FH
1,108
FH
3,605
FH
3,283
FH
1,904
FH
1,697
FH
1,626
FH
1,614 103
1,560 103
1,488 999
2,789
FH
2,559
FH
2,462
FH

Postal
District
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
14
14
14
14
15

Project Name
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE
ASTRID MEADOWS
SHANGHAI ONE
BALMORAL 8
THE BALMORAL SPRING
PINEWOOD GARDENS
PALM SPRING
THE TESSARINA
CRYSTAL TOWER
PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM
PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM
368 THOMSON
L'VIV
THE LINC
SKYSUITES17
TRELLIS TOWERS
RIO GARDENS
WATERBANK AT DAKOTA
VACANZA @ EAST
ATRIUM RESIDENCES
ASTON MANSIONS
THE WATERSIDE

Area
(sqft)
1,970
1,948
2,045
883
1,905
1,076
2,024
947
1,012
8,740
1,001
1,130
689
2,530
947
366
710
1,195
1,130
484
947
1,302
2,400

Transacted
Price ($)
4,508,595
4,250,000
3,400,000
1,440,000
3,100,000
1,680,000
3,050,000
1,400,000
1,480,000
8,500,000
1,884,000
1,890,000
1,150,000
4,200,000
1,480,000
650,000
1,015,000
1,315,000
1,660,000
690,000
946,000
1,050,000
3,435,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
2,289
FH
2,181
FH
1,662
FH
1,631
FH
1,627
FH
1,561
FH
1,507
FH
1,478
FH
1,463
FH
972
FH
1,882
FH
1,672
FH
1,669
FH
1,660
FH
1,562
FH
1,776
FH
1,429
FH
1,101
FH
1,469
99
1,425
FH
999
FH
806
99
1,431
FH

Page | 11

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Postal
District
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
21
21
21
21

Project Name
11 AMBER ROAD
THE TREELINE
KING'S MANSION
RESIDENCE 118
PARK EAST
CASA MERAH
BAYSHORE PARK
THE BAYSHORE
DAHLIA PARK CONDOMINIUM
EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM
DOUBLE BAY RESIDENCES
LIVIA
KOVAN MELODY
PARC VERA
NOUVELLE PARK
CHILTERN PARK
REGENTVILLE
EVERGREEN PARK
GOLDENHILL PARK CONDOMINIUM
CASA ESPERANZA
MAPLEWOODS
1 KING ALBERT PARK
SYMPHONY HEIGHTS

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
1,507
797
1,808
840
1,970
990
936
1,012
1,281
1,281
1,561
915
1,292
1,141
1,195
1,518
1,152
1,044
1,335
2,024
980
1,421
969

Transacted
Price ($)
1,900,000
1,000,000
2,158,000
915,000
2,128,000
1,215,000
870,000
940,000
1,075,000
980,000
1,580,000
905,000
1,400,000
1,155,000
1,150,000
1,385,000
925,000
780,000
1,790,000
2,900,000
1,250,000
1,650,000
978,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,261
FH
1,255
FH
1,193
FH
1,090
FH
1,080
FH
1,227
99
929
99
929
99
839
FH
765
FH
1,012
99
989
99
1,084
99
1,012
99
963
FH
913
99
803
99
747
99
1,341
FH
1,433
FH
1,276
FH
1,161
FH
1,010
FH

Postal
District
21
22
23
23
26
28

Project Name
HILLVIEW GREEN
PARK VIEW MANSION
HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM
HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM
MEADOWS @ PEIRCE
MIMOSA PARK

Area
(sqft)
1,615
1,119
1,528
1,389
1,195
1,894

Transacted Price
Tenure
Price ($) ($ psf)
1,500,000 929
999
730,000
652
99
1,520,000 994
999
1,295,000 933
999
1,320,000 1,105
FH
1,585,000 837
FH

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Page | 12

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 211

Back to Contents

Page | 13