UPFRONT cash paid by buyers for HDB resale flats doubled in the fourth quarter of last year on the back of high demand amid tight supply.

The Housing Board’s official statistics for the fourth quarter released on Friday showed the median cash-over-valuation paid for HDB flats was $24,000 – up from $12,000 in the third quarter last year.

The Resale Price Index hit a fresh record, with resale prices rising 3.9 per cent – 0.1% higher than the flash estimate released three weeks ago – for the last three months of 2009, bringing the full year increase to 8.1 per cent.

HDB said in a statement that sales volume declined by about 23 per cent, from 11,649 cases in third quarter last year to 8,926 cases in the following quarter. But 2009 was still a bumper year compared to 2008, with total number of resale transactions surging to 37,205 – an increase of 31 per cent over the previous year.

HDB also said that 93 per cent of sales in the fourth quarter transacted above valuation – up from 79 per cent in the third quarter. However, it added that the median COV has stabilised in recent times, with the figure for the first half of January down to $22,000.

HDB said it will launch 12,000 new flats this year under its build-to-order (BTO) scheme, or more if there is demand, and will monitor the market closely and adjust the flat supply accordingly.

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010

PRIVATE home prices shot up by 7.4 per cent in last three months of 2009 as the property market made a quick recovery from a nightmarish start to the year.

This followed the previous quarter’s increase of 15.8 per cent – a turnaround from a contraction of 18 per cent in the first half of 2009.

Official data by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released on Friday showed prices of private residential properties for 2009 as a whole increased by 1.8 per cent.

Prices of non-landed properties rose d by 7.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared with the 15.9 per cent increase in the previous quarter. Private apartment prices fetched 9.7 per cent more, while prices of condominiums were up by 6.1 per cent. Prices of non-landed properties in Core Central Region1 (CCR) went up by 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, while those in Rest of Central Region2 (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) increased by 9.5 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

For 2009, prices of non-landed properties in CCR decreased by 1.8 per cent, while those in RCR and OCR increased by 3 per cent and 11.8 per cent respectively. For the fourth quarter, office, shop and industrial properties increased by 1 per centm 0.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

The URA said as at fourth quarter 2009, there were 60,476 private residential units in the pipeline, comprising supply from projects that were already under construction and those that had been granted planning approval but were not under construction yet.

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010

WESTMINSTER Unicampus was also in the news recently when it defaulted on its rent to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) on another site – the former Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre at 15 Commonwealth Avenue.

It was announced in 2007 that it had submitted the highest bid to pay a monthly rent of $55,888 for the site.

Westminster was to use the building for an arts, dance and drama studio, an association, and a martial arts and fencing school.

None of this materialised.

Not only did it default on its rental payments – accumulating arrears and late payment interest of more than $184,000 – it also carried out unauthorised renovations.

Westminster sub-let the place, which became an unauthorised canteen and food outlet. It also demolished the toilets on all three storeys of the building, removed the entire front wall of the first storey and set up a 300 sq m shelter.

SLA terminated the tenancy last May, but gave Westminster several opportunities to pay the arrears and remove the unauthorised structures.

Westminster failed to comply and refused to vacate the premises. Last August, SLA got a court order to recover the property.

When asked about the site, Westminster’s director Tan Eng Hong would only say: ‘It’s an investment that has gone sour and we’re not able to carry on within our ability.’

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010

ART collector Ivan Chin spent half a million setting up his gallery – putting in landscaping, chandeliers, security and sound systems – only to be told four months later that he had to vacate the premises.

He is one of 15 sub-tenants of 7 Mount Sophia who have to go because the master tenant of the site, Westminster Unicampus, breached its tenancy agreement with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

Mr Chin’s Enesis Art gallery was to house 55 pieces from his own collection, including one by Picasso, reportedly worth an eight-figure sum.

His two-year lease, at a rental rate of $20,000 a month, was to expire only next June.

Westminster’s own 22-month lease with the SLA – to use the site as an arts, dance and drama studio – expired on Dec 27.

The SLA said that Westminster, a company registered to conduct distance learning courses, sublet some 60 per cent of the space for commercial usage – in breach of the agreement that it should be no more than 20 per cent.

Not only did Westminster refuse to remedy the breaches, it also sublet the premises to be used as a student hostel.

In addition, it had rental arrears and interest on late payments which amounted to over $136,000.

When The Straits Times visited the former Trinity Theological College site on Tuesday, most of the units were vacant.

The four businesses still in operation said they had been given till the end of the month to move out. Two of their leases had ended in December.

All said that Westminster had given them the impression that their leases would be renewed after two years, and so they had pumped in at least five-figure sums to do up their units.

‘If we had known of the situation, we wouldn’t have moved in in the first place. It’s disruptive for the business,’ said a manager of Polystone, a company selling stone products.

Director Barry Hill of office design firm Davenport Campbell said that two previous tenants – a bar and media school – moved out after pumping in large sums, when they discovered that the land was not authorised for such use.

When contacted, Westminster’s director Tan Eng Hong said his original intention was to be at Mount Sophia longer and to build a multi-faculty and multi-campus institution.

When asked why he broke tenancy rules and rented out space to businesses, he said that he had made submissions for the change of use of the site but was not able to get them.

‘We should have gotten the permit first before leasing it out, but it took us quite long to get everything in place,’ said Mr Tan.

The SLA has also started legal proceedings to recover possession of the site, as Westminster has refused to vacate it. It said it would tender out the site again, for approved uses. The Straits Times understands that the site, a national monument, is slated for the creative and artistic industry.

The SLA also said that sub-tenants of state properties should do due diligence checks, and seek it’s written consent, as well as legal advice, before signing any sub-tenancy agreements.

For now, Mr Chin hopes that the SLA will let remaining tenants stay till the next master tenant takes over.

‘We’ve already spent so much money on the place, it would be best if I could stay rather than move my pieces to a warehouse,’ he said.

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010

Private previews of The Shore Residences (the former Rose Garden enbloc site) by Far East Organization in December followed by an official launch on Jan 1 drew crowds to the showflat on weekends. The new 408-unit development opposite Katong Shopping Centre has seen close to 200 units sold at an average price of $1,175 psf as at last week.

What’s more, the project has also spurred renewed interest in the Marine Parade-Amber Road neighbourhood in East Coast, according to the URA Realis database of caveats lodged from Dec 18 to Dec 23.

The development that has seen close to half a dozen units change hands at prices ranging from $920 to $1,000 psf in December was the 612-unit Cote D’Azur, a 99-year leasehold condominium completed in 2004 by Fraser Centrepoint Homes. The highest transacted price at Cote D’Azur last month was for an 840 sq ft, fourth-floor apartment, which was sold for $840,000 ($1,000 psf), according to a Dec 1 caveat. The seller had bought the apartment only eight months earlier for $690,000, or $822 psf, hence seeing a 22% capital appreciation in that short period. It shows just how dramatic the turnaround in the market was last year.

Two 1,141 sq ft apartments — one on the 18th floor of Block 68 and the other on the seventh floor of Block 66 — were sold for $1.088 million ($954 psf) and $1.05 million ($920 psf), respectively in December. The owner of the 18th-floor unit had purchased it for $687,300 ($602 psf) in July 2002 when the project was first launched. Thus, the seller saw a 58.5% capital gain after seven years. Likewise, the owner of a seventhfloor unit had also purhased it from the developer for $662,070, or $580 psf, thus seeing a 58.6% gain over the same period.

Two fourth-floor apartments in Block 66 were sold in late December, according to caveats lodged on Dec 21 and 22. One was a 904 sq ft unit that was sold for $836,000 ($925 psf), while the other was a 1,539 unit that went for $1.52 million ($987 psf). The owner of the 904 sq ft unit had purchased it from the developer in August 2004 for $472,000, or $522 psf. At that time, the property market was at the bottom of the cycle, thus the owner saw a 77% gain from the sale after five years.

The owner of the 1,539 sq ft apartment had purchased the unit in July 2002, when the project was launched, for $854,340, or $555 psf. He enjoyed a 78% price appreciation after seven years.

Across the road from Cote D’Azur is the 546-unit freehold condo The Sea View by Wheelock Properties, which was completed in 2008. In December, two apartments at the high-end project were sold at prices in the $1,400 psf range.

A sixth-floor apartment of 1,410 sq ft at Block 37 of The Sea View was sold for $2 million ($1,418 psf). The last time the property changed hands was in a sub-sale in July 2006, when it was sold for $1.18 million ($838 psf). The first owner had purchased the unit for $1.08 million ($769 psf) when the project was first launched in July 2005.

A 19th-floor, 1,216 sq ft apartment at Block 31 of The Sea View was sold for $1.726 million ($1,420) in December. The owner had purchased the property in a sub-sale in April 2008 for $1.568 million ($1,290 psf).

Also in the neighbourhood is One Amber, a 562-unit development by joint developers UIC, Singapore Land and UOL Group. The project is expected to receive its temporary occupation permit in 1Q2010. The most recent transaction was that of a 15th-floor apartment in one of the four 23-storey blocks. The unit was sold for $1.47 million ($1,120 psf). The owner had purchased the 1,313 sq ft apartment for $1.01 million ($769 psf) in December 2006, hence enjoying a 46% gain.

From the transaction prices in the secondary market, it is clear that prices in the Marine Parade-Amber Road neighbourhood are heading back to the peak levels seen in mid-2007.

Source : The Edge – 18 Jan 2010

I REFER to the letters by Miss Yvon Lim (‘How realistic is $8,000 income ceiling for flats?’, Jan 6); Mr Glenn Ng (‘Buyer’s appeal’, Jan 12); Mr Joseph Ong (‘It limits price hikes’, Jan 12); and Mr Xavier Chua (‘Flats: Fairer formula for income ceiling’, Jan 14).

We need to manage our public housing budget judiciously. The income ceiling ensures that housing subsidies are targeted at those who need them more. The eligibility for housing subsidies extends up to a monthly income of $10,000, not $8,000. Those earning between $8,000 and $10,000 are eligible for a $30,000 grant to buy executive condominiums (ECs).

They should not compete with those earning less than $8,000 for new HDB flats.

For the same reason, income ceilings are set at $3,000 for three-room flats and $2,000 for two-room flats to safeguard these smaller HDB flats for the lower-income. HDB has recently released two new sites for EC development.

Besides ECs, households with a monthly income of $8,000 to $10,000 can buy a resale flat for which there is a wide range in various locations to suit different budgets and preferences. For instance, a family that earns $9,000 can consider the following:

~ A five-room resale flat in a non-mature estate. The average price for a flat in a non-mature estate is about $380,000, and estimated monthly instalments are about $1,574, which can be fully paid from Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings.

~ A five-room resale flat in a mature estate. For example, the median price for a resale flat in Queenstown is about $619,000.

The estimated monthly instalments are about $2,564, which can be paid mostly from CPF savings, and supplemented with a cash payment of $494.

As these examples show, flat buyers earning above $8,000 a month can comfortably afford HDB flats, but they will have to make trade-offs between price, size, attributes and location.

Lily Chan-Wong Jee Choo (Mrs)
Deputy Director (Policy and Property)
Housing & Development Board

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010

ANOTHER high-end condominium is set to hit the market following a number of recent upscale launches.

Allgreen Properties will launch Holland Residences for sale next week, said marketing agent CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

The five-storey freehold development – it is on Taman Warna and next to Chip Bee Gardens off Holland Road – has been 13 years in the making.

Allgreen bought the site, which used to host nine bungalows, for $78.26 million in 1997.

The launch price for Holland Residences is ‘yet to be confirmed’ but is likely to be at an average of $1,600 to $1,700 per sq ft, said Mr Joseph Tan, CBRE’s executive director for residential.

He said CBRE has already received inquiries and expressions of interest. ‘We expect the response to Holland Residences to follow the strong sales momentum that started in the second half of 2009.’

Allgreen will release 30 to 40 of the development’s 83 units for sale in the first phase.

It will start previews on Monday for ex-owners of the site’s former bungalows. This will be followed by a preview for Allgreen’s directors, staff and business associates before sales are opened to the public.

The 83 units at Holland Residences will range from one-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments and penthouses.

Sizes start from 600 sq ft for a one-bedder and go up to 2,800 sq ft for a four-bedroom penthouse.

There will also be three-bedroom loft units of 1,900 sq ft with a jacuzzi on the ground floor.

Other developers are also starting to kick off their 2010 launches.

City Developments opened the doors of Cube 8 at Thomson yesterday to former owners of The Albany and Thomson Mansion, the projects that used to stand on the site.

Staff and directors were also invited to the preview, where units were sold for an average of $1,250 psf, The Straits Times understands.

The public preview for Cube 8 will start today.

Source : Straits Times – 22 Jan 2010