Glimpses of Singapore Real Estate market for 2013

The most significant event this year was the implementation of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework, whose impact cut across the private residential, as well as the strata-titled retail, office and industrial sectors. The TDSR, which came into effect on 2013 June 29, required that lenders consider a borrower's total debt obligations (including other mortgages and loans for cars) before granting a new home loan. The total debt obligations ceiling was set at 60 per cent of a buyer's gross monthly income.

Singapore government tried to meet the various housing needs of different groups - initiatives included the unprecedented move of allowing eligible singles to buy new two-room HDB flats in non-mature estates, and the pilot launch of Three-Generation (3Gen) flats in Yishun catering to multi-generation families.

Unemployment rates in Singapore for Q3 2013

The unemployment rate in Singapore has fallen to 1.8 per cent in Q3, 2013, 0.3 percentage points lower than that Q2, 2013. This is the lowest so far in 2013 -- the last time the country's unemployment rate hit 1.8 per cent was in December 2013.

Tender award results for the industrial site at Gambas Crescent (Parcel 3)

URA Singapore awarded the tender for the industrial site at Gambas Crescent (Parcel 3) on 13th Dec 2013 to Grow-Tech Properties Pte Ltd, at a tendered sale price of SGD 39,333,000.00 or SGD 1,100.08 psm / GPR

Industrial site at Gambas Crescent (Parcel 3)

 

Two residential sites at Upper Serangoon View

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Singapore has awarded the tenders for the two residential sites at Upper Serangoon View to Kingsford Development Pte Ltd today, at tendered sale prices of SGD 258,800,000 or SGD 5,623.40 psm / GFA for Parcel A and SGD 201,630,000 or SGD 5,623.48 psm / GFA for Parcel B.

The two land parcels were released for sale on 30th Sep 2013. The two land parcels are adjacent to each other and can yield a total of 920 residential units. These were launched for sale under the Confirmed List of the 2nd half 2013 Government Land Sales (2H2013 GLS) Programme.

Cap on the percentage of foreigners in Housing Board (HDB) estates

The Ministry of National Development in Singapore will start imposing a cap on the percentage of foreigners in Housing Board (HDB) estates. Currently, only Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents can buy HDB flats. But foreigners can rent rooms or entire flats - there is no cap on the number of flats that can be sublet to foreign tenants as yet. HDB statistics shows that less than 4 per cent of HDB flats are sublet to foreigners, excluding Malaysians.

Impact of reduction of BTO flats in Singapore

Property analysts in Singapore say that the reduction in the supply of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will not affect resale prices. After three years of ramped-up construction, Singapore government recently decided to reduce the supply of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats recently.

Analysts say that the profile of buyers going for resale flats and BTO flats are generally different. The three years of ramped-up BTO supply means that first-time buyers can purchase a new flat instead of a resale flat. This exercise along with the introduction of various cooling measures has helped ease demand for resale flats.

Number of BTOs built in Singapore

If you look at the marriage rates in Singapore and the number of BTOs build in Singapore, it seems that the government is supplying almost one brand new HDB flat to one married couple. Do you think this rate is sustainable?

Launch of reserve list site at Geylang East Avenue 1

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Singapore to launch the tender for a Reserve List site at Geylang East Avenue 1, with a minimum bid of SGD 95,000,000. With a land area of about 0.62 ha, the residential site will have a maximum permissible gross floor area of 17,467 m2.

 

Lower property tax bills in 2014

Most owner-occupied homes in Singapore will pay lower property tax bills in 2014, news release by IRAS says. This is result of the Progressive Property Tax Rates announced in Singapore Budget 2013. All owner-occupied HDB flats and three quarters of owner-occupied private homes in Singapore will pay lower property tax in 2014. In total, 95% of owner-occupied homes will see lower property tax bills.

5RM HDB for Sale at Punggol

Six new BTO projects by HDB in Sep 2013

Singapore Housing Development Board (HDB) launches six new Build-To-Order (BTO) projects in Sep 2013 – Matilda Edge, The Verandah @ Matilda, Waterway View in Punggol, as well as Palm Breeze @ Yishun, Saraca Breeze @ Yishun and Khatib Court in Yishun. These BTO projects offer a total of 4,156 units of Studio Apartments, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-room and 3Gen flats
.

Serangoon Plaza on Sale

Serangoon Plaza, located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Syed Alwi Road (part of Mustafa, Singapore operates from Serangoon Plaza) has been put up for collective sale, as per news reports. The address location of Serangoon Plaza is 320 Serangoon Road and it’s a five-storey complex comprising of 128 units of retail and office space. With an area of around 68,521 sq ft and plot ratio of 3.0 under the 2008 Master Plan, the site has been zoned commercial. It could be redeveloped into a commercial project with a gross floor area (GFA) of up to 205,563 sq ft. The property carries a guide price of between S$360 million and S$368 million, which translates to S$1,751 - S$1,790 psf ppr.

Do you know that short term rentals in Singapore is illegal?

Home stay and short terms stays are common among visitors in different parts of the world, while this is illegal in Singapore. Many holidaymakers around the world uses Internet booking sites (like Airbnb, Roomorama, Travelmob and Wimdu) to stay in homes as a cheaper, and interesting alternative to hotels, including in Singapore. But authorities (like HDB, ERA, etc) have warned home owners in Singapore.

HDB (Singapore Housing Development Board) stepped up enforcement on illegal short term rental phenomenon in Singapore. HDB received 20 complaints from the public on short-term leasing in the year 2012. For the first 7 months of 2013, HDB received 11 cases. Six months is the minimum subletting period here in Singapore.

SGD 1.43 billion top bid for Yishun site

A mixed commercial and residential site at Yishun Avenue 2/ Yishun Central 1 drew five bids with a highest bid of SGD 1.43 billion. The bidding was closed on 6th Sep 2013. The site was launched for sale by HDB on 28th Jun 2013, the land parcel has an area of 41,084.9 sq m and maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 123,254.7 sq m, with a plot ratio of 3.0. The top bid was submitted by Frasers Centrepoint. This was followed by an offer from Far East Civil Engineering, Far East Orchard and Sekisui House at SGD 969.3 million. The lowest bid of SGD 704.5 million came from Yorkshire Investments and Yorkshire Trustee, units of CapitaLand.

The site’s integration with Yishun MRT station and bus interchange in future makes it a new focal point for Yishun. The site is offered on a 99-year lease, the site could also generate about 890 housing units.

Should You Buy or Rent Your Home?

Are you tempted to buy a house? Years of price declines have made buying a home more affordable than renting in all and in many places of the world mortgage rates are still appealingly low. But is that a reason to buy a new house? Before you decide on a lifetime of mortgage payments and home-maintenance routines, here are a few questions to help you decide whether you should rent or buy. There are just few indicative answers and discussions; plan and result may vary according to different peoples.

1. Where do you live?The cost of buying versus renting varies greatly from city to city. A smart way to weigh the two options is to divide the average asking price for a home in your city by the typical annual rent for a comparable home. This will yield a price-to-rent ratio. For example, if the average sales price is $200,000 and average rent is $3,000 per month -- that’s $36,000 per year, then the ratio would be 5.5:1. In general, a price-to-rent ratio below 15 benefits buyers; above 20 rewards renters. Ratios between 15 and 20 can go either way, depending on a number of factors, from taxes to appreciation potential

2. How long will you stay put?Remember that home buying is a long-term commitment. If you're not planning to stay in the home for at least five to seven years (or minimum 3 years), think twice. Some cities the average origination and title fees are very high. So ask yourself, in the next five years, might you need to relocate for, say, grad school, a new job, your future spouse or hypothetical children? If so, renting will allow you the flexibility to pick up and move on short notice.

3. What is your monthly budget?As a homeowner, you'll have a lot of big new expenses to cover with your same old budget: mortgage payments, utility bills and costs for standard upkeep. Plus, you should consider beefing up your emergency fund for less-routine maintenance issues, such as a fallen tree branch or a burst pipe. All of those new costs can be pretty intimidating. But if you've got room in your monthly budget, home buying makes sense for the long haul. You'll be building equity, and your housing costs won't be exposed to inflation like they are with renting.

4. How much do you have saved?
The sexiest housing market in many parts of the world offers nothing if you don’t have savings. Putting down 20% of the sales price is a common requirement. That number may seem steep, but it will help you qualify for the best loan terms, and it eliminates the additional cost of private mortgage insurance.

Cooling measures in Singapore residential market

Chronological order of cooling measures in Singapore residential market

Since 14th Sep 2009, the Singapore government introduced a total of seven comprehensive cooling measures.
It has been 8 months since the lastest cooling (dated 27/AUG/2013) measure has been implemented.

1. 14th Sep 2009
2. 19th Feb 2010
3. 30th Aug 2010
4. 14th Jun 2011
5. 08th Dec 2011
6. 06th Oct 2012
7. 12th Jan 2013
8. 27th Aug 2013

HDB launches new landscape guide

The Housing and Development Board has launched a new landscape guide, which is targeted at raising industry standards and inspiring more creative explorations of landscape design. The guide provides references on the standards and principles of good landscape design in public housing developments.

Green Estates of the future

Singapore National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan promised that each new Housing Development Board (HDB) project which is going to come up in Singapore would be a cut above the rest. New projects will have lush spaces for neighbourly bonding to cycling trails for healthy living.

Minister unveiled plans for the upcoming Bidadari, Tampines North and Punggol Matilda districts on 29th Aug 2013. These projects will yield 35,000 public homes and 5,000 private units in stages over the next 10 to 15 years.

3Gen HDB Flats in Singapore

Singapore Housing and Development Board (HDB) will release a new type of Three-Generation (3Gen) flats to cater to multi-generation families living under one roof. 80 of these flats will be piloted in Yishun.

Re-sale prices of Private Homes in Singapore

Resale prices of private homes in Singapore climbed 0.2 per cent in July 2013 as compared to June 2013. In June, resale home prices declined 0.1 per cent from a month earlier. The price growth in July was due to higher prices of transactions recorded in the non-central region and for small units, according to the latest Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) flash estimates published by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies.