Issue 224

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

CONTENTS
p2

Fearing a Downturn? Heres What to Do

p6

Singapore Property News This Week

p10

Resale Property Transactions

FROM THE

EDITOR

Welcome to the 224th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.
Hope you like it!
Mr. Propwise

(August 19 August 25 )

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Fearing a Downturn? Heres What to Do

By Property Soul (Guest Contributor)
In my earlier blog post 7 Reasons Why
Property Prices Wont Recover Soon, I
talked about 'regime uncertainty' and how the
recent China stock market crash further
undermined market confidence.

During the free fall between June 12 and July

7 this year, Chinese equity investors lost
more than $3.4 trillion in equity value in less
than a month. By the end of August, investors
suffered a total of $4 trillion in losses, not to
mention Chinas subsequent desperate move
to devalue the currency.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Although foreign investors own less than one
percent of Chinese stocks, foreign hedge
funds still have billions of dollars at stake
through Exchange Traded Funds and other
types of investments. The rest of the BRIC
economies arent doing better. Last week
Brazil officially announced that the country is
now officially in recession, joining its
counterpart Russia which is in full-blown
recession amidst depressed oil prices and a
massive
currency
depreciation.

The reality is: it is not the money lost in real

terms, but the loss of market confidence and
the fear that the worse has yet to come that is
sending ripples down the line.

The ripple effect of a bear market

2. Calling a halt to ongoing business

expansion plans;

One might argue that only the privileged

minority invest in stocks in China. For most
people, life goes on as usual in the worlds
second largest economy. Looking around,
you might not see many people suffering from
big losses in the recent global stock market
slump.
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While everyone is blaming the made in

China problem, companies are already
taking necessary steps in anticipation of a
possible downturn. The common measures
include:

1. Having cost cutting measures in place to

cut down expenses;

3. Holding back planned local or overseas

investments; and
4. Planning new rounds
restructurings and lay-offs.

of

company

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

The fear of the unknown
The article "Fearing slump, rattled Chinese
long for advice" (The Sunday Times: August
30, 2015) is an interesting read. Americans
have had their fair share of painful memories
riding through the dot com bust and
subsequent market recession in 2001 and
financial crisis in 2008. The Japanese have
experienced three lost decades after their
market crashed in the 1980s. Singaporeans
have survived the Asian Financial Crisis in
1998 and the SARS-related depression in
2003.If the current hiccups continue, we know
what is going to happen next. But not the
Chinese.
The new Chinese generation who grew up
during their countrys best years and
experienced double-digit economic growth
every year may not be prepared for the
countrys first downturn since the economic
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reform in the 1980s. As the article clearly

points out, many young professionals have
known only boom times and fear the abyss of
a downturn.
Although Chinese tourists are still the biggest
spenders in many countries and Chinese
investors are still buying properties overseas,
if they believe that times are going to be
tough ahead, they may over-react by
dramatically cutting down purchases.
They
know
that
salary
increments,
commissions and bonuses will be frozen. A
higher unemployment rate is expected with
more workers losing their jobs. Older workers
are likely to delay their retirement plans.
To cushion the impact of the anticipated
downturn, families spend less and cut down
on vacations. Consumers refrain from buying
luxury goods, cars, properties and any big
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

ticket items. Investors hold back any planned
investment to keep liquidity.
All these austerity measures have a big
impact on retail, tourism, luxury goods and
real estate. Over-reactions triggered by the
fear of the unknown become a self-fulfilling
expectation of a real economic crisis.
Actions to take when facing a downturn
Investors have at least three options when a
possible downturn is in sight, depending on
their financial situation and investment style.
Option 1: Time to cash out

In an economic crisis, cash is king. Savvy

investors know when to sell and keep a high
amount of liquidity.

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Option 2: Wait and see

In times of uncertainty, hold your horses to
avoid making investments you may regret
later. Be patient and wait till the dust settles.
Option 3: Bottom fishing
Be greedy when others are fearful. No one
knows when the bottom is. You will go for it
anyway. Just be prepared of the risks ahead
when you bottom-fish. Invest only with
calculated risk and always have a plan B in
place.
By guest contributor Property Soul, a
successful property investor, blogger, and
author of the No B.S. Guide to Property
Investment.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Singapore Property This Week

Residential

units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft.

Shunfu Ville launches collective sale by

tender

(Source: Business Times)

Located near Marymount Road, Shunfu Ville,

a privatised former HUDC estate has
launched its collective sale. The 358-unit
residential development which has an area of
408,927 sq ft is expected to be sold for about
$688 million. This translates to a land rate of
about $791 psf ppr after adding an estimated
differential premium of $218 million payable
to the state to top up the lease to a fresh 99
years. The breakeven cost is expected to be
around $1,250 psf. Under the Master Plan
2014, the residential estate has a gross plot
ratio of 2.8 and could yield more than 1,100
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Signature at Yishun launches for sale at

$750 psf
Signature, an executive condominium (EC) at
Yishun, has launched for sale at an average
of $750 psfthe lowest psf pricing for ECs
this year. According to market experts, this
reflects developers desire to move sales
quickly, because an estimated 3,650 units
could be launched in the next 15 months, said
Nicholas Mak from SLP International. The
Yishun residential site consists of 525 units,
and its e-application period will last from 11 to
20 September.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Ong Kah Seng from RST predicts that any
EC project launched this year within the price
band of $750 to $780 psf should be fairly well
received as it is below the average $800 psf
for new ECs sold last year.

(Source: Business Times)

Augusts HDB resale prices up by 0.3%
while transaction volume falls by 6.8%
According to SRX Property, HDB resale
prices have increased by 0.3% month-onmonth while transaction volume fell by 6.8%
month-on-month to 1,447 units in August this
year. This is likely to be due to the Hungry
Ghost Festival, where sales are typically slow.
Eugene Lim from ERA Realty noted that there
was a 9% increase in resale transactions
year-on-year in August. Lim believes that
resale volumes may increase due to the
policies, such as the Proximity Housing Grant
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and revised income ceiling for HDB loans and

CPF grants. Under the new policy, the
monthly gross household income for HDB
loan or CPF Housing Grant has been raised
to $12,000 from $10,000 previously. This
would widen the pool of buyers, said experts.
(Source: Business Times)
Private home prices saw second-largest
drop in Asia
Knight Franks Global House Price Index
showed that Singapore saw the secondlargest drop in private home prices in Asia in
the last quarter. Non-landed residential prices
fell 3.2% year-on-year, and 0.8% quarter-onquarter this year. Alice Tan from Knight Frank
Singapore believes that prices may continue
to fall due to weak buyer sentiments. Not only
so, the implementation of cooling measures
continues to keep demands low.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Tan predicts that the overall private nonlanded home prices will continue to fall by 3
to 4% on a yearly basis by Q4 this year.
(Source: Business Times)
Commercial
Prime office rents in central region falls by
2.6% in Q2
Office rents in the central region has fallen by
2.6% in Q2 this year as more tenants opt for
cheaper decentralised offices amid the
uncertain economic outlook. According to
Cushman & Wakefield, Grade A effective
direct rents in Marina Bay have fallen to
$11.01 psf per month in Q2, down from
$13.22 psf per month in Q1. In Raffles Place,
the rent has fallen to $10.66 psf per month in
Q2 from $10.92 psf per month in Q1.
Christine Li from Cushman & Wakefield

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predicts that there will be an overall 2% drop

in prime office rents in the central region for
each quarter in H2 this year. On the other
hand, Alan Cheong predicts that there will be
a 3 to 5 percent drop in prime office rents in
the same area, over the same period of time.
(Source: Business Times)
77 Robinson Road expected to sell for
$649 million
A 35-storey office building at 77 Robinson
Road has been put up for sale again. Market
experts predict that it would be priced around
$2,200 psf on net lettable area or $649 million
based on net lettable area of about 295,000
sq ft. The building has a balance lease term
of 77.5 years and has 180 car parking lots. It
was acquired in 2007 for $526 million or
$1,783 psf.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Under the Master Plan 2014, the site has
been zoned for commercial use with a plot
ratio of about 11.2.
(Source: Business Times)
Commercial building at Bugis to sell for
$80 million

A nine storey commercial building at Bugis,

Prospex, is asking for $80 million or $1,913
psf of gross floor area. The owner has chosen
to sell the entire building through an
expression of interest rather than through
strata sales. The site has an approved gross
floor area of 41,806 sq ft. No space has been
leased out yet in the property, according to
the Business Times.

DC rate for industrial use cut by an

average of 3%
Development charge (DC) rates for industrial
use have been cut by an average of 3% while
the rates for commercial, land and nonlanded residential, hotel/hospital use have
remained unchanged. The latest DC rates will
apply from 1 September 2015 to February 29
next year. Twice yearly, DC rates are revised
according to use groups across Singapore.
Tan Tiong Cheng from Knight Frank noted
that the industrial property market has been
weak. This could have been factored into the
revision of DC rates, said market experts.
(Source: Business Times)

(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Aug 19 Aug 25
Postal
District
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
7
9
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
14
15
15
15
15
15

Project Name
ASCENTIA SKY
ASCENTIA SKY
CARIBBEAN AT KEPPEL BAY
THE INTERLACE
THE INTERLACE
ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES
THE PARC CONDOMINIUM
GOLD COAST CONDOMINIUM
TEXTILE CENTRE
WATERMARK ROBERTSON QUAY
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE
BELMOND GREEN
VIVA
NEWTON SUITES
MULBERRY TREE
CUBE 8
TREVOSE PARK
PAVILION 11
CHANCERY ESQUIRE
SUNVILLE
SUNFLOWER COURT
SILVERSEA
ISUITES @ MARSHALL
THE VERTE
BUTTERWORTH 8
COSTA RHU

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Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
1,851 2,750,000 1,485
99
1,001 1,460,000 1,458
99
1,281 1,870,000 1,460
99
1,044 1,365,000 1,307
99
1,873 2,335,900 1,247
99
1,324 1,800,000 1,360
99
1,421 1,710,000 1,204
FH
1,475 1,380,000
936
FH
915
790,000
863
99
1,938 2,935,000 1,515
FH
2,508 5,612,922 2,238
FH
1,066 1,790,000 1,680
FH
1,345 2,650,000 1,970
FH
797 1,400,000 1,758
FH
635 1,030,000 1,622
FH
1,421 2,100,000 1,478
FH
1,927 2,700,000 1,401
FH
1,485 2,064,000 1,389
FH
1,722 2,080,000 1,208
FH
1,184 1,060,000
895
FH
1,044 860,000
824
FH
2,465 4,938,000 2,003
99
592
845,000
1,427
FH
1,109 1,300,000 1,173
FH
1,345 1,525,000 1,133
FH
1,012 1,135,000 1,122
99

Postal
District
15
15
16
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
21
21
21
23
23
23
26
27

Project Name
TANJONG RIA CONDOMINIUM
GRAND RESIDENCE
WATERFRONT KEY
COASTAL BREEZE RESIDENCES
LIVIA
MELVILLE PARK
KENSINGTON PARK CONDOMINIUM
NOUVELLE PARK
FABER GARDEN
CLOVER BY THE PARK
SPRINGDALE CONDOMINIUM
CLEMENTI PARK
PARC PALAIS
CLEMENTI PARK
PARC PALAIS
HILLVIEW REGENCY
THE MADEIRA
MAYSPRINGS
BULLION PARK
EIGHT COURTYARDS

Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
1,206 1,340,000 1,112
99
915
975,000
1,066
FH
1,442 1,600,000 1,109
99
2,271 1,430,000
630
99
1,324 1,235,000
933
99
1,044 820,000
785
99
1,668 1,850,000 1,109 999
1,442 1,160,000
804
FH
1,572 1,820,000 1,158
FH
3,444 3,400,000
987
99
1,152 1,250,000 1,085 999
1,873 1,950,000 1,041
FH
2,680 2,620,000
978
FH
2,379 2,280,000
958
FH
1,335 1,230,000
922
FH
1,109 1,400,000 1,263
99
936
890,000
950
99
1,399 1,038,000
742
99
1,238 1,230,000
994
FH
861
852,000
989
99

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.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 224

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