Tags: private home sales

Private home sales: 2008 revisited?

- September 18, 2014 No Comments

The ST reported today that the number of units launched but unsold at 15.1% in August 2014 is worse than in August 2008 - 2 months to the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis which hit in October that year. 

Vacancy rate at completed private residential projects are also higher, at 7.1% at the end of the second quarter versus 6.1% in 2008 at the same time. And this is expected to rise further, given a deluge of completed projects in the pipeline and the limited number of expats looking to rent.

 

 Looks like interesting times are ahead ...

Tags: new home sales / private home sales / ura / ura data

Breaking news: August new home sales down another 15%!

- September 15, 2014 No Comments

The private housing market remained in the doldrums in August, with sales of homes falling 15% from the previous month as developers continued to scale back new launches. 

Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 432 new units last month, down from the 509 units sold in July, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed on Monday (Sep 15). Including ECs, 490 new units were sold in August, down from 560 units in July.

The lacklustre sales came as developers continued scaling back new launches, with just 351 units launched in August, down from the 441 units launched in the previous month.

Source: CNA

Maybe Highline Residences and Marina One will be the saviours in September?

Tags: private home sales / report / savills

Singapore residential sales briefing Q2 2014

- August 13, 2014 No Comments

Following is a report by the good folks at Savills on the Singapore residential sales status in Q2 2014.

It provides a concise understanding of developments within the private residential market during the last quarter and its outlook.

The one thing that stands out for the wife and I when reading this is the rather massive pipeline supply figures of 83,633 units (as of end June 2014), of which 41.4% (34,643 units) remained unsold. And this is only private homes, excluding ECs!

Click on the link below to access the report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/236666813/Savills-SG-Residential-Sales-Briefing-Q2-2014

Tags: misc / private home sales

HDB prices cannot drop more than private home prices?

- August 5, 2014 No Comments

Someone said in a recent discussion within the "Comment" section of our blog that it is unlikely for HDB prices to drop more (in % terms) than private home prices if the property market crashes. To which, the wife and I responded that we will not discount totally that HDB prices may drop more % wise but we were unable to quote actual historical data then to substantiate our claim. This is because we have not been keeping up with developments on the HDB price front.

 

Given that today is a "slow news day", the wife and I decided to do some homework on the subject. We did not have to go back too far in time to affirm our belief: 

• The private residential index for non-landed properties fell 1.3% in Q1 2014 from Q4 2013. The was followed by a further drop of 1.1% in Q2 2014 from Q1 2014.

 

• The HDB resale price index registered a 1.6% decline in Q1 2014. This was followed by a further 1.3% drop in Q2 2014. The fall in price was across all 3 to 5-room property types over the 2 quarters.

 

• According to one market expert, private property prices are expected to drop 3% in the second half of the year to bring about a correction of 5% in 2014.

 

• With HDB prices, the same expert expects a similar drop of 3% for the second half of 2014, giving a total decline of 6 - 8% for the whole of 2014.

Actual market data have shown that HDB prices had indeed fallen sharper than private home prices for the past 2 consecutive quarters. While we are not anywhere near a "market crash" yet, we cannot eliminate the possibility of HDB prices dropping more than their private counterparts if market do fall sharply.

 

 

 

Tags: private home sales / ura / ura data

Private home prices down for THIRD consecutive quarter!

- July 25, 2014 No Comments

Prices of private residential properties in the second quarter fell by 1% from the previous quarter – the third consecutive quarter of decline, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (July 25).

The price decline was observed across all segments of the private residential property market, URA said.
Prices of non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) declined by 1.5% from the previous quarter, following the 1.1% decrease in the January to March period.

Prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) declined by 0.4%, after decreasing by 3.3% in the previous quarter.

In the Outside Central Region (OCR), prices declined by 0.9%, after the 0.1% decline in the previous quarter.

Prices of landed properties declined by 1.7%, significantly more than the decrease of 0.7% in the previous quarter.

Rentals of private residential properties in the second quarter fell by 0.6% from the previous quarter, compared with a 0.7% decline in the January to March period.

LAUNCHES AND TAKE-UP
Developers launched 2,843 uncompleted private residential units excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs) in the second quarter, compared with 1,964 units in the first quarter, URA said.

A total of 2,665 private residential units (excluding ECs) were sold by developers during the quarter, compared with 1,744 units in the January to March period.

No new EC units were launched for sale during the quarter. Developers sold 154 EC units in the second quarter, compared with the 149 units sold in the previous quarter.

RESALES AND SUB-SALES
The number of resale transactions rose to 1,314 in the second quarter, up from 941 transactions in the previous quarter. Resale transactions accounted for 31.9% of all sale transactions during the quarter, compared with 33.5% in the first quarter.

There were 139 sub-sale transactions in the second quarter 2014, compared with 128 transactions in the previous quarter. Sub-sales accounted for 3.4% of all sale transactions in the quarter, lower than the 4.6% recorded in the January to March period.

Source: CNA

 

 

Tags: private home sales / srpi / ura / ura data

May 2014 resale up but prices continue to soften in 2Q2014!

- July 1, 2014 No Comments

Resale prices of private homes staged a surprise rebound in May over April, reversing a nine-month decline. However, experts have warned that investors remain wary, and the unexpected price rebound does not necessarily signal a sustained recovery.

Overall resale prices climbed 0.8% from April to May, according to Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) flash estimates out yesterday.

They had fallen 1% from March to April as new launches drew buyers from completed homes.

Consultants said that May's price rise could have just been a blip, pointing out that the resale market largely remained stagnant. Resale prices are likely to have fallen or stayed flat from May to June.

SLP International research head Nicolas Mak noted that buyers could have gained confidence in the resale market in May due to relatively string sales of new homes that month.

Developers sold 1,470 new units, almost double the 749 moved in April.

 

The May resale prices increase contrast with that of the 2Q2014 price index for private homes, which continues to see a decline.

The price index for private homes fell 1.1% in the second quarter, the third continuous quarter of price decrease. This is according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) today.

Prices of non-landed private residential properties in all market segments declined in the second quarter, the agency said. In the core central region, prices fell 1.5%, higher than the 1.1% decline in the previous quarter. Prices outside the central region decreased by 1.1%, higher than the 0.1%  decrease in the previous quarter. In the rest of the central region, prices fell 0.6%, compared with the 3.3% decline in the previous quarter.

Prices of landed properties fell 1.5%, higher than the 0.7% decline in the previous quarter, the URA said.

Sources: ST, CNA

And according to a report in BT today, the average transacted resale price of completed small units of up to 70sqm (753sqft) recorded a price increase of between 3.6 to 6.9% y-o-y across all three regions (i.e. Core Central Region, Rest of Central Region & Outside Central Region). Conversely, the resale price for big units (more than 70sqm) is down between 2.9 to 7.5% y-o-y across all regions.

Since the resale market typically takes its cue from the primary market, and with developers set to continue with their trend of building smaller-sized units in the face of TDSR, the logical conclusion is that resale price of small units may continue to fare better than those of  big units... a consideration that potential investors may want to keep in mind.

HOWEVER, the wife and I feel that there will still be good demand potential for big units. There is a limit on how many occupants can comfortably live in an apartment of up to 735sqft, even after taking into consideration the shrinking household size in Singapore. So despite the less than rosy picture seen year-on-year for big units, we expect prices of such to stabilize and eventually rise due to a smaller supply. When will that happen, you ask? Well...THAT is the million dollar question!

Tags: private home sales / ura / ura data

May 2014 private home sales: A case of "咸鱼翻生“...?

- June 16, 2014 No Comments

It was reported in the local media today that the private residential property market has sprang back to life in May after months of remaining in the doldrums, with developers’ sales surging 96% as buyers snapped up units at the slew of new launches last month.

Developers sold 1,470 new private homes last month, nearly doubling the 749 units that they moved in April, latest data by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed on Monday (June 16).

Including executive condominiums (ECs), new developer sales rose to 1,528 units in May from 797 units in April.

The improved sales volume came as developers launched 1,790 new units into the market in May, nearly three times more than the 600 homes recorded in the previous month.

Two projects by City Developments topped the best-selling list for the month. Coco Palms at Pasir Ris Grove moved 590 of the 600 condominium units launched at a median price of $1,018psf, while Commonwealth Towers at Commonwealth Avenue sold 275 of 400 homes at $1,626 psf.

Besides the successes of new launches, May also saw another re-launch that did well: Wheelock Properties’ The Panorama at Ang Mo Kio sold 100 of the 126 units offered last month at a median of $1,241 psf.



咸鱼翻生:  This is a Cantonese idiom that literally translate as "salted fish coming back to life". The idiom is used to describe a hopeless situation that suddenly turns hopeful.

Tags: private home sales

September private home sales up 65% on-month!

- October 16, 2013 6 Comments

Developers sold 65% more new private homes in September compared to August, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Excluding executive condominiums, 1,246 units of new private homes were sold in September, up from 756 in August as developers returned to the market with new launches after the Hungry Ghost Festival.

There was a sharp increase in transactions in the city fringes with 815 units sold.

Demand fell in the city, nearly half compared to August, with just 49 transactions.

While the number of new condo units sold in the suburbs was a third less than in August at 382 units, analysts noted the better figures were due mainly to two property launches in the city fringes.

And developers building smaller units have helped achieve higher prices on a per square foot (psf) basis.

Ku Swee Yong, Century's chief executive officer, said: "We expected the numbers to do well because of two well received launches - Thomson Three and Sky Vue in Bishan.
"In fact, Sky Vue in Bishan has also probably set a new record price for the Bishan area, and that is at above $2,000psf."

Source: Channel News Asia