Central Region condo prices ease the most from 2013 peak: index - AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - From their peak in May 2013, prices of completed private apartments and condos in the Central Region have fallen 12.7 per cent, based on National University of Singapore's (NUS) June 2015 flash estimates for its Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) series released on Tuesday.

This was the worst showing among the four index categories in the SRPI series.

Central Region is defined as districts 1-4 (including the financial district and Sentosa Cove) and the traditional prime districts 9, 10 and 11, by the university's Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES), which minted the SRPI series tracking prices of completed non-landed private homes (excluding executive condos).

After the Central Region subindex, the second biggest price drop was posted by the subindex for completed small apartments and condos (up to 506 square feet) islandwide, which has eased 9.9 per cent after peaking in August 2013.

This was followed by an 8.6 per cent drop in the Non-Central Region subindex from its peak in April 2013. The indices for Central and Non-Central regions exclude small units.

NUS's data shows that the Overall SRPI has shed 10 per cent from its high in July 2013.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng forecasts higher volatility for prices of completed private homes in the Non-Central Region in the months ahead. "In months when there is more buzz for developer sales, it may also rub on to the resale market and spur potential buyers who have set their minds on picking up a completed property in the secondary market, to firm up their decision and make a purchase."

NUS's month-on-month comparisons showed that islandwide prices of completed small apartments and condo units slipped 1.1 per cent in June after falling 1.5 per cent in May. "The price dips for small units reflect increasing instability in this segment, as there has been a step-up in completions of small private apartments/condo units since last year," said Mr Ong.

He suggested that some HDB flat owners (families) who bought a shoebox unit for investment in the 2010-2012 period may have kept their units empty upon the project's completion as they were unable to find tenants who met their rent expectations.

Moreover, these investors may find these shoebox units too small for their own families to live in. As a result, the price falls for completed small private apartments/condos as reflected in the SRPI may have come from such HDB flat owners releasing their small condos for resale, after leaving the units empty for a while, said Mr Ong. That said, singles who bought a small condo unit may find it spacious and comfortable enough to live in.

NUS's subindex for the Central Region rose 0.3 per cent month-on- month in June, contrasting with a fall of 0.7 per cent in May.

The subindex for the Non-Central Region fell 0.9 per cent last month, following a drop of 0.4 per cent in May.

The Overall SRPI dipped 0.3 per cent last month, following a 0.6 per cent drop in May.

On a year-on-year comparison, the biggest decrease of 4.8 per cent was posted by the Central Region subindex, followed by a 3.8 per cent decline for small apartments. The Overall SRPI was 3.2 per cent lower in June this year, compared with the same month last year. In the Non-Central Region, prices fell 1.6 per cent.

This article was first published on July 29, 2015.
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Thursday, Jul 30, 2015

The Business Times

Source: AsiaOne

Shunfu Ville poised for en bloc sale launch - AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - A large prime suburban condo redevelopment site could come on the market soon through a collective sale.

Word on the street is that the owners of Shunfu Ville at Marymount Road, a privatised former HUDC estate, have achieved the minimum consent level required for the site to be launched.

Located a stone's throw from Marymount MRT Station on the Circle Line, the estate is on a large site of about 409,000 square feet with a balance lease term of about 70 years.

The owners stand to receive more than S$700 million, which is expected to translate to a unit land price in the low-S$800 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) range, inclusive of two payments that the buyer will have to make to the state. One is a differential premium for building a bigger project on the site; the other is lease upgrading premium to top up the site's lease to 99 years.

Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2014, the Shunfu Ville site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area) - which means a potential project of 1,280 units based on an average unit size of 850 sq ft.

The new project can rise up to 36 storeys. This will give the future condo project on the site nice views of MacRitchie Reservoir and the surrounding greenery.

For golf lovers, another attraction is that the site is a short drive from the Singapore Island Country Club; the club's Sime Course will become a public golf course after 2021.

In terms of MRT connectivity, Shunfu Ville is just one stop away from Bishan Station and the conveniences of Junction 8 mall.

Shunfu Ville comprises three low-rise blocks and three 16-storey towers. The 358 units in the development range from 1,668 sq ft to 1,776 sq ft. Based on Shunfu Ville's reserve price, the owners stand to receive slightly over 50 per cent more than what they would have obtained from selling their units individually.

JLL is marketing the collective sale. Owners controlling at least 80 per cent of the development's share value and strata area have agreed to the en bloc sale.

Based on the land price of say, S$820 psf ppr, the breakeven cost for a new condo project could be around S$1,300-1,400 psf for the winning bidder, according to market watchers.

A 15 per cent profit margin for the developer would imply an average selling price of S$1,500-1,600 psf - which may be challenging in the current environment for a big-scale project.

The all-in development cost - including the land, premiums payable to the state and construction - could be around S$1.5-1.6 billion.

This will limit interest in the site to big boys and consortiums, note industry players. "The developers will have to factor in the risks of undertaking such a big project," said a seasoned developer.

To qualify for upfront remission of the 15 per cent ABSD (additional buyer's stamp duty) on the site's purchase price, the developer will have to undertake to complete the development and sell off all its units within five years, he noted.

"On top of that, if the developer is not fully owned by Singaporeans, it will be subject to Qualifying Certificate rules, which come with a different set of penalties."

The most recent benchmark for Shunfu Ville that analysts pointed to was last month's state tender closing for a site in Toa Payoh, where the winning bid was S$755.30 psf ppr. That was for a much smaller development.

While that site is in a more central location, Shunfu Ville can be seen as part of the more upmarket Thomson location.

In Bishan, CapitaLand paid S$869 psf ppr for the Sky Habitat site in February 2011 and S$853 psf ppr for the Sky Vue plot in November 2012. Based on data on URA's website, 372 of Sky Habitat's 509 units were sold as at end-June 2015. For Sky Vue, which has smaller units, 511 of its 694 units have found buyers as at the same date.

Given the scaleback in state land sales, Shunfu Ville should whet the appetite of deep-pocketed developers that may be keen on replenishing landbanks. "Shunfu Ville has strong locational attributes but the question is what price developers are prepared to pay," said a market watcher.

This article was first published on July 28, 2015.
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Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015

Kalpana Rashiwala

The Business Times

Source: AsiaOne

Slight dip in public housing prices in 2nd quarter of 2015 - AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - Prices of public homes dipped slightly in the second quarter of 2015 (Q2), the Housing & Development Board (HDB) revealed in a statement on Friday.

The HDB Resale Price Index saw a 0.4 per cent decline from 135.6 in the first quarter of the year (Q1) to 135.0. This was lower than the 1 per cent dip recorded in the previous quarter.

However, resale transactions surged by almost 28 per cent, and a total of 5,286 homes were sold in the three months to Jun 30, an increase from 4,135 in the first three months of the year.

There was also a rise in the number of rentals from 10,385 in Q1 to 10,510 in Q2, an increase of 1.2 per cent.

According to HDB, a total of 49,480 HDB flat units were being sublet as of Jun 30, up from 48,338 units at Mar 31.

The Housing Board also said that it offered a total of 13,426 flats in the first half of the year, and that it will offer another 4,860 flats in Bidadari and Punggol Northshore at the upcoming Build-To-Order exercise in September. A further 4,000 units will also be offered in a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats exercise.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

Source: AsiaOne (24 July 2015)

Private property prices down for 7th straight quarter: URA - Channel NewsAsia

Prices of private residential properties fell by 0.9 per cent in the second quarter following a 1 per cent decline in the previous quarter, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) says. 

SINGAPORE: Prices of private residential properties in the second quarter fell by 0.9 per cent from the previous quarter - the seventh consecutive quarter of decline, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (Jul 24).

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) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) declined by 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter, while prices in the Outside Central Region (OCR) fell by 1.1 per cent. Prices of landed properties declined by 1 per cent.

Rentals of private residential properties fell by 1.1 per cent from the previous quarter, compared with a 1.7 per cent decline in the January to March period.

LAUNCHES, SALES, RESALES UP

Developers launched 2,099 uncompleted private residential units excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs) in the second quarter, up from the 1,189 units launched in the previous quarter, URA said. A total of 2,116 private residential units (excluding ECs) were sold by developers during the quarter, compared with 1,311 units in the first quarter.

A total of 480 EC units were launched during the quarter, and 439 units sold over the same period, up from the 326 units sold in the previous quarter.

The number of resale transactions rose to 1,827, up from the 1,250 transactions in the first quarter. Resale transactions accounted for 44.5 per cent of all sale transactions during the quarter, compared with 47.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

There were 161 sub-sale transactions, up from the 94 transactions in the previous quarter. Sub-sales accounted for 3.9 per cent of all sale transactions, up from the 3.5 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.

“Buyers are very selective, they are prepared to go into any of those developments where it is at right pricing,” said CEO of PropNex Realty Ismail Gafoor.

“But on the other hand, not many developers are able to bring down the prices any much lower, for the fact that the (profit) margin today is single-digit, and there is a standstill. Developers are not prepared to bring prices any lower while buyers are hoping for further correction or a tweak of cooling measures, whichever will allow them a greater leeway," he noted.

MORE LAUNCHES IN THE PIPELINE

As at the end of the second quarter, there were 61,237 uncompleted private residential units (excluding ECs) in the pipeline, compared with 68,201 units in the previous quarter. Of this number, 24,435 units remained unsold. Adding the 14,701 upcoming EC units, there are a total of 75,938 units in the pipeline, according to URA.

Based on expected completion dates reported by developers, 13,191 units (including ECs) will be completed in the second half of 2015, URA said. Another 25,841 units (including ECs) are expected to be completed in 2016.

- CNA/cy/xk

• POSTED: 24 Jul 2015 09:03
 
• UPDATED: 24 Jul 2015 23:03
• Source: ChannelNewsAsia
• http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/private-property-prices/2004708.html
• 
  

HDB resale prices continue to slide, down 0.4% in Q2 - Channel NewsAsia

The HDB Resale Price Index for the quarter was 135.0, down from 135.6 in the previous quarter – the eighth straight quarter of decline.

SINGAPORE: Prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats continued their downward slide in the second quarter of 2015, with the Resale Price Index (RPI) showing a 0.4 per cent decline from the previous quarter, HDB announced on Friday (Jul 24).

The RPI for the quarter was 135.0, down from 135.6 in the previous quarter, HDB said. This is the eighth consecutive quarter of decline.

The number of resale transactions rose by 27.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, from 4,135 cases to 5,286 cases. Four-room flats saw the highest number of resale applications, with 2,120 applicants, followed by three-room flats with 1,518.

The number of subletting transactions rose by 1.2 per cent, from 10,385 cases in the first quarter to 10,510 cases in the second quarter. As of Jun 30, the total number of HDB flats approved for subletting rose by 2.4 per cent from 48,338 to 49,480 units.

A total of 13,426 flats were offered for sale in the first half of 2015, comprising 8,039 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and 5,387 balance flats, HDB said. Another 4,860 flats in Bidadari and Punggol Northshore will be launched in September, and an additional 4,000 flats will be offered in a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats exercise.

BUKIT MERAH TOPS 5-ROOM RESALE PRICES

Among estates with more than 20 resale transactions in Q2, Bukit Merah came in tops, with median 5-room flat prices at S$783,500. For 4-room flats, the median price in the Central region was the highest for 4-room flats at S$855,000. Tampines had the most expensive median resale price for executive flats at S$688,900, and Queenstown had the highest median resale price for 3-room flats at S$380,000.

CENTRAL COMMANDS HIGHEST MEDIAN SUBLET RENT

In towns with 20 or more subletting transactions, median subletting rents in Central were the highest for the 3-room, 4-room and 5-room categories at S$2,300, S$3,000 and S$3,500 respectively. For executive flats, Serangoon had the highest median subletting rent at S$2,900.

- CNA/cy

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-resale-prices/2004758.html#

GCB deals surge to $282m in Q2 - AsiaOne

The second quarter of this year saw a surge in the number and value of transactions in Good Class Bungalow Areas - to at least 11 deals totalling S$282.3 million, up from just four deals adding up to S$95.3 million in Q1.

The latest Q2 performance - which is also a marked improvement from the five deals worth S$81.8 million in the same period last year - was buoyed by the sale of 35 Ridout Road in May at S$91.7 million, the biggest sale ever, on absolute quantum price basis, in a GCB Area.

The same month also saw a record per square foot of land price of S$2,190 psf in a GCB Area being achieved for a luxuriously built and furnished bungalow in Bishopsgate. The three-year-old bungalow, which has two storeys and a basement, fetched S$33 million.

Big-ticket transactions in June included a house along Belmont Road that was sold by seasoned bungalow investor Thomas Chan for S$44.19 million or S$1,419 psf on land area of 31,129 sq ft, and an old bungalow at Bin Tong Park that was transacted at S$30 million or S$1,400 psf. On site is an old house built more than 30 years ago.

The momentum appears to be continuing this month.

Talk in the market is that over the weekend, an option was granted for an old bungalow in Queen Astrid Park for S$32 million or close to S$1,170 psf on land of 27,370 sq ft.

This would be at least the sixth time the old single storey property would be changing hands in the past nine years, although the holding period in the latest transaction would be five years, going by caveats information.

Newsman Realty is believed to have brokered the latest sale. When contacted, the firm's managing director, KH Tan, declined to comment on the deal but let on that "interest in GCBs has started to pick up significantly since three months ago".

"We have exclusive listings for more than 10 GCBs in locations such as Swiss Club Road, Peirce Hill, Peel Road, Caldecott Hill, Leedon Park and Holland Park," he added.

The firm has seen strong interest from potential buyers who are looking for a GCB to live in - including new Singapore citizens as well as existing citizens who aspire to upgrade from a small landed house to a GCB. The majority of these potential GCB buyers are businessmen, according to Mr Tan.

Based on caveats information, the value of transactions in Good Class Bungalow Areas reached S$378 million in the first half of this year. The figure for the whole of last year was S$626 million.

Mr Tan from Newsman expects the value of GCB transactions this year could exceed S$700 million. The buyer-seller gap has narrowed. "For brand new houses, buyers, if they see a property they like, are prepared to pay above valuation. Sellers have also become more realistic in their pricing expectations."

Giving his take, Realstar Premier Group managing director William Wong said that while the price gap for GCBs has narrowed since the beginning of this year, it could widen again slightly if buyers become pessimistic because of the situation in Greece. "July and August are expected to be slow months as some market participants take a break, but we anticipate a pick-up in activity from September onwards," he predicts.

"This year, the transaction volume and value of GCBs may surpass last year by at least 20 per cent; the last two years were difficult because of the lingering effects of the cooling measures which resulted in a widening price gap between buyers and sellers.

"Finally, we've been seeing light at the end of the tunnel since January."

Mr Wong disclosed that the value and volume of landed housing transactions (including GCBs) brokered by Realstar in the first half of this year is "way higher than the same period last year".

Alexs Chua, associate district director at OrangeTee, said that while there is buying interest in the GCB market, buyers are looking for good value. "They are not rushing because they anticipate a further price softening in some locations.

"On the other hand, most of those who are looking to sell their GCB properties did not buy at high prices and therefore are not in a position where banks are chasing them for margin calls."

Moreover, he points out, investors holding GCBs would be mindful that if they were to sell their properties now and look for a replacement or investment property, they will be hit by the additional buyer's stamp duty and the total debt servicing ratio.

This article was first published on July 14, 2015. 

Wednesday, Jul 15, 2015

The Business Times

Source: AsiaOne

URA releases flash estimate of 2nd Quarter 2015 private residential property price index - URA

Published Date: 01 Jul 2015

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the flash estimate of the price index for private residential property for 2nd Quarter 2015 today.

The overall private residential property index fell by 0.9%, compared to the 1.0% decline in the previous quarter. This is the seventh continuous quarter of price decrease (see Annex A [PDF, 13kb]) .

Prices of non-landed private residential properties declined in all market segments. In Core Central Region (CCR), prices fell 0.5%, higher than the 0.4% decline in the previous quarter. Prices in Rest of Central Region (RCR) fell 0.5%, compared to the 1.7% decline in the previous quarter. In Outside Central Region (OCR), prices fell 1.2%, higher than the 1.1% decline in the previous quarter (see Annex B [PDF, 13kb]).

The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in contracts submitted for stamp duty payment and survey data on new units sold by developers during the first ten weeks of the quarter. The statistics will be updated 4 weeks later when URA releases the full real estate statistics for 2nd Quarter 2015, which captures more data from the stamp duty records and the take-up of new projects. Past data have shown that the difference between the quarterly price changes indicated by the flash estimate and the actual price changes could be significant when the change is small. The public is advised to interpret the flash estimates with caution.

Source: URA

Flash Estimate of 2nd Quarter 2015 Resale Price Index - HDB

Date issued : 01 Jul 2015

 HDB’s flash estimate of the 2nd Quarter 2015 Resale Price Index (RPI) is 135.0, a decline of 0.4% over 1st Quarter 2015 (see Annexes A1 and A2  (PDF 21KB)).

2The RPI provides information on the general price movements in the resale public housing market. The transacted prices of individual flats (by block and flat type) can be found on HDB’s InfoWEB (online enquiry).

3The RPI for the full quarter and more detailed public housing data for 2nd Quarter 2015 will be released on 24 July 2015.

Further Tapering of BTO Flat Supply in 2015

4As the HDB resale market stabilises, HDB will further taper the Build-To-Order (BTO) flat supply in 2015, to 15,000 flats. HDB will augment this with over 9,000 balance flats offered under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises in 2015, to ensure adequate flat supply to meet the demand.

5In 1H2015, HDB had offered 8,039 flats in two BTO exercises and 5,387 flats in a SBF exercise. HDB will offer another 4,860 BTO flats in Bidadari and Punggol Northshore by Sep 2015. About 4,000 flats will be offered in a concurrent SBF exercise.

Source: HDB

HDB resale prices still falling 2 years on - PropertyGuru

Resale prices of HDB flats dropped 0.4 percent in Q2 2015 after declining 1.0 percent in the previous quarter – its eighth consecutive quarter of price falls, revealed flash estimates from the housing board.

Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, attributed the slide to a potent combination of the government’s measures to stabilise the public housing market, like reducing the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) cap of 30 percent and maximum loan term of 25 years for HDB mortgage loans, allowing singles to buy two-room Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in non-mature estates, and three-year wait for new PRs before they can purchase resale HDB flats.

“The potent combination of the measures has been effective at slowing down the price growth of HDB resale prices. It is also good to note that the 0.4 percent fall in Q2 is the lowest in the last eight quarters,” he said.

With the resale flat market stabilising, the BTO supply will be further reduced to 15,000 this year, stated HDB. To ensure adequate flat supply, this will be supplemented with over 9,000 balance flats which will be released under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises.

Given the large stream of home completions from next year — along with the continued enforcement of property curbs, Ismail expects HDB resale prices to soften by four to five percent this year, with volume hitting around 19,000 to 20,000 units due to lower asking prices.

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

Source: PropertyGuru (2 Jul 2015)

Why Are Singaporeans Still Choosing a Condo Over an HDB Flat? - MoneySmart

In a world before Wi-Fi and 3G, the Singapore Dream used to involve the 5 ‘C’s. These days, however, that Dream is all over the place. On the one hand, everyone and their cat has a credit card since people are signing up at roadshows more for the freebies than the card itself. On the other hand, the costs of owning a vehicle are so high that even buying a second-hand car seems impossible. When it comes to housing, the overpriced condominium is still the dream for most. But are condos a good financial investment? Ever wondered whether you make just as much with a HDB when property prices go up?  

1. First, let’s look at how prices have changed over the past 3 years

(All values obtained from PropertyGuru. HDB prices are based on HDB 4A transactions within a HDB Estate. Condo prices are based on average per-square-feet prices within a District. Due to the difference in size between older and newer 4 room flats, we will compare actual sale price instead of the PSF for HDB.)

Bedok (District 16)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$460,000	$533,000	15.87% increase
Condominium	$905 psf	$1,069 psf	18.12% increase

Tampines (District 18)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$442,000	$457,000	3.39% increase
Condominium	$775 psf	$1,047 psf	25.06% increase

Sengkang (District 19)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$418,000	$420,000	0.48% increase
Condominium	$874 psf	$1,094 psf	25.17% increase

Ang Mo Kio (District 20)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$544,000	$563,000	3.49% increase
Condominium	$955 psf	$1,122 psf	17.49% increase

Jurong West (District 22)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$394,000	$403,000	2.28% increase
Condominium	$884 psf	$1,032 psf	16.74% increase

Bukit Batok (District 23)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$445,000	$454,000	2.02% increase
Condominium	$775 psf	$1,047 psf	35.10% increase

Woodlands (District 25)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$374,000	$388,000	3.74% increase
Condominium	$650 psf	$908 psf	39.69% increase

Yishun (District 27)

	2011	2014	Percentage Change
HDB	$390,000	$402,000	3.08% increase
Condominium	$655 psf	$817 psf	24.73% increase

The numbers speak for themselves. With the exception of one HDB estate – Bedok – which had a double digit percentage increase, all the other HDB Estates only had a 4% or less increase in the value of their homes. On the other hand, all the condominiums experienced a double digit percentage increase, and even the lowest increase was still higher than HDB’s highest increase.

Of course, we can’t ignore the fact that there will be some HDB units that go against this trend completely– typically because they are in very desirable locations. Flats sold recently in Pinnacle@Duxton, Marine Parade, Holland Road or Tiong Bahru have fetched super high prices but of course are not representative of the rest of the estates in Singapore.

2. What is the situation today?

Today, in 2015, we are beginning to experience most of the consequences of the cooling measures implemented over the past couple of years. The main effect is that property prices have dropped as a result of government restrictions in buying and selling.

How has this affected the prices of condominiums and HDBs? Let’s take a look at the example of two properties in District 14 that became available earlier this year.

3. Case Study: newly launched condominium Sims Urban Oasis

Sims Urban Oasis began sales on February 14th this year. It’s a condominium project by GuocoLand, a member of the Hong Leong Group. Selling price is between $1,295 and $1,595 per square foot, with majority of the units being 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units. Units have a 99-year lease.

Among other amenities, Sims Urban Oasis boasts several amenities, including tennis courts, swimming pools, a gym and even an in-house childcare centre among other amenities. It is next to the PIE and located about 350 metres from Aljunied MRT.

4. Case Study: newly launched HDB BTO Macpherson Spring

Macpherson Spring is a HDB BTO that opened for applications in February 17th this year. Selling price is between $303 and $478 per square foot. Majority of the units are 3-room and 4-room flat and they carry a 99-year lease.

Slightly over 22% of the units are studio apartments meant for senior citizens, so they come with a 30-year lease. Amenities include a childcare centre, playgrounds, fitness corners, a café and a “nearby” minimart. It is next the PIE, next to MacPherson MRT and about 500 metres from Paya Lebar MRT.

5. Comparing Sims Urban Oasis and Macpherson Spring

Both are extremely convenient, location-wise. Their proximity to the Pan-Island Expressway as well as the Paya Lebar MRT Interchange for the East-West Line and Circle Line means that you’re covered, regardless of whether you prefer public or private transport. In fact, this is probably the main reason why both properties are able to charge a premium, even in this depressed market.

Since it launched in February, Sims Urban Oasis has sold 183 of the 200 units launched, according to URA. In comparison, Macpherson Spring, despite being costlier than other BTOs launched at the same time, had 2,825 applicants for the 378 4-room units.

And so……

Well, if you can afford it comfortably, the condo option in Singapore remains the more lucrative option for the moment. In this example, units are available and you should be able to see some good gains if things stay constant. But then again, things rarely stay constant with the property market and you’ll want to really consider how stretched you are when reaching out for the condo purchase.

If you do commit to a new property, make sure you compare interest rates to get the best home loan for your particular situation.

Image Credits:

alantankenghoe

Source: SmartMoney.sg (18 Jun 2015)