Normanton Park on sale with S$800m reserve price - SRX

THE tender for the collective sale of Normanton Park, near Science Park and Kent Ridge Park, has been launched with a reserve price of S$800 million, which translates to S$898 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

This is the eleventh tender for a collective sale to be launched this year.



Normanton Park's unit land price of S$898 psf ppr is inclusive of two payments that the developer of the 660,999 square foot site will have to make to the state.

One is an estimated differential premium of S$225.3 million for intensification of the site based on the maximum permissible gross floor area of 1,388,099 sq ft, based on the March 1 development charge rates. The other payment is an estimated S$220.6 million to top up the site's lease to 99 years, assuming the top-up is done late next year when the balance lease will be 58 years.

Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2014, the site is zoned for "residential" use with a gross plot ratio of 2.1.

A privatised housing estate originally built in 1977 for military personnel and their families, Normanton Park comprises 13 residential blocks of 488 units ranging from 1,270 sq ft to 1,550 sq ft.

Based on the reserve price, owners stand to receive between approximately S$1.6 million and S$1.8 million per unit - which is about 50 per cent more than if they were to sell their units individually in the current market, said Ian Loh, Knight Frank Singapore executive director and head of investment and capital markets.

The property consulting group is marketing the en bloc sale through a tender that closes on Oct 5, 2017.

"The new high-rise development on the site could potentially have close to 1,290 homes of an average size of 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) gross floor area," said Mr Loh.

"Residents should be able to enjoy views of the lush greenery and unblocked views to the city and the sea. Thus, we expect the property to attract strong interest in view of its exclusive location and positive site attributes."

Normanton Park is near educational institutions including Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Fairfield Methodist primary and secondary schools, National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic and Insead.

The wave of collective sites is set to continue and will feed land-hungry developers that have been paying bullish prices for private residential sites at state tenders as well as private-sector collective sales.

Tan Hong Boon, JLL regional director for capital markets, commented that in addition to the 11 collective sale sites launched for tender year to date, "we believe there are another 60 or so collective sales, mostly residential at various stages of progress - in both small and large developments".

Some market watchers are concerned about a build-up in supply of units that will be launched in due course from new projects on collective-sale sites. Derek Tan, senior vice-president for group equity research at DBS, highlights that about 6,400 new private homes will be generated on collective sale sites sold last year and so far this year (up to Serangoon Ville).

"Launches of the new projects on these sites will straddle 2018 and 2019. Supply is certainly building up on the non-Government Land Sales (GLS) side. The key is whether new home buying demand can be sustained at current levels."

Mr Tan also noted that on the GLS front, some of the projects with high land prices such as Stirling Road and Toh Tuck Road are likely to be launched in H1 next year and they will "provide some indication as to whether the market is willing to accept a higher price".

However, Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong argues that the collective sales since 2016 will cause some "displacement" in the "physical or spot property market" as the current residences on these sites are pulled out of the existing housing stock. According to JLL's analysis, the collective sale sites sold in 2016 and YTD 2017 (up to Serangoon Ville) have on them 1,438 residential units.

Explains Mr Cheong: "For instance, some of those who used to live in privatised HUDC estates that have been sold en bloc might move into a HDB resale flat; and the seller of the flat might perhaps upgrade to a private condo.

"This sort of displacement will create demand for private homes in the physical market. However, the new homes that will be come up on the projects sold through en bloc sales will be ready only in say, 2020.

"So there may be a shortage in the physical market until then; this, coupled with high land prices paid for both GLS and collective sale sites, points to higher private home prices."

Source: SRX (22 Aug 2017)

Park West condo owners eye S$750m in third try at collective sale - SRX

OWNERS of condominium project Park West are hoping that third time's the charm in their collective sale attempt, this time at an expected selling price of S$750 million.



They saw a strong start on Saturday when signatures from around 30 per cent of owners by share value and strata area were collected on their first meeting to approve the collective sales agreement. Huttons Asia was also appointed as their marketing agent.

The asking price for Park West is lower than the indicative price of S$803 million during its 2011 en bloc tender, which received no bids. An earlier 2007 attempt did not achieve the requisite 80 per cent consensus among owners.

Frankie Lim, chairman of the Collective Sales Committee, noted that the 2011 attempt took place towards the end of an en bloc up-cycle but this time, market conditions are favourable.

"Now we can see that developers are hungry and looking for good sites. We also feel that Park West is one of the few sites available in the west zone and the government is going to launch the High Speed Rail terminal station in Jurong East," he said. "There are good malls and the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in Jurong East. The western region is also where the tertiary education institutions are mainly located."

Including an estimated S$339 million in differential premiums for site intensification and lease top-up, the land rate for Park West site is estimated to be S$818 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Located near Clementi MRT Station and Nan Hua Primary School, Park West condominium has 432 apartments and four shop units. The site spans 633,644 square feet, with 64 years left on the lease and a gross plot ratio of 2.1. Apartment owners are expected to bag around S$1.25 million to S$2.1 million each while the shop unit owners are each expecting to pocket S$1.1 million to S$1.5 million.

Elsewhere, JLL will be launching the tender for Florence Regency, a privatised HUDC estate in Hougang, on Aug 23 with a reserve price of S$600 million and freehold Amber Park condominium in the east on Aug 29 with a reserve price of S$768 million, said JLL regional director for capital markets Tan Hong Boon. This translates to a land rate of S$779 psf ppr for Florence Regency, inclusive of the differential premium of S$290 million for intensification of the site and lease top-up. The tender for Florence Regency will close on Sept 27.

For freehold Amber Park condominium, whose tender will close on Oct 3, its land rate is estimated to be S$1,284 psf ppr, with no development charges payable as its baseline gross plot ratio of 2.843 is higher than the plot ratio of 2.8 under the 2014 Master Plan, Mr Tan said.

So far this year, seven successful collective sales have chalked up a combined value of S$2.5 billion, far surpassing last year when only three deals worth S$1 billion were closed. These include residential projects One Tree Hill, Rio Casa, Eunosville, Albracca, Serangoon Ville as well as Goh & Goh mixed-use building and Citimac industrial complex.

Tampines Court, a privatised HUDC estate, is said to have received a bid of S$970 million with conditions attached but the deal is not officially closed yet.

More collective sale aspirants have also appointed their marketing agents. Former HUDC estatesLaguna Park and Lagoon View have appointed Knight Frank and Edmund Tie & Company respectively. Freehold condominium Faber Garden has appointed CBRE.

Source: SRX (21 Aug 2017)

Bungalow market keeping up with last year's momentum - SRX

THE bungalow market in Singapore is humming along nicely, with transactions likely to equal if not surpass 2016's volume.



Based on CBRE Research's analysis of caveats data, 23 transactions have been made in Good Class Bungalow Areas totalling S$480.6 million so far this year.

BT understands that options have been granted for a few more bungalows, although they have yet to be exercised.

In 2016, 37 bungalows in GCB Areas changed hands for a total of S$788.5 million.

Bungalows in GCB Areas are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore with strict planning conditions laid out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Only Singapore citizens are allowed to buy landed homes in the 39 GCB Areas on mainland Singapore. However, in the waterfront housing district of Sentosa Cove, a foreigner (including a Singapore permanent resident) is eligible to seek approval to buy a landed home for owner occupation only.

A recent transaction on the mainland though not in a GCB Area involves a bungalow along Wilkinson Road in District 15, which was sold for about S$17.2 million. The price works out to some S$1,200 per square foot on the freehold land area of 14,300 square feet.

The built-up area is estimated to be about 8,900 sq ft across two levels and a basement.

The property has four bedrooms, two living areas, a dining area, dry and wet kitchens and a swimming pool. The basement contains an entertainment room. The bungalow is believed to be about 20 years old, according to Jack Tok of KF Property Network, who co-brokered the deal with his colleague Elaine Goi.

Mr Tok declined to reveal the buyer's identity but BT understands it is Singapore Technologies Engineering chief executive Vincent Chong.

Another recent bungalow deal was along Oriole Crescent in the Raffles Park GCB Area where Macoline (S) Pte Ltd, a boutique developer and freight forwarder, sold a newly developed property for S$16.7 million or over S$1,600 psf based on the land area of about 10,300 sq ft.

The bungalow is spread over two storeys and an attic and has a swimming pool.

Meanwhile, 10 Sentosa Cove bungalows have been transacted so far this year for a total of around S$143 million based on caveats. However, there are at least four more deals totalling close to S$70 million at various stages that have yet to be caveated, according to Steve Tay, senior vice-president of the resale division of CBRE Realty Associates.

For the whole of last year, caveats were lodged for four deals worth S$64.5 million. However, on top of that, there was also a bulk sale of the remaining 10 bungalows on Pearl Island, one of the five man-made islands in Sentosa Cove. This transaction was structured through the sale of the entire equity of Ximeng Land (S) Pte Ltd, which developed the 19-villa project, which was completed, that is, received Temporary Occupation Permit, in 2012.

The equity was sold by a Liu family from Beijing to SRIF Pte Ltd, fully owned by Leslie Lim and Vincent Ong, the co-founders of Evia Real Estate.

The deal is said to have valued the 10 villas at about S$125 million or about S$1,500-1,600 psf on land area. Landed homes in Sentosa Cove have a 99-year leasehold tenure.

Messrs Lim and Ong told BT that the one of the 10 villas has been sold and the rest will be relaunched for sale in a fortnight.

The landscaping for all the homes has been redone. Two of the villas have been furnished - one with Fendi, and the other, Bottega Veneta, said Mr Ong.

"Our target pricing is between S$15 million and S$30 million per villa, or about S$2,500 psf on land area - inclusive of furnishings. Excluding furnishings, the price will be about S$2,350 psf."

Pearl Island's balance lease tenure is 89.5 years.

The bungalows have land areas ranging from around 6,500 sq ft to 11,500 sq ft.

Each villa comprises two storeys, a basement and an attic/roof terrace. All four levels are accessible by a private home lift.

The bungalows have five to seven bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.

The basement of each unit has a wine cellar, an entertainment room/lounge area, a semi-open garden as well as two spas (a "his" and a "hers"). The top floor houses an entertainment room, a gym and a roof terrace fitted with cooking and outdoor dining facilities.

Each villa is built with wet and dry kitchens fitted with Miele refrigerators, wine chiller, ovens and cooker hoods/hobs. Each villa has its own private berth (imported from France) and swimming pool.

In the heyday of the Sentosa Cove bungalow market back in 2010, the buyers were predominantly foreigners including Singapore PRs. These days, however, the buying action is dominated by Singapore citizens and a few PRs, said Mr Tay.

Foreign demand has fallen sharply due to the prohibitive 15 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD). As a result, it may not make sense for foreigners to buy a Sentosa bungalow - unless they live here. "Many of them, if they are based here and contributing to Singapore's economy, hope to get Singapore PR status before making their purchase - in order to qualify for a lower ABSD rate," said Mr Tay.

Market watchers estimate that prices of bungalows on the Cove have eased around 25 per cent to 45 per cent from the peak in 2010.

Mr Tay commented: "For Singaporean and PR buyers who are looking for bungalows up to say, S$15 million, they are seeing more attractive value at present market prices in Sentosa Cove - compared with mainland houses - because Sentosa has a nice waterfront ambience and 24-hour security."

Source: SRX (18 Aug 2017)

S$970m for Tampines Court - SRX

SIM Lian Development is believed to have placed a bid of S$970 million for the collective sale of Tampines Court.

On Tuesday evening, Huttons Asia, the marketing agent for the privatised HUDC (Housing and Urban Development Company) estate, said the tender for the site, which closed at 3 pm the same day, received a bid of that sum - above the reserve price of S$952 million.

Terence Lian, who heads investment sales at Huttons Asia, did not identify the party, but said conditions were attached to the S$970 million bid, so the collective sales committee is evaluating the bid.

"We hope to wrap things up, that is, make an award within two weeks," he added.

He declined to be drawn into discussing the number of bids received.

He said that a price of S$970 million works out to around S$655 per square foot of potential gross floor area, inclusive of two payments to the state. One is a differential premium for enhancing the intensity of the site to a gross plot ratio of 2.8; the other is a lease-upgrading premium, which will top up the site's lease to 99 years.

The site has a leftover lease of 69 years.

Mr Lian described the tender result as "satisfactory", having crossed the reserve price and "considering the sprawling land size Tampines Court sits on".

Assuming Tampines Court is sold at S$970 million, this would be the second largest collective sale in dollar quantum after Farrer Court, which went for S$1.3388 billion back in 2007, said JLL.

Tampines Court has a land area of 702,164 sq ft.

Based on a 2.8 plot ratio - which is the ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area - Mr Lian estimates that the site could be redeveloped into a project with up to 2,609 units, based on an average unit size (gross floor area) of about 753 sq ft.

A seasoned property consultant estimates the breakeven cost at around S$1,150 psf. While this would still leave a profit margin for the developer based on the current buoyant market conditions, the development risk for this project lies in its huge size of more than 2,500 units.

"There is a risk that the developer may end up having to pay the 15 per cent ABSD (additional buyer's stamp duty) on the purchase price of the land, with interest of 5 per cent per annum, if it does not fulfil the conditions for upfront remission of ABSD," said a market watcher.

These conditions include completing the new development on the site and selling off all its units within five years of the collective sale order granted by the Strata Titles Board (STB) or the court.

The successful bidder of Tampines Court will also factor in an expected increase in development charge rates come Sept 1, given the recent bullish residential land bids in general. This in turn will push up the differential premium payable on the Tampines Court site and hence raise the breakeven cost for the new project.

That said, Sim Lian, is no newbie to the Tampines area, having developed for the Housing Board two Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) projects in the area - The Premier and Centrale 8 - in addition to an executive condo (a public-private housing hybrid) project, Tampines Trilliant.

Moreover, the group has a construction arm, which, assuming it handles the building works of the new project, will result in some savings in construction cost, say analysts.

Market watchers believe that among the conditions that the potential buyer of Tampines Court is likely to have sought from its owners would be requiring confirmation of the development baseline for the property, which will have a bearing on the quantum of differential premium.

In addition, the deal would be subject to a lease top-up for the site. The buyer would also have stipulated a timeframe for the order of sale to be granted by the STB or court - as one of the conditions of its purchase.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (16 Aug 2017)

SRX: Private condo rents in July up 0.2% - SRX

RENTS of private non-landed homes in Singapore climbed 0.2 per cent in July compared to June, while rental volume rose by 11.8 per cent from a month ago to 4,834 units, going by flash estimates from SRX Property.



This was buoyed by the 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent uptick in the Core Central Region (CCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) respectively, while the Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw a 0.1 per cent dip.

It also followed a 0.6 per cent rental increase islandwide in June, a revised figure from 0.5 per cent, SRX Property said on Thursday.

While rents in the public housing market continued to slip by 0.1 per cent in July from June, dragged by rental falls in bigger flats, the decline is more moderate than the 0.8 per cent drop in June.

Rental volume for HDB flats in July also grew 6.7 per cent from June to an estimated 1,835 transactions.

The latest data seems to suggest that both private non-landed and HDB rental markets are stabilising and the declines are likely to ease further. But property consultants are still expecting continued rental weakness to persist till at least next year.

"I believe the leasing market is slowly finding a bottom, especially with fewer completions in the pipeline," said Lee Nai Jia, who heads research at Edmund Tie & Company.

"Notwithstanding, the rental market remains largely subdued and only rents of properties in choice locations close to either MRT stations or growth clusters remain resilient."

Dr Lee is projecting a 1.5-2.5 per cent easing of rents for private non-landed homes for the whole of 2017, and rents to slide further by 1-3 per cent next year.

ZACD Group head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak reckoned that the earliest for private non-landed rentals to recover in a sustained manner would be next year, depending on the strength of the employment market.

This year, there will be around 16,400 private homes being completed - almost double the number of homes to be completed each in 2018 and 2019, he said.

"The mismatch between supply and demand will continue to weigh down on the occupancy rate as well as rentals of residential properties this year."

Non-landed private rents in July remained 0.1 per cent lower from the beginning of the year, SRX Property data shows.

Compared to a year ago, private non-landed rents islandwide were still down 2.7 per cent in July, with all regions - CCR, RCR and OCR - posting declines of 1.9 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Non-landed private rents in July were 18.9 per cent lower compared to its peak in January 2013.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (11 Aug 2017)

Normanton Park to be put up for en bloc sale at a minimum S$800m - SRX

NORMANTON Park condominium is slated to be launched for collective sale on Aug 22 at a minimum price of S$800 million after more than 80 per cent of owners by share value and strata area approved the collective sales agreement (CSA) by Wednesday.

It is probably a record for a project of this scale with 488 units to garner sufficient signatures from owners within 11 days, said Ian Loh, head of investment and capital market at Knight Frank, which is marketing the project.

The estimated differential premium for intensification of the site is S$225.3 million, while the lease top-up is estimated to cost another S$220.64 million. This will translate to a land rate of S$898 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), said Mr Loh.

Owners are expected to pocket gross profit of between S$1.62 million and S$1.8 million.

Elsewhere, privatised HUDC estate Florence Regency in Hougang and freehold Amber Park condominium have also crossed the 80 per cent consensus for their collective sales agreements, BT understands.

Both projects are marketed by JLL, which declined to comment on their reserve prices. But minutes of a collective sales committee meeting for the 336-unit Florence Regency this month released on a blog shows the reserve price being raised to S$600 million.

For Normanton Park, obtaining the requisite approval for the CSA in 11 days is considered a major feat. "This shows that a majority of the owners are in complete agreement with the terms in the CSA and are further keen to see the en bloc successfully done as soon as possible," said SS Chopra, who chairs the collective sales committee.

In fact, some 30 per cent was obtained on July 29, the same day the CSA was approved by the general body unanimously at an extraordinary general meeting, added Mr Chopra, a retired navy colonel.

This is the second attempt at an enbloc sale by owners of Normanton Park, after their first attempt in October 2015 with the same reserve price.

The 99-year leasehold project has 59 years left on its tenure. Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2014, the 660,999 square foot site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio.

Normanton Park is near Kent Ridge Park, the National University of Singapore, National University Hospital and businesses in the one-north development. Future owners or occupiers of the new project on the site would likely be professionals working in the vicinity as well as families whose children are studying in the education institutions nearby, along with those who would love to frequent a park, Mr Chopra said.

Mr Loh also pointed out that there is no comparable site like Normanton Park for high-rise residential development available for sale now, so there is no competing supply in the near term.

So far this year, there have already been seven successful collective sales worth S$2.5 billion; for the whole of last year, only three deals worth S$1 billion were closed.

Market watchers expect another few billion dollars worth of deals to close this year as the collective sales market roars back to life, fuelled by transactions-led property recovery and limited land up for grab in state tenders.

The en bloc fever has prompted more projects to kick-start the collective sales process.

The latest to hop onto the bandwagon are Sutton Place, a 44-unit condominium off Farrer Road, and Faber Garden, a 233-unit freehold condominium near Upper Thomson Road. Both are in the midst of appointing their marketing agents.

Hawaii Towers, a 135-unit freehold development at Meyer Road, is said to be trying its luck again at a collective sale.

Those already put up for en bloc tender include the 12-unit freehold Villa D'Este condominium in prime District 10 where owners are asking for S$96 million, as well as the 12-unit freehold Dunearn Court in the prime District 11 where owners are asking for S$38.8 million.

At 560-unit Tampines Court, owners of the privatised HUDC property are asking for S$960 million, which could be the largest since Farrer Court fetched the highest price of S$1.34 billion in 2007.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (10 Aug 2017)

Condo resale prices slip 0.5% in July as sales also drop - SRX

Resale prices of non-landed private homes in Singapore declined by 0.5 per cent month-on-month in July after rising the previous two months, according to flash estimates from SRX Property on Tuesday (Aug 8).

While resale prices in the core central region and city fringes edged up by 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, prices in the suburban areas fell by 1.9 per cent, the estimates showed.

Compared to a year ago, condo resale prices are up by 2 per cent from July 2016, though they are still down by 5 per cent from their last peak in January 2014.

Year-to-date, prices have increased by 2.2 per cent.

In another indicator that the resale market cooled last month, the number of homes sold fell by 9.7 per cent to 952 units from the 1,054 shifted in June.

Compared with a year ago, sales were up by 20.1 per cent from 793 units sold in June 2016. Resale volume was down by 53.6 per cent compared to its peak of 2,050 units resold in April 2010.

SRX's median transaction over X-value (TOX) - which measures if buyers are overpaying or underpaying its computer-generated market value - fell to zero in July from S$1,000 in June.

For districts with more than 10 resale transactions in July, District 20 (Ang Mo Kio/Bishan/Thomson) posted the highest median TOX of S$60,000.

Among relatively active districts, District 26 (Mandai/Upper Thomson) had the most negative median TOX of -S$27,000.

The Straits Times

Source: SRX (08 Aug 2017)

Potential "disconnect" between recent bullish land bids and new condos' price - SRX

Property firm UOL Group has warned of a potential "disconnect" between recent bullish land bids and prices that new condominium units can eventually be sold for to home buyers.

Developers preparing for a possible upturn in the residential property market amid improving sentiment and sales have been bidding aggressively for sites in public land tenders and collective sales.

UOL deputy group chief executive Liam Wee Sin said: "Our concern is a possible 'disconnect' between the recent land tender prices and achievable end-sale prices.

"Transaction volume in the residential sector has risen steadily, but a sustainable recovery in end-sale prices will depend on the dynamics of economy, supply-demand and the rental market."

Private home prices here, which have fallen for 15 straight quarters as at June 30, are seen by analysts to be near the bottom, and could start rising next year amid higher land prices and rising optimism.

Unveiling its latest financial results yesterday, UOL said it plans to launch two condos here next year: a 140-unit project on a freehold site in Amber Road, and a 750-unit project in Potong Pasir Avenue 1.

It had acquired the Potong Pasir site - where privatised HUDC estate Raintree Gardens sits - via a joint venture for $334.2 million last October. The Amber Road site was bought for $156 million in January.

The residential property sector helped to boost UOL's earnings in the second quarter ended June 30.

The company reported a 59 per cent surge in net profit to $109.4 million from a year earlier.

It attributed the increase to higher recognition of revenue from condo project Principal Garden, higher contributions from associated companies and fair value gains on investment properties.

Revenue climbed by 10 per cent year on year to $399.1 million, with property development accounting for 55 per cent of the turnover during the quarter.

UOL said apart from Principal Garden, other residential projects which contributed to revenue included Botanique at Bartley and Riverbank@Fernvale.

The Straits Times

Source: SRX (07 Aug 2017)

HDB resale prices continue to dip - SRX

PRICES of Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale flats fell 0.6 per cent in July from the preceding month, based on SRX Property's flash estimate for last month released on Thursday.

This follows a month-on-month decline of 0.2 per cent in June 2017.

SRX Property's overall resale price index for HDB flats is down 1.6 per cent year on year, and is also 12.2 per cent below its peak in April 2013.

Year on year, its price index for public housing resale flats in mature estates slipped 0.5 per cent - a smaller decline than the 2.4 per cent drop in non-mature estates over the same period.

Data compiled by SRX Property shows that an estimated 1,785 HDB flats were resold in July, up 1.8 per cent from the 1,753 in June. The figure is also up year on year - 12.2 per cent higher from 1,591.

That said, last month's resale volume was 51.1 per cent below the peak of 3,649 in May 2010.

Wong Xian Yang, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee, observed that "HDB resale prices have continued to trend lower despite the increase in the CPF Housing Grant for first-timer families buying resale HDB flats, suggesting that buyers retain the upper hand in terms of negotiating power and the number of sellers outweigh buyers".

One source of supply in the HDB resale market would be public housing flat dwellers who are upgrading to an executive condo (EC) unit - ECs are a public-private housing hybrid.

Those who buy a new EC would have to dispose of their HDB flat within six months of key collection. A record 5,485 ECs were completed last year, with another nearly 3,500 slated for completion this year.

"Additionally, the recent launches of BTO (Build-to-Order) projects in mature estates - Bidadari and Geylang - may have diverted some demand away from the resale market."

That said, Mr Wong does not expect an extended downtrend in resale HDB prices as volumes have continued to grow and would inevitably support prices.

"We expect volumes to keep growing, as positive sentiments in the private property market spill over to the HDB resale market."

The Business Times

Source: SRX (04 Aug 2017)