Singapore’s Property Market: Is 2018 The Right Time To Start Investing In Private Properties Again? - DOLLARS AND SENSE

Investing in Singapore’s property market doesn’t necessarily mean you have to own a condominium unit.

Last week, URA reported that the private residential property index for 3Q2017 have increased by 0.5 per cent. This is the first time an increase has been seen, after 15 straight quarters, or close to four years, of decline.

Having endured a lacklustre market for four years, there is finally good news for property experts and real estate developers to get excited about. But should you, as a retail investor, be looking to jump back in to the market now that sentiments are slowly starting to pick up?

Of course, this is the million-dollar question on everyone’s mind. Should we buy a private property now in the hopes that we can strike it rich when the market takes off, or do we risk missing out on the cycle?

The Market Has Been Declining For 15 Straight Quarters

What goes down should eventually go up.

That’s the logic most investors are counting on for the local property market. Having endured 15 straight quarters of decline, it makes sense to expect prices to finally rebound, sooner rather than later.

To understand just how long this decline has been, we can compare the current market situation against past periods when the market has been sluggish.

	Period Of Decline	Decline
Asian Financial Crisis (1997)	10 Quarters	– 45%
Dot-Com Bubble/Sars Outbreak (2000)	15 Quarters	– 20%
Great Financial Crisis (2007)	4 Quarters	– 25%
Post Cooling Measure Period (2013)	15 Quarters	-12%

The first observation is that as far as declines are concerned, the current period of 15 straight quarters of decline has been really long, even when compared to periods where there were major recessions.

However, while price have been declining for an extended period, the size of the decline (12%) has been relatively small, when compared to declines observed in other periods.

One of the reasons for this is likely due to the fact that the decline has been artificially induced through cooling measures rather than experiencing a market crisis. These cooling measures were introduced by the Singapore government to 1) stop property prices from climbing upwards due to speculation and 2) ensure a “soft landing”.

By the looks of things, it appears that the government has been successful.

What this also means for would-be buyers is that unlike previous recoveries, which came shortly after our country pulled away from a crisis, it may not be prudent to expect prices to increase as quickly this time around.

Sure, there will be real estate agents telling you that the property market will ignite once the government removes some of the cooling measures, specifically the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) and/or the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR).

They are right. And because they would be right if it happens, is precisely why these cooling measures will likely continue to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

The En Bloc Fever

The en bloc fever is one major trend for 2017/2018 to watch out for, since it’s likely to push the property market forward. Just last week, news broke that Amber Park had been sold via en bloc for a record S$906.7 million. Owners will receive between $4.3 million to $8.3 million.

In an exclusive group interview with media analysts organised by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Oxley Deputy CEO Eric Low rightly pointed out to us the difference between land bought through the Government Land Sales Programme (GLS) and the en bloc deal. While the former takes millions of dollars out of the property market, as proceeds from GLS goes straight into the Singapore’s reserve, en bloc deals allow money to flow back into the property market.

For example, owners of Amber Park will now have an average of about $6.3 million each. With this money on hand, and possibly needing to find a new home (or two), there is a good chance that the bulk of the $900 million plus proceeds will be invested back into the local property market. If you add a leverage effect to this (since buyers can also take a loan), the value increases.

With the total value of private residential en bloc deals already crossing $3 billion for 2017, and possibly reaching $5 billion by the end of the year, it’s likely that we will be seeing some of this money being re-invested into the market in 2018.

Different Intentions Of Buyers Today

While the previous bull runs in the property market were caused largely by speculative and foreign investors, we think it’s fair to say that a larger majority of potential buyers in the next few years would be locals buying for their own living purposes, rather than for investment purposes.

Lionel Lin, Vice President from the SGX Research and Product team, points out that the current property market includes many barriers to entry such as the Selling Stamp Duty (SSD), ABSD and TDSR, which would-be buyers need to carefully consider. In addition, property investing also requires large sums of cash upfront as well as a loan to be taken.

It’s also worth noting that property investors today have other ways of entering the property market aside from just buying private properties.

Real estate is one of the most established sectors on SGX with a total of 108 companies being listed, combining for a market capitalisation of over S$196 billion, and accounting for about 20% of SGX market capitalisation.

Investors can choose to invest in up to 43 professionally managed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and property trusts or Singapore property developers themselves. If they are unsure about what to invest in, they can also choose to invest in REITs ETFs.

These are options in today’s market that weren’t always available in the past. Savvy investors can now get higher returns from these investments without needing to cough up a large sum of capital upfront, or risk overleveraging themselves with property loans.

Read Also: 7 Types of REITS In Singapore, And The Reasons Why People Invest In Them

Demand In Rental Market Is Still Weak

If you are thinking of investing in a private property to generate rental income, it’s worth pointing out that the rental market is still relatively weak. Hence, expecting attractive yields from your properties is something that you shouldn’t be count too much on. The weak rental market is another main factor behind the large spike in mortgagee sale in 2017.

Source: URA

Should I Start Looking At Private Properties Today?

DollarsAndSense.sg has written previous articles where we shared our views about the local property market. In 2016, we rightly mentioned that Singaporeans should wait until at least 2017 before they start buying private properties. A few months ago, we stated that Singaporeans looking to buy a private property for their own stay can start looking and shortlisting possible places to consider, but that there is no need for them to rush.

Our views remain the same. The property market today is attractive for you to consider for your own home stay as prices have (rightfully) declined. However, if you are intending to buy a property to generate investment returns, you may be better off considering other property investment opportunities such as REITs or property developers themselves.

Source: DOLLARS AND SENSE (10 Oct 2017)

En Bloc Sales: How Much Do Private Property Home Owners Stand to Gain? - MONEYSMART

Many Singaporean property owners think of en bloc sales as 4D or Toto, but with better odds.

But the reality is a little different, if you understand how en bloc sales work. Basically, you are getting paid to vacate your property. That means that, unless you have somewhere else to live, you will have to use that cash to buy another home.

Aside from the fact that you’re basically being forced to leave your home, your nest where you’ve made so many memories over the years, you’ll also have to use your precious en bloc proceeds to buy a new place.

So what do you actually stand to gain when your property goes en bloc?

What exactly happens when your property is acquired in an en bloc sale?

To understand how much you can profit from an en bloc sale, you must first know how the en bloc system works.

An en bloc sale happens when a developer wants to buy up the land on which your property stands. These developers think they can make more money out of the land than what they’re paying for it. So if you’re living in an old condo where each block is only five storeys high, you’ve got a good chance of going en bloc, as developers can demolish existing blocks, build 25-storey towers in their place and make more money.

But to do that, they will need most of the residents (80% of residents to be precise, or 10% if the property is under 10 years old) to agree to sell their homes to them in an en bloc sale.

Obviously, residents aren’t going to want to sell their homes for peanuts. So the kinds of sums developers offer in en bloc sales tend to be very attractive.

Now, what if there is no eager developer on the horizon waiting to swoop down and buy your property, but your neighbours are all dying to push through an en bloc sale?

Well, en bloc sales can be initiated by residents if they manage to get the requisite number of signatures. They will then try to find a developer who’s willing to pay a price that most of the residents are happy with.

Will you get a good price?

En bloc sales tend to happen to pretty old buildings, so there’s a higher chance that owners have been living there a long time and bought the property when it was worth a lot less.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become an overnight millionaire, especially considering you’ll have to buy a new home. While developers usually offer a pretty good price, it is the owners’ responsibility to benchmark that price against what they can get for their units on the market.

Also, remember that en bloc sales take time to be completed. A committee has to be formed, and the sales committee then has to try to convince people to sign the Collective Sale Agreement. Most en bloc sales take more than a year to be finalised.

In all that time, the market can change significantly. Right now, private property prices are terribly depressed, but should the market suddenly start to recover, that might make some en bloc offers turn unattractive.

In addition, there are some unlucky situations in which you might enjoy little to no capital gains, such as if you only bought the unit recently.

Effecting the sale

From the day the en bloc sale is proposed to the day you get your money, you’re looking at at least 1.5 years.

Once the wheels are set in motion, a committee has to be set up comprised of owners in the development. If you really, really want the sale to go through and think you have good powers of persuasion, you might want to nominate yourself as a committee member. The committee will then aim to get the signatures of enough owners to be able to effect the sale.

While you have quite a bit of time before you’ll actually have to move house, you should start looking around for a new home as soon as possible.

This applies even if you don’t actually want to go through with the en bloc sale—because unfortunately, if you’re outnumbered, it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.

Buying a new home

When HDB flats get sold under the SERS programme, the government rehomes occupants by giving them shiny new flats. There is no such thing for private property owners, however. So get ready to source for and buy your new home on your own.

Take heart–private property prices have been on the decline for a long time now, and the housing market is still in a slump. That means that you could potentially purchase a new home at a very attractive price.

When deciding whether or not you should support an en bloc sale, always compare how much you can earn with how much you would need to spend on a new home. Property prices can fluctuate quite a bit over the next year or two, and you don’t want to find yourself in the position where you’re unable to get a new home at a good price.

Joanne Poh

September 19, 2017

Source: MONEYSMART

Changi Garden sold for $248.8m - PropertyGuru

The apartment owners will receive between $2.14 million and $2.27 million. (Photo: Edmund Tie)

Changi Garden is the latest development to be sold in an en bloc sale for $248.8 million, revealed marketing agent Edmund Tie & Co. on Tuesday (17 October).

The buyer is CEL Development, a member of Chip Eng Seng Group.

The price works out to about $888 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), and is much higher than the asking price of $196 million ($700 psf ppr).

Located at Upper Changi Road North, the freehold property sits on approximately 200,093 sq ft of land. The site is zoned residential with a plot ratio of 1.4, according to the 2014 Master Plan.

Developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Changi Garden comprises 60 apartments, 12 penthouses and 12 shops.

The apartment owners will receive between $2.14 million and $2.27 million, while penthouse owners will get between $4.03 million and $4.74 million. Shop owners are expected to receive $4.7 million to $7.08 million.

“In addition to the high development baseline, we have also shared feedback and advice which we obtained from the relevant authorities with developers,” said Tan Chun Ming, director of investment advisory at Edmund Tie & Co.

“Furthermore, there has not been any residential land sold within a 2.8km radius of Changi Garden since 2013. All these are selling points that developers would find attractive.”

CEL Development is expected to build a residential project that could incorporate a retail component, subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.  

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

Source: PropertyGuru (17 Oct 2017)

URA releases flash estimate of 3rd Quarter 2017 private residential property price index - URA

Published Date: 02 Oct 2017

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the flash estimate of the price index for private residential property for 3rd Quarter 2017 today.

Overall, the private residential property index increased 0.7 point from 136.6 points in 2nd Quarter 2017 to 137.3 points in 3rd Quarter 2017. This represents an increase of 0.5%, compared with the 0.1% decline in the previous quarter (see Annex A [PDF, 13kb] and Annex B [PDF, 11kb]).

Prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by 0.2% in Core Central Region (CCR), compared to the 0.5% fall in the previous quarter. Prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) was unchanged, after registering an increase of 0.6% in the previous quarter. Prices in Outside Central Region (OCR) increased by 0.7%, after registering a 0.3% decline in the previous quarter (see Annex C [PDF, 11kb]).

The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in contracts submitted for stamp duty payment and data on units sold by developers up till mid-September. The statistics will be updated on 27 October when URA releases its full set of real estate statistics for 3rd Quarter 2017. 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 3rd Quarter 2017 Resale Price Index - HDB

Published Date: 02 Oct 2017

             HDB’s flash estimate of the 3rd Quarter 2017 Resale Price Index (RPI) is 132.9, a decline of 0.6% over 2nd Quarter 2017 (see Annexes A1 and A2).  

2          The 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 via the e-services available on HDB’s InfoWEB.

3          The RPI for the full quarter, together with more detailed public housing data, will be released on 27 October 2017.

 

Upcoming Sales Launch

4          HDB will offer about 4,800 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Geylang, Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines in the November 2017 BTO exercise. This will bring the total BTO flat supply for 2017 to about 17,500 units. More information on the BTO flats is available on the HDB InfoWEB. There will also be a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise.

Source: HDB

SRX: HDB resale prices dip 0.7% y-o-y in Aug - SRX

Resale prices of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats slipped 0.7 per cent year on year in August while the volume of resale transactions rose 3 per cent over the same period, flash estimate by SRX Property for last month shows.



According to the SRX Property data, 1,957 HDB flats were resold in August 2017, compared with 1,900 in August 2016.

Last month's figure also reflects an increase of 9.6 per cent from the 1,785 units that changed hands in July 2017. However, the latest figure is 46.4 per cent lower than the peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

SRX Property's overall resale price index for HDB flats inched up 0.1 per cent month on month in August after slipping 0.6 per cent in July 2017.

The price index is 12.1 per cent below the peak in April 2013.

In mature estates, prices eased 0.2 per cent year on year from August 2016, a smaller pace of decline compared with a 1.1 per cent price fall in non-mature estates over the same period.

ZACD Group's head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak suggested that a possible reason behind the the month-on-month improvement in transaction volumes is that some buyers may have rushed to seal deals before the start of the Hungry Ghosts month on Aug 22; some Chinese avoid buying a property during the month.

OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy Wong Xian Yang commented that HDB resale prices continue to fluctuate in a sideway trend due to a confluence of factors. "Buying activity remains healthy and is supported by strong latent demand and improved affordability due to lower HDB resale prices compared to 2013 and the enhancement of the CPF Housing Grant earlier this year.

"Resale HDB volumes have continued to rise on a year-on-year basis, and higher volumes should lead to higher prices eventually, barring any changes in housing policies or unexpected market distress."

That said, price growth is projected to be gradual due to strict loan curbs, he added.

He expects HDB resale volumes to improve by about 2-5 per cent in 2017 over 2016, with prices likely to be range-bound between -1 per cent and +1 per cent this year.

Source: SRX (08 Sep 2017)

Foreign developers throwing lines into Singapore's en bloc pond - SRX

FOREIGN developers - those from China in particular - sense there's a killing to be made from Singapore's feverish en bloc market.

Amid limited options under the government land sales (GLS) programme, a few have plunged headlong into the game while several others are sussing out information on available en bloc sites and learning how the process works. It may only be a matter of time before more will emerge with en bloc trophies in hand, market watchers say.

Before 2016, there were more sites under the GLS programme than in the en bloc market, so developers hardly considered en bloc sites back then, JLL regional director of investments Tan Hong Boon observed.

And with more attractive en bloc sites becoming available vis-a-vis the limited GLS sites, naturally more developers are exploring the en bloc option. Increased enquiries also come from foreign players trying to understand the collective sale process, he said.

Foreign developers have historically been less comfortable with the en bloc process, a more cumbersome and protracted process than the straightforward purchase of land through the GLS. But since last year, the Chinese developers are starting to bite, signalling a paradigm shift.

Chinese firm Kingsford Huray Development, owned by Chinese-citizen-turned-Singaporean Cui Zhengfeng, acquired Normanton Park, a former government housing project off Ayer Rajah Expressway, for S$830.1 million this month. This follows the purchase of freehold condominum project Sun Rosier for S$271 million by SingHaiyi Properties and Huajiang International Corporation, both controlled by Chinese tycoon Gordon Tang and wife Chen Huaidan. In May last year, Qingjian Realty bought former HUDC estate Shunfu Ville for S$638 million.

Chinese developers are also keen to hold commercial properties here for recurring income. In July, a buyer said to be linked to the Zhao family from China acquired freehold industrial complex Citimac.

Talk in the market is that the SingHaiyi joint venture was in such hurry to seal the deal for Sun Rosier that it came without representation from lawyers and without amendments to any terms in the collective sales agreement.



Norman Ho, partner at Rajah & Tann, felt that the rush among developers - not only foreign developers - to replenish their landbank through en bloc sites is ironic given that they are spoilt for choice, with as many as 60 sites said to be in varying stages of the en bloc process.

But competition for attractive sites may heat up as those Chinese developers that were active in GLS tenders in the past have warmed to the collective sales process, he said.

Chinese players that are said to be scouring for deals include China Construction, Hao Yuan Investment and Nanshan Group. The latter is not new to the en bloc scene, having bought Irving Industrial Building through a collective sale in late 2014.

MCC Land CEO Tan Zhiyong told BT: "We have been closely observing the recent wave of en-bloc activities and will be keen to participate in a tender if an opportunity arises."

But he is wary of over-exuberance in developers' bids. "The current residential property market seems to be stabilising and recent new launches have also been well received. However, with a likely rise in supply of new projects coming into the market in the next couple of years arising from these en-bloc activities, how the future market will react to home prices that may rise in tandem with tender prices remains to be seen."

Swee Shou Fern, senior director for investment advisory at Edmund Tie & Company, said that a majority of Chinese developers studying en bloc sites now are those who have been active in the GLS market. "We may start to see Chinese bidders emerging as successful bidders in the upcoming collective sales sites. But they are selective - those I've spoken to only want prime location that is freehold."

Hutton Asia head of investment sales Terence Lian told BT that he has received several enquiries from foreign developers for Jalan Besar Plaza, especially Chinese developers "who are already well established here".

Some of them are drawn to the prospect of recurring income from a new development on the freehold mixed-used site, which may have a serviced apartment component subject to government approval. Another site that is of interest to them is Tai Wah Building, also because of the prospect of having serviced apartments on the mixed-use site.



Some observers note that despite the initial apprehension among foreign developers towards the en bloc market, there are no real barriers to entry. They can gain access to local market knowledge through local consultants and lawyers or local staff. The Chinese players also have the capacity to take on large sites.

Interestingly, Chinese developers may have crossed a mental hurdle towards the en bloc sale concept, as collective sales are not common in China or Hong Kong, a corporate lawyer said.

The only bugbear, perhaps, is the uncertain redevelopment timeline for en bloc sites and how the market may turn by the time a project is launched. While it typically takes just three months for legal completion of a GLS site acquisition, it may take up to a year or even longer for legal completion of the acquisition for en bloc sites if there are disputes with owners.

But will Chinese developers start setting new highs in prices for en bloc sites? For Normanton Park, its land rate of S$969 per square foot per plot ratio is the highest achieved for a 99-year leasehold collective sale site this year. One consultant noted that property owners attempting en bloc deals are starting to ask if there is any interest from Chinese developers, who are seen as having deep pockets to buy them out.

JLL's Mr Tan felt that the Singapore government would not be worried just because they are overseas players; local developers have been bidding aggressively too. But the government is concerned whether prices are rising within an acceptable range or not.

Agreeing, Mr Lian of Huttons do not see foreign developers as an irrational lot. "Regardless of the plot's potential, it will not get a single bid if it is overpriced. Foreign developers will still do their sums."

The Business Times

Source: SRX (17 Oct 2017)

Fewer launches as developers await upturn - SRX

DEVELOPERS launched just 73 private homes last month - less than a tenth of what they released in August, and the lowest figure since December 2014's 53 units.

The Chinese Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, two-thirds of which fell in September, may have been partly the reason for this, but observers suggest that developers have also been holding back on launches of private residential projects lately, in the hope of riding a price recovery next year.

Lee Nai Jia, head of research in Edmund Tie & Company, said: "A few developers have stopped selling their projects and closed their showflats for now, and will probably re-open them after Chinese New Year.

"I sense developers are holding back new launches with the approaching year-end school holiday and travel season. It makes more sense for developers to gear up for launches after Chinese New Year, when demand can be expected to be strong, supporting higher prices."

With fewer new units on the market, developers' sales contracted 47.3 per cent month on month to 657 private homes in September.

Year on year, however, the figure was up 29.1 per cent, going by data released on Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), based on its surveys among licensed housing developers.



The preliminary third-quarter figure for developers' private home sales figure stands at 3,015 units, 2 per cent lower than in the previous quarter, but up 52.2 per cent year on year.

In the first nine months, developers' sales surged 60.1 per cent year on year to 9,054 private homes.

In addition, they moved 3,596 executive condominium (EC) units (a public-private housing hybrid) between January and September - up 10.1 per cent year on year.

JLL national director Ong Teck Hui highlighted that this jump comes despite a 41.5 per cent year-on-year drop in the number of EC units launched in the first nine months of this year.

"While demand has been buoyant, supply has become limited, with only 1,620 unsold, launched EC units," he said.

The figure comprises 1,591 uncompleted and 29 completed units as at end-Q2 2017, a drop of 53.6 per cent year on year.

No new EC projects or units were launched in September, and yet developers' sales for ECs was still "quite healthy" at 249 units, noted ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak. The September EC sales figure was down from 341 units sold the month before; year on year, it was also a fall from the 260 units sold in September 2016.

Mr Mak noted that only one EC project is now in the pipeline - Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments' 600-plus unit project in Anchorvale Lane, which is expected to be launched next year.

"At the current rate of sales, the developers' inventory of launched and unsold EC units - which slipped to only 698 units in September - would be exhausted before Christmas if there are no new project launches.

"As a result, there could be overwhelming pent-up demand for this project, and its developer is in a highly-enviable sweet spot."

PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor agreed with this view, but highlighted that the project's developer would nevertheless be sensible about pricing it, given that ECs come with many restrictions, including a S$14,000 monthly household income ceiling and 30 per cent mortgage servicing ratio cap.

Last month's top-five selling projects chalked up sales of between 40 and 48 units each. These were Parc Life and The Criterion EC projects, and Kingsford Waterbay, Symphony Suites and Principal Garden private housing developments.

In the private-housing segment, at least two projects are slated to be released soon. One is Sing Holdings and Wee Hur's 735-unit Parc Botannia in Fernvale Road, which is expected to be launched around mid-November.

The other, also expected to be launched next month, is Roxy-Pacific's 48-unit Navian freehold apartment development in Jalan Eunos. The project will be priced at an average of about S$1,500 psf.

Mr Ismail expects developers to end the year with sales of about 4,000 EC units and 11,000 to 12,000 private homes. Last year, they moved 3,999 EC units and 7,972 private homes.

ERA Realty Network key executive officer Eugene Lim predicts primary market sales for this year will come in at 3,800 to 4,200 EC units and 10,000 to 12,000 private homes.

CBRE Research's head of Singapore and South-east Asia, Desmond Sim, said: "There are very limited launches identified in the pipeline; this might be a dampener to an otherwise encouraging full-year volume."

Most analysts believe that private home prices have turned around. Earlier this month, the URA said that, based on its Q3 2017 flash estimate, its private home price index rose 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter, its first rise after 15 consecutive quarters of decline.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (17 Oct 2017)

URA unveils plans for 19,000 homes in 3 residential precincts - SRX

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday unveiled its proposed plans for some 19,000 units in three upcoming neighbourhoods: Kampong Bugis, Holland Plain and Bayshore.

In line with its car-lite vision, it plans to develop seamless and comprehensive networks of walkways and cycling paths so that planners can set aside less space for roads and carparks.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said this at the URA Centre Atrium on Monday at the launch of an exhibition showcasing these preliminary ideas that members of the public can also give their feedback on.

Mr Wong said: "This is not just a theoretical point. Looking at Bayshore, for example, the planners think that the road carriages can be reduced from three lanes to two lanes if there is this move to a car-lite society.

"This means we will free up space at the ground level, where residents can enjoy wider pedestrian walkways and even dedicated cycling paths. Also, it will mean more greenery and community spaces within the residential precincts."

He added that to improve connectivity, the government is "investing significantly" in the public transport system, expanding it and planning for the vast majority of homes in Singapore to be within a 10-minute walk from an MRT station.

For these three precincts, the last-mile connection from home to MRT station will be enhanced by infrastructure such as underpasses, footbridges, sheltered walkways and pedestrian walkways.

Property consultants flag that this car-lite vision will lead developers to adjust their apartment types and target buyer profiles in private residential developments, if indeed there is a cap on the number of parking lots allowed.

ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak foresees that home buyers with young children and elderly family members may not be too receptive to the idea of not having a parking lot, as car ownership is deemed a convenience, if not a necessity for them.

"In addition, the new car-lite property developments in the three precincts would face competition from existing and future private housing supply in other precincts which are able to provide more parking space in both the public and private housing properties ... This could adversely affect the demand for new projects in these three precincts."

Christine Li, head of research at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore, added that developers may reduce the number of bigger-sized, family-friendly units and perhaps build more one- and two-bedders targeted at young couples, singles and expatriates.

But she added that this parking-lot limitation is not a big determinant of buyer demand, as there have been condominiums which do not offer one parking lot for every unit, yet have still sold well.

Of the three districts, Bayshore is the largest at 60 hectares. Located next to East Coast Park, it has the potential to yield 12,500 new homes, with a mix of public and private housing.

Kampong Bugis, a precinct of around 17 hectares located around Kallang Road, is planned for private residential use and can yield around 4,000 new homes.

Holland Plain, a private residential precinct along Old Holland Road just behind the current Methodist Girls' School, is a 34-hectare site which can yield up to 2,500 new homes.

Mr Wong also spoke about integrating residential spaces with greenery and nature. In Bayshore, URA's proposals include building a new linear park along the old coastline which was present before reclamation took place in the 1960s. That coastline lies beside the existing row of low-rise residential developments along Upper East Coast Road.

URA also suggests transforming the existing Kallang Riverside Park south of the Kampong Bugis precinct into a waterfront park.

It is further considering building community green and wetland parks in Holland Plain; the area currently has a natural sloping terrain and is close to the Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal.

URA is also looking at installing well-designed public spaces and facilities that will nurture a stronger sense of community, such as courtyard spaces in residential blocks in Bayshore which can offer social amenities including childcare and eldercare facilities.

As for the timing, the Kampong Bugis site will be launched over the next one to two years. A master developer will be appointed via a concept-price tender, and will have some flexibility to optimise the design of the entire precinct.

This will be followed by Holland Plain around 2021 and Bayshore after 2024.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (17 Oct 2017)

Nim Gardens, Ridgewood owners form collective sales committees - SRX

THE en bloc fever is stoking more property owners into action, spurring another batch of sites to hop on the bandwagon of collective sales attempts over the weekend.

To kick-start the process, collective sales committees (CSC) were formed for Nim Gardens in Seletar Hills and Ridgewood Condominium at Mount Sinai in prime District 10.

Owners of Dover Parkview condominium in Dover Crescent are also planning to form their CSC soon, though the 99-year leasehold development is just 24 years old, relatively young for a collective sale.

Over at Kovan, owners of freehold Fortune Park condominium last Tuesday appointed Huttons Asia as the marketing agent and will convene its next extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Oct 28 to approve the apportionment of sale proceeds and the collective sale agreement.

Terence Lian, Huttons Asia head of investment sales, told BT that there are also a flurry of ad-hoc meetings among property owners to discuss whether to call for a formal EGM to form the CSC.

"It now seems like every site is forming a sales committee to ride the wave but owners have to be pragmatic in the pricing," he added. "If they form a sales committee but the price is not right, I don't think developers will bite."

It was not a smooth start at freehold Nim Gardens, where owners could not agree on the terms of reference for the CSC on concerns of ceding too much decision-making power to it, a resident told BT. They will have to call another EGM to agree on terms of reference before the CSC can appoint lawyers and consultant.

This collective sales attempt for Nim Gardens could also face a potential bugbear, another resident said.

The area around Nim Gardens was part of an area designated for landed housing in 1994. The 23,197 sq m site was approved as a condominium development in 1982, with one four-storey block and three 10-storey blocks. The new planning provision means any new development cannot exceed the present height or gross floor area.

Nim Gardens currently houses 124 units - including 106 apartments of 1,850 sq ft and 18 maisonettes of 2,100-2,400 sq ft. For a developer to offer a price that is attractive to owners, it will have to build smaller units to the present height, but the plot ratio does not allow for it. Of the five property consultancies approached by owners, only one was willing to explore taking on the job, the resident told BT.

As for the 464-unit Ridgewood Condominium, it is a sprawling 999-year site spanning 672,148 sq ft with a plot ratio of 2.1. Two previous collective sales attempts , in 2007 and 2013, did not get enough approval for the plan to pass.

It is near former HUDC estate Pine Grove, where owners are asking for a reserve price of S$1.65 billion for the over-893,000 sq ft site.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (16 Oct 2017)