Mass-market sales may ease, focus is on high-end homes

Markets are stabilising and developers here are ready to roll out pricey homes. Industry watchers are keeping their fingers tightly crossed for the high-end residential sector, which could see more launches next year if economies sail smoothly towards recovery.

According to Colliers International estimates, 10,671 private homes are set for launch next year. And 46 per cent or 4,958 units will be in the core central region (CCR).

Prime projects that could hit the market include the former Farrer Court site, which CapitaLand and partners bought en bloc in 2007, and Wheelock Properties’s Ardmore 3.

Another 33 per cent or 3,498 units will originate from the rest of central region (RCR). The outside central region (OCR) will account for the remaining 21 per cent or 2,215 launch-ready units.

The distribution of homes already launched this year is almost exactly the reverse, with the bulk of units coming from the booming mass-market sector. Colliers estimates that by end-December, 13,542 homes will have been released, of which 43 per cent or 5,822 units will be from OCR.

About 33 per cent or 4,429 units will be from RCR, while 24 per cent or 3,291 units would be from CCR.

‘Developers are likely to be encouraged to release more mid-tier or high-end units in 2010,’ says Colliers research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying. She cites several reasons – signs of investors and foreign buyers returning, improved economic prospects and the opening of the integrated resorts.

The strong take-up rate at Marina Bay Suites’ recent preview has raised hopes. Of the 90 units released, 87 were sold and the average price ranged from $2,200-$2,500 psf.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) head of South-east Asia research Chua Yang Liang adds: ‘Positive sentiment from high net worth individuals and wealthy foreign buyers could return by H1 2010 and support transactional activity.’

Backing this view, a recent study by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that wealthy individuals here plan to allocate a larger share of their investment portfolios to property in the next two years.

The big question is how much developers can sell fancy homes for, as doubts linger over the sustainability of economic recovery. DTZ Southeast Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon is one of several observers who expect ‘more upside potential’ for high-end property prices in the coming year.

According to Urban Redevelopment Authority indices, prices of non-landed CCR properties are still some way below the 2008 peak – 16.8 per cent down at Q3. In comparison, non-landed OCR property prices shot up this year and were just 2.5 per cent short of the peak.

Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a report on Monday that high-end prices could rise 5-10 per cent in the coming year.

But even as optimism grows, some players are quick to highlight uncertainties. JLL’s Dr Chua stresses that new demand for property has to be backed by global or regional economic growth.

Several economists have flagged the risk of bubbles forming in Asian property markets. The Singapore government introduced cooling measures in September.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore also said more action may be needed if recent measures to dampen speculation prove insufficient.

City Developments executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng told BT last month the private home market here ‘will slow down’, following the MAS warning and the return of the confirmed list.

By EMILYN YAP
Business Times Dec 2009

One of his two adjoining plots was resold at same price, other up for grabs

A FOREIGN investor who bought two adjoining bungalow plots on Sentosa Cove in 2008 did not complete the transactions, it has emerged.

Sentosa Cove has since re-sold one of the plots to a local buyer at the same price that the foreign investor had offered for it – $1,688 per square foot (psf) of land. But the other land parcel is still up for sale.

The plot that was re-sold has a land area of about 9,700 sq ft, which means that the total amount paid for the site is about $16.4 million.

The land parcel was first put on the market in March 2008, and sold at the end of that year through a private treaty. But after the foreign investor, who is understood to be a Chinese national, did not make payment according to schedule, the plot was put on the market again. It was sold to the local buyer about two months ago.

Sentosa Cove’s general manager Jason Yeo said that the fact that the plot was re-sold for the same price as in 2008 shows that the fundamentals of the residential enclave on Sentosa island are intact.

His firm, which handles State land sales at Sentosa Cove, received offers to buy the property at lower prices. But he held on to it until someone offered the right price.

However, the second plot, which is slightly bigger, has not yet received an offer deemed to be acceptable. The parcel, which is around 12,000 sq ft, was sold for about $1,650 psf to the foreign investor. The total quantum works out to around $19.8 million.

‘There has been interest from the market for the site, but they are not able to meet our reserve price,’ said Mr Yeo. Sentosa Cove is not aggressively marketing the site, he said.

The land parcel is the only one to remain unsold in the entire Sentosa Cove residential precinct, which will have 8,000 residents by the time all homes there are completed by 2014.

Mr Yeo said that all earlier land transactions – including condominium sites sold to developers as well as landed plots sold to individuals and investors – have been completed. Work on the island is progressing well and some 3,000 residents will be living on the island by the end of this year, he added.

Sentosa Cove has also found takers for some of the commercial space on the island. Two tenants – 7-Eleven, which will open a convenience store with a new-to-Singapore concept, and a launderette – have taken up about 30 per cent of the commercial space available at the arrival area of the Sentosa Cove residential enclave. The arrival plaza has a total lettable area of about 10,000 sq ft.

Source : Business Times – 16 Nov 2009

Note: Please contact Teak Hwa at 65 9858 0900 if you are keen on the remaining plot. This is the last sea view fronting plot now available in South Cove, Sentosa.

The property market yesterday toasted the sale of a record 5,719 private homes in the third quarter, even though the industry posted a second consecutive month-on-month drop in sales to 1,143 units in September. Despite the high point, the discussion in property circles was marked by circumspection.

The number of homes that developers manage to sell in the fourth quarter as well as next year will be limited by the shrinking stock of launch-ready homes and developers’ fast-depleting landbanks.

While the economic outlook is improving, the accompanying scenario of rising interest rates may cause some to re-evaluate their property investment decisions as mortgage rates rise. If savings rates on bank deposits also increase, this will take some shine off parking money in property, which is what many investors have been doing this year, says DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah.

Urban Redevelopment Authority figures released yesterday showed that developers sold 1,143 private homes (excluding executive condos) in September, down 36.6 per cent from the 1,804 units they sold in August, which in turn was about 35 per cent below the July high of 2,772 units.

The 5,719 units developers sold in Q3 busted the previous record of 5,129 units in Q2 2007. With 12,969 private homes sold in the first nine months of this year, developers will have to sell an average of just 614 units a month from October to December this year to match the full-year record of 14,811 units set in 2007.

The drop in September sales, which was the second consecutive month-on-month decrease, is seen by some property consultants as evidence of price resistance setting in after rapid price hikes in recent months.

Colliers International’s director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying highlighted an increase in the proportion of transactions at or below $1,000 psf to 54 per cent in September from a 49 per cent share in August. ‘This is a reversal of the downward trend since April 2009,’ she added.

Yet another sign of price-resistance setting in could be the pretty mixed bag of results obtained by analysts who studied URA’s data and compared prices achieved by developers between August and September.

Market watchers say another factor for slower sales last month could be the government’s move on Sept 14 to scrap the interest absorption scheme (IAS), which some blamed for oiling the wheels of property speculation.

Last month’s drop in private housing sales was also supply-led, said Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore CEO Steven Choo. The number of units launched by developers slipped 12.4 per cent from 1,613 units in August to 1,413 units in September.

This drop, however, was much less than the nearly 37 per cent decline in units sold. And that meant the ratio of units sold to units launched fell from 111.8 per cent in August to 80.9 per cent last month – the lowest since February this year – as buyers became more selective, observed DTZ’s South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.

‘Suburban projects and developments with small units continued to be favoured,’ she added. The Outside Central Region was the only segment which posted an increase in units sold, from 531 in August to 560 in September – against month-on-month decreases of 72 per cent and 40 per cent respectively for the Core Central Region and Rest of Central Region.

September’s top selling projects were Hundred Trees (327 units sold at a median price of $941 psf), followed by The Interlace (243 units transacted at $1,047 psf median price), and Elliot at the East Coast (65 units; $947 psf), CB Richard Ellis noted. Hundred Trees and Interlace made up about half of September’s sales.

Colliers’ analysis showed that whereas the highest price achieved in August was the ‘above $4,000 to $4,500 psf range’ with two transactions, the highest price band in September was the ‘above $3,000 to $3,500 psf range’ with seven units sold.

These comprise six units sold at Seven Palms Sentosa Cove at between $3,091 psf and $3,353 psf and an apartment at Nassim Park Residences that fetched $3,268 psf.

Source : Business Times – 16 Oct 2009

‘Natural demand’ may be higher as immigrants step in; supply not a nagging issue

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Even as Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday launched the tender for a plum 99-year leasehold site for condo development at Dakota Crescent, expectations are running high that developers will trigger the launch of more housing sites from the government’s reserve list in the coming months.

This is against a backdrop of strong sales for mass-market projects, the latest being the Optima condo next to Tanah Merah MRT Station.

Mass-market home prices have risen about 10 to 20 per cent from the recent low in Q1, according to property consultants.

One concern is whether the market is running out of supply of mass-market condos and whether this will set the base for further price hikes.

The current pipeline has about 7,500 mass market homes yet to be launched on sites sold in the past, according to CB Richard Ellis data. These include three 99-year leasehold condo projects in Toa Payoh, Yishun and West Coast Crescent on earlier sites sold by the government.

The rest include 99-year projects by Hong Leong Group on a large historic landbank in Pasir Ris, projects by Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint on remaining land on the former Waterfront site along Bedok Reservoir, and a host of freehold projects by various developers in places like West Coast Road, Tampines Road, Yio Chu Kang Road, Toh Tuck Drive and Hillview Avenue.

After the recent launch of two housing sites (at Dakota Crescent and Chestnut Avenue) from the government reserve list following successful applications by developers, this list still has sites that can potentially generate a total of about 5,800 private homes. Some are attractively located near MRT stations in places like Bishan, Serangoon Ave 3, Bartley Road and Bedok. The last two sites will be ready for application by developers in November and December respectively.

The government could add more sites to its reserve list for first-half 2010, or even reintroduce the confirmed list, where sites are launched according to a prestated schedule, unlike reserve list sites, which are launched for tender only upon successful application by developers undertaking to offer minimum bids acceptable to the state.

It will take some time for site launches to translate to new condo launches. However, ensuring there’s enough supply should not be a nagging issue.

But beyond looking at supply, one needs to also understand why demand has spiked since February. Developers have sold a total of 7,250 private homes in the first six months of 2009 – exceeding the 4,264 units sold in the whole of last year. Some consultants are predicting the number for the whole of this year may reach the record of 14,811 units set in 2007.

The current home buying wave began in the mass-market segment, then permeated upwards. Some of the buying represents pent-up demand. People are also taking the opportunity to pick up their dream home at current prices – which despite recent price hikes are still below peak-2007 levels – for fear of missing the boat as they did during the property run-up in 2006 and 2007.

Property speculators are also busying themselves.

But other factors are also at play that are creating a paradigm shift which could suggest that ‘natural demand’ henceforth may be higher than the average 8,000 private homes developers sold annually over the past 10 years (between 1999 and 2008).

These include an increase in immigration into Singapore over the past few years as it embraces foreign talent and wealth and a gradual ‘internationalisation’ of the Singapore property market as foreigners are drawn by Singapore’s emergence as a global city.

Another point to consider when understanding why there could be higher natural demand for private homes is to look at the public housing segment.

The Housing & Development Board’s construction of new flats has slowed down over the years. During 1981-85, an average of about 37,000-plus flats were built by HDB per year. In 1998 too, some 36,600 new flats were built. Later in the face of a supply glut, HDB scaled back building new flats; the figure eased to about 10,000 units a year completed in 2002 and 2003, and fell further to about 5,000 units completed in 2007.

A smaller supply of new HDB homes has made it easier for HDB residents to sell their flats in the resale market and upgrade to entry-level private homes in the suburbs.

Incomes of Singaporeans have grown over the decade, making more aspire to own a private home.

The low-interest rate policies adopted by governments around the world to cope with the global financial meltdown have translated to near-zero returns on fixed deposits and low mortgage rates – making property an attractive investment option. The strong distaste for structured financial products post-Lehman has made property more sought-after.

The home-buying frenzy of late has also come about due to a confluence of two important factors – a recognition of value by buyers (following price chops by developers in Q1) and an improvement in sentiment.

More value-recognition will emerge for real estate as Singapore’s railway network is doubled to 278 km by 2020, boosting connectivity and cutting travel time from homes in locations once called suburbs to the city.

Perhaps we should not be too surprised if strong demand for private residential properties persists. Of course, if another international disaster takes place and foreign property investors again exit, demand could dive, like it did last year during the global financial crisis.

Spikes and dips in home buying and property prices could become more pronounced by virtue of Singapore’s real estate market becoming more international.

Source: The Business Times 7Aug09

<– Back

Speculators a minority as they shoot for small flipping gains

By EMILYN YAP

(SINGAPORE) Some buyers who managed to lay their hands on units at projects sold out recently are trying to get lucky for the second time – by selling what they snapped up, for a profit.

This brings to mind the government’s warning last week – that some element of speculation is back in the property market. Industry watchers say, however, that subsales are common for fully sold projects and speculation still remains mild.

Advertisements for subsales at Optima @ Tanah Merah have surfaced in the last few days – with owners seeking prices which are at least 5 per cent more than what they paid.

This comes less than a week after all 297 units at the 99-year-leasehold project were taken up in just three days.

Developer TID sold the units at an average price of about $810 per square foot (psf). It had to conduct two rounds of balloting as home seekers descended upon the showflat in droves.

There are also offers for subsales at 8 @ Woodleigh. Frasers Centrepoint sold all 330 units at the 99-year-leasehold project over a few weeks in June.

According to industry watchers, sellers in the subsale market need to charge a premium of at least 5 per cent to break even. This would cover stamp duty, legal fees and any agent’s commission. To earn more, some may set prices which are up to 10 per cent more than what they paid.

But given the market today, those flipping properties would be glad to come out of the deal with $50,000 to $80,000, said ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim.

He pointed out, though, that speculation today is ‘not excessive’. Every new project will attract a small number of speculators but most buyers today are ready to keep and lease out the property, he explained.

It is when the project is sold out that these buyers may change their minds, he added. ‘While some people buy with a medium-term view, because the project is sold out, it presents an opportunity for them to make a quick gain.’

Savills Residential director Phylicia Ang also believes that most buyers do not plan to ‘flip’ their properties initially. But she noted that if there is profit to be made, some are willing to hear out the offer and may sell later.

She also suggested that not all advertisements may be placed by owners – some property agents may take the initiative to promote units, test market interest and ‘gather more leads’.

Both Mr Lim and Ms Ang highlighted that speculation is nowhere as feverish as it was some two years ago. According to Mr Lim, buyers in the subsale market today are more particular – probably looking out for specific units they could not get during the launch.

Rising optimism in the property market seems to be benefiting older projects as well. Casa Merah - which is near Optima and will receive Temporary Occupation Permit soon – has seen prices at its units rise in the last few months. While caveats lodged for units there in February reflected prices of $631-$665 psf, those in July showed prices of $699-$751 psf.

Meanwhile, new launches continue to do well. The 70-unit Airstream at St Michael’s Road, for instance, was fully sold through balloting on Wednesday. Previews for Keppel Land’s 56-unit Madison Residences have begun, while previews for Allgreen’s Viva in Novena will start this weekend.

Source: The Business Times 7Aug09

<– Back

Sold out in 3 days

297-unit Optima homes sold for around $810 psf; other launches also see strong demand

SINGAPORE may still be mired in recession, but tell that to the home hunters who are flocking to the latest launches.

In the east, a new 297-unit condominium development on the doorstep of Tanah Merah MRT station completely sold out in the three days that followed its preview last Thursday.

Units at Optima went for an average price of around $810 per sq ft, or from $470,000 to $2.06million per unit.

Demand remained strong even after developer TID – a joint venture between Hong Leong Group and Mitsui Fudosan – raised prices by 5per cent, from $790 psf on Thursday to $830 psf by Friday.

Keen buyers were already seen queueing days before the launch of the 99-year leasehold condominium.

And TID had to conduct a ballot of 120 units for 300 buyers just before midnight on Thursday to prevent them having to camp out overnight for the public launch the next day.

Buyers were a good mix of HDB upgraders and investors, said the Hong Leong Group spokesman.

City Developments has now put on fast track the launch of its 396-unit project at the former Hong Leong Garden condominium site.

Over in Ang Mo Kio, another new suburban launch has attracted relatively strong demand, though some price resistance may have settled in over the weekend.

The 329-unit Centro Residences has sold 93 out of the 144 units that were released for sale last week.

Most of the units sold were two- to three-bedders. The smallest two-bedders have been sold, leaving those from 872sqft and above, and priced from $1million.

Far East Organization said yesterday that 50per cent of the buyers are HDB upgraders from nearby towns, while the rest are residents from private estates.

Prices at the 99-year leasehold condominium started from $1,100 psf – a price level more typical of city-fringe or prime projects, property watchers observed.

‘Such prices can get you a freehold condo in Upper Bukit Timah,’ said Mr Nicholas Mak, a former property consultant. ‘Buyers should be a bit more rational. Demand at such price levels shows that some buyers may be getting carried away by the current euphoria.

‘If they are hoping for capital appreciation, they must ask themselves who is going to buy from them at an even higher price when a three-bedroom unit in a suburban project is usually priced less than $1,000 psf,’ he added.

Elsewhere, some other fairly new launches continued to attract buyers, but at a much slower pace.

Waterfront Key in Bedok Reservoir sold another eight units at an average price of $735 psf, bringing total sales to 193 out of 278 released units.

At the 329-unit The Gale in Flora Road, sales remained around the 90per cent level cited late last week.

Source: The Straits Times 4Aug09

<– go back

AIRSTREAM @ St. Micheal’s Rd

Click here to download E-brochure.

One Block, 11 storey and total 70 exclusive residential units.
Developer : Millennium Homes Pte Ltd
Address    : 26-26E St. Micheal’s Road
Tenure       : Freehold
TOP           : 31st Dec 2014

Units Type:
Studio               31sqm
1BR                  38sqm
1BR+Study      45/47sqm
2BR                  58sqm
1/ 1+1/ 2+1 Penthouse

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Developer: TID Pte Ltd (joint venture between Mitsui Fudosan & Hong Leong Group)

Land Size: est 106,299sqft / 5 Blocks of 14 Storey / 297 units

Estimated TOP in 2013

Tentative VVIP Preview on 31st July 2009

Typical Unit Types:
1 Bedroom 478sqft to 799sqft (32 units)
2 Bedroom 690sqft to 1156sqft (78 units)
2+Study 910sqft to 1624sqft (67 units)
3 Bedroom 1239sqft to 1941sqft (65 units)
3+Study 1259sqft to 1951sqft (13 units)
4 Bedroom 1523sqft to 1543sqft (24 units)
Penthouses Type

2 br PH 1354sqft (1 unit)

2+study PH 1552sqft to 1652sqft (3 units)

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Posted by citilinkproperty

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Posted by citilinkproperty

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Is the interest absorption scheme (IAS) helping to grease home sales?

The answer seems to be yes, if there is no price premium charged by developers for the IAS. However, if developers charge more in exchange for interest absorption, then the buyers’ profile may decide whether they opt for IAS, industry players say.

Generally, buyers in projects targeted primarily at owner occupiers, such as suburban, mass-market condos prefer to buy on normal progress payment scheme (NPS) rather than IAS, under which they may pay only the initial 20 per cent with no further payments until the project is completed.

For example, slightly over a quarter of those who bought 626 units at Caspian near Jurong Lake since its release in February and 100 units at Waterfront Waves in the Bedok Reservoir area relaunched at lower prices since March have opted for IAS.

At Double Bay Residences in Simei, the proportion of IAS buyers is said to be higher, at 40-50 per cent. At Mi Casa in Choa Chu Kang, no buyer has opted for IAS. Those who bought on IAS in these projects paid 2 or 3 per cent more for their units. The thinking is that mass-market home buyers are usually more price sensitive and prefer NPS if it costs them less, say property pundits.

Projects that have drawn investors may see more buyers inclined to opt for IAS even though there is a price premium. Here, again, the quantum of premium may matter.

For instance, Frasers Centrepoint, which is charging 2 per cent more under IAS for Martin Place Residences, has found that 75 per cent of those who picked up the 80 units in the condo over the weekend opted for IAS. On the other hand, only 5 per cent of buyers of the 109 units that CapitaLand sold since last Friday at The Wharf Residence (nearby) chose IAS. This could be due to the heftier premium of 5 per cent for IAS.

However, some observers suggest another reason: Wharf Residence could have drawn a fair number of short-term investors.

With IAS, buyers have to immediately sign up for a housing loan (even if they don’t need to make a drawdown until much later). And they will have to pay a penalty if they redeem their loan early.

‘So short-term buyers in an investment grade project may prefer to opt for NPS to avoid being tied down to a loan and having to pay a penalty to the bank for early loan repayment,’ explains Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow.

Agreeing, EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon told BT that feedback from some buyers who chose NPS for its Illuminaire On Devonshire project (despite the group not charging any price premium for IAS) indicates that they did not intend to hold their units till the project was completed.

The penalty for early loan redemption is typically said to about 1.5 per cent of the loan quantum. ‘So it may be a deterrent for smaller speculators,’ as Mr Lim suggests. However, this may not be a serious issue for deep-pocketed investors eyeing bigger gains.

‘Investors are taking advantage of IAS, which is the old DPS (deferred payment scheme) all over again, except that you have to talk to the banks earlier. Essentially IAS, like DPS, provides a financial option on the real estate market. By paying just 20 per cent of the value of the property, you can take a (bet) that property prices will appreciate by when it’s time to pay up,’ said a property analyst.

Under IAS, buyers have to sign up at once for a home loan. This is unlike DPS, where they could wait much later, closer to the project receiving Temporary Occupation Permit, when they have to pay the bulk of the purchase price to the developer.

Still, some like Mr Ow argue that IAS does not encourage speculation. ‘Whether speculation kicks in depends on the stage of the market. In today’s condition, only the very brave will come in to speculate.

‘IAS involves obtaining a bank loan approval upfront and banks are cautious about granting loans to property investors. It is quite unlikely banks will approve mortgages for those buying multiple units in a project.’

Others point out the current buying flurry does not stem from IAS. ‘The buying interest seems spurred by positive sentiments about the market as people are drawn to buy/upgrade due to reasonable prices,’ a spokesman for Far East Organization said.

Source : Business Times – May 2009

SALES of new private homes continued to boom in April, almost matching the frenetic pace of activity set in both February and March this year.

Some 1,207 units were sold during the month as more were launched by developers keen to take advantage of increased buying momentum, partly fuelled by stock market rises. This compares with sales of 1,220 units in March and 1,332 in February.

Last month, developers launched 1,083 new homes, up from 832 in March, according to data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

The latest figures mean that developer sales for the first four months of the year equate to around 88 per cent of all such sales last year. The two best-selling projects in April were Mi Casa in Choa Chu Kang and The Arte in Jalan Datoh. Buyers picked up 115 units of Mi Casa at a median price of $639 per sq ft (psf), while 110 units of The Arte were sold at a median price of $903 psf.

Suburban projects remained the most popular. Some 523 suburban units were sold during the month, down from 559 units in March and 840 in February.

In April, the lowest-priced non-landed deal was in Bayou Residence, where a unit with a rooftop garden was transacted at just $300 psf.

The month saw increased launches and sales activity in the core central region. Some 339 homes were launched there – five times the 70 units in March and the most since September 2007.

Certain prime projects with median prices from $1,156 psf to $1,703 psf were popular with buyers, said CBRE Research. It pointed out that projects such as the sold-out 72-unit Illuminaire On Devonshire, RV Suites and Attitude At Kim Yam were successful because of the low absolute quantum price per unit – they comprised mostly small-format units of 330 sq ft to 720 sq ft.

Ms Jacqueline Wong, head of residential at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: ‘Buying appetite is returning for new developments that are reasonably priced. For example, Verdure by Bukit Sembawang on Holland Road, with a median price of $1,416 psf, roughly translates to below $2 million for a home in Holland Road.’

Said Mr David Neubronner, executive director, residential at Credo Real Estate: ‘The perception of the market is changing. Certain quarters feel that prices may not go down very much from current levels. Some new launches this year started selling at slightly lower prices to soak in demand, but they are now raising their prices by a little.’

Still, some of those who launched earlier at higher prices continue to cut.

Yesterday, CapitaLand released 100 units at the 999-year leasehold The Wharf Residence off Mohamed Sultan Road at $1,300 psf to $1,600 psf. To entice buyers, it is waiving stamp duty and offering interest absorption. Prices are down from a range of $1,429 to $1,708 psf in the third quarter of last year.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said: ‘Based on the price range of the units sold in April and May, we are seeing a stabilisation of prices in contrast with the 14.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter record decline in the first quarter.’

However, while the mass and mid-markets have found their equilibrium, high-end developers may still have to lower prices if they want to sell now, said Mr Neubronner.

Property experts warned that April’s pace is unlikely to be sustained, given that Singapore remains in a recession.

‘Many homebuyers are purchasing new homes in the hope that the property market would recover shortly,’ said Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.

Mr Neubronner added that prices could possibly hover around current levels for the next 12 months.

Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research, South-east Asia, at Jones Lang LaSalle, added: ‘Until there are clear signals of a stabilisation and underlying positive growth in the real economy, the residual pent-up demand alone cannot be expected to lift the residential market in the long term.’

Source : Straits Times – May 2009