singapore property weekly issue 200

8/9/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 200

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Issue 200Copyright © 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

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CONTENTS

p2 Buying Overseas Properties aka Why

Long-Distance Relationships Fail

p6 Singapore Property News This Week

p10 Resale Property Transactions

(March 4 – March 10 )

Welcome to the 200th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly .

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 200

Page | 2Back to Contents

By Property Soul (Guest Contributor)

Tonight inside this dimly lit bar with deafening

music, you emptied a bottle of liquor without

uttering a single word. Guys drink when they

stress over money and relationships.

Obviously, you have no luck in both now.

From day one when you told me that you fell

for this high maintenance girl from a foreign

country, I knew you were going to have an

exciting but challenging relationship.

You should have looked beyond the surface.

First impressions could be deceiving. You

know how everyone dressed up to look their

best on those occasions.

Buying Overseas Properties aka Why Long-DistanceRelationships Fail


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And you only got to see her good side for a

few days before you flew back.

First impressions are deceiving

This situation is similar to buying an overseasproperty in another country. The sellers will

always give you a perfect impression of a

“worldclass” property development. They

show you how promising the project is,

feature it in a professionally-filmed video

followed by a convincing speech, and all inthe cozy environment of a five-star hotel.

Over one weekend at the show, they try every

effort to arouse your interest and collect sales

leads from potential buyers like you. But the

reality is: Compared with the locals, you know

nothing much about the country, the location,

the developer and the project.

Costs less does not equal will work

You said a long-distance relationship suits

you better because of your busy work

schedule. It requires less of your time

compared with having to go out often with a

local girl.

What make you think that a relationship will

work just because it takes up less of your

time? Are you looking for a better solution or

is it just an excuse?

It is just like buying a private property. If you

can‟t afford it, you can‟t afford it. You don‟t gofor an alternative simply because it looks

affordable. Foreign properties may cost less

but they can be cheap for a reason. Whether

it can generate a good return should be your

number one consideration. After all, you are

investing your hard-earned money.

After buying an overseas property, you still

have to pay the housing mortgage, stamp

duty, management fee and property taxes in

the foreign currency.


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And managing the property, agent and tenant

in another country by long-distance can take

up more of your money, time and effort.

Making that foreign relationship workI‟ve been there myself. I understand exactly

how it's like to settle down with someone from

another country with a different cultural

background.

At first everything is exotic and interesting.

Then you enter the stage of constant fact-

finding. After the intermittent cultural shock,

you soon grow tired of accommodating all the

differences. You either give up or continue to

compromise and self-adjust until it works.

But there are already enough challenges inlife. Why take the hard way? If that country

has a special place in your heart, just travel

there regularly for vacation. Just because you

like something doesn‟t mean that you have to

own it.

Is it worth the price?

You are now at the critical stage of building up

your career. You really can‟t afford to spendso much time and money to travel in between

two cities.

I know many guys dream to have a model

girlfriend or a trophy wife. It is the packaging,

positioning and perceived image that make

them look irresistible. But the truth is: your

dream girl is like the showcase of a priceless

masterpiece in a museum. Admiring it on

display and trying to fit it in your home are

completely two different things.

It is funny that whenever they make it difficultto own something, people will queue up for it

regardless of its real value. Remember that

latest cellphone marketed with much hype?

Are those latest functions really worth the


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price? What is that model to you a few years

or even months down the road?

Sorry to say but your relationship with that girl

is no different from buying those mass market

private property projects launched these few

years. You are asked to pay a premium price,

give a high deposit and commit to a big

mortgage for many years. But you only

realize after you collect the keys to the unit

that your flat‟s usable area in square feet issimply miserable.

Go for the available and affordable option

And what‟s wrong with the no-frills local girls?

Aren‟t they not equally good if not better as

girlfriends, wives and mothers? They are in

good supply and are readily available here.

Frankly, whether you marry a local or foreign

girl, don‟t they serve the same purpose and

function?

Can you imagine a young couple who just

started working but insist on buying an

unattainably-priced EC or condo as their first

home? What‟s wrong with applying for an

HDB flat? Why give up your „citizenship

entitlement‟ to pay for an overpriced private

flat?

If you find that this long distance relationship

isn‟t worth your effort, please move on. Don‟t

wait till it‟s too late to cut loss. When you arefinally forced to let go one day, your

investment in the whole venture can turn out

to be very expensive for you.

It's time to go home. Shall we?

By guest contributor Property Soul, a

successful property investor, blogger , and

author of the No B.S. Guide to Property

Investment.

http://propertysoul.com/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://aktive.com.sg/store/no-b-s-guide-to-property-investment/http://propertysoul.com/


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Singapore Property This Week


Residential

C ondo at Bart ley w i l l sel l f or $1, 300 psf

A private residential project at Bartley is on

salefor about $1,300 psf. The 797-unit project

will consist of 200n one-bedroom units, 382

two-bedroom units and 215 three-bedroom

units. Some of the two-bedroom units and

three-bedroom units can be converted to

dual-key units to cater to multi-generational

families. The one-bedroom units are about

495 sq ft to 689 sq ft large; two-bedders are

about 657 sq ft to 958 sq ft large while the

three bedders are between 926 sq ft and

1,356 sq ft large. The project will be

completed in 2019 and will be launched for

sale starting April.

(Source: Business Times)

F e b p r i v a t e h o m e s a l e s t h e l o w e s t s i n c e

2008

In February this year, 382 private homes were

sold. This is the lowest since February 2008,

where 174 units were transacted.

Nonetheless, the sale of private homes in

February is 2.1 percent higher than in

January this year. Market experts believe thatsales will pick up soon as several new

launches are expected to hit the market

starting this month.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 200


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According to Eugene Lim from ERA Realty,

70 percent of the transactions made in 2014

have been below $1.5 million. This is because

of loan restrictions and the additional buyer‟s

stamp duty. Mohamed Ismail from PropNexsaid that a weak leasing market coupled with

an increase in home supply have kept

demand for residential property low.

According to JLL, developers‟ full-year private

home sales will be about 4,800 to 5,800 units.

On the other hand, CBRE predicts that about

6,000 to 7,000 will be sold, while ERA Realty

believes that 7,500 to 8,500 units will be

transacted by the end of the year.


99-y ear p riv at e r es id en tial s it e at

Tampines t o be launched f or t ender

Locacted at Tampines Avenue 10, a 99-year

private residential site has been launched by

URA. Market experts expect the 168,567 sq ft

site to attract 3 to 7 bids. The top bid is

expected to be between $430 and $520 psf

ppr. The site is expected to yield 490 homes

and is expected to be situated near a bigindustrial estate. Ong Kah Seng from R‟ST

Research believes that the site may not be

attractive to investors as there are many

upcoming condo projects in the vicinity.

Nonetheless, Ong believes that the average

launch price will be around $1,000 psf. While

Nicholas Mak from SLP International predicts

that in order to sell quickly, the project should

not be sold beyond $1,080 psf.


H o m e s t a y L o d g e s o l d f o r $ 12 7m

Homestay Lodge, a 6,000-bed dormitory at

Kaki Bukit has been sold for $127 million.

There are two plots of land being sold.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 200


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The total land area is about 200,000 sq ft and

the sites have about 14 years of lease left.

The dormitory consists of 10 blocks; two of

which have dining and minimart facilities. Due

to high yields, market experts believe thatdormitories are a viable investment even if

they have short lease term left. Not only so,

the unutilised land at Homestay Lodge can be

developed into recreational facilities that can

increase bed rates, said the Business Times.


Commercial

7 i n d u s t r i a l s i t es a t U b i u p f o r s a l e

Seven industrial sites at Ubi industrial cluster

will be sold for $550 psf or $8.7 million. Thesites will be sold through tender. The tender

will close on April 28. The combined strata

area is about 15,726 sq ft. Single and multiple

strata units are available on sale. Their sizes

range from 2,024 sq ft to 2,842 sq ft. The

units are column-free and have a floor-to-

ceiling height of 5.3m. Located near Tai Seng

MRT Station, the sites have been zoned for

Business 1 development. It is also locatednear Paya Lebar commercial hub. According

to DTZ, the prime location of the site will be a

key attraction.


S er v ic ed ap ar t m en t -h o t el n ea r E x po i s

sell ing for $203.4m

A serviced apartment-hotel near Expo MRT

Station is selling for $203.4 million or

$650,000 per room. The development

consists of 313 units and has a balance lease

term of about 54 years. The units range from

32 sq m to 70 sq m. The mixed development

includes One@Changi City. It comprises of

650,000 sq ft of net lettable area.



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Donald Han from Chestertons said that the

prime location and tenure of the site justifies

its asking price.


M e d i a n r e n t f o r s h o p h o u s e s i n c r e a s e d b y

36 %

The median rent for shophouses has

increased by 36 percent from below $4 psf

per month before 2012 to $5.42 psf in Q4 last

year. According to Colliers, the median prices,

in terms of capital values had also increased

by 37 percent year-on-year to $3,772 psf in

Q2 last year. This is because shophouse

owners have been reluctant to sell off their

properties until they are able to meet their

price expectation. The net yield for freehold

shophouses stands at 2.5 percent to 3

percent, while shophouses with leasehold

tenures yield about 3.5 percent on average.

Market experts believe that more commercial

tenants will be attracted to shophouses in the

coming months as office and retail space

rents increases. Nonetheless, Chia Siew

Chuin from Colliers added that alterationrestrictions that arise due to conservation

guidelines may affect investors‟ willingness to

invest in shophouses.



http://www.anthonyrobbinssg.com/propwise


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Mar 4 – Mar 10

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale propertytransactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchasersigns an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

1 MARINA BAY RESIDENCES 1,130 2,600,000 2,300 99

5 VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,302 1,630,000 1,251 99

8 CITYLIGHTS 1,313 1,900,000 1,447 99

9 THE TRILLIUM 1,399 2,700,000 1,930 FH

9 THE WHARF RESIDENCE 1,076 2,031,488 1 ,887 999

9 TIARA 1,507 2,715,000 1,802 FH

10 ARDMORE PARK 2,885 7,500,000 2,600 FH

10 THE MARBELLA 1,475 2,480,000 1,682 FH

12 VETRO 614 770,000 1,255 999

12 D'LOTUS 1,066 1,230,000 1,154 FH

15 ONE FORT 1,130 1,620,000 1,433 FH

15 SANCTUARY GREEN 1,141 1,288,888 1,130 99

15 N.A. 1,184 925,000 781 FH

16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,755 2,520,000 1,436 99

16 BAYSHORE PARK 936 988,000 1,055 99

18 EASTPOINT GREEN 958 800,000 835 99

19 RIO VISTA 2,465 1,900,000 771 99

19 RIVERVALE CREST 1,141 880,000 771 99

19 N.A. 1,690 650,000 385 103

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

21 FLORIDIAN 969 1,620,000 1,672 FH

21 MAPLEWOODS 2,971 3,900,000 1,313 FH

21 GOODLUCK GARDEN 1,711 1,690,000 987 FH

22 PARC VISTA 1,249 1,000,000 801 99

23 HILLINGTON GREEN 1,755 1,738,888 991 999

23 HILLVIEW REGENCY 1,195 990,000 829 99

25 PARC ROSEWOOD 603 700,000 1,161 99

27 YISHUN EMERALD 1,216 880,000 723 99



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