NEWS

29-May-2009
Developers readying for launches as activity rises. More developers are preparing to launch new properties in response to a marked improvement in sentiment in Singapore's property market, experts say. Activity has picked up in the past two to four weeks, they observe. Some developers are now rushing to prepare projects for launch, but they face some inevitable delays. They may lack promotional materials, for instance. Starting today, Frasers Centrepoint Homes will be releasing more units at its 302-unit freehold Martin Place Residences in the River Valley area. It recently sold more than 100 units of the project after it cut prices. The units were released at $1,260 per sq ft (psf) to $1,700 psf, compared with $1,700 psf to $2,000 psf last year. Chief operating officer Cheang Kok Kheong said prices ranged from $1.5 million for a two-bedder to about $2 million for a three-bedder. He said Frasers was aiming to sell the remaining units at $1,350 psf to $1,700 psf. Other weekend launches include Balcon East in Upper East Coast Road. Tong Eng Group started sales at its 37-unit development on Thursday last week and managed to sell 28 units. Prices ranged from just below $500,000 to $1.39 million, with the one- to two-bedders costing about $850 psf, and three-bedders at $780 psf.
29-May-2009
Consider top up rule when selling below valuation Sale rule. Sliding flat prices may force some to refund with cash. Owners of Housing Board flats, already hit by a softening market, may now have to stump up cash if they are selling their properties below valuation. This is the result of a longstanding rule by the Central Provident Fund Board which property agents say was enforced loosely until recently. Under this rule, a property owner who had used his CPF funds to pay for his property is required to refund the principal withdrawn and interest accrued into his CPF account after settling any outstanding debt. If there is a shortfall, he needs to make good on that amount if he is 'unable to provide good reasons for selling his flat at a price below the fair market value'. This clause was not an issue when the market was booming as recently as a year ago, but could hurt transactions now that property prices are sliding and more flats are being sold below valuation.
26-May-2009
Analysts upgrade property stock calls. Private residential prices now expected to rise next year. Property analysts now expect private home prices to climb again next year - a turnaround from previous forecasts that they would continue to slide into 2010 - as there is now a sense that the residential market has hit bottom. And amid this new- found optimism, analysts' recommendations on several property stocks have been upgraded. The residential price index chalked up its worst-ever quarterly decline of 14.1 per cent in Q1 2009, according to official figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. 'A bottom has been established for the housing market, as price cuts have catalysed latent demand and accelerated inventory clearance, in our view,' said Deutsche Bank analysts Gregory Lui and Elaine Khoo in a note yesterday.