April 19, 2008
REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
Time for real rules?
Shady brokers have given the lucrative property market an image problem, and even agents themselves are calling for tighter regulations
By Tan Hui Yee
'CAN you lend me $30,000?' came the tentative voice in Malay as rookie realtor Sulaiman Ibrahim picked up the phone in February.
The desperate elderly female caller revealed that she had been coaxed by her housing agent to sell her flat. But she found out too late that she could not get a subsidised home loan unless she bought a bigger flat.
Cash-strapped and with a looming deadline for moving out, she started calling randomly realtors like Mr Sulaiman for help.
Recalling the incident, Mr Sulaiman, 36, a former factory manager who joined Roof Real Estate Group this year, says: 'I was shocked. She was asking to borrow money from someone she hadn't met before.'
The brief call gave him a glimpse into the havoc that rogue agents create for clueless home owners.
Going by recent statistics, many such stories abound.
Consumers made 1,113 complaints about the real estate industry last year, a startling jump from 991 in 2006 and 672 the year before. Many said their agents had misled them, misrepresented information and failed to honour promises.
Most complaints involved HDB flat deals, where relatively less-educated buyers and sellers, and more rules to negotiate, mean that many Singaporeans would rather let an agent handle a transaction than do it themselves. More than 90 per cent of the 30,000 resale flats sold each year are handled by agents.
Unfortunately, the estimated 30,000 agents in the market are largely unregulated. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore vets only estate agencies, but not individual agents.
Anyone wanting to broker property need only join one of the roughly 1,700 agencies here. No minimum qualifications are needed.
While the larger and more established agencies like PropNex and HSR property group require new sign-ups to go through a two-month in-house course, some rookies broker their first deal even before they 'graduate'. Smaller set-ups do not even offer such courses.
The returns can be sky-high for an industry so easy to enter. Mr Dennis Wong, 53, a former food and beverage marketing manager who joined the Dennis Wee Group barely two years ago, has already made about $1 million brokering deals in high-end homes.
Mr Wong admits: 'The money is very attractive. The amount you earn can be unlimited if you are disciplined.'
According to the agencies, top producers rake in $500,000 to $1 million annually, while average performers earn about $50,000 to $200,000.
A game of cat and mouse
SUCH big money draws fly-by-night brokers who hope to make a quick buck off ignorant home owners. The industry is a regular among the top 10 sectors that the Consumers Association of Singapore receives most complaints about. It shares this ignominy with the timeshare, beauty and motor trades.
Worse, the rate of resolution of realtor-related complaints is startlingly low. Case directly helped to resolve just 43 out of 1,113 such complaints last year, and 27 of 991 in 2006.
It is not clear how many cases go unresolved, as Case's figures do not capture complaints resolved by consumers themselves and those referred to the Small Claims Tribunal. The Housing Board, meanwhile, is engaged in a protracted cat-and-mouse game with wayward agents who abet flat buyers and sellers in conducting illegal transactions.
The most well known is the 'cashback' practice, where the buyers and sellers - with some help from the agent, lawyer and valuer - collude to inflate the price of a flat so that the buyer can get a bigger home loan than is allowed under the law.
Since home loans are typically repaid through Central Provident Fund savings, the scheme allows a flat buyer to prematurely 'withdraw' money from his retirement savings account before reaching age 55. Agents then take a cut of the 'withdrawn' CPF savings.
In April 2005, the authorities clamped down on the practice, but it has not stopped more enterprising cashback schemes from surfacing. From next month, the HDB will impose a checklist of rules which all agents have to go through with their clients before a sale can be inked. This is sorely needed, going by the lengths some agents go to mask the illegality of such deals.
Property agent Serene Chua, 26, once sat through a meeting with a flat seller who was almost convinced by another agent that the cashback scheme was common and hassle-free. Many buyers and sellers of HDB flats, especially those who are less educated, she says, don't know any better. 'It's really how agents present it.'
Academics and industry veterans acknowledge that it is a tough nut to crack. Because individual agents are not licensed, those sacked for unethical conduct can easily move on to another firm. Property agencies, more concerned about bottom lines, have no qualms taking them in if they continue to drive sales.
The result: a very serious image problem.
Road to respectability
THE head of the National University of Singapore's real estate department, Dr Yu Shi Ming, says: 'Every time people think of real estate agents, they think 'unscrupulous', 'untrained', 'unprofessional' and 'unethical'.'
However, Mr Evan Ethan Lim, 39, a unit head at KF Property Network, feels that all real estate agents should not be tarred with the same brush. Many conduct themselves with great professionalism.
'The reality is that a few bad eggs don't represent the whole market,' he says.
Meanwhile, PropNex's chief executive Mohamed Ismail points out that the number of complaints lodged with Case represented less than 4 per cent of the total number of HDB resale deals last year.
'But even though it's a small percentage, you just need 10 agents to mess up 10 transactions which mess up 10 families and it's a big thing,' he says.
Despite calls for tighter controls for more than four years now, the Government has preferred to let the market do the job.
Not that the major players haven't tried.
In 1998, the three real estate bodies in Singapore - the Association of Singapore Realtors, Association of Singapore Real Estate Agents and the Society of Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers Accredited Estate Agents merged to form the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) to centralise control over agents.
Unfortunately, it was hampered by the lack of teeth from the start. Since membership is not compulsory, it has just 1,500 agents on its roll. And no real power to blacklist or keep errant members out of the industry.
The IEA's president, Mr Jeff Foo, readily concedes: 'We can reprimand, suspend and even expel them, but there is nothing we can do to stop them from practising.'
Current attempts at self-regulation have either met with muted response or been mired in controversy. The IEA runs a two-year-old voluntary registry that displays on its website the names of 21,900 housing agents from about 360 companies so the public can verify if someone is employed by an agency he claims to represent.
It also alerts agencies about brokers with dubious pasts. But one of the biggest players, HSR, has yet to list its 8,000 agents there. When asked why, its chief executive Patrick Liew says he plans to list HSR's agents on its website and is waiting for the 'security of the database' to be 'tried and tested over a period of time'.
Meanwhile, the three-year-old Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies scheme has its own woes. Its board last week introduced a scaled-down test because companies were struggling to get agents to take and pass the original Common Examination for House Agents (Ceha).
The idea was to get agents to use the new test as a stepping stone to Ceha, which is deemed 'too academic' for the average housing agent.
HSR's Mr Liew observes: 'In the last one or two years, because the market was really hot, the agents focused on closing deals rather than studying for the Ceha.'
The real problem? The Ceha is not compulsory.
Adding to the tension is the recent emergence of a new group, the Association of Singapore Estate Agencies (Asea). Formed last month and headed by industry veteran David Ong, a former president of the IEA, it has declared that it wants to raise standards and weed out rogue agents by having industry bosses share information. But the new group, which comprises 15 agencies with 10,000 brokers, has drawn fire from IEA's Mr Foo as being a 'pure waste of resources' and divisive to the already splintered industry.
Entry barriers needed
SINCE housing is probably the single biggest investment for most Singaporeans, industry veterans say the problems are likely to worsen without some form of government intervention to regulate agents.
When contacted, a Ministry of Finance spokesman said: 'The Government's approach has been to encourage and support the industry's efforts to improve the professional standards of individual agents. We are studying various industry proposals for how standards could be further enhanced.'
The head of KF Property Network, Dr Tan Tee Khoon, says: 'Real estate transactions are valued at millions of dollars, and people invest life savings into their purchases. The fact that anybody can be a realtor and the importance of real estate transactions just don't seem to square.'
Dr Tan thinks the industry is too 'fragmented' to regulate itself. For starters, the Government should stipulate minimum entry requirements like two O-level credit passes in English and Maths, as well as proof of registration for trade tests like the preparatory course for the Ceha. Membership of Asea and IEA should also be made compulsory, he says.
The IEA also moots an entry-level training course under the National Skills Recognition System that would orientate all new entrants - regardless of the firm they join - to the basics of the trade. After which, these entrants would have to clock in a certain number of hours each year attending upgrading courses, as well as gun for the Ceha.
In the meantime, Mr Ong thinks the industry has to press on with its own initiatives, while it waits for the magic bullet of legal backing.
'We should go about creating an environment which would be practically self-regulating - through educating the agents, informing consumers of their rights and their responsibilities and where they can take issue with agents if they do not deliver,' he says.
For now, all eyes are on the authorities and when - or if - they will finally rein in the industry which some now call a 'cowboy town'.
For agents like Mr Sulaiman, the answer is obvious. 'Even taxi drivers have licences, so why not agents?'
tanhy@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Association of Singapore Estate Agencies
Year formed: 2008
Base: Club Street
Membership: 15 agencies (with a total of 10,000 agents)
Leaders: President David Ong from Benchmark Real Estate, first vice-president Francis Ong Chin Hwee from Glo Property Consultants, and second vice-president Peter Koh from Gateway Property Consultants.
History: Set up last month to represent property agencies rather than individual agents. The idea was to create a platform for industry bosses to share best practices and information about rogue agents.
However, the group has been mired in controversy from the beginning. Its formation has been slammed by the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) as a wasteful and divisive exercise.
To which, president David Ong would only say: 'It's not divided, just categorised and classified.'
Among its members are companies such as KF Property Network, HSR property group and DTZ Debenham Tie Leung - which protested against the IEA's move to issue 'practising certificates' to its members last year. They had argued that this 'practising certificate' would be confused with the accreditation provided by the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) scheme.
Initiatives: It has thrown its weight behind the SAEA scheme as well as the recent move to introduce a scaled-down test for agents seeking accreditation as the current Common Examination for House Agents is deemed too difficult and academic.
Future plans: To hold talks to raise awareness about consumers' rights and responsibilities in property deals. Also wants to introduce a checklist of services that consumers should expect from an agent when they hire one.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Cashbacks, fake papers: The evolution of scams
April 19, 2008
Cashbacks, fake papers: The evolution of scams
1994
Power of attorney for cash
Housing agents get sellers of Housing Board flats to sign over the power of attorney in return for personal loans.
These agents subsequently sell the flats for prices higher than pre-agreed amounts, and pocket the difference.
The Association of Singapore Realtors, a predecessor of the Institute of Estate Agents, says the scam has been around for at least three years and agents from at least five firms are involved.
1995
Under-declaration to save on fees
The Government revamps resale procedures of HDB flats to deter buyers and sellers from under-declaring the price of a property to save money on the resale levy and stamp duty.
Under-declaration is made a criminal offence, and agents are required make statutory declarations on resale prices.
2005
Cashback scam
Two housing agents - Tony Ho Nam Tung and Teo Pei Pei - are fined $8,000 each for helping their buyers to over-declare the price of their $390,000 five-room flats by $100,000.
The PropNex agents are the first to be convicted over the rampant cashback scam. The scam is used by buyers to get extra cash via inflated home loans.
In April that year, the HDB imposes curbs on the cashback practice, causing overall resale prices to drop by 4.8 per cent in the subsequent quarter.
2006
Fake documents
Seven property agents are jailed for helping flat buyers get bank loans with fake employment documents. The scam involves shell companies 'employing' the buyers, with money being deposited into their Central Provident Fund accounts to give the semblance of a regular income.
The seven agents are Tan Boon Yok, Hamidah Yunnan, Syed Abdullah Alhamid, Mohammed Rusli Abdul Rahman, Tumirah Rahman, Zainon Aran and Richard Yan Hwee Oon. They were jailed between one and nine months each.
The agent with the highest profile - ERA Singapore stalwart Syed Abdullah Alhamid, 63 - has since returned to his firm and is now a division director with 150 agents under his wing.
2008
False declarations
The Housing Board introduces a checklist of detailed dos and don'ts, as well as financial rules that all agents have to go through with their clients before sealing a deal. Among them is a warning that those under- or over-declaring the price of their flats risk being jailed and fined.
This helps address the latest scourge, where owners selling their flats at a loss under-declare the prices to get some cash in hand instead of having all the sale proceeds revert to their Central Provident Fund accounts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institute of Estate Agents
Year formed: 1998
Base: HDB Hub, Toa Payoh
Membership: 1,500 agents
Leaders: President Jeff Foo is from Jeff Realty, first vice-president Mohamed Ismail is from PropNex and second vice-president Low Swee Kim is from the ERA Realty Network.
History: Formed via the merger of three associations, it seeks to bring unity and enforce a standard code of conduct among housing agents, but it has been hampered by infighting. It has managed to muster only 1,500 members out of the estimated 30,000 in the industry.
Initiatives: It started the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) scheme with the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers in 2005 to raise professional standards. But the IEA has since distanced itself from the scheme as it had requested to change its representatives on the SAEA board but received no response.
An SAEA disciplinary panel member Wilson Lim said that its board members were still deliberating on the request.
The IEA also runs a voluntary registry with 21,900 names from 360 agencies and issues a 'practising certificate' to members after making them sit through a code of conduct course and test.
Future plans: It has proposed amending the syllabus for the Common Examination for House Agents, which is used as a benchmark for accreditation, to make it more relevant to housing agents. It is working with the Consumers Association of Singapore on a new accreditation scheme.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Cashbacks, fake papers: The evolution of scams
1994
Power of attorney for cash
Housing agents get sellers of Housing Board flats to sign over the power of attorney in return for personal loans.
These agents subsequently sell the flats for prices higher than pre-agreed amounts, and pocket the difference.
The Association of Singapore Realtors, a predecessor of the Institute of Estate Agents, says the scam has been around for at least three years and agents from at least five firms are involved.
1995
Under-declaration to save on fees
The Government revamps resale procedures of HDB flats to deter buyers and sellers from under-declaring the price of a property to save money on the resale levy and stamp duty.
Under-declaration is made a criminal offence, and agents are required make statutory declarations on resale prices.
2005
Cashback scam
Two housing agents - Tony Ho Nam Tung and Teo Pei Pei - are fined $8,000 each for helping their buyers to over-declare the price of their $390,000 five-room flats by $100,000.
The PropNex agents are the first to be convicted over the rampant cashback scam. The scam is used by buyers to get extra cash via inflated home loans.
In April that year, the HDB imposes curbs on the cashback practice, causing overall resale prices to drop by 4.8 per cent in the subsequent quarter.
2006
Fake documents
Seven property agents are jailed for helping flat buyers get bank loans with fake employment documents. The scam involves shell companies 'employing' the buyers, with money being deposited into their Central Provident Fund accounts to give the semblance of a regular income.
The seven agents are Tan Boon Yok, Hamidah Yunnan, Syed Abdullah Alhamid, Mohammed Rusli Abdul Rahman, Tumirah Rahman, Zainon Aran and Richard Yan Hwee Oon. They were jailed between one and nine months each.
The agent with the highest profile - ERA Singapore stalwart Syed Abdullah Alhamid, 63 - has since returned to his firm and is now a division director with 150 agents under his wing.
2008
False declarations
The Housing Board introduces a checklist of detailed dos and don'ts, as well as financial rules that all agents have to go through with their clients before sealing a deal. Among them is a warning that those under- or over-declaring the price of their flats risk being jailed and fined.
This helps address the latest scourge, where owners selling their flats at a loss under-declare the prices to get some cash in hand instead of having all the sale proceeds revert to their Central Provident Fund accounts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institute of Estate Agents
Year formed: 1998
Base: HDB Hub, Toa Payoh
Membership: 1,500 agents
Leaders: President Jeff Foo is from Jeff Realty, first vice-president Mohamed Ismail is from PropNex and second vice-president Low Swee Kim is from the ERA Realty Network.
History: Formed via the merger of three associations, it seeks to bring unity and enforce a standard code of conduct among housing agents, but it has been hampered by infighting. It has managed to muster only 1,500 members out of the estimated 30,000 in the industry.
Initiatives: It started the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) scheme with the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers in 2005 to raise professional standards. But the IEA has since distanced itself from the scheme as it had requested to change its representatives on the SAEA board but received no response.
An SAEA disciplinary panel member Wilson Lim said that its board members were still deliberating on the request.
The IEA also runs a voluntary registry with 21,900 names from 360 agencies and issues a 'practising certificate' to members after making them sit through a code of conduct course and test.
Future plans: It has proposed amending the syllabus for the Common Examination for House Agents, which is used as a benchmark for accreditation, to make it more relevant to housing agents. It is working with the Consumers Association of Singapore on a new accreditation scheme.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Amorous clients just one of the job hazards
April 19, 2008
Amorous clients just one of the job hazards
From botched deals to indecent proposals, agents take it in their stride
By Tan Hui Yee
IN APRIL last year, housing agent Serene Chua, 26, received a call from someone wanting to sell his flat in Chinatown.
They arranged to meet at his block, but he would not give her a specific unit number. When she arrived at the stairwell, a man started punching her and grabbed her handbag.
She was too stunned to cry out, but fled fast enough to escape further harm.
The year before, a Boon Lay home owner, whose flat was on the market, often asked her to 'go shopping' with him, which she declined.
But during one discussion at his flat, he suddenly grabbed her hand and kissed it. She left immediately, but he kept up with his SMS propositions for six months before giving up.
The two incidents shook Ms Chua, a Life Sciences graduate from the National University of Singapore, but she is far from quitting the real estate industry.
She just shrugs them off as job hazards she has to contend with in return for the freedom and high potential income it can bring.
'It can be dangerous, but there are pros and cons to all jobs. If I am an accountant, for example, I would have to be very careful with numbers. If I add an extra zero, I could be jailed,' she reasons.
Housing agents like her get to encounter up close - and often too personally - the best and worst in property owners and buyers islandwide.
Since many agents advertise their clients' properties along with their names, mobile phone numbers and glamour shots, they often attract unwanted attention.
Boyish-looking PropNex housing agent Jude Teem, 35, gets frequent calls and SMSes asking if he is keen to provide sexual services to rich women. The SMSes read: 'Are you keen to serve my tai tai?'
He never replies, not even with a simple 'No', in case it gives them the wrong idea.
Meanwhile, a home owner once offered Dennis Wee Group agent Germaine Ng, 35, an air ticket to Paris when his wife was not around. He had wanted to go on the trip with her.
Ms Ng, who is married with a nine-year-old daughter, politely declined. But she refuses to judge her client. 'We are human beings with feelings... They're just trying to show their affection. That's okay,' she says.
Then there are those who treat agents as runners. Mr Eric Cheng, executive director of HSR property group, once had to deal with a family who gave him orders for dishes like char kway teow and carrot cake whenever he took potential buyers to view their flat.
'They were very comfortable with me,' says the property chief.
Harder to deal with are financially troubled property sellers who delay paying their commissions after the transaction goes through.
About 5 per cent of PropNex's more than 2,000 deals every month run into such problems. While most eventually pay up, some involve a long process of mediation - where the client may be offered the chance to pay by instalment - or a trip to the Small Claims Tribunal if no settlement is reached.
Then there are clients who back out of deals altogether after shaking hands on it earlier, putting agents at the mercy of frustrated buyers.
PropNex agent Randy Yeo, 36, dealt with an owner last year who wanted $11 million for his Orchard Road condominium unit. When Mr Yeo found a buyer willing to pay that price, the owner took the $11 million cheque, only to change his mind half an hour later.
Mr Yeo recalls: 'He said the market was getting better, and that he could sell it for $13 million in one to two weeks' time.'
The buyer, of course, was furious with the about-turn and gave Mr Yeo a shelling.
The condo unit in question did eventually change hands a few months down the road - for $10.5 million.
tanhy@sph.com.sg
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Amorous clients just one of the job hazards
From botched deals to indecent proposals, agents take it in their stride
By Tan Hui Yee
IN APRIL last year, housing agent Serene Chua, 26, received a call from someone wanting to sell his flat in Chinatown.
They arranged to meet at his block, but he would not give her a specific unit number. When she arrived at the stairwell, a man started punching her and grabbed her handbag.
She was too stunned to cry out, but fled fast enough to escape further harm.
The year before, a Boon Lay home owner, whose flat was on the market, often asked her to 'go shopping' with him, which she declined.
But during one discussion at his flat, he suddenly grabbed her hand and kissed it. She left immediately, but he kept up with his SMS propositions for six months before giving up.
The two incidents shook Ms Chua, a Life Sciences graduate from the National University of Singapore, but she is far from quitting the real estate industry.
She just shrugs them off as job hazards she has to contend with in return for the freedom and high potential income it can bring.
'It can be dangerous, but there are pros and cons to all jobs. If I am an accountant, for example, I would have to be very careful with numbers. If I add an extra zero, I could be jailed,' she reasons.
Housing agents like her get to encounter up close - and often too personally - the best and worst in property owners and buyers islandwide.
Since many agents advertise their clients' properties along with their names, mobile phone numbers and glamour shots, they often attract unwanted attention.
Boyish-looking PropNex housing agent Jude Teem, 35, gets frequent calls and SMSes asking if he is keen to provide sexual services to rich women. The SMSes read: 'Are you keen to serve my tai tai?'
He never replies, not even with a simple 'No', in case it gives them the wrong idea.
Meanwhile, a home owner once offered Dennis Wee Group agent Germaine Ng, 35, an air ticket to Paris when his wife was not around. He had wanted to go on the trip with her.
Ms Ng, who is married with a nine-year-old daughter, politely declined. But she refuses to judge her client. 'We are human beings with feelings... They're just trying to show their affection. That's okay,' she says.
Then there are those who treat agents as runners. Mr Eric Cheng, executive director of HSR property group, once had to deal with a family who gave him orders for dishes like char kway teow and carrot cake whenever he took potential buyers to view their flat.
'They were very comfortable with me,' says the property chief.
Harder to deal with are financially troubled property sellers who delay paying their commissions after the transaction goes through.
About 5 per cent of PropNex's more than 2,000 deals every month run into such problems. While most eventually pay up, some involve a long process of mediation - where the client may be offered the chance to pay by instalment - or a trip to the Small Claims Tribunal if no settlement is reached.
Then there are clients who back out of deals altogether after shaking hands on it earlier, putting agents at the mercy of frustrated buyers.
PropNex agent Randy Yeo, 36, dealt with an owner last year who wanted $11 million for his Orchard Road condominium unit. When Mr Yeo found a buyer willing to pay that price, the owner took the $11 million cheque, only to change his mind half an hour later.
Mr Yeo recalls: 'He said the market was getting better, and that he could sell it for $13 million in one to two weeks' time.'
The buyer, of course, was furious with the about-turn and gave Mr Yeo a shelling.
The condo unit in question did eventually change hands a few months down the road - for $10.5 million.
tanhy@sph.com.sg
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Cooler market tests their staying power
April 19, 2008
Cooler market tests their staying power
THEY flock in in droves during the property boom and slink out when the market is quiet. Months after the dramatic market upswing last year, the industry had an estimated 30,000 agents, at least double the number in 2005.
But these days, opportunists hoping to make a pile by signing up as property agents are getting scarcer, because the slump in the private home sales market is making it more difficult to close deals.
Property agencies say that the bumper recruitment figures experienced last year in the red-hot market have given way to fewer sign-ups but recruits with more staying power.
ERA Singapore, which grew by its fastest rate last year with 200 new recruits every month, signs up only about 180 new agents a month now. PropNex sees 140 new recruits each month, compared to about 200 a month last year. Smaller-scale Dennis Wee Properties takes in 60 recruits every month, down from about 100.
As agents do not clock office hours and draw no salary, few actually 'resign' when times are lean, unless they are joining another firm.
Many just return to their other jobs like sales or engineering while hanging on to their name cards as property agents so they can do the odd deal that may come along.
Big companies such as PropNex and ERA do routine 'clean up' operations by terminating the contracts of inactive agents if they do not seal a deal within a year.
ERA assistant vice-president Eugene Lim says that about 30 per cent of each batch of recruits have their contracts terminated this way. He adds: 'This is a very hands-on, practical job. Even if you are able to score As in a test, you may not be able to close any deals.'
PropNex says it terminates the contracts of about 70 agents every month.
According to the managing director of C&H Realty Albert Lu, the sector tends to attract professionals who are out of a job when the economy is down. These degree-holders flock back to salaried jobs the minute the economy picks up.
For many, it is still an occupation of last resort. Dennis Wee Properties director Chris Koh says: 'Do they aspire from young to be a real estate agent? I don't think so, maybe because the education system today teaches a child to study, pass his exams and get a job, not be an entrepreneur or his own boss.'
Things are slowly changing, though.
ERA's Mr Lim notices that his recruits are getting younger and more educated. They now range from 25 to 40 years of age. More hold polytechnic diplomas instead of O-level certificates.
He says: 'In this market, the people who sign up are more serious than those who come in a fast-paced market and who are attracted to it because of the short-term benefits.'
TAN HUI YEE
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Cooler market tests their staying power
THEY flock in in droves during the property boom and slink out when the market is quiet. Months after the dramatic market upswing last year, the industry had an estimated 30,000 agents, at least double the number in 2005.
But these days, opportunists hoping to make a pile by signing up as property agents are getting scarcer, because the slump in the private home sales market is making it more difficult to close deals.
Property agencies say that the bumper recruitment figures experienced last year in the red-hot market have given way to fewer sign-ups but recruits with more staying power.
ERA Singapore, which grew by its fastest rate last year with 200 new recruits every month, signs up only about 180 new agents a month now. PropNex sees 140 new recruits each month, compared to about 200 a month last year. Smaller-scale Dennis Wee Properties takes in 60 recruits every month, down from about 100.
As agents do not clock office hours and draw no salary, few actually 'resign' when times are lean, unless they are joining another firm.
Many just return to their other jobs like sales or engineering while hanging on to their name cards as property agents so they can do the odd deal that may come along.
Big companies such as PropNex and ERA do routine 'clean up' operations by terminating the contracts of inactive agents if they do not seal a deal within a year.
ERA assistant vice-president Eugene Lim says that about 30 per cent of each batch of recruits have their contracts terminated this way. He adds: 'This is a very hands-on, practical job. Even if you are able to score As in a test, you may not be able to close any deals.'
PropNex says it terminates the contracts of about 70 agents every month.
According to the managing director of C&H Realty Albert Lu, the sector tends to attract professionals who are out of a job when the economy is down. These degree-holders flock back to salaried jobs the minute the economy picks up.
For many, it is still an occupation of last resort. Dennis Wee Properties director Chris Koh says: 'Do they aspire from young to be a real estate agent? I don't think so, maybe because the education system today teaches a child to study, pass his exams and get a job, not be an entrepreneur or his own boss.'
Things are slowly changing, though.
ERA's Mr Lim notices that his recruits are getting younger and more educated. They now range from 25 to 40 years of age. More hold polytechnic diplomas instead of O-level certificates.
He says: 'In this market, the people who sign up are more serious than those who come in a fast-paced market and who are attracted to it because of the short-term benefits.'
TAN HUI YEE
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Banks poaching home loan customers with sweet offers
Banks poaching home loan customers with sweet offers
Some lenders offering to pay off the penalties on original mortgages to make the switch.
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
my paper
AS HOME sales continue to slide, banks are going all out to hang on to their existing home loan borrowers.
Some poach from their rivals while others are offering to pay off the penalties that customers may incur making the switch.
Flexibility has become a byword and new packages are getting more imaginative, The Business Times reported yesterday.
In anticipation of interest rates falling even further, one new DBS home loan package offers two free repricings within 24 months.
At United Overseas Bank, customers can fix the monthly payments for 36 months regardless of interest rate changes.
Standard Chartered Bank has begun repricing home loans downwards for existing customers on variable rate packages.
It is understood to be the first bank to do so given the steep falls in interest rates since last December.
The last time banks were proactive in repricing home loans was in 2005 after interest rates rose sharply in the third quarter of 2004. This, in turn, led to several rounds of hikes as the period followed two years of record lows when interest rates went below one per cent.
Stanchart's automatic repricing is for customers who are out of their lock-in periods - those who do not have to pay a penalty if they repay the loan in full.
"We proactively look at the customer base and take the necessary steps to ensure the pricing is competitive; if not, the competition will take them," saidMr Dennis Khoo, Stanchart general manager, lending.
The repricing can take the form of a new package or a lower rate within the existing contract, he said.
For banks looking to grow their mortgage business in a sluggish property market, refinancing or winning over customers from rivals is critical.
In the first quarter, only 795 new private homes were sold, about half the 1,469 units in the preceding quarter.
Repricing though can be a tricky business for borrowers still within their penalty periods because their banks have yet to recover their original costs of selling those loans.
So banks know that one way to poach customers from rivals is by offering to pay the penalty rate which can be hefty - typically 1-1.5 per cent of the outstanding loan.
"It's difficult because they were heavily subsidised in the first year... It depends on the total relationship as the bank may have to stomach the loss," said Mr Khoo.
Mr Koh Kar Siong, DBS managing director and head of secured loans, said clients who are considering refinancing need to assess the interest savings and the costs incurred such as legal fees and any penalties or subsidies payable to the financier.
But refinancing customers should remember that cheaper offers elsewhere still come with some cost, said Mr Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of consumer secured lending.
"Home-owners looking for refinancing should approach their existing banks first as the total cost of refinancing with another bank is usually relatively higher and has to be offset by lower interest rates," he said.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Some lenders offering to pay off the penalties on original mortgages to make the switch.
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
my paper
AS HOME sales continue to slide, banks are going all out to hang on to their existing home loan borrowers.
Some poach from their rivals while others are offering to pay off the penalties that customers may incur making the switch.
Flexibility has become a byword and new packages are getting more imaginative, The Business Times reported yesterday.
In anticipation of interest rates falling even further, one new DBS home loan package offers two free repricings within 24 months.
At United Overseas Bank, customers can fix the monthly payments for 36 months regardless of interest rate changes.
Standard Chartered Bank has begun repricing home loans downwards for existing customers on variable rate packages.
It is understood to be the first bank to do so given the steep falls in interest rates since last December.
The last time banks were proactive in repricing home loans was in 2005 after interest rates rose sharply in the third quarter of 2004. This, in turn, led to several rounds of hikes as the period followed two years of record lows when interest rates went below one per cent.
Stanchart's automatic repricing is for customers who are out of their lock-in periods - those who do not have to pay a penalty if they repay the loan in full.
"We proactively look at the customer base and take the necessary steps to ensure the pricing is competitive; if not, the competition will take them," saidMr Dennis Khoo, Stanchart general manager, lending.
The repricing can take the form of a new package or a lower rate within the existing contract, he said.
For banks looking to grow their mortgage business in a sluggish property market, refinancing or winning over customers from rivals is critical.
In the first quarter, only 795 new private homes were sold, about half the 1,469 units in the preceding quarter.
Repricing though can be a tricky business for borrowers still within their penalty periods because their banks have yet to recover their original costs of selling those loans.
So banks know that one way to poach customers from rivals is by offering to pay the penalty rate which can be hefty - typically 1-1.5 per cent of the outstanding loan.
"It's difficult because they were heavily subsidised in the first year... It depends on the total relationship as the bank may have to stomach the loss," said Mr Khoo.
Mr Koh Kar Siong, DBS managing director and head of secured loans, said clients who are considering refinancing need to assess the interest savings and the costs incurred such as legal fees and any penalties or subsidies payable to the financier.
But refinancing customers should remember that cheaper offers elsewhere still come with some cost, said Mr Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of consumer secured lending.
"Home-owners looking for refinancing should approach their existing banks first as the total cost of refinancing with another bank is usually relatively higher and has to be offset by lower interest rates," he said.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Friday, April 18, 2008
Chinese property tycoons set for investment visit to Taiwan
April 18, 2008
Chinese property tycoons set for investment visit to Taiwan
Leisure projects top agenda as island expects huge inflow of Chinese
tourists
(TAIPEI) A group of Chinese property tycoons will visit Taiwan next
week in what could bring the first wave of mainland investment to the
island since civil war split the two in 1949.
Authorities have approved the visit by the Chinese business group as
part of regular commercial exchanges, James Huang, a spokesman of the
Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, said yesterday.
The visit comes just four weeks before Ma Ying- jeou's inauguration
as Taiwan's next president. During his campaign, Mr Ma pushed for an
expansion of trade relations with Beijing, and said some Chinese
investment should be allowed in Taiwan.
Officials said the real estate developers - set to arrive on Monday -
will look into leisure and tourism investments in anticipation of
Chinese tourists flocking to the island.
Mr Ma, elected March 22, has proposed expanding the number of Chinese
tourists allowed in a year to one million, up from 80,000 in 2007. He
has also proposed allowing direct weekend charter flights between the
mainland and Taiwan.
Both proposals were endorsed by Chinese President Hu Jintao during
his breakthrough meeting with Vice-President-elect Vincent Siew in
China's Hainan Province last weekend.
'We hope to turn the current indirect, one-way business exchanges
with the mainland into direct, two-way exchanges,' Mr Siew said early
this week.
Taiwanese have invested billions of dollars on the mainland to take
advantage of its cheap labour, but Chinese investments are banned in
Taiwan for fear it would give Beijing economic and political control
of the island - a big concern for the outgoing pro-independence
government of President Chen Shui-bian.
Taiwanese officials say the visiting tycoons include Pan Shiyi of
Soho China, Li Silian of R&F Properties, and Feng Lun of Vantone Real
Estate. The three are self-made billionaires.
The Chinese business group is scheduled to visit a planned
construction site near the international airport complex in Taoyuan
County, a commercial-leisure complex in the central city of Taichung,
and several resort areas in southern Taiwan.
'We are sure the visit by the Chinese group and subsequent
investments will give a big boost to Taiwan's property market and the
economy,' said Hsiao Chia- chi, Taichung's vice-mayor.
Chinese property tycoons set for investment visit to Taiwan
Leisure projects top agenda as island expects huge inflow of Chinese
tourists
(TAIPEI) A group of Chinese property tycoons will visit Taiwan next
week in what could bring the first wave of mainland investment to the
island since civil war split the two in 1949.
Authorities have approved the visit by the Chinese business group as
part of regular commercial exchanges, James Huang, a spokesman of the
Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, said yesterday.
The visit comes just four weeks before Ma Ying- jeou's inauguration
as Taiwan's next president. During his campaign, Mr Ma pushed for an
expansion of trade relations with Beijing, and said some Chinese
investment should be allowed in Taiwan.
Officials said the real estate developers - set to arrive on Monday -
will look into leisure and tourism investments in anticipation of
Chinese tourists flocking to the island.
Mr Ma, elected March 22, has proposed expanding the number of Chinese
tourists allowed in a year to one million, up from 80,000 in 2007. He
has also proposed allowing direct weekend charter flights between the
mainland and Taiwan.
Both proposals were endorsed by Chinese President Hu Jintao during
his breakthrough meeting with Vice-President-elect Vincent Siew in
China's Hainan Province last weekend.
'We hope to turn the current indirect, one-way business exchanges
with the mainland into direct, two-way exchanges,' Mr Siew said early
this week.
Taiwanese have invested billions of dollars on the mainland to take
advantage of its cheap labour, but Chinese investments are banned in
Taiwan for fear it would give Beijing economic and political control
of the island - a big concern for the outgoing pro-independence
government of President Chen Shui-bian.
Taiwanese officials say the visiting tycoons include Pan Shiyi of
Soho China, Li Silian of R&F Properties, and Feng Lun of Vantone Real
Estate. The three are self-made billionaires.
The Chinese business group is scheduled to visit a planned
construction site near the international airport complex in Taoyuan
County, a commercial-leisure complex in the central city of Taichung,
and several resort areas in southern Taiwan.
'We are sure the visit by the Chinese group and subsequent
investments will give a big boost to Taiwan's property market and the
economy,' said Hsiao Chia- chi, Taichung's vice-mayor.
Singapore's sports future lies in the heart of the city
TODAY 17 April 2008
Singapore's sports future lies in the heart of the city
By Leonard Thomas
SINGAPORE : It has been turfed resplendently green and the lines have
been drawn. When goalposts with nets are fitted at both ends, the
facility will be ready for football action.
Twenty-eight floors above, the TODAY office has a marvellous view of
the floating platform on Marina Bay. It is a magnificent venue for a
football game.
The Singapore Sports Council say matches can be held there after
Formula 1's SingTel Singapore Grand Prix 2008 race on Sept 28.
Football enthusiasts will be excited, because for the first time
games will be played on an artificially-turfed pitch floating on
water against a spectacular Singapore skyline that will surely whet
the players' appetites.
The 2008 RHB Singapore Cup Final on Nov 28 could well be staged on
the floating platform because the National Stadium is due to be torn
down soon to make way for the Sports Hub and with a 27,000-capacity,
the platform will be the biggest venue available.
It is also an ideal venue for a corporate titan to purchase naming
rights to, because it offers a unique marketing opportunity.
On Wednesday, sports minister Vivian Balakrishnan mingled with some
of the country's top business leaders at the Singapore Sports
Council's 3rd CEO Gala at Sentosa.
In his speech, he said the aim was to grow Singapore's sports
industry to the extent it contributes $2 billion to the GDP by 2015.
Saying that the private sector must lead the way, Balakrishnan is
optimistic chief executives are aware the sports industry is set for
a boom, citing the occasion when 700 companies pledged their support
for the country's bid to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
A pledge of support that warmed the heart, now it is time for the 170
or so chief executives who gathered at Sentosa on Wednesday and
others around the country to show they genuinely believe there is
tremendous potential in the sports industry, and what better place to
start then a bid for the naming rights to the floating platform.
For the next five years at least the facility will be featured on
television screens around the world as Ferraris, BMWs, Renaults and
Mercedes Formula 1 cars, among others, race along in front of its
grandstand.
In the heart of the city, the field should prove to be a popular
venue for football, both for competitive games as well as for events
staged by corporations and members of the public.
Those who remember how fans used to flock to the field in front of
the old St Joseph's Institution (now the Singapore Art Museum) at
Bras Basah Road will know how hot a football venue in the heart of
the city can be.
Parties can be held under the stars, companies can host dinner-and-
dance events on the Bay, the National Day Parade will be held there
until at least 2011, when the Sports Hub will be ready.
Last night, SSC's chief of sports marketing, Kelven Tan, revealed
that Citigroup Inc had paid US$20 million ($27 million), a sum it
will continue to shell out annually over the next 20 years, for the
construction in New York of the Citi Field Stadium, set to be the
home to Major League Baseball team, the New York Mets.
Whenever games are played, the name of Citi Field Stadium will be
brought up — on television and radio, in print and on the Internet.
It will stand out in maps of New York City, it will be on the lips of
taxi drivers.
One corporate giant here could enjoy similar exposure. The time has
come for chief executives to pledge their support, through deed.
Singapore's sports future lies in the heart of the city
By Leonard Thomas
SINGAPORE : It has been turfed resplendently green and the lines have
been drawn. When goalposts with nets are fitted at both ends, the
facility will be ready for football action.
Twenty-eight floors above, the TODAY office has a marvellous view of
the floating platform on Marina Bay. It is a magnificent venue for a
football game.
The Singapore Sports Council say matches can be held there after
Formula 1's SingTel Singapore Grand Prix 2008 race on Sept 28.
Football enthusiasts will be excited, because for the first time
games will be played on an artificially-turfed pitch floating on
water against a spectacular Singapore skyline that will surely whet
the players' appetites.
The 2008 RHB Singapore Cup Final on Nov 28 could well be staged on
the floating platform because the National Stadium is due to be torn
down soon to make way for the Sports Hub and with a 27,000-capacity,
the platform will be the biggest venue available.
It is also an ideal venue for a corporate titan to purchase naming
rights to, because it offers a unique marketing opportunity.
On Wednesday, sports minister Vivian Balakrishnan mingled with some
of the country's top business leaders at the Singapore Sports
Council's 3rd CEO Gala at Sentosa.
In his speech, he said the aim was to grow Singapore's sports
industry to the extent it contributes $2 billion to the GDP by 2015.
Saying that the private sector must lead the way, Balakrishnan is
optimistic chief executives are aware the sports industry is set for
a boom, citing the occasion when 700 companies pledged their support
for the country's bid to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
A pledge of support that warmed the heart, now it is time for the 170
or so chief executives who gathered at Sentosa on Wednesday and
others around the country to show they genuinely believe there is
tremendous potential in the sports industry, and what better place to
start then a bid for the naming rights to the floating platform.
For the next five years at least the facility will be featured on
television screens around the world as Ferraris, BMWs, Renaults and
Mercedes Formula 1 cars, among others, race along in front of its
grandstand.
In the heart of the city, the field should prove to be a popular
venue for football, both for competitive games as well as for events
staged by corporations and members of the public.
Those who remember how fans used to flock to the field in front of
the old St Joseph's Institution (now the Singapore Art Museum) at
Bras Basah Road will know how hot a football venue in the heart of
the city can be.
Parties can be held under the stars, companies can host dinner-and-
dance events on the Bay, the National Day Parade will be held there
until at least 2011, when the Sports Hub will be ready.
Last night, SSC's chief of sports marketing, Kelven Tan, revealed
that Citigroup Inc had paid US$20 million ($27 million), a sum it
will continue to shell out annually over the next 20 years, for the
construction in New York of the Citi Field Stadium, set to be the
home to Major League Baseball team, the New York Mets.
Whenever games are played, the name of Citi Field Stadium will be
brought up — on television and radio, in print and on the Internet.
It will stand out in maps of New York City, it will be on the lips of
taxi drivers.
One corporate giant here could enjoy similar exposure. The time has
come for chief executives to pledge their support, through deed.
Investment property sales in Q1 remain steady
Business Times - 18 Apr 2008
Investment property sales in Q1 remain steady
By JOANNE CHIEW
INVESTMENT property sales level in first quarter 2008 was unchanged from a year ago despite deepening concerns regarding the US economy.
A total of $8.4 billion worth of transactions was concluded, up one per cent quarter-on-quarter (QOQ), according to the Q1, 2008 Singapore Property Market Report by Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ).
The office sector was the best performer with $3.4 billion in sales, reflecting a significant 134 per cent increase QOQ.
Government state land saw strong response from developers to several sites released for tenders. The transactions showed that developers were willing to pay for sites in good locations, despite the cautious market, DTZ said.
Investments in industrial properties rose 31 per cent QOQ to $690.5 million, mainly in en-bloc deals purchased by real estate investment trusts.
However, residential sales fell 45 per cent QOQ to $2.2 billion. DTZ attributed the slowdown in sales activity to weak market sentiments, adding that developers and buyers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
Preliminary figures showed that only about 2,000 private residential transactions were recorded through caveats in the first two months of 2008, down from 5,200 a year ago.
Developer sales in Q1 reflected a 46 per cent QOQ decline, falling to 795. This was the second lowest quarter of developer sales since the Sars-stricken quarter of Q1, 2003.
Said DTZ's senior director for investment advisory services and auction, Shaun Poh, 'With current record high prices, investments by opportunistic investors with short-term approaches are likely to decline. More long-term investors have entered the market and are looking at core assets in good locations.'
The rental market remained stable, with consumer spending remaining stable amid a high employment rate. Retail sales for January 2008 rose 15.5 per cent year-on-year (YOY).
Removing the price effect, retail sales rose 1.5 per cent YOY. DTZ said occupancy of retail space is expected to remain high, at above 90 per cent.
'The outlook for retail rents remains positive on a selective basis. Rents in well-positioned malls are expected to continue to increase, particularly for prime units in Orchard Road,' said Anna Lee, DTZ's retail associate director.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Investment property sales in Q1 remain steady
By JOANNE CHIEW
INVESTMENT property sales level in first quarter 2008 was unchanged from a year ago despite deepening concerns regarding the US economy.
A total of $8.4 billion worth of transactions was concluded, up one per cent quarter-on-quarter (QOQ), according to the Q1, 2008 Singapore Property Market Report by Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ).
The office sector was the best performer with $3.4 billion in sales, reflecting a significant 134 per cent increase QOQ.
Government state land saw strong response from developers to several sites released for tenders. The transactions showed that developers were willing to pay for sites in good locations, despite the cautious market, DTZ said.
Investments in industrial properties rose 31 per cent QOQ to $690.5 million, mainly in en-bloc deals purchased by real estate investment trusts.
However, residential sales fell 45 per cent QOQ to $2.2 billion. DTZ attributed the slowdown in sales activity to weak market sentiments, adding that developers and buyers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
Preliminary figures showed that only about 2,000 private residential transactions were recorded through caveats in the first two months of 2008, down from 5,200 a year ago.
Developer sales in Q1 reflected a 46 per cent QOQ decline, falling to 795. This was the second lowest quarter of developer sales since the Sars-stricken quarter of Q1, 2003.
Said DTZ's senior director for investment advisory services and auction, Shaun Poh, 'With current record high prices, investments by opportunistic investors with short-term approaches are likely to decline. More long-term investors have entered the market and are looking at core assets in good locations.'
The rental market remained stable, with consumer spending remaining stable amid a high employment rate. Retail sales for January 2008 rose 15.5 per cent year-on-year (YOY).
Removing the price effect, retail sales rose 1.5 per cent YOY. DTZ said occupancy of retail space is expected to remain high, at above 90 per cent.
'The outlook for retail rents remains positive on a selective basis. Rents in well-positioned malls are expected to continue to increase, particularly for prime units in Orchard Road,' said Anna Lee, DTZ's retail associate director.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Many in S'pore expect pain if recession comes
Business Times - 18 Apr 2008
Many in S'pore expect pain if recession comes
Banking sector most downbeat, IT appears resilient: Hudson report
By CHUANG PECK MING
(SINGAPORE) If there is a recession, business here is more likely to be hit than that elsewhere in Asia. And workers here may feel the pain, too.
Not everyone in Singapore is anticipating a downturn. Only about a quarter (26 per cent) of 733 executives in key business sectors polled recently see a recession coming in the next six months, with those in the healthcare and life sciences business the most downbeat.
But overall, hiring expectations for the second quarter have dipped, with 49 per cent of the executives polled intending to increase headcount, down from 51 per cent in Q1 and 56 per cent a year ago.
Among executives expecting a recession, almost four out of five (79 per cent) expect business to be affected. This is more than in any other Asian country covered in the latest poll by Hudson, a leading recruiting executive recruitment firm in the region.
Analysts are not surprised at this, pointing to the fact that the Singapore economy is more open - and thus more vulnerable than others to a global recession.
In the banking and financial services sector, more than 9 out of 10 of the pessimists share the belief that business would be hit because, Hudson says, banks are likely to be the first to feel the pain of a downturn in the global financial industry.
Executives in the information-technology and telecommunications sector are the most resilient, with just under two-thirds (64 per cent) indicating they think a recession would hit business - the lowest figure among all sectors.
'Companies expect that major IT projects in the financial and public sectors will provide continuing growth opportunities,' Hudson says in its report on hiring and human resource trends.
Across all sectors, 58 per cent of the executives polled here said a recession would affect their hiring plans - a figure higher than for in any other Asian country surveyed by Hudson.
'There is a high degree of consistency between the sectors,' Hudson says. 'The banking and financial services sector has the highest number of respondents saying their hiring plans would be affected, at 65 per cent, and the IT&T sector the lowest, at 53 per cent.'
A freeze in headcount is most likely in the event of a recession, with 9 out of 10 of the executives polled saying they would take this measure. Only a low 19 per cent of those polled would reach for the axe to chop workers.
A third of the executives indicated they would resort to a pay freeze if there is a downturn, making this the second most popular measure. Companies in the media, public relations advertising (50 per cent) and IT&T (44 per cent) are the most likely to make this move.
'These sectors are also the least likely to cut staff,' Hudson notes. 'Both industries are still busy and would rather freeze salaries than cut staff, to ensure they have adequate resources for ongoing projects.'
Hudson's latest poll shows hiring expectations have fallen in every sector except the media, public relations and advertisement.
'Among the media/ PR/advertising firms, hiring expectations have grown over the past year,' Hudson says. 'In Q2 2007, 48 per cent of respondents expected to expand recruitment, compared with 52 per cent this quarter. Much of this demand is driven by the growth of online advertising and digital media.'
Which is perhaps why the media/PR/advertising sector is the least pessimistic about a recession, with only 11 per cent of its executives polled predicting a recession in the next six months.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Many in S'pore expect pain if recession comes
Banking sector most downbeat, IT appears resilient: Hudson report
By CHUANG PECK MING
(SINGAPORE) If there is a recession, business here is more likely to be hit than that elsewhere in Asia. And workers here may feel the pain, too.
Not everyone in Singapore is anticipating a downturn. Only about a quarter (26 per cent) of 733 executives in key business sectors polled recently see a recession coming in the next six months, with those in the healthcare and life sciences business the most downbeat.
But overall, hiring expectations for the second quarter have dipped, with 49 per cent of the executives polled intending to increase headcount, down from 51 per cent in Q1 and 56 per cent a year ago.
Among executives expecting a recession, almost four out of five (79 per cent) expect business to be affected. This is more than in any other Asian country covered in the latest poll by Hudson, a leading recruiting executive recruitment firm in the region.
Analysts are not surprised at this, pointing to the fact that the Singapore economy is more open - and thus more vulnerable than others to a global recession.
In the banking and financial services sector, more than 9 out of 10 of the pessimists share the belief that business would be hit because, Hudson says, banks are likely to be the first to feel the pain of a downturn in the global financial industry.
Executives in the information-technology and telecommunications sector are the most resilient, with just under two-thirds (64 per cent) indicating they think a recession would hit business - the lowest figure among all sectors.
'Companies expect that major IT projects in the financial and public sectors will provide continuing growth opportunities,' Hudson says in its report on hiring and human resource trends.
Across all sectors, 58 per cent of the executives polled here said a recession would affect their hiring plans - a figure higher than for in any other Asian country surveyed by Hudson.
'There is a high degree of consistency between the sectors,' Hudson says. 'The banking and financial services sector has the highest number of respondents saying their hiring plans would be affected, at 65 per cent, and the IT&T sector the lowest, at 53 per cent.'
A freeze in headcount is most likely in the event of a recession, with 9 out of 10 of the executives polled saying they would take this measure. Only a low 19 per cent of those polled would reach for the axe to chop workers.
A third of the executives indicated they would resort to a pay freeze if there is a downturn, making this the second most popular measure. Companies in the media, public relations advertising (50 per cent) and IT&T (44 per cent) are the most likely to make this move.
'These sectors are also the least likely to cut staff,' Hudson notes. 'Both industries are still busy and would rather freeze salaries than cut staff, to ensure they have adequate resources for ongoing projects.'
Hudson's latest poll shows hiring expectations have fallen in every sector except the media, public relations and advertisement.
'Among the media/ PR/advertising firms, hiring expectations have grown over the past year,' Hudson says. 'In Q2 2007, 48 per cent of respondents expected to expand recruitment, compared with 52 per cent this quarter. Much of this demand is driven by the growth of online advertising and digital media.'
Which is perhaps why the media/PR/advertising sector is the least pessimistic about a recession, with only 11 per cent of its executives polled predicting a recession in the next six months.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Different strokes for different segments if developers cut prices
Business Times - 18 Apr 2008
Different strokes for different segments if developers cut prices
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(SINGAPORE) In cutting prices by 3-5 per cent at three existing projects and achieving encouraging sales, property giant Far East Organization may have set the cat among the pigeons.
Other developers must now ask themselves whether to embrace this strategy. Of course, the bigger ones have the financial muscle to hold back launches and sales for months and don't need to chop prices to entice buyers in the face of weaker market sentiment.
But there are opportunity costs involved in letting projects linger on the market and in holding on to sites - especially ones with a 99-year leasehold - instead of launching the project.
Of course, cutting prices is never easy from a developer's standpoint. To what extent can developers cut prices without further eroding confidence in the market? And how much of a price cut is necessary to lure buyers?
The margins also dictate the extent to which developers can afford to cut prices on a particular project - and factors to consider include the price at which they bought the land and whether they have locked in construction costs.
But apart from the broad parameters, there are more specific considerations that can sway a developer's decision.
In the current market, for example, it makes more sense to trim prices of mass market projects (anything priced at $1,000 psf and below) as buyers are more likely to be owner-occupiers than speculators and investors. And because these buyers are more price sensitive, even a modest price-cut of up to 5 per cent - like what Far East did - can help speed up the buying decision.
For mid-tier projects (priced at $1,000 to $2,000 psf), the speculators and investors feature more prominently in the pool of buyers. Any price cut in this segment would have to be more significant - say about 10 per cent - to draw buyers.
For high-end developments ($2,000 psf and above), buyers tend to be foreigners, investors and speculators. 'I don't think it's so much a case of price sensitivity in this sector,' says Knight Frank executive director (residential) Peter Ow. 'Even if you cut prices, buyers may not come in. These are people whose decisions will be affected by the volatility in global financial markets.'
Another point to note is that because high-end prices have gone up so much in the past couple of years, the level of perceived risk for someone buying an investment property in this market segment is much higher today.
DTZ executive director (research and consultancy) Ong Choon Fah makes another point: 'These investors are mobile with their funds - and may be looking at other global cities like London and New York, where opportunities have emerged as prices have fallen.'
A seasoned investor told BT that prices in the high-end segment may have to be cut at least 20 per cent before risks drop sufficiently to attract potential investors. For that reason, developers of upmarket properties will also resist making price cuts of this quantum. But then, another group of people may hold the key to price chops in this segment: specuvestors.
Those who bought multiple units in high-end projects a few years earlier on deferred payment schemes may be willing to let go of their units at below current market prices before the projects receive Temporary Occupation Permit, which is when they'll have to pay the bulk of their purchase price to the developer.
If sufficient numbers of these units are transacted in the secondary market at prices below current values, it would set lower price benchmarks for the surrounding areas. And that would increase pressure on developers to lower their prices.
A major consideration for lowering prices is appeasing those who bought earlier at higher prices. In the past, developers have done this by offering furnishing vouchers to their early buyers. Another tactic has been to cut prices discreetly. 'Within any project, there may be price variations of up to 20 per cent depending on height and facing of units. Developers may be able to trim prices by up to 10 per cent without making it so obvious,' says Mr Ow.
Against this, the high construction costs may reduce a developer's ability to manoeuvre and cut prices - especially if the site was bought at a steep price.
Still, the months ahead may prove fruitful for bargain hunters.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Different strokes for different segments if developers cut prices
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(SINGAPORE) In cutting prices by 3-5 per cent at three existing projects and achieving encouraging sales, property giant Far East Organization may have set the cat among the pigeons.
Other developers must now ask themselves whether to embrace this strategy. Of course, the bigger ones have the financial muscle to hold back launches and sales for months and don't need to chop prices to entice buyers in the face of weaker market sentiment.
But there are opportunity costs involved in letting projects linger on the market and in holding on to sites - especially ones with a 99-year leasehold - instead of launching the project.
Of course, cutting prices is never easy from a developer's standpoint. To what extent can developers cut prices without further eroding confidence in the market? And how much of a price cut is necessary to lure buyers?
The margins also dictate the extent to which developers can afford to cut prices on a particular project - and factors to consider include the price at which they bought the land and whether they have locked in construction costs.
But apart from the broad parameters, there are more specific considerations that can sway a developer's decision.
In the current market, for example, it makes more sense to trim prices of mass market projects (anything priced at $1,000 psf and below) as buyers are more likely to be owner-occupiers than speculators and investors. And because these buyers are more price sensitive, even a modest price-cut of up to 5 per cent - like what Far East did - can help speed up the buying decision.
For mid-tier projects (priced at $1,000 to $2,000 psf), the speculators and investors feature more prominently in the pool of buyers. Any price cut in this segment would have to be more significant - say about 10 per cent - to draw buyers.
For high-end developments ($2,000 psf and above), buyers tend to be foreigners, investors and speculators. 'I don't think it's so much a case of price sensitivity in this sector,' says Knight Frank executive director (residential) Peter Ow. 'Even if you cut prices, buyers may not come in. These are people whose decisions will be affected by the volatility in global financial markets.'
Another point to note is that because high-end prices have gone up so much in the past couple of years, the level of perceived risk for someone buying an investment property in this market segment is much higher today.
DTZ executive director (research and consultancy) Ong Choon Fah makes another point: 'These investors are mobile with their funds - and may be looking at other global cities like London and New York, where opportunities have emerged as prices have fallen.'
A seasoned investor told BT that prices in the high-end segment may have to be cut at least 20 per cent before risks drop sufficiently to attract potential investors. For that reason, developers of upmarket properties will also resist making price cuts of this quantum. But then, another group of people may hold the key to price chops in this segment: specuvestors.
Those who bought multiple units in high-end projects a few years earlier on deferred payment schemes may be willing to let go of their units at below current market prices before the projects receive Temporary Occupation Permit, which is when they'll have to pay the bulk of their purchase price to the developer.
If sufficient numbers of these units are transacted in the secondary market at prices below current values, it would set lower price benchmarks for the surrounding areas. And that would increase pressure on developers to lower their prices.
A major consideration for lowering prices is appeasing those who bought earlier at higher prices. In the past, developers have done this by offering furnishing vouchers to their early buyers. Another tactic has been to cut prices discreetly. 'Within any project, there may be price variations of up to 20 per cent depending on height and facing of units. Developers may be able to trim prices by up to 10 per cent without making it so obvious,' says Mr Ow.
Against this, the high construction costs may reduce a developer's ability to manoeuvre and cut prices - especially if the site was bought at a steep price.
Still, the months ahead may prove fruitful for bargain hunters.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Time to act against rogue housing agents
Time to act against rogue housing agents
Friday • April 18, 2008
Letter from RAYMOND NG
COMPLAINTS against real estate agents are rising. According to the latest statistics, more than 1,000 reports have been lodged with the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Inland Revenue Authority.
I am puzzled why little has been done to eradicate the presence of unethical agents who offer wrong advice and short-change buyers and sellers in a booming sector.
It is time the industry is revamped.
Real estate licences are issued to applicants meeting minimum standards. While it is good to allow many to own and operate real estate agencies, there are few criteria to ascertain their "quality".
For example, there is no control in the number of agents each agency is allowed to recruit. Size does not always equate with excellence.
Furthermore, real estate agents are not considered employees but associates of the respective agencies. This creates even more weakness from the point of performance standards and control.
In developed economies such as the United States, Canada and Australia, real estate agencies must treat all agents as employees instead of associates.
From the legal perspective, this means that if agents commit any malpractice, the agency will be penalised as well.
Agencies in Canada, for example, even blacklist and post offenders' names on the Board of Real Estate websites and bulletin boards to alert consumers.
Perhaps, we should adopt this practice.
I would also like to propose that the size of each agency be restricted to a ratio of one manager to, say, seven Ceha-certified (Common Examination for House Agents) agents.
In essence, the authority should be empowered to implement stricter penalties, such as revocation or suspension of real estate licences and a longer jail term for those guilty of real estate crimes.
We need to act now to rebuild the spirit of and trust in the real estate industry.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Friday • April 18, 2008
Letter from RAYMOND NG
COMPLAINTS against real estate agents are rising. According to the latest statistics, more than 1,000 reports have been lodged with the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Inland Revenue Authority.
I am puzzled why little has been done to eradicate the presence of unethical agents who offer wrong advice and short-change buyers and sellers in a booming sector.
It is time the industry is revamped.
Real estate licences are issued to applicants meeting minimum standards. While it is good to allow many to own and operate real estate agencies, there are few criteria to ascertain their "quality".
For example, there is no control in the number of agents each agency is allowed to recruit. Size does not always equate with excellence.
Furthermore, real estate agents are not considered employees but associates of the respective agencies. This creates even more weakness from the point of performance standards and control.
In developed economies such as the United States, Canada and Australia, real estate agencies must treat all agents as employees instead of associates.
From the legal perspective, this means that if agents commit any malpractice, the agency will be penalised as well.
Agencies in Canada, for example, even blacklist and post offenders' names on the Board of Real Estate websites and bulletin boards to alert consumers.
Perhaps, we should adopt this practice.
I would also like to propose that the size of each agency be restricted to a ratio of one manager to, say, seven Ceha-certified (Common Examination for House Agents) agents.
In essence, the authority should be empowered to implement stricter penalties, such as revocation or suspension of real estate licences and a longer jail term for those guilty of real estate crimes.
We need to act now to rebuild the spirit of and trust in the real estate industry.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
HDB draws curtains on bi-monthly flat sales
HDB draws curtains on bi-monthly flat sales
Friday • April 18, 2008
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) received 5,700 applications for 490 flats in its final bi-monthly sale of four-room and larger units that closed on Wednesday.
Bi-monthly sale exercises attract more applicants and a higher take-up rate, as the flats on offer are either completed or nearing completion, said the HDB.
But with the progressive clearance exercises of unsold flats, fewer units are left available on a walk-in basis — and, as earlier announced, the HDB will offer its three-room premium and larger flats under half-yearly sale exercises, instead of bi-monthly.
Prospective buyers are advised to opt for the Build-to-Order (BTO) system — in which flats take about three years to complete — that make up the main supply of new flats.
From this month until September, the HDB plans to offer 5,000 new BTO flats in Punggol, Sengkang, Woodlands and Bukit Panjang.
Demand had been high at recent BTO sales, noted the HDB, but a significant number of applicants did not buy a flat.
Hence, as it previously announced, the board is reviewing the system to discourage non-serious applicants from crowding out those with more pressing housing needs.
For example, 1,284 applications were received for the 698 flats offered under the Coral Spring project in Sengkang last September but more than 200 flats were left unsold after the exercise.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Friday • April 18, 2008
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) received 5,700 applications for 490 flats in its final bi-monthly sale of four-room and larger units that closed on Wednesday.
Bi-monthly sale exercises attract more applicants and a higher take-up rate, as the flats on offer are either completed or nearing completion, said the HDB.
But with the progressive clearance exercises of unsold flats, fewer units are left available on a walk-in basis — and, as earlier announced, the HDB will offer its three-room premium and larger flats under half-yearly sale exercises, instead of bi-monthly.
Prospective buyers are advised to opt for the Build-to-Order (BTO) system — in which flats take about three years to complete — that make up the main supply of new flats.
From this month until September, the HDB plans to offer 5,000 new BTO flats in Punggol, Sengkang, Woodlands and Bukit Panjang.
Demand had been high at recent BTO sales, noted the HDB, but a significant number of applicants did not buy a flat.
Hence, as it previously announced, the board is reviewing the system to discourage non-serious applicants from crowding out those with more pressing housing needs.
For example, 1,284 applications were received for the 698 flats offered under the Coral Spring project in Sengkang last September but more than 200 flats were left unsold after the exercise.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Rental homes standing empty in UK property slump
Rental homes standing empty in UK property slump
Friday • April 18, 2008
Mr Richard Lee spent £5.3 million ($14 million) buying 20 rental homes across the United Kingdom with just £150,000 of his own money. Today, the properties are worth about 60 per cent less and owned by the banks that financed the purchases.
Mr Lee, 37, was one of thousands enticed by one of Europe's top five best-performing housing markets during the past decade.
Now, repossessions are mounting and properties stand empty as many investors fail to find the tenants needed to cover their mortgages after a building boom flooded cities — especially Leeds and Manchester — with apartments.
The unravelling buy-to-rent investment market contributed to a 2.5-per-cent drop in home prices last month, the biggest since 1992, a report by mortgage lender HBOS shows. The International Monetary Fund warns Britain is among the countries most likely to follow the US into a housing slump.
Prices may drop 10 per cent this year and next, said an economist at Citigroup Michael Saunders. "Buy-to-let investment was a bubble inside the housing market bubble. It's turning out worse than I thought."
Home purchases by investors such as Mr Lee helped triple housing prices between 1997 and last year. The buy-to-rent market in the UK increased 19-fold to about £190 billion in the same period, according to Savills.
Rental properties generated annual investment returns of about 22 per cent in the five years ended March 31, according to the Association of Residential Letting. By comparison, the FTSE All-Share Index climbed about 12 per cent.
The "virtuous circle" of rental investment that powered the UK housing market was broken by falling property values and banks' retrenchment following record mortgage-related losses. Banks and securities firms have disclosed about US$245 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses since last year.
Average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rates have climbed to 6.5 per cent, or 1.5 percentage points more than the gross rental yield from a property in the first quarter.
Investors like Mr Lee, who have high levels of debt, are now vulnerable to the deflating buy-to-let market.
"Twelve months ago, development was an easy way to make your fortune," said Mr Tom Bloxham, chairman of Manchester-based Urban Splash, which develops derelict sites. "Today, it's a disaster zone."
Mr Lee bought an apartment in the City Gate 2 development in Manchester for £239,500 in October 2005. An identical property in the same building sold for £115,000 earlier this year, said Mr Lee, who has surrendered his keys to the bank.
After purchasing 17 properties in late 2005, Mr Lee said he realised he had overpaid for them. Even so, once he has dug himself out of his current financial woes, he says he will get back into the business.
"Would I do buy-to-let again?" he said. "Without a doubt. But this time, I'll ensure I'm in control of all the levers."— Bloomberg
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Friday • April 18, 2008
Mr Richard Lee spent £5.3 million ($14 million) buying 20 rental homes across the United Kingdom with just £150,000 of his own money. Today, the properties are worth about 60 per cent less and owned by the banks that financed the purchases.
Mr Lee, 37, was one of thousands enticed by one of Europe's top five best-performing housing markets during the past decade.
Now, repossessions are mounting and properties stand empty as many investors fail to find the tenants needed to cover their mortgages after a building boom flooded cities — especially Leeds and Manchester — with apartments.
The unravelling buy-to-rent investment market contributed to a 2.5-per-cent drop in home prices last month, the biggest since 1992, a report by mortgage lender HBOS shows. The International Monetary Fund warns Britain is among the countries most likely to follow the US into a housing slump.
Prices may drop 10 per cent this year and next, said an economist at Citigroup Michael Saunders. "Buy-to-let investment was a bubble inside the housing market bubble. It's turning out worse than I thought."
Home purchases by investors such as Mr Lee helped triple housing prices between 1997 and last year. The buy-to-rent market in the UK increased 19-fold to about £190 billion in the same period, according to Savills.
Rental properties generated annual investment returns of about 22 per cent in the five years ended March 31, according to the Association of Residential Letting. By comparison, the FTSE All-Share Index climbed about 12 per cent.
The "virtuous circle" of rental investment that powered the UK housing market was broken by falling property values and banks' retrenchment following record mortgage-related losses. Banks and securities firms have disclosed about US$245 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses since last year.
Average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rates have climbed to 6.5 per cent, or 1.5 percentage points more than the gross rental yield from a property in the first quarter.
Investors like Mr Lee, who have high levels of debt, are now vulnerable to the deflating buy-to-let market.
"Twelve months ago, development was an easy way to make your fortune," said Mr Tom Bloxham, chairman of Manchester-based Urban Splash, which develops derelict sites. "Today, it's a disaster zone."
Mr Lee bought an apartment in the City Gate 2 development in Manchester for £239,500 in October 2005. An identical property in the same building sold for £115,000 earlier this year, said Mr Lee, who has surrendered his keys to the bank.
After purchasing 17 properties in late 2005, Mr Lee said he realised he had overpaid for them. Even so, once he has dug himself out of his current financial woes, he says he will get back into the business.
"Would I do buy-to-let again?" he said. "Without a doubt. But this time, I'll ensure I'm in control of all the levers."— Bloomberg
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Sharp drop in Q1 new home sales
Sharp drop in Q1 new home sales
But don't expect prices to fall, say analysts
Friday • April 18, 2008
Tan Hui Leng
huileng@mediacorp.com.sg
IN another sign of a lull in the private residential property market, developers managed to sell only 795 new homes in the first three months of this year — a hefty 46 per cent decline from the fourth quarter of last year.
"This was the second lowest quarter of developer sales since the Sars-stricken quarter" in the first three months of 2003, said DTZ Research in the real estate consultancy's first-quarter Singapore Property Market Report released yesterday.
"Developers and buyers are taking a wait-and-see attitude and some are holding back launches," said DTZ in the report.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), developers launched 1,395 units in the first quarter this year, 291 fewer than the 1,686 in the previous quarter.
But even with the dwindling activity in the first quarter, most developers — especially the larger ones — are in no hurry to cut prices. "Developers were still able to put up with lacklustre sales, bolstered by the revenue surge during the past two years," noted DTZ.
The bigger and more established developers are likely to hold out until the market regains its firm footing — unless a darker cloud of prolonged gloom descends in the form of a deepening United States sub-prime mortgage crisis or regional uncertainties, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield.
Currently, a generally optimistic outlook for Singapore's economy continues to prop up the property market. In fact, larger developers may even hold out for as long as two years until the Temporary Occupation Permits are obtained for their projects.
And even then, they may choose to rent out instead of selling the new apartments. Indeed, monthly rents of prime apartments have risen between 2.1 and 2.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter, noted the DTZ report.
However, some smaller developers subject to tighter bank credit, may yield to pressure to cut prices.
"Some developers may have taken out loans pegged to higher interest rates so they may price their property lower to clear stock," said Mr Han.
Earlier this month, estimates from the URA showed that the rise in home prices had been moderating, with prices up 4.2 per cent in the first three months, down from the 6.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Overall, there were only about 2,000 private residential transactions in January and February this year, down sharply from the 5,200 deals recorded over the same period last year.
The number of private home transactions has fallen in part due to the cooling of en bloc sales, which stood at a "standstill" in the first quarter, noted real estate firm Colliers International. There was just one collective deal — that of Ban Guan Park at Holland Road with a price tag of $31.1 million.
At the peak of en bloc fever in the second quarter of last year, there were 41 collective sales worth a total of about $6.5 billion, which supplied the market with potential buyers.
While the residential sector is cooling down, other segments of the property market such as office, industrial and retail are going strong. This has kept overall property investment sales at $8.4 billion in the first quarter this year, just 1 per cent above the previous quarter, according to the DTZ report.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
But don't expect prices to fall, say analysts
Friday • April 18, 2008
Tan Hui Leng
huileng@mediacorp.com.sg
IN another sign of a lull in the private residential property market, developers managed to sell only 795 new homes in the first three months of this year — a hefty 46 per cent decline from the fourth quarter of last year.
"This was the second lowest quarter of developer sales since the Sars-stricken quarter" in the first three months of 2003, said DTZ Research in the real estate consultancy's first-quarter Singapore Property Market Report released yesterday.
"Developers and buyers are taking a wait-and-see attitude and some are holding back launches," said DTZ in the report.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), developers launched 1,395 units in the first quarter this year, 291 fewer than the 1,686 in the previous quarter.
But even with the dwindling activity in the first quarter, most developers — especially the larger ones — are in no hurry to cut prices. "Developers were still able to put up with lacklustre sales, bolstered by the revenue surge during the past two years," noted DTZ.
The bigger and more established developers are likely to hold out until the market regains its firm footing — unless a darker cloud of prolonged gloom descends in the form of a deepening United States sub-prime mortgage crisis or regional uncertainties, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield.
Currently, a generally optimistic outlook for Singapore's economy continues to prop up the property market. In fact, larger developers may even hold out for as long as two years until the Temporary Occupation Permits are obtained for their projects.
And even then, they may choose to rent out instead of selling the new apartments. Indeed, monthly rents of prime apartments have risen between 2.1 and 2.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter, noted the DTZ report.
However, some smaller developers subject to tighter bank credit, may yield to pressure to cut prices.
"Some developers may have taken out loans pegged to higher interest rates so they may price their property lower to clear stock," said Mr Han.
Earlier this month, estimates from the URA showed that the rise in home prices had been moderating, with prices up 4.2 per cent in the first three months, down from the 6.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Overall, there were only about 2,000 private residential transactions in January and February this year, down sharply from the 5,200 deals recorded over the same period last year.
The number of private home transactions has fallen in part due to the cooling of en bloc sales, which stood at a "standstill" in the first quarter, noted real estate firm Colliers International. There was just one collective deal — that of Ban Guan Park at Holland Road with a price tag of $31.1 million.
At the peak of en bloc fever in the second quarter of last year, there were 41 collective sales worth a total of about $6.5 billion, which supplied the market with potential buyers.
While the residential sector is cooling down, other segments of the property market such as office, industrial and retail are going strong. This has kept overall property investment sales at $8.4 billion in the first quarter this year, just 1 per cent above the previous quarter, according to the DTZ report.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
HDB supply of completed new flats hits all-time low
April 18, 2008
HDB supply of completed new flats hits all-time low
THE Housing Board yesterday alerted couples looking to buy completed new flats that its supply had now dipped to an all-time low of 1,300.
With the 'progressive clearance' of its unsold stock, there will be fewer completed units offered for sale in future, it said.
The HDB is now urging buyers to consider its build-to-order (BTO) flats where there will be 'ample supply and regular project launches'.
BTO flats will be the main source of new flats in future, the board has said. These flats are built only when there is sufficient demand, and usually take about three years to build.
The next two BTO sales will be launched at the end of the month, for flats in Punggol and Sengkang.
These new flats and others in towns such as Woodlands and Bukit Panjang will make up the 5,000 new flats the HDB plans to offer in the period until September.
The HDB's latest sale of completed flats, launched on April 10 - of 490 four-room or bigger flats in various towns such as Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East - had received 5,700 applications by the time it closed on Wednesday.
The ratio of about 10 applicants for every flat offered under its bi-monthly sales programme is 'similar to other sale exercises conducted over the past year', said the board.
The take-up rate is high because flats offered have been completed or are nearing completion.
The HDB advised buyers to 'plan ahead for their housing needs' to minimise waiting.
It also acknowledged recent public feedback that applicants who are not serious buyers 'should be discouraged from participating in sales exercises, to avoid crowding out those with more pressing housing needs'.
In recent BTO launches, for example, Punggol Vista, Fernvale Vista (Phase Two) and Coral Spring in Sengkang had take-up rates of 72, 65 and 70 per cent respectively.
Many initial applicants did not go ahead and make a purchase despite the chance to do, perhaps because their desired units had been sold, or they had decided on other housing options.
The HDB said that it is reviewing the flat application system to address this concern.
Only flats at Telok Blangah Towers and Treelodge @ Punggol, HDB's environmentally friendly project, had high take-up rates of 100 and 94 per cent respectively, it told The Straits Times.
Recently, the board also revised its launches and will sell three-room and smaller unsold flats once every three months, instead of once a month. And the bigger flats - three-room premium and above - will be sold half-yearly starting Oct 10, instead of every two months.
JESSICA CHEAM
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
HDB supply of completed new flats hits all-time low
THE Housing Board yesterday alerted couples looking to buy completed new flats that its supply had now dipped to an all-time low of 1,300.
With the 'progressive clearance' of its unsold stock, there will be fewer completed units offered for sale in future, it said.
The HDB is now urging buyers to consider its build-to-order (BTO) flats where there will be 'ample supply and regular project launches'.
BTO flats will be the main source of new flats in future, the board has said. These flats are built only when there is sufficient demand, and usually take about three years to build.
The next two BTO sales will be launched at the end of the month, for flats in Punggol and Sengkang.
These new flats and others in towns such as Woodlands and Bukit Panjang will make up the 5,000 new flats the HDB plans to offer in the period until September.
The HDB's latest sale of completed flats, launched on April 10 - of 490 four-room or bigger flats in various towns such as Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East - had received 5,700 applications by the time it closed on Wednesday.
The ratio of about 10 applicants for every flat offered under its bi-monthly sales programme is 'similar to other sale exercises conducted over the past year', said the board.
The take-up rate is high because flats offered have been completed or are nearing completion.
The HDB advised buyers to 'plan ahead for their housing needs' to minimise waiting.
It also acknowledged recent public feedback that applicants who are not serious buyers 'should be discouraged from participating in sales exercises, to avoid crowding out those with more pressing housing needs'.
In recent BTO launches, for example, Punggol Vista, Fernvale Vista (Phase Two) and Coral Spring in Sengkang had take-up rates of 72, 65 and 70 per cent respectively.
Many initial applicants did not go ahead and make a purchase despite the chance to do, perhaps because their desired units had been sold, or they had decided on other housing options.
The HDB said that it is reviewing the flat application system to address this concern.
Only flats at Telok Blangah Towers and Treelodge @ Punggol, HDB's environmentally friendly project, had high take-up rates of 100 and 94 per cent respectively, it told The Straits Times.
Recently, the board also revised its launches and will sell three-room and smaller unsold flats once every three months, instead of once a month. And the bigger flats - three-room premium and above - will be sold half-yearly starting Oct 10, instead of every two months.
JESSICA CHEAM
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Dream homes on Spanish coast turn into a nightmare
April 18, 2008
Dream homes on Spanish coast turn into a nightmare
Thousands told their properties are sitting on state land and therefore don't belong to them
VALENCIA - MILLIONS of Europeans fear their dream of owning property on the Spanish coast will become a nightmare, as Spain starts to get tough in enforcing a much-neglected 1988 law.
Spain, the world's No. 2 tourism destination, is the most popular choice for northern Europeans seeking a second home, with British residents alone believed to number nearly a million.
But many of them are now finding themselves falling foul of a widely ignored law classifying the strip of land on the coast as public domain, as the Socialist government starts telling thousands of house and apartment owners their properties do not really belong to them.
'Out of the blue we've been told the house we have owned for more than 30 years is no longer ours,' said retired British electronics engineer Clifford Carter, 59, who lives with his Spanish wife in La Casbah, a beach-side complex in eastern Spain.
'The house was built legally, but now they say we can only live here until we die but can't sell the house or leave it to our children.'
Along the Spanish coast, a protest group formed in January claims it already represents 20,000 people, and says up to half a million others - apartment and villa owners and restaurant and hotel proprietors - could be affected.
'This is the single biggest assault on private property we have seen in the recent history of Spain,' said group spokesman Jose Ortega, who is also a lawyer for many of those affected.
He says that at best, owners are being given 60-year concessions to live on the property or operate businesses, while others are threatened outright with demolition.
The government says the claims are exaggerated but insists the coast has to be saved.
'We're taking the law seriously,' said the Environment Ministry's coastal department director Jose Fernandez.
'Previous governments didn't think it was important, while we have made it a priority.'
The government is finishing the process of drawing the line designating what is state- owned and cannot contain private property along Spain's 10,000km coastline, with many people finding themselves on the wrong side.
And it is not just affecting individuals. The massive five-star Hotel Sidi lies a stone's throw from the shoreline, and last December its owners were told it was built on dune land protected by the 1988 law and must go.
They are being offered a 60-year operating concession, after which the hotel falls into the hands of the state.
'We're afraid that they'll take away the property. It was built legally with all the papers,' said Mr Roger Zimmermann, the hotel's Swiss managing director.
PRECARIOUS PERCH: Although buildings like this apartment block south of Valencia were built legally, owners are now given leases or threatened with demolition. -- PHOTO: AP
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Dream homes on Spanish coast turn into a nightmare
Thousands told their properties are sitting on state land and therefore don't belong to them
VALENCIA - MILLIONS of Europeans fear their dream of owning property on the Spanish coast will become a nightmare, as Spain starts to get tough in enforcing a much-neglected 1988 law.
Spain, the world's No. 2 tourism destination, is the most popular choice for northern Europeans seeking a second home, with British residents alone believed to number nearly a million.
But many of them are now finding themselves falling foul of a widely ignored law classifying the strip of land on the coast as public domain, as the Socialist government starts telling thousands of house and apartment owners their properties do not really belong to them.
'Out of the blue we've been told the house we have owned for more than 30 years is no longer ours,' said retired British electronics engineer Clifford Carter, 59, who lives with his Spanish wife in La Casbah, a beach-side complex in eastern Spain.
'The house was built legally, but now they say we can only live here until we die but can't sell the house or leave it to our children.'
Along the Spanish coast, a protest group formed in January claims it already represents 20,000 people, and says up to half a million others - apartment and villa owners and restaurant and hotel proprietors - could be affected.
'This is the single biggest assault on private property we have seen in the recent history of Spain,' said group spokesman Jose Ortega, who is also a lawyer for many of those affected.
He says that at best, owners are being given 60-year concessions to live on the property or operate businesses, while others are threatened outright with demolition.
The government says the claims are exaggerated but insists the coast has to be saved.
'We're taking the law seriously,' said the Environment Ministry's coastal department director Jose Fernandez.
'Previous governments didn't think it was important, while we have made it a priority.'
The government is finishing the process of drawing the line designating what is state- owned and cannot contain private property along Spain's 10,000km coastline, with many people finding themselves on the wrong side.
And it is not just affecting individuals. The massive five-star Hotel Sidi lies a stone's throw from the shoreline, and last December its owners were told it was built on dune land protected by the 1988 law and must go.
They are being offered a 60-year operating concession, after which the hotel falls into the hands of the state.
'We're afraid that they'll take away the property. It was built legally with all the papers,' said Mr Roger Zimmermann, the hotel's Swiss managing director.
PRECARIOUS PERCH: Although buildings like this apartment block south of Valencia were built legally, owners are now given leases or threatened with demolition. -- PHOTO: AP
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Thursday, April 17, 2008
S'pore residential rentals 5th highest in Asia: study
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
S'pore residential rentals 5th highest in Asia: study
But Republic still competitive for firms moving staff into region: ECA
By JOANNE CHIEW
SINGAPORE'S residential rental rates for a three-bedroom apartment have increased by 33 per cent over a year - from 2006 to 2007.
This makes Singapore the fifth most expensive location in terms of residential rentals in Asia and ninth globally, according to a recent survey by ECA International.
ECA International is a knowledge and solutions provider for international human resources professionals.
The annual Accommodation Survey compares rental prices in 92 locations worldwide.
A three-bedroom apartment in a popular expatriate area in Singapore costs about US$4,460 per month in 2007, up from US$3,364 the previous year.
The 33 per cent increase is also the largest in Asia.
Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International Hong Kong, attributes the steep rise to rising demand and limited supply.
'Companies (are) expanding their operations in Singapore together with government initiatives to attract skilled workers from overseas. But at the same time, the supply of property available has been limited by a number of factors such as en bloc purchases by developers, which have exacerbated the situation.'
In Hong Kong, the most expensive location in the world as ranked by the survey, rental is twice that of Singapore's for an equivalent property.
It costs 60 per cent more to rent in Tokyo, the second most expensive location in Asia, than in Singapore, which 'remains a competitive location for companies moving staff into the region', Mr Quane says.
In addition, Mr Quane explains that exchange-rate fluctuations also make a difference.
Rental prices have gone up where the local currency has strengthened against the US dollar, as in Singapore.
Six of the top 10 most expensive locations in the world are in Asia - Hong Kong (1st), Tokyo (4th), Mumbai (6th), Seoul (7th), Singapore (9th) and Ho Chi Minh City (10th). New York (3rd), Moscow (2nd), London (5th) and Caracas (8th) are the other four.
Average rental prices in Asia are around US$3,820, well above the global average of US$2,950.
Some of the survey's biggest rank movements have been experienced in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Doha, but Dubai remains the most expensive location there.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
S'pore residential rentals 5th highest in Asia: study
But Republic still competitive for firms moving staff into region: ECA
By JOANNE CHIEW
SINGAPORE'S residential rental rates for a three-bedroom apartment have increased by 33 per cent over a year - from 2006 to 2007.
This makes Singapore the fifth most expensive location in terms of residential rentals in Asia and ninth globally, according to a recent survey by ECA International.
ECA International is a knowledge and solutions provider for international human resources professionals.
The annual Accommodation Survey compares rental prices in 92 locations worldwide.
A three-bedroom apartment in a popular expatriate area in Singapore costs about US$4,460 per month in 2007, up from US$3,364 the previous year.
The 33 per cent increase is also the largest in Asia.
Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International Hong Kong, attributes the steep rise to rising demand and limited supply.
'Companies (are) expanding their operations in Singapore together with government initiatives to attract skilled workers from overseas. But at the same time, the supply of property available has been limited by a number of factors such as en bloc purchases by developers, which have exacerbated the situation.'
In Hong Kong, the most expensive location in the world as ranked by the survey, rental is twice that of Singapore's for an equivalent property.
It costs 60 per cent more to rent in Tokyo, the second most expensive location in Asia, than in Singapore, which 'remains a competitive location for companies moving staff into the region', Mr Quane says.
In addition, Mr Quane explains that exchange-rate fluctuations also make a difference.
Rental prices have gone up where the local currency has strengthened against the US dollar, as in Singapore.
Six of the top 10 most expensive locations in the world are in Asia - Hong Kong (1st), Tokyo (4th), Mumbai (6th), Seoul (7th), Singapore (9th) and Ho Chi Minh City (10th). New York (3rd), Moscow (2nd), London (5th) and Caracas (8th) are the other four.
Average rental prices in Asia are around US$3,820, well above the global average of US$2,950.
Some of the survey's biggest rank movements have been experienced in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Doha, but Dubai remains the most expensive location there.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Penalty on the house as banks woo customers
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Penalty on the house as banks woo customers
Some are repricing home loans lower, others offer to subsidise penalties
By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) As home sales continue to slide, banks are going all out to hang on to their existing home loan borrowers and even poach from their rivals. Some are even offering to pay off the penalties that customers may incur making the switch.
Flexibility has become a byword and new packages are getting more imaginative.
In anticipation of interest rates falling even further, one new DBS home loan package offers two free repricings within 24 months.
At United Overseas Bank (UOB), customers can fix the monthly payments for 36 months regardless of interest rate changes.
At Standard Chartered Bank, borrowers don't even have to call. The UK-based bank has begun repricing home loans downwards for existing customers on variable rate packages.
It is understood to be the first bank to do so given the steep falls in interest rates since last December.
The last time banks were proactive in repricing home loans was in 2005 after interest rates rose sharply in the third quarter of 2004.
This, in turn, led to several rounds of hikes as the period followed two years of record lows when interest rates went below one per cent.
Stanchart's automatic repricing is for customers who are out of their lock-in periods, that is those who do not have to pay a penalty if they repay the loan in full.
'Our customers were notified late last month,' said Dennis Khoo, Stanchart general manager, lending.
'We proactively look at the customer base and take the necessary steps to ensure the pricing is competitive; if not, the competition will take them,' said Mr Khoo.
The repricing can take the form of a new package or a lower rate within the existing contract, he said.
For banks looking to grow their mortgage business in a sluggish property market, refinancing or winning over customers from rivals is critical.
In the first quarter, only 795 new private homes were sold, about half the 1,469 units in the preceding quarter.
'Refinancing business is something all the banks do and in a market situation like this, they have to work harder,' said Kevin Lam, UOB head of loans.
At the same time, efforts to retain customers have gone into overdrive.
'All banks have a dedicated team to retain customers,' said Mr Lam.
Repricing though can be a tricky business for borrowers still within their penalty periods because their banks have yet to recover their original costs of selling those loans.
So banks know that one way to poach customers from rivals is by offering to pay the penalty rate which can be hefty - typically 1-1.5 per cent of the outstanding loan.
'It's difficult because they were heavily subsidised in the first year. It's on a case-by-case basis, it depends on the total relationship as the bank may have to stomach the loss,' said Mr Khoo.
Koh Kar Siong, DBS managing director and head of secured loans, said customers who are considering refinancing need to assess the interest savings and the costs incurred such as legal fees and any penalties or subsidies payable to the financier.
'To help customers with the upfront costs, we do have customised packages that offer penalty subsidies,' said Mr Koh.
One Stanchart customer said she decided to refinance with DBS Bank after the latter offered to subsidise the penalty fee running into $20,000 plus.
'DBS calls it 1.00 per cent penalty subsidy and there is a 36 months pro-rated clawback,' said the customer.
But another DBS borrower, dissatisfied with the repricing terms, said she is switching to Stanchart after the latter countered with even lower rates and threw in a legal subsidy as sweetener.
Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of consumer secured lending, said refinancing customers should remember that cheaper offers elsewhere still come with some cost.
'Home-owners looking for refinancing should approach their existing banks first as the total cost of refinancing with another bank is usually relatively higher and has to be offset by lower interest rates,' he said.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
Penalty on the house as banks woo customers
Some are repricing home loans lower, others offer to subsidise penalties
By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) As home sales continue to slide, banks are going all out to hang on to their existing home loan borrowers and even poach from their rivals. Some are even offering to pay off the penalties that customers may incur making the switch.
Flexibility has become a byword and new packages are getting more imaginative.
In anticipation of interest rates falling even further, one new DBS home loan package offers two free repricings within 24 months.
At United Overseas Bank (UOB), customers can fix the monthly payments for 36 months regardless of interest rate changes.
At Standard Chartered Bank, borrowers don't even have to call. The UK-based bank has begun repricing home loans downwards for existing customers on variable rate packages.
It is understood to be the first bank to do so given the steep falls in interest rates since last December.
The last time banks were proactive in repricing home loans was in 2005 after interest rates rose sharply in the third quarter of 2004.
This, in turn, led to several rounds of hikes as the period followed two years of record lows when interest rates went below one per cent.
Stanchart's automatic repricing is for customers who are out of their lock-in periods, that is those who do not have to pay a penalty if they repay the loan in full.
'Our customers were notified late last month,' said Dennis Khoo, Stanchart general manager, lending.
'We proactively look at the customer base and take the necessary steps to ensure the pricing is competitive; if not, the competition will take them,' said Mr Khoo.
The repricing can take the form of a new package or a lower rate within the existing contract, he said.
For banks looking to grow their mortgage business in a sluggish property market, refinancing or winning over customers from rivals is critical.
In the first quarter, only 795 new private homes were sold, about half the 1,469 units in the preceding quarter.
'Refinancing business is something all the banks do and in a market situation like this, they have to work harder,' said Kevin Lam, UOB head of loans.
At the same time, efforts to retain customers have gone into overdrive.
'All banks have a dedicated team to retain customers,' said Mr Lam.
Repricing though can be a tricky business for borrowers still within their penalty periods because their banks have yet to recover their original costs of selling those loans.
So banks know that one way to poach customers from rivals is by offering to pay the penalty rate which can be hefty - typically 1-1.5 per cent of the outstanding loan.
'It's difficult because they were heavily subsidised in the first year. It's on a case-by-case basis, it depends on the total relationship as the bank may have to stomach the loss,' said Mr Khoo.
Koh Kar Siong, DBS managing director and head of secured loans, said customers who are considering refinancing need to assess the interest savings and the costs incurred such as legal fees and any penalties or subsidies payable to the financier.
'To help customers with the upfront costs, we do have customised packages that offer penalty subsidies,' said Mr Koh.
One Stanchart customer said she decided to refinance with DBS Bank after the latter offered to subsidise the penalty fee running into $20,000 plus.
'DBS calls it 1.00 per cent penalty subsidy and there is a 36 months pro-rated clawback,' said the customer.
But another DBS borrower, dissatisfied with the repricing terms, said she is switching to Stanchart after the latter countered with even lower rates and threw in a legal subsidy as sweetener.
Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of consumer secured lending, said refinancing customers should remember that cheaper offers elsewhere still come with some cost.
'Home-owners looking for refinancing should approach their existing banks first as the total cost of refinancing with another bank is usually relatively higher and has to be offset by lower interest rates,' he said.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
Property market seen growing on a strong Sing dollar
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Property market seen growing on a strong Sing dollar
Fast income growth, falling interest rates will keep the sector buoyant, says report
HERE'S some good news for those feeling down after recent bearish reports on the local property market.
Canadian-based BCA Research this week issued a Buy Singapore Property Stocks report, arguing that a strong Singapore dollar will depress interest rates, which will continue to fuel the property market.
It also pointed to strong income growth and other fundamentals - for instance, the transformation of Singapore's economy and favourable supply-demand dynamics - which it says will continue to underpin the Singapore real estate bull market.
'While real estate prices in Singapore have been rising for a while, the pace of appreciation is unlikely to slow much given the solid fundamentals of this market,' BCA Research argues.
'The bull market in property stocks will resume given the positive backdrop of the real estate sector. The valuations of real estate stocks have become very attractive, based on almost all price ratios. Dividend yields for this sector, at 2.1 per cent, compare extremely favourably with domestic bonds that are yielding 1-2 per cent.
'Property stocks have underperformed the Singapore equity benchmark since early 2007 and it appears a trend reversal is under way.'
In its report, the research house notes that the supply-demand dynamics in Singapore's real estate market are positive and valuations are not overly expensive. The government's measures last year have cooled housing activity somewhat, which has dented the performance of real estate stocks, BCA notes.
'Nevertheless, strong income growth and depressed interest rates suggest that the property market in Singapore will stay buoyant,' it adds.
The report also says that 'when measured against the long-term trend of income per capita, property prices are still in a catch-up phase after a major undershoot in the aftermath of the Asian crisis'.
Housing affordability has not yet deteriorated, thanks to fast income growth and a plunge in interest rates. Rental yields have gone up as rent increases have been outpacing property prices.
'Rising rental yields in the wake of plunging interest rates are not sustainable, as the arbitrage opportunity will be exploited,' says BCA. 'Given the supply-demand dynamics in Singapore's real estate market, a further increase in property prices is the most likely scenario at the moment. Despite the three-year dramatic appreciation in property prices, housing supply has not become excessive.'
According to BCA, the supply of residential and office real estate is far from the level at the peak of the last bubble in 1996. It also says the impact of scrapping the Deferred Payment Scheme in slowing activity in the housing market appears to be waning.
The Singapore economy is also unlikely to weaken substantially during this global growth downturn, as it has become more diversified in recent years.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Property market seen growing on a strong Sing dollar
Fast income growth, falling interest rates will keep the sector buoyant, says report
HERE'S some good news for those feeling down after recent bearish reports on the local property market.
Canadian-based BCA Research this week issued a Buy Singapore Property Stocks report, arguing that a strong Singapore dollar will depress interest rates, which will continue to fuel the property market.
It also pointed to strong income growth and other fundamentals - for instance, the transformation of Singapore's economy and favourable supply-demand dynamics - which it says will continue to underpin the Singapore real estate bull market.
'While real estate prices in Singapore have been rising for a while, the pace of appreciation is unlikely to slow much given the solid fundamentals of this market,' BCA Research argues.
'The bull market in property stocks will resume given the positive backdrop of the real estate sector. The valuations of real estate stocks have become very attractive, based on almost all price ratios. Dividend yields for this sector, at 2.1 per cent, compare extremely favourably with domestic bonds that are yielding 1-2 per cent.
'Property stocks have underperformed the Singapore equity benchmark since early 2007 and it appears a trend reversal is under way.'
In its report, the research house notes that the supply-demand dynamics in Singapore's real estate market are positive and valuations are not overly expensive. The government's measures last year have cooled housing activity somewhat, which has dented the performance of real estate stocks, BCA notes.
'Nevertheless, strong income growth and depressed interest rates suggest that the property market in Singapore will stay buoyant,' it adds.
The report also says that 'when measured against the long-term trend of income per capita, property prices are still in a catch-up phase after a major undershoot in the aftermath of the Asian crisis'.
Housing affordability has not yet deteriorated, thanks to fast income growth and a plunge in interest rates. Rental yields have gone up as rent increases have been outpacing property prices.
'Rising rental yields in the wake of plunging interest rates are not sustainable, as the arbitrage opportunity will be exploited,' says BCA. 'Given the supply-demand dynamics in Singapore's real estate market, a further increase in property prices is the most likely scenario at the moment. Despite the three-year dramatic appreciation in property prices, housing supply has not become excessive.'
According to BCA, the supply of residential and office real estate is far from the level at the peak of the last bubble in 1996. It also says the impact of scrapping the Deferred Payment Scheme in slowing activity in the housing market appears to be waning.
The Singapore economy is also unlikely to weaken substantially during this global growth downturn, as it has become more diversified in recent years.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Smart moves in home loan market
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Smart moves in home loan market
By SIOW LI SEN
PERHAPS US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke can take a leaf from our local bankers when it comes to his nation's sub-prime home loan borrowers who are struggling to meet higher instalments after lenders reset their interest rates higher.
Recently United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched a home loan package called UOB Clear where borrowers can fix their instalments for a three-year period, regardless of interest rate movements.
If the interest rate goes down, more of the principal would be paid off. And if interest rates move higher, a higher amount of the instalment would be used to pay the interest portion.
Fixing the instalment for 36 months is pretty radical, and unheard of, even without the volatility in interest rates.
But customers who use their Central Provident Fund (CPF) money to pay their home loans will appreciate the convenience since it is a hassle to inform the CPF board each time the instalment amount changes.
UOB is banking on the extra service it is offering to retain existing customers, as well as to get new ones.
Banks have been pretty creative in looking for ways to both retain and attract new home loan customers as refinancing has become the only game in town amid a dearth of new home sales.
Mortgages as a product, while low margin, is also relatively risk-free in Singapore, provided the economy continues to enjoy full employment, as it should given the strong economic growth momentum of the first quarter.
The economy surprised with a robust 7.2 per cent gain in the first quarter, against 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Savvy borrowers who have begun shopping around for cheaper home loans in light of falling interest rates may also have come across a new feature offered by DBS Bank. One of its packages which pegs the interest rate to the 12-month Sibor, or the interbank interest rate, offers two free repricings within 24 months.
With DBS's huge customer base, it frees its bankers from having to negotiate with impatient borrowers every time interest rates fall. The projection is that the key interest rate here will fall to below one per cent before the year is out. The 3-month Sibor yesterday was 1.36 per cent.
The penchant for home loan borrowers to switch banks every two or three years, especially once the lock-in periods are over, is a constant headache faced by bankers here.
Local banks have a harder time in a falling interest rate environment given their much bigger customer bases.
Even borrowers still within their lock-in periods are demanding their banks reprice their loans lower. Bankers explain that this is a losing proposition because they had secured the funding cost for the existing loan at an earlier higher price. But in the same breadth, they will offer to pay the penalty to lure new refinancing customers from a rival.
Still, the penalties worked into each package actually ensures that banks don't lose out when customers jump ship.
The market is tough but standing still is just not an option.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Smart moves in home loan market
By SIOW LI SEN
PERHAPS US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke can take a leaf from our local bankers when it comes to his nation's sub-prime home loan borrowers who are struggling to meet higher instalments after lenders reset their interest rates higher.
Recently United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched a home loan package called UOB Clear where borrowers can fix their instalments for a three-year period, regardless of interest rate movements.
If the interest rate goes down, more of the principal would be paid off. And if interest rates move higher, a higher amount of the instalment would be used to pay the interest portion.
Fixing the instalment for 36 months is pretty radical, and unheard of, even without the volatility in interest rates.
But customers who use their Central Provident Fund (CPF) money to pay their home loans will appreciate the convenience since it is a hassle to inform the CPF board each time the instalment amount changes.
UOB is banking on the extra service it is offering to retain existing customers, as well as to get new ones.
Banks have been pretty creative in looking for ways to both retain and attract new home loan customers as refinancing has become the only game in town amid a dearth of new home sales.
Mortgages as a product, while low margin, is also relatively risk-free in Singapore, provided the economy continues to enjoy full employment, as it should given the strong economic growth momentum of the first quarter.
The economy surprised with a robust 7.2 per cent gain in the first quarter, against 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Savvy borrowers who have begun shopping around for cheaper home loans in light of falling interest rates may also have come across a new feature offered by DBS Bank. One of its packages which pegs the interest rate to the 12-month Sibor, or the interbank interest rate, offers two free repricings within 24 months.
With DBS's huge customer base, it frees its bankers from having to negotiate with impatient borrowers every time interest rates fall. The projection is that the key interest rate here will fall to below one per cent before the year is out. The 3-month Sibor yesterday was 1.36 per cent.
The penchant for home loan borrowers to switch banks every two or three years, especially once the lock-in periods are over, is a constant headache faced by bankers here.
Local banks have a harder time in a falling interest rate environment given their much bigger customer bases.
Even borrowers still within their lock-in periods are demanding their banks reprice their loans lower. Bankers explain that this is a losing proposition because they had secured the funding cost for the existing loan at an earlier higher price. But in the same breadth, they will offer to pay the penalty to lure new refinancing customers from a rival.
Still, the penalties worked into each package actually ensures that banks don't lose out when customers jump ship.
The market is tough but standing still is just not an option.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Price cuts help Far East sell 3 projects: sources
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Price cuts help Far East sell 3 projects: sources
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
PROPERTY heavyweight Far East Organization has achieved encouraging sales for three 99-year leasehold suburban projects after it trimmed their prices by about 3-5 per cent shortly after the Chinese New Year period, sources say.
BT understands that the price cuts were aimed at drawing bargain hunters who were keen on the three completed developments - La Casa executive condo in Woodlands, and two private condos, The Lakeshore in Jurong and Hillview Regency in Bukit Batok.
'Far East cut prices because it was pretty sure of the demand for its product. There were bargain hunters out there holding steady jobs and who've enjoyed a few years of good bonuses. Mortgage rates are also low today. But potential buyers had to be given a little incentive, because people expect softer prices as sentiment has weakened,' an industry observer said. 'It would have been pointless for Far East to have cut prices if there had been no demand as that would only have served to weaken confidence,' he added.
Market watchers suggest that other developers could follow suit and help clear the current stalemate between buyers and sellers. After all, a modest price cut by developers in today's environment may not be greeted with panic, as in the 1998 property slump, as the Singapore economy is still growing, and the job market healthy.
Far East is believed to have sold 50-plus units at The Lakeshore, around 20 units at Hillview Regency as well as the last 20-odd units at La Casa following the price cuts. Before the cuts, it had been selling units at The Lakeshore at prices ranging from the high $700 psf region to around $1,000 psf for apartments with views of Jurong Lake. Urban Redevelopment Authority's plans for the location released this month have also boosted interest in the condo. At Hillview Regency, prices range from about $700-plus psf to the high $800s for apartments facing Little Guilin. Units at La Casa were priced at over $500 psf.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Price cuts help Far East sell 3 projects: sources
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
PROPERTY heavyweight Far East Organization has achieved encouraging sales for three 99-year leasehold suburban projects after it trimmed their prices by about 3-5 per cent shortly after the Chinese New Year period, sources say.
BT understands that the price cuts were aimed at drawing bargain hunters who were keen on the three completed developments - La Casa executive condo in Woodlands, and two private condos, The Lakeshore in Jurong and Hillview Regency in Bukit Batok.
'Far East cut prices because it was pretty sure of the demand for its product. There were bargain hunters out there holding steady jobs and who've enjoyed a few years of good bonuses. Mortgage rates are also low today. But potential buyers had to be given a little incentive, because people expect softer prices as sentiment has weakened,' an industry observer said. 'It would have been pointless for Far East to have cut prices if there had been no demand as that would only have served to weaken confidence,' he added.
Market watchers suggest that other developers could follow suit and help clear the current stalemate between buyers and sellers. After all, a modest price cut by developers in today's environment may not be greeted with panic, as in the 1998 property slump, as the Singapore economy is still growing, and the job market healthy.
Far East is believed to have sold 50-plus units at The Lakeshore, around 20 units at Hillview Regency as well as the last 20-odd units at La Casa following the price cuts. Before the cuts, it had been selling units at The Lakeshore at prices ranging from the high $700 psf region to around $1,000 psf for apartments with views of Jurong Lake. Urban Redevelopment Authority's plans for the location released this month have also boosted interest in the condo. At Hillview Regency, prices range from about $700-plus psf to the high $800s for apartments facing Little Guilin. Units at La Casa were priced at over $500 psf.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Court directs Regent Garden sale to Allgreen to proceed
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Court directs Regent Garden sale to Allgreen to proceed
By CHEW XIANG
THE stop-start en bloc sale of Regent Garden, a 31-unit West Coast Road condominium, to Allgreen Properties looks set to finally go through after the High Court yesterday directed the majority owners to complete the agreement.
The court also ruled that the Strata Titles Board's decision in January to reject the deal was irrelevant and ordered the majority owners to pay costs to Allgreen, the developer.
The agreement with Allgreen, originally signed in April last year, was first delayed when six owners out of the 31 held out.
When the dissenting six finally agreed to sell out by November, the majority owners, who together own 25 units and over 80 per cent of the share value in Regent Garden, did an about turn and tried to abort the deal, arguing that the $34 million sale price was too low partly because of a wrongly estimated $7.2 million development charge.
They wanted the High Court to void the agreement, or alternatively, to award damages or an addition to the sale price.
Allgreen, represented by Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC, itself went to the High Court in mid-January to ask for an order requiring the majority owners to complete the sale deal. The six minority owners joined in the proceedings as well.
But on Jan 30, the Strata Titles Board ruled the sale had not been done in good faith because Regent Garden's valuation was wrong and well below the market price.
Yesterday, Allgreen said in a statement that 'the decision by the High Court is a victory for the sanctity of contract and is a strong message that owners will be held to their bargain'.
'The court's decision is very good news for the entire industry,' said Allgreen.
The majority owners were represented by Molly Lim of Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Court directs Regent Garden sale to Allgreen to proceed
By CHEW XIANG
THE stop-start en bloc sale of Regent Garden, a 31-unit West Coast Road condominium, to Allgreen Properties looks set to finally go through after the High Court yesterday directed the majority owners to complete the agreement.
The court also ruled that the Strata Titles Board's decision in January to reject the deal was irrelevant and ordered the majority owners to pay costs to Allgreen, the developer.
The agreement with Allgreen, originally signed in April last year, was first delayed when six owners out of the 31 held out.
When the dissenting six finally agreed to sell out by November, the majority owners, who together own 25 units and over 80 per cent of the share value in Regent Garden, did an about turn and tried to abort the deal, arguing that the $34 million sale price was too low partly because of a wrongly estimated $7.2 million development charge.
They wanted the High Court to void the agreement, or alternatively, to award damages or an addition to the sale price.
Allgreen, represented by Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC, itself went to the High Court in mid-January to ask for an order requiring the majority owners to complete the sale deal. The six minority owners joined in the proceedings as well.
But on Jan 30, the Strata Titles Board ruled the sale had not been done in good faith because Regent Garden's valuation was wrong and well below the market price.
Yesterday, Allgreen said in a statement that 'the decision by the High Court is a victory for the sanctity of contract and is a strong message that owners will be held to their bargain'.
'The court's decision is very good news for the entire industry,' said Allgreen.
The majority owners were represented by Molly Lim of Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Property developers up on bullish reports
Business Times - 17 Apr 2008
Property developers up on bullish reports
SINGAPORE - Shares of property developers rose after a research report said that a strong Singapore dollar will spur the Singapore property market.
Canadian-based BCA Research said that a firmer Singapore dollar will depress interest rates and propel real estate prices, the Business Times reported on Thursday.
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's largest developer, soared 4.8 per cent to $6.71 (US$4.95) with 3.4 million shares traded.
Southeast Asia's second-largest developer, City Developments, rose as much as 3.6 per cent to $12.06, with over 450,000 shares traded.
Keppel Land gained 4 per cent to an intraday high of $5.93 with over one million shares changing hands.
According to a Merrill Lynch report, the fall in private homes last month suggested weakness in the sector but it believed property stock prices have factored the slowdown.
Merrill Lynch analysts recommended investors to buy shares of City Developments and CapitaLand and assigned target prices of $16.30 and $7.27, respectively.
'Not only do these companies have the strength to ride through a weak cycle, they will also be in the best position to reap the benefits should the property market pick up again,' Merrill Lynch said in a client note. -- REUTERS
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Property developers up on bullish reports
SINGAPORE - Shares of property developers rose after a research report said that a strong Singapore dollar will spur the Singapore property market.
Canadian-based BCA Research said that a firmer Singapore dollar will depress interest rates and propel real estate prices, the Business Times reported on Thursday.
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's largest developer, soared 4.8 per cent to $6.71 (US$4.95) with 3.4 million shares traded.
Southeast Asia's second-largest developer, City Developments, rose as much as 3.6 per cent to $12.06, with over 450,000 shares traded.
Keppel Land gained 4 per cent to an intraday high of $5.93 with over one million shares changing hands.
According to a Merrill Lynch report, the fall in private homes last month suggested weakness in the sector but it believed property stock prices have factored the slowdown.
Merrill Lynch analysts recommended investors to buy shares of City Developments and CapitaLand and assigned target prices of $16.30 and $7.27, respectively.
'Not only do these companies have the strength to ride through a weak cycle, they will also be in the best position to reap the benefits should the property market pick up again,' Merrill Lynch said in a client note. -- REUTERS
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Regent Garden owners ordered to complete en bloc sale to Allgreen
April 17, 2008
Regent Garden owners ordered to complete en bloc sale to Allgreen
By Joyce Teo
OWNERS at Regent Garden must complete the collective sale of their condominium after the High Court handed down a landmark decision in favour of developer Allgreen Properties yesterday.
The $34 million sale, which the Strata Titles Board (STB) threw out in late January, must be finalised by May 16.
The decision ends one of the more unusual collective sale disputes.
Initially, 25 owners signed off on the sale in April last year, but they later tried to overturn the deal, claiming, among other things, that the condo was undervalued.
Although the owners had opted for a fixed $34 million price, they were unhappy that a development charge payable by Allgreen turned out to be much lower than expected.
There were six dissenting owners in April, however. They later withdrew their objections, but the case still went to the STB.
The STB usually assesses a sale if there are objections. In this case, however, the sale was now unanimous. Yet, it said it was still required to examine the case, whether objections were filed or not, to satisfy itself that the sale was made in good faith. It axed the deal in January, ruling that it had not been done in good faith.
Allgreen had already asked the High Court for an order to get the majority owners to complete the sale. It argued that the STB had no need to even examine the sale, as all owners had agreed to sell.
The court agreed, ruling that allegations of mistake and breach of contract were without merit and that the STB's decision to halt the sale of the West Coast Road estate was irrelevant. It also ordered the 25 owners to pay Allgreen's costs.
The developer said in a statement last night that the 25 owners who signed the deal had subsequently asked Allgreen to raise its sale price. It refused.
'Allgreen had entered into a solemn contract. It was not prepared on account of the baseless allegations to renegotiate the price,' it said.
The developer also described the decision as a 'victory for the sanctity of contract' and sent a 'strong message' that owners would be held to their bargain.
Allgreen was represented by senior counsel Davinder Singh, while the 25 majority owners were represented by senior counsel Molly Lim.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Regent Garden owners ordered to complete en bloc sale to Allgreen
By Joyce Teo
OWNERS at Regent Garden must complete the collective sale of their condominium after the High Court handed down a landmark decision in favour of developer Allgreen Properties yesterday.
The $34 million sale, which the Strata Titles Board (STB) threw out in late January, must be finalised by May 16.
The decision ends one of the more unusual collective sale disputes.
Initially, 25 owners signed off on the sale in April last year, but they later tried to overturn the deal, claiming, among other things, that the condo was undervalued.
Although the owners had opted for a fixed $34 million price, they were unhappy that a development charge payable by Allgreen turned out to be much lower than expected.
There were six dissenting owners in April, however. They later withdrew their objections, but the case still went to the STB.
The STB usually assesses a sale if there are objections. In this case, however, the sale was now unanimous. Yet, it said it was still required to examine the case, whether objections were filed or not, to satisfy itself that the sale was made in good faith. It axed the deal in January, ruling that it had not been done in good faith.
Allgreen had already asked the High Court for an order to get the majority owners to complete the sale. It argued that the STB had no need to even examine the sale, as all owners had agreed to sell.
The court agreed, ruling that allegations of mistake and breach of contract were without merit and that the STB's decision to halt the sale of the West Coast Road estate was irrelevant. It also ordered the 25 owners to pay Allgreen's costs.
The developer said in a statement last night that the 25 owners who signed the deal had subsequently asked Allgreen to raise its sale price. It refused.
'Allgreen had entered into a solemn contract. It was not prepared on account of the baseless allegations to renegotiate the price,' it said.
The developer also described the decision as a 'victory for the sanctity of contract' and sent a 'strong message' that owners would be held to their bargain.
Allgreen was represented by senior counsel Davinder Singh, while the 25 majority owners were represented by senior counsel Molly Lim.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
S'pore apartment rents are 9th highest
April 17, 2008
GLOBAL PROPERTY SURVEY
S'pore apartment rents are 9th highest
SINGAPORE is the ninth most expensive place to rent a three-bedroom apartment, according to a survey.
Rents surged by 33 per cent last year, boosted by companies expanding operations at a time of limited supply of property, said the survey report, which was released yesterday.
A three-bedroom unit in popular expatriate areas such as Orchard Road costs about US$4,460 (S$6,046) a month on average to rent, compared with about US$3,364 in 2006.
But Singapore's rents are far below those of Hong Kong, which is the world's most expensive place to rent a three-bedroom apartment.
The annual survey by human resources firm ECA International collected rental costs in 92 locations last September and converted them to US dollars.
A three-bedder in Hong Kong rents for about US$9,700 a month, compared with Asia's average of US$3,820 and a global average of US$2,950.
Moscow was second on the global list, followed by New York, Tokyo, London and Mumbai, with Seoul in seventh place. Caracas in Venezuela took eighth spot, with Singapore one notch ahead of Ho Chi Minh City.
ECA International Hong Kong general manager Lee Quane said demand for high-end apartments in the territory had driven up rents.
If it is a bargain you want, try Karachi in Pakistan, the world's cheapest place to rent an apartment.
JOYCE TEO
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
GLOBAL PROPERTY SURVEY
S'pore apartment rents are 9th highest
SINGAPORE is the ninth most expensive place to rent a three-bedroom apartment, according to a survey.
Rents surged by 33 per cent last year, boosted by companies expanding operations at a time of limited supply of property, said the survey report, which was released yesterday.
A three-bedroom unit in popular expatriate areas such as Orchard Road costs about US$4,460 (S$6,046) a month on average to rent, compared with about US$3,364 in 2006.
But Singapore's rents are far below those of Hong Kong, which is the world's most expensive place to rent a three-bedroom apartment.
The annual survey by human resources firm ECA International collected rental costs in 92 locations last September and converted them to US dollars.
A three-bedder in Hong Kong rents for about US$9,700 a month, compared with Asia's average of US$3,820 and a global average of US$2,950.
Moscow was second on the global list, followed by New York, Tokyo, London and Mumbai, with Seoul in seventh place. Caracas in Venezuela took eighth spot, with Singapore one notch ahead of Ho Chi Minh City.
ECA International Hong Kong general manager Lee Quane said demand for high-end apartments in the territory had driven up rents.
If it is a bargain you want, try Karachi in Pakistan, the world's cheapest place to rent an apartment.
JOYCE TEO
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
HDB-style living in Tianjin eco-city
April 17, 2008
HDB-style living in Tianjin eco-city
The $5.8b project is the biggest S'pore-China venture in 15 years
By Jessica Cheam
A LANDMARK project to build an ecologically sustainable city from scratch in Tianjin will see a touch of HDB living in northern China.
It will feature an LRT station within walking distance of flats, which will also be close to amenities such as eateries and schools - all familiar sights in HDB estates here - to cut down on the need for transportation.
Many other Singapore touches are likely as the flagship Tianjin eco-city is being modelled on some of Singapore's HDB new towns.
A bold masterplan for the eco-city is being made public today by the National Development Ministry.
China news reports say investments of at least 30 billion yuan (S$5.8 billion) will be pumped into the project.
It is the most significant cooperative project between the two nations in about 15 years. And leaders in both Singapore and China believe that it could serve as an important blueprint for similar future eco-friendly projects.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the eco-city would have a 'clear Singapore imprint' and would reflect 'a lot of the experience that we have gathered for many years'.
It would pave the way for the further adoption of green features and technologies here, he added. It would also allow government leaders and businessmen from both nations 'to interact...broaden and deepen the engagement and relationship'.
The eco-city, 40km from the port city of Tianjin and 150km south-east of Beijing, will tackle the growing problems of pollution by providing a 'green lung' and eco-corridors with extensive greenery for 110,000 energy-efficient homes.
Singapore's Green Mark scheme - which sets environmental standards for buildings - will also be used.
Green technologies such as water recycling and harnessing waste heat from power stations will be adopted. The LRT will link four major districts, cutting the need for cars. The city will derive 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources as an initial target.
The masterplan will see 30 sq km of marshland transformed into a mini-metropolis. Construction of an initial 3 sq km will begin after a ground-breaking ceremony in Tianjin in July.
The eco-city, first mooted by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong during a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing last April, is the most significant cooperation between the two countries since the Suzhou Industrial Park in the early 1990s.
A boon to Singapore firms, the project will provide opportunities for those with products and services, such as waste and water treatment, to expand into China, said Mr Mah.
About 20 per cent of the eco-city's homes will be public, subsidised housing - an idea put forward by Singapore to ensure the city is made up of residents 'from all walks of life', he said.
He said the project resonates now as 'countries all over the world are facing serious challenges in trying to grow but to do so without damaging the environment'.
The eco-city will be set apart because 'economic development will be balanced with sustainable development that is holistic and pragmatic...and it has to be practical, scaleable, replicable' .
It will be built by a joint venture - a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Corp and a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holdings, with equal stakes.
Mr Mah acknowledged the project as a major challenge:
'We're under no illusions that this is...easy to achieve. but looking at the goodwill, amount of effort and commitment that's going in, I think there is every chance that we will achieve what we set out to do within the timeframe.'
jcheam@sph.com.sg
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
HDB-style living in Tianjin eco-city
The $5.8b project is the biggest S'pore-China venture in 15 years
By Jessica Cheam
A LANDMARK project to build an ecologically sustainable city from scratch in Tianjin will see a touch of HDB living in northern China.
It will feature an LRT station within walking distance of flats, which will also be close to amenities such as eateries and schools - all familiar sights in HDB estates here - to cut down on the need for transportation.
Many other Singapore touches are likely as the flagship Tianjin eco-city is being modelled on some of Singapore's HDB new towns.
A bold masterplan for the eco-city is being made public today by the National Development Ministry.
China news reports say investments of at least 30 billion yuan (S$5.8 billion) will be pumped into the project.
It is the most significant cooperative project between the two nations in about 15 years. And leaders in both Singapore and China believe that it could serve as an important blueprint for similar future eco-friendly projects.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the eco-city would have a 'clear Singapore imprint' and would reflect 'a lot of the experience that we have gathered for many years'.
It would pave the way for the further adoption of green features and technologies here, he added. It would also allow government leaders and businessmen from both nations 'to interact...broaden and deepen the engagement and relationship'.
The eco-city, 40km from the port city of Tianjin and 150km south-east of Beijing, will tackle the growing problems of pollution by providing a 'green lung' and eco-corridors with extensive greenery for 110,000 energy-efficient homes.
Singapore's Green Mark scheme - which sets environmental standards for buildings - will also be used.
Green technologies such as water recycling and harnessing waste heat from power stations will be adopted. The LRT will link four major districts, cutting the need for cars. The city will derive 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources as an initial target.
The masterplan will see 30 sq km of marshland transformed into a mini-metropolis. Construction of an initial 3 sq km will begin after a ground-breaking ceremony in Tianjin in July.
The eco-city, first mooted by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong during a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing last April, is the most significant cooperation between the two countries since the Suzhou Industrial Park in the early 1990s.
A boon to Singapore firms, the project will provide opportunities for those with products and services, such as waste and water treatment, to expand into China, said Mr Mah.
About 20 per cent of the eco-city's homes will be public, subsidised housing - an idea put forward by Singapore to ensure the city is made up of residents 'from all walks of life', he said.
He said the project resonates now as 'countries all over the world are facing serious challenges in trying to grow but to do so without damaging the environment'.
The eco-city will be set apart because 'economic development will be balanced with sustainable development that is holistic and pragmatic...and it has to be practical, scaleable, replicable' .
It will be built by a joint venture - a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Corp and a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holdings, with equal stakes.
Mr Mah acknowledged the project as a major challenge:
'We're under no illusions that this is...easy to achieve. but looking at the goodwill, amount of effort and commitment that's going in, I think there is every chance that we will achieve what we set out to do within the timeframe.'
jcheam@sph.com.sg
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Dazzling opening for S'pore Flyer
April 16, 2008
Dazzling opening for S'pore Flyer
THE Singapore Flyer was officially launched in style last night with
a dazzling laser light show and fireworks display.
It also got the thumbs-up from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who
said the Flyer offered a remarkable view of 'our beautiful city'
after a ride on it.
Noting that the 165m-tall wheel was the latest addition to
Singapore's constantly growing and changing skyline, Mr Lee pointed
out the many things that were happening around Marina Bay, including
the upcoming integrated resort and F1 circuit.
Mr Lee, the guest of honour at the event, said the Flyer's management
was optimistic that the $240-million observation wheel would do well
and become 'one of the busiest in the world'.
He kicked off yesterday's festivities by beating on a drum to set off
the laser and fireworks displays.
The evening was not all about glitz, though - a cheque for $28,000
was presented to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.
The cheque was handed to ST's editor, Mr Han Fook Kwang, by the
chairman of the Singapore Flyer, Mr Florian Bollen.The money came
from the attraction's board and management.
The Flyer - the world's highest for now - has been open to the public
since March 1.
Said Mr Bollen: 'The wheel stands for wholeness, perfection, progress
and speed - all of which fit Singapore's character very well.'
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Dazzling opening for S'pore Flyer
THE Singapore Flyer was officially launched in style last night with
a dazzling laser light show and fireworks display.
It also got the thumbs-up from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who
said the Flyer offered a remarkable view of 'our beautiful city'
after a ride on it.
Noting that the 165m-tall wheel was the latest addition to
Singapore's constantly growing and changing skyline, Mr Lee pointed
out the many things that were happening around Marina Bay, including
the upcoming integrated resort and F1 circuit.
Mr Lee, the guest of honour at the event, said the Flyer's management
was optimistic that the $240-million observation wheel would do well
and become 'one of the busiest in the world'.
He kicked off yesterday's festivities by beating on a drum to set off
the laser and fireworks displays.
The evening was not all about glitz, though - a cheque for $28,000
was presented to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.
The cheque was handed to ST's editor, Mr Han Fook Kwang, by the
chairman of the Singapore Flyer, Mr Florian Bollen.The money came
from the attraction's board and management.
The Flyer - the world's highest for now - has been open to the public
since March 1.
Said Mr Bollen: 'The wheel stands for wholeness, perfection, progress
and speed - all of which fit Singapore's character very well.'
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
