Residential Market News Extract - 18 July 2012

Sophia Mansions sold to Roxy-Pacific for $43.3m

Sophia Mansions, a 19-unit development at Mount Sophia, was sold to Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited for $43.3 million.

Owners of two-bedroom apartments at the development stand to receive gross sales proceeds of between $1.8 million and $2 million, while those who own three-bedroom homes will receive between $2.5 million and $2.7 million.

Sellers of the 20-year-old freehold site with a land area of about 17,545 square feet had previously indicated that they were willing to part with the development for a price of between $42.5 million and $45 million.

The selling price amounts to $1,175 per square foot per plot ratio based on a gross plot ratio of 2.1.

There is potential to build an additional gross floor area (GFA) of about 1,105 sq ft (or about 3 per cent of the gross floor area) of balconies without incurring any development charge.

The land rate, inclusive of the 3 per cent balcony space, will be about $1,140 psf ppr.

Source: Business Times – 18 July 2012

Good response to Haus@Serangoon Garden

Haus @ Serangoon Garden, an environmentally friendly project by City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Hong Realty, was popular among homebuyers over the weekend, with 28 of the 40 terrace houses on offer at the preview sold.

Prices start from $2.4 million for an intermediate terrace unit with a land area of 1,615 square feet. Corner terraces cost more and start from $2.8 million for a unit with a land area of 2,284 sq ft.

CDL said about 40 per cent of buyers are residents in the neighbourhood.

Haus@Serangoon Garden is the first landed housing estate here to win the Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark Platinum award.

CDL said homeowners "stand to achieve up to 40 per cent" in utility savings for each terrace house.

In all, Haus@Serangoon Garden will have 18 corner units and 79 intermediate terrace homes. All 97 units have two storeys, a basement and an attic. The 99-year leasehold project is expected to be completed by 2016.

Source: Business Times – 18 July 2012

Buyers back out of 105 private home deals

Private home buyers returned 105 units to developers last month - fewer than in May but in line with levels seen in recent months.

The units, which were likely bought in May, came from projects like Sky Habitat, Seahill and executive condominium (EC) Twin Waterfalls.

The returns comprised about 5.2 per cent of the more than 2,000 units sold - including ECs - that month.

There were 150 units returned in May, or 5.7per cent of the more than 2,600 non-landed homes sold in April, ECs included.

Data shows the monthly return rates have generally stayed below 6 per cent since 2009, although there have been aberrations.

One came in January when returns hit 9 per cent, probably because the property cooling measures imposed in December gave some buyers second thoughts.

Buyers returning units could arise after the 'showflat hype' dies down and people take a second, critical look at their purchases.

These days, developers spend a huge amount to create the environment and mood in showflats, so it's not surprising for people to make a decision there and later feel it was too quick and then drop the idea.

Buyers also back out because their financing applications do not get approved.

The EC developments Twin Waterfalls and The Tampines Trilliant were among the top five projects with the most cancelled units last month.

Source: The Straits Times – 18 July 2012

Despite June blip, home sales set blistering pace

The momentum may have slowed in June, but developers have sold many more private homes in the first half of 2012 than they did last year.

June saw 1,371 units being sold, excluding executive condos - a 19.5 per cent drop, month-on-month. But in the first six months of this year, developers have offloaded 12,098 units - a big jump from the 8,039 private homes sold during the same period in 2011.

In fact, sales during the first six months are not very far from the 15,904 units sold for the whole of last year, based on preliminary numbers from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Property consultants expect developer sales to hit an all-time high of 18,000-22,000 units this year - surpassing the current record of 16,292 units set in 2010.

URA will release the final Q2 developer sales figures, taking into account returned units, on July 27.

Market watchers expect prices to remain stable in the second half given the ample supply generated from Government Land Sales. URA's flash estimate for its Q2 2012 private home price index was up 0.3 per cent from Q4 last year.

This is likely to contain any price hike.

Analysts also point to competing supply from the resale market as buyers warm to more attractive price points for older completed properties.

About 55 per cent of new private homes that developers sold in June were at below $1,000 per square foot (psf). In May, only 35.2 per cent of homes were sold in that price range.

However, prices are unlikely to crash assuming demand remains resilient, say industry players. Owner-occupiers as well as investors have been drawn to property as an anti-inflation hedge, especially given the current low interest rate environment and affordable lumpsum investment size as developers include small units in their projects.

However, if the Singapore economy tanks and retrenchments come into play, sentiment will dive and hit demand.

URA's developer monthly sales stats show that Outside Central Region (OCR), where mass-market projects are located, continued to drive primary-market sales in June, accounting for 81 per cent of the 1,371 private homes excluding ECs sold last month. However, the number of units sold in OCR shrank 8 per cent month on month.

Sales in Rest of Central region dived 67.1 per cent month-on-month to 119 units in June. However, sales in Core Central Region rose 4.4 per cent to 141 units, helped by the launch of 1919 at Mount Sophia - 74 of the project's 75 units sold at a median price of $2,042 psf.

Islandwide, June's top selling projects include River Isles in Punggol, with 263 units sold at a median price of $835 psf; Sea Esta in Pasir Ris (255 units at $906 psf median price); and a nearby EC project, Watercolours (201 units at $735 psf median price).

Source: Business Times – 17 July 2012