Residential Market News Extract - 15 August 2012

50-year mortgage won't affect public housing much: MND

The government said yesterday that a novel 50-year mortgage is unlikely to be popular and will not have significant impact on the public housing market.

The 50-year housing loans will cost the borrowers more, besides imposing a longer-term financial

Since the United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched its 50-year mortgage last month - the longest loan in the market - the government has criticised the product, and warned borrowers not to fall for it and overextend themselves.

MND said: "While some borrowers may be attracted by the lower monthly instalments, we do not expect 50-year housing loans to be popular."

It added: "Their impact on the public housing market is unlikely to be significant."

HDB does not offer 50-year loans as they are not necessary and BTO (build to order) flats are priced to be affordable, well within one working lifetime, said MND.

The maximum loan tenure for HDB housing loans is 30 years, with an age ceiling of 65. In practice, the average loan tenure taken up is lower, at 24 years. At this loan tenure, the monthly housing loan instalment constitutes about a quarter of the monthly household income, and can be mostly paid for using CPF contributions with zero or minimum cash outlay, said MND.

CIMB head of research Kenneth Ng said the product is a marketing gimmick by banks to gain some loan volume in an environment where loan growth is diminishing. "Mortgage is one of the lowest loss history products and it is no wonder banks want to hold on to their loan share.

Source: Business Times – 14 August 2012

 

Two launches planned despite Hungry Ghost Festival

Two launches are on the cards over the next few weeks despite the traditionally inauspicious Hungry Ghost Festival starting on Friday.

Developers have tended to shy away from launching in the Chinese seventh month but there are increasing signs that superstition is taking a back seat when sales are in the offing.

Marketing agents say the 752-unit eCO project in Bedok South Avenue 3 is expected to launch early next month.

Units are likely to be priced from $1,150 per sq ft (psf) to $1,300 psf, meaning a typical 1,166 sq ft three-bedder will be about $1.4 million.

The 99-year leasehold project, jointly developed by Far East Organization, Frasers Centrepoint and Sekisui House, will feature various units, including suites, small office, home office (Soho) apartments and townhouses.

The freehold mixed development One Dusun Residences at Jalan Dusun in Balestier is also readying for launch.

It consists of 154 Soho apartments - largely two-bedders or two-plus-study units - and 76 shop units. Marketing materials suggest its preview will be at the end of this month.

Two-bedroom units - from 452 sq ft to 786 sq ft - are estimated to cost more than $600,000 while buyers of commercial units will have to stump up between $700,000 and $1.3 million.

Some experts say that the habit of developers avoiding new launches in the seventh month could be less common now as the younger generation of home buyers might be less superstitious.

However, ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said most developers still avoid the seventh month for launches.

"Developers might do the ground work by gathering buyer interest and holding the preview during that time but the main launch is often after the seventh month," he added.

He noted that at least three executive condominium projects - in Punggol, Sengkang and Woodlands - with a total of more than 1,700 units are expected to be pushed out in the fourth quarter.

Source: The Straits Times – 14 August 2012

 

New MRT line in east by 2020; will have 10 stops

The new Eastern Region Line (ERL) will have 10 stations and pass through estates such as Marine Parade, Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Bedok South and Upper East Coast.

Slated to open by 2020, it will be 13km long, fully underground, and use driverless four-car trains. Its stations will link to the city centre and to the upcoming Thomson Line which will also use a four-car train. The older North-South and East-West lines use six-car trains.

The ERL, which will run almost parallel to the existing East-West Line, was first announced in the LTA's 2008 Masterplan.

Together with the Thomson Line, scheduled to open in 2018 to connect northern Singapore to the Marina Bay area, the new lines are meant to alleviate congestion on existing MRT lines, but little information about the ERL has emerged since.

The documents also included mention of an "integrated" interchange station linking the new ERL with an extension of an existing MRT line - though it did not specify which existing line this was.

It also did not give further details about the new interchange station.

Source: The Straits Times – 14 August 2012