Category Archives: Luxury Property

Singapore Good Class Bungalow sales picking up

Posted on 6 May 2011 | Comments Off on Singapore Good Class Bungalow sales picking up

Despite a slow first quarter, sales of Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) in Singapore are on the rise again.

URA Realis and Real Star Premier Properties both had significant sale increases in April, according to the Business Times.

Caveats of URA Realis reveal two sales totalling S$65 million (US$52.6 million). Meanwhile RealStar managing director William Wong reported two freehold sales of S$99 million (US$80.2 million).

The URA Realis property transactions were an Astrid Hill property of 22,012 sq ft that sold for S$35 million (US$28.3 million), and a Belmont Road property on 32,626 sq ft of land that sold for S$30 million (US$24.3 million).

RealStar had a sale in Ewart Park for S$38.6 million (US$31.3 million), or S$1150 (US$931) per sq ft of land area.  Its other sale was in the Yarwood area and neared S$60 million (US$48.6 million), or S$860 (US$696) per sq ft.

According to a recent analysis by CB Richard Ellis of URA Realis caveats data, in the first quarter of this year, some 16 GCB properties totalling about $338 million (US$273.6 million) changed hands – down from 30 deals amounting to S$623 million (US$504 million) in Q4 last year, and 31 transactions worth S$516 million (US$418 million) in Q1 2010.

Still, the average per square foot price on land area in Q1 2011 showed no sign of weakening. It has instead crept up 3.4 per cent from S$1,218 (US$986) psf in Q4 last year to S$1,260 (US$1020) psf in Q1.

RealStar’s Mr Wong predicts price upside of about 10 per cent for the whole of this year.

In addition to the S$99 million (US$80.1 million) of GCB deals his firm brokered in April, RealStar also handled the sale of about S$110 million (US$89 million) of other landed homes (mostly bungalows in districts 10, 11 and 21, as well as the eastern districts 15 and 16), taking the total value of landed homes brokered by the firm last month past the S$200 million (US$161.9 million) mark. This is double the tally for April last year, of just above S$100 million (US$80.9 million).

Meanwhile, DTZ is launching for sale by tender 20 Victoria Park Road. The ‘target price’ for the 999-year leasehold property is S$60 million (US$48.6 million), which reflects S$1,870 (US$1,513) psf on the land area of 32,077 sq ft. On the site are two bungalows and an outhouse.

The owner, believed to be a seasoned investor in the Singapore bungalow market, is said to have bought the property in 2007 for S$29.5 million (US$23.9 million) and attempted to sell it in 2009 for about S$38.7 million (US$31.3 million), but that deal was aborted.
20 Victoria Park Road is on an elevated site above road access level and has unobstructed views of the surrounding location.

One of the two bungalows on the site is a ‘modern design’ property with two storeys and an attic, while the other is a two-storey ‘black and white styled’ bungalow which is about 30 years old, says DTZ. The property has a swimming pool. The tender for 20 Victoria Park Road closes on May 27.

Source : PropertyReport – 6 May 2011

Comments Off on Singapore Good Class Bungalow sales picking up

Posted in Luxury Property, Property Market / Real Estate

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Market for luxury homes muted

Posted on 25 Apr 2011 | Comments Off on Market for luxury homes muted

The luxury residential property sector should be performing quite consistently this year but luxury residential property prices look unlikely to climb to pre-crisis levels anytime soon, according to market-watchers.

“Current prices for luxury residential property prices per square feet (psf) are in the S$2,500 to S$4,500 range,” said Mr Liang Thow Ming, executive director and head of residential services at Credo Property Services. “This is still some way off the record high of S$5,000 psf registered in 2007.”

Mr Liang’s pick for the star performer this year would be the mid-market segment, where he expects “a higher percentage increase in overall prices”.

He feels that the demand for luxury residential property – “which is more dependent on foreign buyers than any other segment” – is “unlikely to pick up substantially due to the geo-political situation in the world”.

Another reason could be the fact that en bloc sellers are “setting certain high expectations” in terms of prices, he said, adding that land supply for luxury residential developments in the Core Central Region (CCR) is very much dependent on collective sales.

Higher asking prices and the limited supply of land could put a damper on the number of luxury developments to be rolled out.

Similarly, market-watchers like UOB KayHian’s Mr Vikrant Pandey are not bullish, despite the shift in buying interest toward the CCR and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) for last month, as indicated by figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The latter’s flash estimates showed that private home sales last month increased 25 per cent to 1,386.

Mr Pandey explains that the surge last month could be a temporary one – “a result of pent-up demand from February as buyers had held back on their property purchases due to the Chinese New Year”.

“While the month-on-month sales have picked up, the year-on-year volumes remain weak, indicating that measures are slowly but steadily taking effect,” he added.

“Market sentiment is cautious,” said Mr Danny Low, chief operating officer and executive director of Heeton Holdings. Heeton, along with KSH Holdings and TEE International, last week launched The Boutiq, a luxury residential development on the site of the former Mitre Hotel at Kiliney Road.

To date, The Boutiq has sold 39 units of the 52 units launched in Phase One at an average price of S$2,350 psf – a result that Mr Low said met expectations.

He added that he “hopes the European and United States markets will recover in speed, so that investors will come back”.

Goldman Sachs is slightly more optimistic about the luxury sector. In a recent research note on the Singapore property sector, analysts Paul Lian and June Zhu wrote: “Luxury is seeing renewed interest, mainly from foreign buyers.”

“16 units (versus only one unit in February) were sold above S$3,000 psf,” it said. “Of note, one unit at Scotts Square was sold at S$4,334 psf and one unit at Boulevard Vue fetched S$4,308 psf.”

Other luxury residential developments to be launched this year include Heeton’s iLiv@Grange and City Development’s Jean Nouvel Residences at Anderson Road, and Buckley 9 & 11.

Source : Today – 25 Apr 2011

Comments Off on Market for luxury homes muted

Posted in Luxury Property, Property Market / Real Estate, Property Price

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,