Category Archives: Property Market / Real Estate

Singapore industrial property sector forecast to outperform all others

Posted on 25 May 2011 | Comments Off on Singapore industrial property sector forecast to outperform all others

Singapore’s industrial property sector looks to outperform residential, retail, and office property over the next few years, after a dynamite 2010 and first quarter of 2011.

Donald Han, vice-chairman of property consultants at Cushman and Wakefield, said capital values for industrial properties rose as much as 22 per cent last year.

“I think probably we’re going to see another 15-per-cent price increase this year. As long as the economy continues to do well and our manufacturing numbers continue to expand, I think we’ll have another good 24 months of steady rental increase plus capital value enhancement as well,” said Han.

Demand is also coming from investors and speculators moving into the industrial space from the residential market due to the Government’s measures to cool the market for the latter, Han added.

Another attraction is the affordability of industrial properties compared to residential ones. Han said: “You can buy very affordable units for about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet at prices of about S$300 to S$350 per square foot (US$240-280), which translates to less than S$0.5 million (US$400,000). If you look at the residential projects, for S$0.5 million you really can’t buy much, not even shoebox units.”

The Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday launched the tender for an industrial site at Tuas View Square, Today newspaper reported. Available for sale through the Reserve List system since November, the tender was triggered when a developer committed to bid no less than S$4.9 million (US$3.9 million) for the land parcel on a 45-year lease.

The 0.4 hectare site has a gross plot ratio of 0.9 and is zoned for Business 2 development, meaning it can be developed for various facilities such as light industry, general industry, warehousing, utility or telecommunication uses. The tender closes on June 29.

Meanwhile, JTC Corp has awarded the tender for a business park site at Biopolis to Ascendas Venture, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascendas Land Singapore. The company submitted the highest bid of S$87.2 million (US$69.8 million) for the site, part of the fifth phase of Biopolis, which is expected to be completed in 2013.

Source : PRSEA – 25 May 2011

Comments Off on Singapore industrial property sector forecast to outperform all others

Posted in Property Market / Real Estate

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

16% of private home buyers in S’pore in Q1 are foreigners

Posted on 25 May 2011 | Comments Off on 16% of private home buyers in S’pore in Q1 are foreigners

Foreign buyers accounted for 16 per cent of private home purchases in Singapore in the first quarter of this year, setting a new record high, according to real estate consultant DTZ Research.

The previous high of 15 per cent was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007.

DTZ defines foreign buyers as non-Singaporeans and non-permanent residents.

Singaporeans’ share of private property purchases fell to 67 per cent in the first quarter, from 70 per cent in the previous three months.

The proportion of mainland Chinese among non-Singaporean buyers – comprising foreigners and PRs – hit a new record high of 24 per cent in the first quarter of 2011.

It is the first quarter that Chinese nationals are the top foreign purchasers of residential properties in Singapore.

“The residential market appears to have taken the January 2011 cooling measures in its stride,” said Ms Chua Chor Hoon, head of DTZ South East Asia Research.

“However, local concerns about high housing prices and the influx of foreigners that were magnified during the recent General Election will be a catalyst for the review of immigration and housing policies, which could dampen demand in the residential market in the coming months,” she added.

According to DTZ, small units continue to be popular among home buyers, especially the HDB upgraders.

The proportion of buyers with HDB addresses who bought units below 1,000 square feet increased 5 per cent in Q1 2011, compared with a 2 per cent increase among buyers with private addresses.

DTZ’s analysis also revealed that a higher proportion of foreigners bought into the high-end market during the quarter.

For transactions costing S$1.5 million and above, the proportion of purchases made by foreigners increased the most – from 17 per cent to 21 per cent.

For purchases below S$500,000, the proportion of transactions made by Singaporeans was 80 per cent, up from 72 per cent a quarter earlier.

This reflected the smaller budget among Singaporean buyers. “At the lower end of the price scale, locals are the main drivers of demand,” said DTZ.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 25 May 2011

Comments Off on 16% of private home buyers in S’pore in Q1 are foreigners

Posted in General, Property Market / Real Estate

Tagged , , , , , , ,