Govt measures cool landed homes market

Posted on 4 Jul 2013 | Comments Off on Govt measures cool landed homes market

Sales of landed properties in Singapore have fallen in the last few years as a result of the government’s cooling measures, according to analysts.

Landed homes comprise approximately five percent of all residential properties in Singapore. As such, these units are highly-sought-after by buyers and investors due to their scarcity.

Despite this, the sales value and transaction volume of landed properties have been falling in recent times.

In 1H2013, the total number of transactions in this segment fell by 49 percent to 737 units compared to the same period a year ago. This also translates to a significant 67 percent decline compared to the first half of 2011, noted HSR Property Consultants.

Total sales also fell more than 70 percent in the first half to nearly S$500 million.

Moving forward, sales are expected to slow further due to the new mortgage rules introduced by the central bank. Nonetheless, Knight Frank feels that prices in this segment will stabilise, with a one to two percent year-on-year gain by end-2013.

And while most purchases of landed homes are by high-net-worth individuals, one in five own HDB flats.

“This year, we have a HDB addressee who bought a property located in Windsor Park, Upper Thomson. He spent about S$25 million and that transaction was done sometime in January this year,” said Donald Han, Special Adviser at HSR.

“One of the second highest transactions from that base was Oei Tiong Ham Park. It was bought by another HDB buyer at a price of S$20 million in April this year.”

Source – PropertyGuru – 4 Jul 2013

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Mustafa Centre owner calls 10-storey apartment home

Posted on 4 Jul 2013 | Comments Off on Mustafa Centre owner calls 10-storey apartment home

Despite soaring property prices, Mustaq Ahmad, the owner of Mustafa Centre believes that building his own 10-storey apartment complex for S$11 million was a practical decision.

“A home is the most important necessity for any person…Big or small, owning your own home is better than renting, which could add to your financial pressure,” he said in a local media report.

Mustaq, together with his wife, children and grandchildren, moved into the property earlier this year. The 27,000 sq ft building is valued at S$45 million and has nine units with three to five rooms. There is also a swimming pool and gymnasium.

But the businessman explained: “It is only a home. The design may be a little different, but what is important is that the building is strong and safe.”

The property is also close to his office and Mustafa Centre on Syed Alwi Road.

Mustaq bought the 10,000 sq ft site between 1985 and 1990 for just S$6.5 million. While aware that the price has appreciated over the years, the businessman said: “This happened by chance, but we do not know what is going to happen in the future.”

“If given the chance to build an apartment like this at the (current) property prices, I probably could not do it again.”

In fact, Mustaq “never considered buying land and building an apartment as an investment…I only did it to put a roof over our heads so we can live together as a family”.

In 2011, Mustaq was ranked the 37th richest individual in Singapore by Forbes Asia. Mustafa Centre offers 24,000 sq m of retail space and over a million types of products.

Source – PropertyGuru – 4 Jul 2013

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