GST petition hits 300 supporters

Posted on 26 Jun 2013 | Comments Off on GST petition hits 300 supporters

An online petition directed at Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) President Greg Seow to make it mandatory for GST to be paid on agents fees has now attracted 300 signatures.

Launched 10 days ago by Jason Lim of Vestor Realty, the petition was born from growing frustration among an increasing number of Singapore real estate agents who are being forced to absorb GST when their clients simply refuse to pay.

Lim told PropertyGuru: “My plan now is to raise more awareness with realtors who are already aware of the petition and to ask them to spread the word and reach more realtors.”

He added: “Some people doubt if this petition will change anything, but all I can say is if we do nothing, nothing will happen.”

Many agents have left their comments in support of the petition.

Jonathan Yap wrote: “We provide a professional service and we should be remunerated as such”, while JC Lee commented: “I not only meet this issue with landlords – even some developers don’t pay us GST.”

A spokesperson for CEA declined to add to their previous statement to PropertyGuru, in which Yeap Soon Teck, Deputy Director (Licensing) confirmed that the organisation has previously received similar feedback, and is currently reviewing the standard forms to emphasise that if the estate agent is GST-registered then GST should be payable to the estate agent.

Petition: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/council-for-estate-agencies-cea-impose-gst-as-non-negotiable-and-compulsory-payable-by-all-consumers

Source – PropGuru – 25 Jun 2013

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Posted in General, Tax Matters / Property Tax

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Landed homes prices rising fast

Posted on 26 Jun 2013 | Comments Off on Landed homes prices rising fast

Prices of resale landed homes grew faster than their non-landed counterparts during the first half of 2013, according to survey conducted by DTZ.

In prime Districts 9, 10 and 11, prices of freehold landed homes rose 3.1 percent while those of freehold apartment increased only by one percent. For leasehold landed homes, resale prices rose 5.1 percent in suburban districts compared to only 2.2 percent for apartments.

However, suburban freehold landed homes rose by only 2.6 percent — the lowest increase in the landed segment although still slightly higher than suburban freehold apartments.

“In general, landed prices have risen more strongly than non-landed,” said Lee Lay Keng, DTZ’s head of Singapore research.

Meanwhile, terrace homes, both leasehold or freehold, were the most popular choice in the landed home market. Resale prices of these home types climbed between 4.1 percent and 5.6 percent both in prime and suburban areas, while resale prices of semi-detached and detached homes posted an increase of 0.5 percent to 2.7 percent across the board.

DTZ expects landed home prices to continue to increase at a faster rate than apartment prices in 2H 2013.

The URA data revealed that around 495 landed homes could be available for sale in prime districts 9, 10 and 11, which translates to only 4.5 percent of the overall number of landed homes within the said districts, noted DTZ.

Around 33,000 non-landed homes are anticipated to be launched nationwide compared to only 2,000 landed homes, based on the various GLS sites sold or available as well as projects that are still on the board.

“On the back of a limited pipeline supply (of landed homes), we expect the outperformance to continue into the second half of 2013,” said Lee.

Source – PropGuru – 25 Jun 2013

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Posted in Landed Property, Property Market / Real Estate

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