Govt may ease property measures this year, says CDL’s Kwek

Posted on 26 Feb 2016 | Comments Off on Govt may ease property measures this year, says CDL’s Kwek

The government may ease some of its property cooling measures this year in light of the sizeable upcoming supply, according to comments made by Kwek Leng Beng, Executive Chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL), and reported by Bloomberg and TODAYonline.

“Developers hope that the government presses the button sooner than later,” he said after announcing the company’s latest financial results on Thursday (25 Feb).

“I would think that they would do something this year. That’s my speculation, especially this year, when you have a lot of mid-end and low-end homes coming up. I suspect it will be the abolishing the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD).” Another existing measure is the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework.

The TDSR limits mortgage repayments to 60 percent of a borrower’s monthly income, while ABSD are stamp duties that individuals have to pay based on their residency status and the number of properties owned. The ABSD rules also impose a fine of 10 to 15 percent of the land cost if developers fail to build, complete and dispose all units within five years of acquiring the land.

With the aforementioned curbs and heftier real estate taxes, the government has been able bring down the high cost of housing.

In Q4 2015, prices of private homes fell by 8.4 percent from their peak in Q3 2013, while the number of transactions plummeted by around 50 percent from three years ago.

However, the overall drop in home prices following nine straight quarters of declines is still short of the over 60 percent surge seen in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

On Wednesday, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong also said it isn’t the time yet to relax the cooling measures.

Looking ahead, Kwek believes that prices of mid- and low-end homes could fall further this year, while weakness in the high-end segment will likely persist.

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Third mixed development in Yishun launched

Posted on 26 Feb 2016 | Comments Off on Third mixed development in Yishun launched

As a sign of developers’ confidence in the growth potential of Yishun, a new mixed-use development comprising residential and commercial units will be launched on 12 March.

Located at Yishun Ring Road, The Wisteria and Wisteria Mall is the third mixed commercial and residential project to launch in the area since the end of 2013, following Nine Residences and North Park Residences, both of which are also integrated with shopping malls.

Zoned for commercial and residential use, the approximately 105,054 sq ft site was awarded for $185.09 million in January 2015.

Located on levels 4 to 12, The Wisteria condominium comprises three nine-storey towers of 216 one- to four-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 441 sq ft to 1,173 sq ft.

The residential units will incorporate several smart-home features, enabling homeowners to remotely control door access and air-conditioning via a smart device.

Northern Resi and Northern Retail, wholly-owned companies of NorthernOne Development, are the project’s joint developers. Array Realty, an entity of Keppel Land, is acting as a consultant.

To be launched in phases, the first phase will see 50 percent of the condominiums (108 units) being released to buyers, a spokesperson for Array Realty told PropertyGuru.

“The units will have an initial average price of $1,030 psf to $1,050 psf, inclusive of a five percent early bird discount,” she said.

Sources told PropertyGuru that the project’s average price is around 20 percent lower than North Park Residences, where recent transactions have been in the range of $1,300 psf to $1,400 psf. Units at Nine Residences have gone for an average of $1,100 psf.

A VIP preview of The Wisteria will begin this weekend at the project’s showflat at the junction of Yishun Central and Yishun Avenue 9. “We will have a better gauge of buyers’ interest levels after the VIP preview. As for the actual prices, they will only be released on the day of sales booking,” noted the spokesperson.

In addition, the residential component will adopt the Prefabricated Pre-finished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) method, which helps to speed up construction significantly and minimize dust and noise pollution in the vicinity.

“This is one of the first projects in Singapore to use the prefab method,” the spokesperson said.

According to the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), this is a new construction method that involves modules complete with internal finishes, fixtures and fittings being manufactured in factories, then transported to the site for installation in a Lego-like manner.

Meanwhile, the commercial spaces are about 40 percent leased, the anchor tenants being NTUC Finest and Kopitiam Food Court.

“This is the only commercial project in Yishun South,” said the spokesperson, adding that it will help cater to the growing number of future residents.

The 99-year leasehold project is expected to obtain TOP in end-2018.

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