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