Tag Archives: Singapore Property

Private property owners benefit from property rebound

Posted on 7 Jul 2012 | Comments Off on Private property owners benefit from property rebound

Since 2009, private homeowners in Singapore have greatly benefitted from the recovery in the property market.

A report by Square Foot Research revealed that owners received at least S$20.3 billion in gross profit since late 2009 based on caveats data. This explains the strong sales figure of S$60.1 billion recorded during the period, noted the report.

Square Foot added that actual figures could be a lot higher if gains from collective sales were factored into the research.

But overall profitability slid to S$2.7 billion in the first half 2012 compared to the S$3.2 billion and S$4 billion in 2H2011 and 1H2011 respectively.

At the same time, the percentage of unprofitable transactions in the secondary market rose to two percent in 1H2012, from one percent in 2H2011.

On the upside, average profitability per transaction in the secondary market hit a new high of S$522,056 in 1H2012, nearly double the S$288,991 in H22009.

The top five most profitable secondary market projects in the first six months of this year comprised the likes of Serangoon Garden Estate (most profitable with $59 million in profit realised), The Quintet, Frankel Estate, Seletar Hills Estate and Trevista.

On the flip side, the five most unprofitable projects in the same period included developments such as Reflections at Keppel Bay (the most unprofitable project, where a total loss of $7.4 million was realised), St Regis Residences, Latitude, CityVista Residences and Duchess Residences.

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More ABSD-exempt foreigners bought Singapore homes in H1

Posted on 7 Jul 2012 | Comments Off on More ABSD-exempt foreigners bought Singapore homes in H1

Residential property purchases made by foreigners from countries exempted from ABSD (additional buyer’s stamp duty) rose in 1H2012, according to data released by CBRE.

These foreign buyers, including permanent residents (PRs), hail from the US, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway – countries that have free trade agreements with Singapore.

CBRE noted that the group accounted for 3.1 percent of all homes purchased by non-Singaporeans during the period, more than the two and 2.6 percent seen in 1H2011 and 1H2010 respectively.

Interestingly, US citizens emerged as one of the top five foreign property buyers, displacing Myanmar from the list.

“For US buyers, they could still be participating relatively strongly because their economy is performing well,” noted Alan Cheong, Head of Research at Savills Singapore.

However, the absolute number of transactions done by ABSD-exempt buyers dipped, reflecting greater concern over economic health rather than on cooling measures.

Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research at Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore, said: “The volume of foreign buying, especially those in prime districts, had in fact shifted down gear even before the ABSD was introduced, largely on the back of the weakening global conditions.”

Industry watchers noted that the volume of transactions from ABSD-exempt foreigners accounts for a very small section of the market; and hence is not a reflection of overall trends.

Nevertheless, the ABSD has been successful in reducing the number of foreigners buying properties in Singapore.

Source : PropertyGuru – 5 Jul 2012

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Posted in Cooling Measures, Property Market / Real Estate

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