(SINGAPORE) Private home sales stayed strong in June.
Far East Organization sold 74 apartments in its 280-unit Vista Residences at a private preview last weekend, the developer said yesterday.
And Frasers Centrepoint said that it has fully sold two of its projects - the 330-unit 8@Woodleigh and the 110-unit Woodsville 28. Homes at 8@Woodleigh went for an average of $790 per sq ft (psf), while units at Woodsville 28 sold for an average price of $775 psf.
8@Woodleigh was launched just two weeks ago. Woodsville 28 was launched in July 2008 but most units languished until the buying momentum returned to the market this year.
Over at the freehold Vista Residences - on Jalan Dusun and Jalan Datoh at the corner of Thomson Road - prices start at $960 psf. The project will be officially launched tomorrow, but Far East released 88 units at a weekend preview, and 85 per cent of them were snapped up.
'Buyers are mainly Singaporeans and there is particularly strong interest from young professional managers, teachers and civil servants who are buying to occupy,' said Chia Boon Kuah, chief operating officer of Far East Organization's property arm
While units at Vista Residences have sold for more than homes in the nearby The Arte - a City Developments project where units were launched at an average price of $880 psf in March - the difference in pricing is due to the difference in unit sizes and floor plans, analysts say.
'Vista Residences offer smaller size units that command higher psf pricing and also smaller balcony space than The Arte,' OCBC Investment Research analyst Foo Sze Ming said in a note yesterday. 'As such, we caution that the strong buying momentum at higher psf pricing for the new launch should not be viewed as a new uptrend for property prices.'
Mr Foo said that it is too early to call a recovery in the property market. 'We remain unconvinced by the recent 'recovery' in the physical property market,' he said.
'We believe buying strength over the recent weeks could have been driven by the spillover effect from earlier pent-up demand that drew cash rich local investors back into the market. In our view, potential catalysts for price increase will have to come from an inflow of foreign funds into the property market, as well as a pick up in employment opportunities
Foreign funds were the driving force of the property boom in 2007, but have not come back to the market in a big way.
Looking ahead, more mass-market and mid-market launches are expected in the coming weeks, including Oasis@Elias, a 388-unit, 99-year leasehold project at Elias Road by Chip Eng Seng, and The Gale, a 329-unit, freehold project at Flora Road by Tripartite Developers.
By:UMA SHANKARI
Extracted from The Business Times
30 June 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Household Buying Tips - Things to note
Before buying a HDB resale flat, beside location and price, there are few points to take note.
LoanShark
- The flat that will give tons of problems to home owners.
- Walk through the corridors, staircases and the units surrounding. Check for any loanshark graffiti on the wall with your potential new home unit no. or beside your unit, or any paint stain at your neighbours floor. Nowadays, loanshark splash paints at borrower's neighbours.
Cats / Dog Faeces
- Have you experience, when you open your door and see a pool of cat's faeces .Or your neighbours keeps alot of cats and give you some problems?
- If you intend to buy, check with the bangladesh sweeper if he has to clear the faeces and urine at the common area near your unit. Observe if your new neighbour keeps any pets.
As extracted from HDB website ; http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10209p.nsf/WPDis/Keeping%20Of%20PetsOverview?OpenDocument
Cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB Flats as they caused nuisance such as shedding fur, defecating /urinating in common area, noise disturbance etc. HDB only allows one dog of an approved breed to be kept. Please refer to the HDB approved list for more information. http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10209p.nsf/WPDis/Keeping%20Of%20PetsPolicies?OpenDocument
Newly Painted ceiling / wall
Look out for any newly painted of ceiling or wall especially inside the bathroom or toilet. It may be there are some defects such as water seepage and the owner tried to cover up by painting over. Such unnoticed defects may cost you nuisances or even monetrary loss for repairing or damaging to your property
LoanShark
- The flat that will give tons of problems to home owners.
- Walk through the corridors, staircases and the units surrounding. Check for any loanshark graffiti on the wall with your potential new home unit no. or beside your unit, or any paint stain at your neighbours floor. Nowadays, loanshark splash paints at borrower's neighbours.
Cats / Dog Faeces
- Have you experience, when you open your door and see a pool of cat's faeces .Or your neighbours keeps alot of cats and give you some problems?
- If you intend to buy, check with the bangladesh sweeper if he has to clear the faeces and urine at the common area near your unit. Observe if your new neighbour keeps any pets.
As extracted from HDB website ; http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10209p.nsf/WPDis/Keeping%20Of%20PetsOverview?OpenDocument
Cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB Flats as they caused nuisance such as shedding fur, defecating /urinating in common area, noise disturbance etc. HDB only allows one dog of an approved breed to be kept. Please refer to the HDB approved list for more information. http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10209p.nsf/WPDis/Keeping%20Of%20PetsPolicies?OpenDocument
Newly Painted ceiling / wall
Look out for any newly painted of ceiling or wall especially inside the bathroom or toilet. It may be there are some defects such as water seepage and the owner tried to cover up by painting over. Such unnoticed defects may cost you nuisances or even monetrary loss for repairing or damaging to your property
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Property Owners, tenants encouraged to check windows every 6 months
SINGAPORE: Property owners and tenants are encouraged to check and maintain windows in high-rise buildings at least twice a year.
In a joint statement, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the safety of exterior features such windows are critical in Singapore's densely built environment as these could cause serious injuries.
BCA said since it introduced legislation to retrofit casement windows in October 2004, the number of fallen window incidents has gone down significantly. In 2005, the number was 125 but this has dropped to an average of 52 cases per year from 2006 to 2008. BCA and HDB said all property owners are responsible for ensuring that their windows are well maintained so that they do not fall off and cause danger to the public.
The statement came a day after a huge glass window went crashing down 18 floors from a high-rise building in downtown Singapore on Thursday morning.A man in his early 40s suffered cuts on his head as a result of the accident. He was believed to be working on the glass panel on the 18th floor of the AIA Building.
Fortunately, there were no vehicles or pedestrians when the glass panel came crashing down. - CNA/vm
By Hasnita A Majid,
Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 05 June 2009 2006 hrs
In a joint statement, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the safety of exterior features such windows are critical in Singapore's densely built environment as these could cause serious injuries.
BCA said since it introduced legislation to retrofit casement windows in October 2004, the number of fallen window incidents has gone down significantly. In 2005, the number was 125 but this has dropped to an average of 52 cases per year from 2006 to 2008. BCA and HDB said all property owners are responsible for ensuring that their windows are well maintained so that they do not fall off and cause danger to the public.
The statement came a day after a huge glass window went crashing down 18 floors from a high-rise building in downtown Singapore on Thursday morning.A man in his early 40s suffered cuts on his head as a result of the accident. He was believed to be working on the glass panel on the 18th floor of the AIA Building.
Fortunately, there were no vehicles or pedestrians when the glass panel came crashing down. - CNA/vm
By Hasnita A Majid,
Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 05 June 2009 2006 hrs
HDB launches Fernvale Crest under the Build-To-Order System
THE Housing Board has launched a build-to-order (BTO) project with far more smaller flats than usual. The project - Fernvale Crest - is at the junction of Jalan Kayu and Sengkang West Way and near the Fernvale and Thanggam LRT stations.
There are 700 flats - 372 three-roomers, 188 four-room units and 140 two- room flats of 45 sq m each. This is the largest number of smaller BTO flats ever offered for sale. The two-room flats will cost $74,000 to $98,000 each, while the three-roomers will go for $116,000 to $157,000 each. A family on a total monthly income of $1,300 buying an $85,000 two-room flat will need to pay a monthly mortgage of just $180, said HDB yesterday. But at 5pm yesterday, there was only one application for the two-room units, against 22 for the three-room flats and 131 for the four-roomers.
The four-room units are priced from $203,000 to $250,000 each - a level that HDB says compares favourably with the comparable resale flats in Sengkang. These comparable flats - each costing $290,000 to $360,000 - are all premium units as there are no standard resale flats in the area.
Fernvale Crest is a standard project, which means it comes with minimal finishes. The prices, for instance, do not include flooring in the bedrooms. ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim said BTO standard flats are the most affordable kind of public housing as they target first-timers and those on a lower household income band.
'This batch of units is priced very attractively. We reckon they are a good 5 to 8 per cent lower than last year's prices,' said Mr Lim. Under the BTO scheme, flats are built only when demand hits a certain level. In the first quarter of this year, HDB launched about 1,300 new flats in two BTO projects in Punggol and Woodlands. It plans to launch a further 2,400 BTO flats in the next two quarters.
By Joyce Teo
Published:June 03 2009,
The Straits Times
..........................................................................................................................................................................................
There are 700 flats - 372 three-roomers, 188 four-room units and 140 two- room flats of 45 sq m each. This is the largest number of smaller BTO flats ever offered for sale. The two-room flats will cost $74,000 to $98,000 each, while the three-roomers will go for $116,000 to $157,000 each. A family on a total monthly income of $1,300 buying an $85,000 two-room flat will need to pay a monthly mortgage of just $180, said HDB yesterday. But at 5pm yesterday, there was only one application for the two-room units, against 22 for the three-room flats and 131 for the four-roomers.
The four-room units are priced from $203,000 to $250,000 each - a level that HDB says compares favourably with the comparable resale flats in Sengkang. These comparable flats - each costing $290,000 to $360,000 - are all premium units as there are no standard resale flats in the area.
Fernvale Crest is a standard project, which means it comes with minimal finishes. The prices, for instance, do not include flooring in the bedrooms. ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim said BTO standard flats are the most affordable kind of public housing as they target first-timers and those on a lower household income band.
'This batch of units is priced very attractively. We reckon they are a good 5 to 8 per cent lower than last year's prices,' said Mr Lim. Under the BTO scheme, flats are built only when demand hits a certain level. In the first quarter of this year, HDB launched about 1,300 new flats in two BTO projects in Punggol and Woodlands. It plans to launch a further 2,400 BTO flats in the next two quarters.
By Joyce Teo
Published:June 03 2009,
The Straits Times
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