Home sales soar but not property stocks

Measures to dampen speculation hurting sentiment, say traders THE sizzling residential property market has failed to radiate its heat onto property counters traded on the local bourse. So far this year, property developers have outperformed the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) by a mere 2 per cent. The FTSE ST Real Estate Index, which tracks [...]

Launch prices of new condos often raise resale values of nearby developments

When the show flat of a new residential project is ready, the new kid on the block often creates a buzz among the residents living nearby. People are generally curious about what the project looks like, its launch and completion date, and most importantly, the launch price. Homes in these new projects are often priced [...]

Increase in property prices due to combination of factors

Mr. Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, has dispelled rumours that the recent increase in private property prices is a solely due to foreign buying. Speaking in parliament on Monday, Mr. Mah said, “foreigners’ share of all sale transactions of private residential properties in Singapore is relatively small. “In 1st half 2010, foreigners accounted [...]

Demand fires up en bloc market

Three prime sites launched for sale Signs of unabated demand for private homes have fired up the collective sale market, with three sites put up for en bloc sale yesterday. One of the sites is Robin Court in Bukit Timah, which is being sold with an adjoining bungalow. The other two sites are a plot [...]

More supply of private housing in 1H 2011 land sales if demand holds

The government will inject an even larger supply of private housing in its land sales programme for the first half of 2011 if demand continues to be strong. In its land sales programme for the second half of this year, the government is making available sites that can yield about 13,900 private housing units, of [...]

Hungry for property

Sales of new private homes defied expectations to bounce back strongly last month, as buyers snapped up 1,544 units ahead of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival which started last Tuesday. Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed last month’s sales were 82.3 per cent higher than June’s 847 units. This also lifted the total number [...]

HDB to monitor resale market to ensure property market stability

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has assured Singaporeans the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will continue to monitor the resale flat market closely. This is to see if additional measures are needed to maintain a healthy and stable property market. In a written reply to questions in Parliament Monday, Mr Mah stressed that HDB [...]

1,544 private residential units sold in July; 82.3% higher than units sold in June

Sales of private homes defied expectations to bounce back strongly in July. According to latest data by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1,544 private homes were sold last month. That’s 82.3 per cent higher than the 847 units sold in the previous month. Some analysts say this is due to the rush before the Hungry Ghost [...]

Beating high COVs

Targeting older flats and those in less popular areas can mean paying well below the high cash-over-valuation prices When homebuyer Ng Hui Hui and her husband, Mr Edwin Soon, read newspaper reports of how median cash-over-valuation (COV) prices hit a high of $30,000 recently, they heaved a sigh of relief. This may seem a surprise, [...]

The visible hand

A new era in property market governance Residential property demand has surged in many Asian cities as speculators and homeowners alike clamour to get a piece of the action before prices exceed their threshold buying level. We have seen volume and prices of new launches in Singapore rising unabated. In 3Q09, the Property Price Index, [...]