SRX: Private condo rents in July up 0.2% - SRX

RENTS of private non-landed homes in Singapore climbed 0.2 per cent in July compared to June, while rental volume rose by 11.8 per cent from a month ago to 4,834 units, going by flash estimates from SRX Property.



This was buoyed by the 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent uptick in the Core Central Region (CCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) respectively, while the Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw a 0.1 per cent dip.

It also followed a 0.6 per cent rental increase islandwide in June, a revised figure from 0.5 per cent, SRX Property said on Thursday.

While rents in the public housing market continued to slip by 0.1 per cent in July from June, dragged by rental falls in bigger flats, the decline is more moderate than the 0.8 per cent drop in June.

Rental volume for HDB flats in July also grew 6.7 per cent from June to an estimated 1,835 transactions.

The latest data seems to suggest that both private non-landed and HDB rental markets are stabilising and the declines are likely to ease further. But property consultants are still expecting continued rental weakness to persist till at least next year.

"I believe the leasing market is slowly finding a bottom, especially with fewer completions in the pipeline," said Lee Nai Jia, who heads research at Edmund Tie & Company.

"Notwithstanding, the rental market remains largely subdued and only rents of properties in choice locations close to either MRT stations or growth clusters remain resilient."

Dr Lee is projecting a 1.5-2.5 per cent easing of rents for private non-landed homes for the whole of 2017, and rents to slide further by 1-3 per cent next year.

ZACD Group head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak reckoned that the earliest for private non-landed rentals to recover in a sustained manner would be next year, depending on the strength of the employment market.

This year, there will be around 16,400 private homes being completed - almost double the number of homes to be completed each in 2018 and 2019, he said.

"The mismatch between supply and demand will continue to weigh down on the occupancy rate as well as rentals of residential properties this year."

Non-landed private rents in July remained 0.1 per cent lower from the beginning of the year, SRX Property data shows.

Compared to a year ago, private non-landed rents islandwide were still down 2.7 per cent in July, with all regions - CCR, RCR and OCR - posting declines of 1.9 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Non-landed private rents in July were 18.9 per cent lower compared to its peak in January 2013.

The Business Times

Source: SRX (11 Aug 2017)

Condo resale prices slip 0.5% in July as sales also drop - SRX

Resale prices of non-landed private homes in Singapore declined by 0.5 per cent month-on-month in July after rising the previous two months, according to flash estimates from SRX Property on Tuesday (Aug 8).

While resale prices in the core central region and city fringes edged up by 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, prices in the suburban areas fell by 1.9 per cent, the estimates showed.

Compared to a year ago, condo resale prices are up by 2 per cent from July 2016, though they are still down by 5 per cent from their last peak in January 2014.

Year-to-date, prices have increased by 2.2 per cent.

In another indicator that the resale market cooled last month, the number of homes sold fell by 9.7 per cent to 952 units from the 1,054 shifted in June.

Compared with a year ago, sales were up by 20.1 per cent from 793 units sold in June 2016. Resale volume was down by 53.6 per cent compared to its peak of 2,050 units resold in April 2010.

SRX's median transaction over X-value (TOX) - which measures if buyers are overpaying or underpaying its computer-generated market value - fell to zero in July from S$1,000 in June.

For districts with more than 10 resale transactions in July, District 20 (Ang Mo Kio/Bishan/Thomson) posted the highest median TOX of S$60,000.

Among relatively active districts, District 26 (Mandai/Upper Thomson) had the most negative median TOX of -S$27,000.

The Straits Times

Source: SRX (08 Aug 2017)

Potential "disconnect" between recent bullish land bids and new condos' price

Property firm UOL Group has warned of a potential "disconnect" between recent bullish land bids and prices that new condominium units can eventually be sold for to home buyers.

Developers preparing for a possible upturn in the residential property market amid improving sentiment and sales have been bidding aggressively for sites in public land tenders and collective sales.

UOL deputy group chief executive Liam Wee Sin said: "Our concern is a possible 'disconnect' between the recent land tender prices and achievable end-sale prices.

"Transaction volume in the residential sector has risen steadily, but a sustainable recovery in end-sale prices will depend on the dynamics of economy, supply-demand and the rental market."

Private home prices here, which have fallen for 15 straight quarters as at June 30, are seen by analysts to be near the bottom, and could start rising next year amid higher land prices and rising optimism.

Unveiling its latest financial results yesterday, UOL said it plans to launch two condos here next year: a 140-unit project on a freehold site in Amber Road, and a 750-unit project in Potong Pasir Avenue 1.

It had acquired the Potong Pasir site - where privatised HUDC estate Raintree Gardens sits - via a joint venture for $334.2 million last October. The Amber Road site was bought for $156 million in January.

The residential property sector helped to boost UOL's earnings in the second quarter ended June 30.

The company reported a 59 per cent surge in net profit to $109.4 million from a year earlier.

It attributed the increase to higher recognition of revenue from condo project Principal Garden, higher contributions from associated companies and fair value gains on investment properties.

Revenue climbed by 10 per cent year on year to $399.1 million, with property development accounting for 55 per cent of the turnover during the quarter.

UOL said apart from Principal Garden, other residential projects which contributed to revenue included Botanique at Bartley and Riverbank@Fernvale.

The Straits Times

Source: SRX (07 Aug 2017)

HDB resale prices continue to dip - SRX

PRICES of Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale flats fell 0.6 per cent in July from the preceding month, based on SRX Property's flash estimate for last month released on Thursday.

This follows a month-on-month decline of 0.2 per cent in June 2017.

SRX Property's overall resale price index for HDB flats is down 1.6 per cent year on year, and is also 12.2 per cent below its peak in April 2013.

Year on year, its price index for public housing resale flats in mature estates slipped 0.5 per cent - a smaller decline than the 2.4 per cent drop in non-mature estates over the same period.

Data compiled by SRX Property shows that an estimated 1,785 HDB flats were resold in July, up 1.8 per cent from the 1,753 in June. The figure is also up year on year - 12.2 per cent higher from 1,591.

That said, last month's resale volume was 51.1 per cent below the peak of 3,649 in May 2010.

Wong Xian Yang, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee, observed that "HDB resale prices have continued to trend lower despite the increase in the CPF Housing Grant for first-timer families buying resale HDB flats, suggesting that buyers retain the upper hand in terms of negotiating power and the number of sellers outweigh buyers".

One source of supply in the HDB resale market would be public housing flat dwellers who are upgrading to an executive condo (EC) unit - ECs are a public-private housing hybrid.

Those who buy a new EC would have to dispose of their HDB flat within six months of key collection. A record 5,485 ECs were completed last year, with another nearly 3,500 slated for completion this year.

"Additionally, the recent launches of BTO (Build-to-Order) projects in mature estates - Bidadari and Geylang - may have diverted some demand away from the resale market."

That said, Mr Wong does not expect an extended downtrend in resale HDB prices as volumes have continued to grow and would inevitably support prices.

"We expect volumes to keep growing, as positive sentiments in the private property market spill over to the HDB resale market."

The Business Times

Source: SRX (04 Aug 2017)