Build-to-order flats in Woodlands for sale

THE Housing Board yesterday launched its first build-to-order flat sale this year, with 815 flats in Woodlands up for grabs.

Called Champions Court, the batch of flats will include 224 studio apartments, which are being offered for the first time in Woodlands. There are also 182 three-room flats, 224 four-room flats and 185 five-room flats.

By its final update for the day, at 5pm yesterday, HDB had received 205 applications, mostly for the four- to five-room flats. There were 24 applications for studio apartments and 21 applications for three-room flats.

The monthly household income ceiling for purchasing a new three-room flat is $3,000. Those with gross monthly household incomes of not more than $8,000 can buy new four- to five-room flats, and studio apartments.

Champions Court is at the junction of Champions Way and Woodlands Avenue 1, near the Woodlands Regional Centre.

In its statement, HDB said the new flats are priced below their equivalent market prices to ensure that they are affordable to first-time buyers.

Indicative prices for the three-room flats range from $118,000 to $142,000; for the four-room flats, $194,000 to $227,000; and for the five-room flats, $247,000 to $296,000.

In the resale market, comparable three-room flats go for $200,000 to $209,000 while four-room units sell for $255,000 to $278,000, according to data provided by HDB.

Comparable five-room resale flats cost $304,000 to $345,000, it said. The 60 smaller studio apartments, which are 35 sq m in area, are priced from $57,000 to $64,000 while the 45 sq m studio units cost $71,000 to $80,000.

PropNex chief executive Mohd Ismail expects the project to be about five times over-subscribed.

'There's still strong demand for HDB flats in mature estates, particularly for four-room and five-room flats,' he said.

The absolute prices for the bigger HDB flats in mature towns such as Woodlands are still more affordable than those in estates nearer town, said Mr Ismail.

The recession has already hit the cash amount that buyers have to pay over the valuation price, but the volume of resale deals is so far largely steady, he added.

The median cash-over-valuation for resale flats in Woodlands fell from $18,000 in the third quarter of last year to $15,000 in the fourth quarter.

Applications for Champions Court can be submitted online from now until March 11.

The Straits Times - Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

More mass market projects to launch

(SINGAPORE) Developers are planning to launch more mass market projects this weekend to take advantage of a recent surge in buying interest.

Hiap Hoe Group, a niche developer, will officially launch its 118-unit The Beverly, located at Toh Tuck Road, this Saturday. The starting selling price is $648 per square foot (psf), which Hiap Hoe says is an 'attractive starting selling price'.

'We have designed The Beverly for those looking for affordable, high-quality residential developments in a good location,' said Teo Ho Beng, the company's managing director.

The Beverly's two, three and four-bedroom apartments range from 1,120 sq ft to 4,187 sq ft, while its double-storey penthouses range from 2,099 sq ft to 3,757 sq ft and are each outfitted with a private roof garden and pool.

On the other side of the island at Pasir Ris, Sustained Land Pte Ltd will also officially launch Coastal Breeze Residences come this weekend. Two and three-bedroom units at the 63-unit development will sell for $610-$660 psf.

Sustained Land has sold 13 units in Coastal Breeze Residences since the start of 2008 in a soft launch. The units, which were mostly prime apartments on higher floors, went at an average price of $690 psf.

The remaining units are mostly three-bedders between 1159 sq ft and 1356 sq ft in size and there are also duplex penthouses. In terms of absolute value, for example, the price for a three-room 1159 sq ft unit starts at $712,000.

Meanwhile, the UOL Group is expected to launch its 646-unit Double Bay Residences in Simei sometime next week. Market talk has it that the project could be launched at $650-680 psf.

The three projects are coming hot on the heels of two successful launches earlier this month. Units at Frasers Centrepoint's Caspian condominium near Jurong Lake and Alexis Alexandra, a project by joint venture partners Yi Kai Group and Fission Group, sold quickly upon the projects' launches.

One market insider said that developers are taking pricing cues from each other, and making sure their newly launched projects are priced to sell. 'There is a sense that people will only be willing to buy projects in the $600-plus psf range, and also only units that don't cost too much in total. People don't really want to pay more than $600,000 or $700,000-plus in these times,' he said.

Developers are also throwing in more upmarket features into their mass market offerings to entice buyers. Each of The Beverly's 118 apartments is served by private lifts that open into the lobby of its interior. UOL's Double Bay Residences will also offer extras such as full-length windows in the kitchen, the company has said.

The Business Times - Uma Shankari

Developers' home sales top 1,000 units in Feb

(SINGAPORE) Developers have achieved an 18-month high in private homes sold in a month, with the 1,000-unit mark having already been breached so far in February.

Most of the developers who are prepared to pare their price expectations to more affordable levels continue to be rewarded. A near 10 per cent price chop was all it took for GuocoLand to sell off almost 90 per cent of the 182 units at The Quartz condo in Buangkok relaunched last week.

The Singapore-listed property arm of Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan has found buyers for about 160 units since last Tuesday's price cut. This means the 625-unit project is now left with only around 20 units, compared with 182 units prior to the relaunch.

GuocoLand trimmed the 99-year-leasehold project's average price to $595 per square foot (psf), compared with $650 psf during the height of the market in 2007.

Besides the more competitive pricing, market watchers attributed the successful outcome to the fact that The Quartz will be ready for occupation soon. Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) for the condo is expected in a couple of months.

The bulk of buyers are believed to have bought for their own occupation. About 98 per cent of buyers are Singaporeans, 80 per cent of whom live in the vicinity, mainly with HDB addresses, a GuocoLand spokeswoman said.

'They like the design, layout and location of the development, which is near Buangkok MRT Station and also accessible by Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway,' she added.

The bulk of the 182 units were three-bedroom apartments. On average, a typical three-bedder of slightly under 1,100 sq ft costs around $650,000, BT understands.

Over at Jurong Lake District, Frasers Centrepoint found buyers for another 35 units for its Caspian condo over the weekend, raising total sales in the 99-year-leasehold project to 515 units.

The overall average price achieved is just over $600 psf, reflecting the sale of better-facing units in the past week. About 32 per cent of Caspian's buyers have opted for an interest absorption scheme; they will pay 3 per cent more in exchange for not having to foot beyond the 20 per cent initial payment until the project receives TOP. On average, three-bedroom units at Caspian cost $700,000 to $750,000.

At River Valley Road, Fortune Development found buyers for another six units at RV Suites over the weekend. Half the 96 units in the freehold project have been sold. The project comprises mostly units of 500-550 sq ft, and the average price is about $1,300 psf. East Coast Properties sold another four units over the weekend for its D'Chateau Shelford, which is priced at $1,000-$1,100 psf on average.

Market watchers note that over at Livia in Pasir Ris, some of the 30 units released at $620 psf on average on Valentine's Day weekend are still available. Units are relatively large (a typical three-bedder is about 1,259 sq ft), resulting in a bigger unit price quantum of at least $750,000 for a three-bedroom unit. Potential buyers may also be waiting for new projects to be launched in the area before deciding on their purchase.

Seasoned property consultants say that for mass-market projects to move today, they should be priced at around $600 psf at most, and the unit price should not exceed $700,000, in order for them to be affordable to HDB upgraders.

The Business Times - Kalpana Rashiwala

Private home sales at new monthly low

THE property market continues its downward spiral with only 107 new private units sold last month - the lowest monthly total since data was made available in 2007.

A lack of launches from developers was partly behind the anaemic figure, which was well under the 131 sales in December and the previous low of 118 sales in October.

About 204 units were launched last month, up from 157 in December, but lower than the 12-month average of 518 units. No new prime projects were launched last month.

'An ominous pall of uncertainty is hanging over the industry,' said Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.

'The diminishing number of units sold in the market not only reflects a heightened sense of prudence, but also an increased anticipation for prices to fall, thus causing potential buyers to stay on the sidelines.'

Last month's top sellers included Nova 88 in Balestier and The Aristo Amber, which sold 16 units and 14 units respectively.

The stronger demand for these projects could be down to their improved affordability, with median prices having eased slightly, said Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research for South-east Asia, Mr Chua Yang Liang.

But while last month was something of a dead loss, sales this month are already looking up, thanks to two successful launches.

The 712-unit Caspian - a short walk from Lakeside MRT station in Jurong - has racked up sales of 470 units since its release earlier this month. Prices at the 99-year leasehold condo started at $580 per sq ft (psf), and are now at $600 psf.

The 293-unit Alexis Alexandra, released for sale last week, is said to have been 100 per cent sold by last Saturday.

It was priced at $850 to $1,100 psf, but most of the units were small, and so came with a relatively low absolute price.

Prices ranged from $450,000 for one-bedroom units to nearly $1.8 million for the penthouses.

'Certainly, there is renewed confidence in the market for properties that are priced right, as many HDB upgraders and investors are able to pick up such units at a lower quantum,' said Mr Mohd Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, which co-marketed Caspian with ERA.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said the success of the two projects could be attributed to their good locations, competitive prices and a creative mix of units.

The tie-up between banks and developers to offer the interest absorption scheme also helped stimulate sales, he said.

Some property consultants expect February to register the highest number of monthly transactions since late 2007.

But this performance is likely to be a one-off for now, said Mr Mak, who added that sales could begin to slow to a more sustainable pace.

Mr Li said: 'While the Singapore economy remains in recession, the continued moderation of prices should encourage potential buyers to come forward.'

That could drive first-quarter sales to 1,000 to 1,200 units, he said. Last year, developers sold just 4,287 new homes, down from a record 14,811 in 2007.

The Straits Times - Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

First-time flat buyers get more aid

FINANCE assistant Ang Li Shan, 27, and her fiance Alex Chan, 35, have enjoyed a double dollop of good news in their quest to buy a flat.

Last month, before the Budget, they asked the Housing Board about buying a three-room resale flat. They were thrilled to learn that if they bought a flat near Ms Ang's parents', they would get a $40,000 HDB grant.

Now with the Budget comes more good news. As first-time home buyers with a combined income of less than $5,000, they will get an extra grant of $10,000. The earlier $4,000 income ceiling had ruled them out.

'The raising of the income ceiling is great news,' said Ms Ang. 'Given the uncertain times, we want to keep our loans as low as possible.'

WHAT'S NEW IN THIS BUDGET

# For first-timers buyers of HDB flats, there will be tweaks to the Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG), with the maximum amount now raised by $10,000. Buyers must be continuously employed for at least a year instead of two. The income ceiling will be raised to $5,000 a month.

Home owners facing financial problems can also defer monthly HDB loan repayments for up to six months and reduce the monthly repayment amount.

# A new interim rental housing scheme will enable home owners to sell their HDB flats and buy new, smaller flats. While these are being built, they can move into rental flats priced below the market rate

# For new home owners, the Government will lift the supply of studio apartments, two- and three-room flats to add to 4,800 such units now available.

# From next month, older Singaporeans can benefit from a Lease Buyback Scheme which will allow those in three-room or smaller flats to sell the tail end of their lease back to HDB and still stay in their flats.

The Straits Times

Sibor dives, but home loan rates go up

A KEY interest rate that sets the cost of interbank lending has plunged in recent weeks, but those taking out new mortgages will be no better off.

The three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate, or Sibor, dived to 0.68 per cent this month, bringing it near the all-time low of 0.63 per cent reached in June 2003.

The rate at which banks lend to one another has been dropping since September last year, and is expected to stay low.

But new home buyers expecting interest rates for Sibor-linked housing loans to fall in tandem will be disappointed.

To compensate for increased risk and the higher cost of capital, most banks have upped the spreads that they charge above Sibor, making Sibor-pegged home loans more expensive.

At DBS Bank, a home buyer taking a loan of 80 per cent of his property's value in July last year would have paid a rate of Sibor plus 1.25 percentage points. Now, a new buyer has to pay Sibor plus 1.75 percentage points.

Even though Sibor fell from 1 per cent to 0.68 per cent between last July and now, the rate charged has actually risen from 2.25 per cent to 2.43 per cent.

The margin on HSBC's standard Sibor-pegged package now stands at 1.25 points, up from 0.7 point last July. The rate has effectively risen to 1.93 per cent, from 1.7 per cent.

However, at least one bank - Citibank - has not raised its spreads on Sibor-linked loans. A customer applying for a loan now would get the same rate as last July's.

The bank's head of secured finance solutions, Ms Vibha Coburn, said it has remained consistent in the pricing of spreads on Sibor-linked packages.

Its range of spreads is still between 0.8 percentage point and 1.25 percentage points, 'depending on the extent of the customer's relationship with the bank and the type of home loan package', she added.

Rising spreads will affect a growing number of borrowers as Sibor-linked loans have become increasingly popular after banks introduced them about two years ago.

One reason for their popularity is their transparency when compared to loans pegged to banks' own board rates.

However, although new loan applicants will feel the pinch of the higher rates, home buyers who locked into the more competitive Sibor-pegged mortgages last year are seeing their monthly instalments fall steeply in line with the nosediving Sibor.

Loans pegged to the Singapore dollar Swap Offer Rate (SOR) - another popular benchmark interest rate - have also been hit by the increasing spreads.

OCBC Bank is now charging SOR plus 1.75 points for its home loan, compared to plus 1.25 points just two months ago, according to a news report last December. This means its rate has increased from 2.25 per cent to 2.43 per cent.

Banks said they have raised their spreads because the credit crunch has made lending more expensive and riskier.

'Unlike the period of robust property markets in 2006 and early 2007, banks now have to contend with higher capital costs and increased credit risks, given the current financial turmoil and economic crisis,' said Mr Gregory Chan, OCBC's head of consumer secured lending.

Mr Dennis Ng from mortgage broker www.HousingLoanSG.com agreed: 'Property values have fallen, so default risk has definitely gone up. It's natural for banks to increase the interest margin to cater for this higher risk of lending.'

The higher margins are also being introduced because banks are seeing fewer home loan applications as the property market softens.

'If banks reduce rates, they face not only a decline in loans growth but also a decline in margins, which could affect them quite badly,' said Mr Ng. 'So they may increase their margins to make sure revenue doesn't drop that much.'

No update was available from two other banks here that offer Sibor- or SOR-linked home loans: Standard Chartered Bank could not respond by press-time while United Overseas Bank declined to comment.

The Straits Times - Fiona Chan

Property buyers hit a bump on sliding valuations

(SINGAPORE) The rapid slide in property prices has resulted in some banks slashing the loan amount to borrowers just before it is disbursed. This has put property buyers in a quandary, forcing them to either top up the difference or pay a penalty for backing out of the loan offered.

And valuers have become the latest 'villains' as borrowers find it harder to get home loans to match their purchase prices. 'I don't tell people I'm a valuer,' sighed Lydia Sng, Knight Frank executive director.

Bankers agree that the time lag between the loan offer and disbursement can result in a final smaller loan. The loan offer, while based on an indicative valuation, contains a clause that it is subject to a formal valuation.

But borrowers who want to cancel the loan are hit with a punitive 1-1.5 per cent cancellation fee. Also, by this time, it would be hard to back out because they would have already committed to the purchase of the property.

The wobbly market is not helping. A Citigroup report last month said that, in the high-end segment, properties have seen price corrections of about 35 per cent from a year ago and they could fall by another 30-40 per cent this year.

Ms Sng said the problem is with the valuation process. 'They'll give us a call with the address, we'll give a range as we've not seen the property. It's a bit like calling the doctor and telling him your symptoms and asking for a diagnosis,' she said.

Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of secured lending, said: 'It is possible to receive a lower formal valuation on a property compared to the initial indicative valuation. To mitigate this, as well as to ensure valuations are realistic, OCBC Bank does not rely solely on a single valuer for indicative valuations,' said Mr Chan.

A DBS spokeswoman said the indicative value will be based on the information declared by the customer in the home loan application form.

'In the event that the formal valuation is lower due to the wrong details provided on the property, the bank will have to take the lower of either the purchase price or valuation as per regulatory stipulations. As such, the buyers will be required to top up the difference between the purchase price and valuation in cash. If the borrowers decide to abort the purchase and cancel the loan at any point after loan acceptance, a cancellation fee will apply,' said the DBS spokeswoman.

'We monitor our panel of valuers regularly to ensure that valuations are always fair and based on current market values,' said a United Overseas Bank (UOB) spokeswoman.

Jerry Tan, managing director of Jerrytan Residential Pte Ltd said his beef is that valuers sometimes look to non-comparable transactions to determine the price. But it could be comparing a five-star development to a three-star one, he said.

DTZ executive director Poh Kwee Eng said that if they were valuing a unit and there had not been a transaction in the same building for some time, they would look nearby, in similar developments. If the five-star unit was priced 20 per cent higher during last year's red hot bull market compared to a three-star one, similar premiums would still hold.

'Say, last year, your unit was sold at $1,000 per square foot and next door a unit went for 800 psf, there was a 20 per cent difference. So if the next-door unit is now selling at $500 psf, I would adjust your unit by 20 per cent upwards,' explained Ms Poh.

Some banks are said to be staying clear of certain developments where there is a wide range of valuations such as The Sail with 1,111 units and Sentosa Cove.

UOB head of loans Kevin Lam declined to comment on specific projects but offered general observations about mortgages. 'We have been conservative all along. With the recent further fall in prices, we have become even more careful,' he said.

Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said valuations vary widely among the 1,111 units at the 63-storey The Sail. As for Sentosa Cove, 'newer developments have better views or better designs. Some earlier projects didn't have sea views,' he said.

Some ground-floor condos sited between the landed homes with the sea front were not very different to condos on the mainland, said Mr Mak. 'The value of a sea view alone is difficult to pin down,' he said.

Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh said that The Sail and Sentosa Cove, as new markets which targeted foreigners, provided their own challenges. 'The Sail was part of a new market that emerged as part of the development for the new downtown including the integrated resorts,' said Mr Singh.

He said it takes time for prices to find their equilibrium, and they have not stabilised yet. 'It's a challenge everyone faces, including banks.'

The Business Times - Siow Li Sen

Getting new tenants not a problem

THE retail segment at Dempsey - long associated with furniture and antiques - will be retained, says Country City Investment, which now manages the part of Tanglin Village comprising Dempsey Hill and Dempsey Hill Green.

'We will keep the furniture outlets as most of the tenants - about 65 per cent - are staying back,' says Kee Luah, Country City Investment's marketing consultant.

'We'll have to find other retail tenants to replace those that have left, which we don't think will be a problem as the single-digit rental rate is very attractive.'

The tenant mix for blocks 13, 14, 15, 16 and 26 Dempsey Road, on a 20,000 sq m plot, will be split between 20 per cent F&B and 80 per cent retail, she says. 'We intend to keep the old world charm that people remember.'

According to earlier reports, Country City general manager Nicholas Ng said the company would spend $2 to $3 million redeveloping the blocks, which it won the right to manage last year.

Country City already manages a cluster of seven buildings on a one-hectare plot leased from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which it transformed into about 20 restaurants, cafes, delis and bars - grouped under Dempsey Hill - in 2007.

SLA has made significant improvements to the near-40 hectare Tanglin Village in the past three few years. The village was organised into three clusters - Dempsey, Minden and Loewen.

The Business Times