En bloc sales slow after introduction of new rules by govt
A toast: From left, Mr Cheong, Mr Tharman and Kwee Liong Keng, immediate-past president of Redas, at the association's annual Mid-Autumn Festival celebration yesterday En bloc sales slow after introduction of new rules by govt(SINGAPORE) The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) yesterday said that it expects 'double-digit' price growth in the mass market over the next 12 months.
'The mass market hasn't been very active and the base is low,' said Chia Ngiang Hong, Redas' first vice-president. 'It will probably play a bit of catch-up with the high-end segment. So I believe it is going to be double-digit (price growth) for the next 12 months.'
Mr Chia is also the general manager of City Developments, one of Singapore's largest developers.
Developers and analysts agreed with him.
'Mass-market home prices will go up in line with higher costs of building materials, labour and land prices,' said Margaret Goh, chief executive of NTUC Choice Homes.
Yesterday was Redas' annual Mid-Autumn Festival celebration.
Kicking off the event, Redas president - and SC Global chief executive - Simon Cheong called for more good local and international schools in Singapore.
'One of the most important conditions for expats to stay in Singapore, I am told, is education,' he said. 'In short, no good education, no good future, no global city, no good real estate market.'
Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the guest of honour at the event.
Mr Cheong also told reporters that collective sales in Singapore are slowing after the government recently introduced new rules governing such sales.
'In the process of digesting all these new rules, there will obviously be a pause . . . It will probably slow down the supply of en bloc land,' Mr Cheong said.
Sales could also be slowing as homeowners who cannot find replacement properties might be reluctant to sell, he said.
But Mr Cheong expects the prices fetched by en bloc sites to keep climbing as more owners will have to be enticed to sign up for a collective sale.
Developers are already anticipating more difficulty in getting prime land and expect to pay higher prices going forward, he said.
Mr Cheong also said that developers could be holding back launching new properties because changes to the en bloc legislation means that supply of new prime land sites could be harder to come by.
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