收购中低价商品房 重庆注资20亿救房市

Source : 《联合早报》July 30, 2008

为了扶持不断下跌的房地产市场，重庆市政府准备拿出上百亿人民币收购中低价商品房。

重庆市政府将用100亿元（人民币，下同，20亿新元）购买一线的低价商品房，用来安置那些因为拆迁需要住房的市民。

商品房指的是私人发展商开发兴建的房屋。

未来五年，重庆将完成近800万平方米的旧危房改造，涉及成千上万的拆迁户。

去年重庆主城区房价出现了近10年最大的涨幅，但到今年中，房价几乎又跌回去年价格，并且有继续下跌的趋势。

去年中，受重庆获批成为城乡统筹综合配套实验区（“新特区”）利好消息的影响，当地房地产价格飙升。主城区房价出现了近10年最大的涨幅，市场一片兴旺。

可惜好景不长，之后受中央调控政策的影响，市场一路下降，到今年中，房价几乎又跌回去年价格，并且有继续下跌的趋势。

就在房地产商愁眉不展的当儿，重庆市委常委、常务副市长黄奇帆宣布：“政府将拿出上百亿的资金收购一线的中低价商品房。”

他并且承诺，困难的时候可以找政府，政府总归要出力。

黄奇帆日前在重庆一个房地产论坛上承认，重庆市房地产市场虽然没有大幅度下降，但是也受到一定影响。所以政府在今年的危旧房拆迁中，采取了一些推动房地产业的做法。

他所说的做法，就是政府出100亿收购一线中低价商品房。

他说：“这种方法代替了大量建设安置房，同时，这个时候收购首先是市场价格不高，还可以打折。此外，这些商品房房地产商已经缴交了各种税款。这样还能加快拆迁过程，因为建造房子可能要三四年。

“最终，这100亿进入了市场，造成了市场的正常流动和稳定，对我市的房地产业，这是一种帮助。”

对于重庆市政府采取的“救市”措施，当地房地产商并不领情。

一名不愿意透露姓名的重庆大型房地产公司负责人，昨天在接受本报采访时说：“这是一种讨好百姓的做法。黄副市长的讲话，让老百姓觉得房价还可能降得更低一点，最后的结果就是开发商争相压价，最后房地产市场是‘血淋淋’的。”

房产公司：政府采购会出现‘黑洞’

对于政府拿出百亿元收购一线中低价商品房的做法，她希望政府能够把赔偿的钱交给拆迁户，让他们直接购买，而不是由政府采购。

“政府采购会出现‘黑洞’，我们现在需要的是政府全方位综合‘救市’配套，例如放松银根、调整政策。这样的政府采购不会给开发商带来什么好处。”

至于黄奇帆提到目前政府收购商品房可以与开发商杀价，她表示：“目前重庆最大开发商华宇集团的房价，都已经跌破每平方米4000元，这在中国大城市算是很低的价格了。政府现在还要在此基础上让开发商再降价20%，我们怎么生存？”

但是，重庆最大的房地产中介公司“中原地产”商品房市场总监肖仁启在接受本报采访时认为，重庆市政府出资百亿收购一线低价位商品房，对重庆地产市场来说是个好消息。

他说，以每平方米3000元来说，100亿就能购买300万平方米商品房，以去年重庆销售1800万平方米总数来说，就相当于总销售面积的六分之一，这还是相当可观的。

不过，他估计，重庆市政府用来收购中低价商品房的100亿元不会在一年内就消化，可能会在几年内消化掉。

“因为城市拆迁是逐步的，需求也是逐步的。政府筹措100亿元也需要时间。”

由于政府收购的是一线中低价商品房，因此肖仁启认为，受益的应该多是重庆的中小型开发商，“他们的产品正好是中低价位，正切合需求。”

他认为，重庆市政府的做法对房地产市场是信心上的支持，“更重要的是政府希望以此加快城市建设，提升整个城市的价值。”

Home-Buyers Today Cautious, But Genuine

Source : TODAY, Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Applications for Park Central@AMK roll in, but how many will translate into actual sales?

SINCE its launch last week, more than 1,000 applications have been received for 578 units at Park Central@AMK, Singapore’s third condominium-style public housing development.

With developer United Engineers (UE) pricing its Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project at $490 psf to $500 psf, it remains to be seen how much of the 20,000 visitors to the showflats will translate into applications by the Aug 5 deadline.

Mr David Liew, managing director of UE Developments, said: “The people coming here are more cautious, more serious ... What we are seeing is more genuine interest.”

Earlier this year, the pricing of such projects built by private developers had caused a stir.

City View@Boon Keng’s price tag of $520 psf was a record for new public housing flats. More than 3,500 people applied for the 714 units — but only 66 per cent actually bought them.

Six months after its launch, 20 per cent of the units remain unsold, said the project’s marketing agent.

But this slower pace of sales “does not mean the market cannot sustain the price”, said Mr Donald Yeo, executive director of HSR International Realtors. “It’s still very competitive and I believe the prices are still realistic.”

Buyer response had hit fever pitch for the first DBSS development in 2006, when nearly 6,000 people applied for 616 units, going for around $300 psf, at Premiere@Tampines.

At Park Central, all units come with the look and feel of a private residential home but they cost about 40 per cent less, at $500 per square foot.

The developer did not think the resale flats in the area would pose a threat to sales of Park Central, as many of the resale units are about 10 to 20 years old — and most home hunters prefer to buy new flats, even at a 10 per cent premium.

Industry players expect prices at the next condo-style public housing project in Bishan to be even higher, partly due to the spike in construction cost.

Rents Falling At Most Condos

Source : The Straits Times, July 30, 2008

New supply of homes and weak demand could mark start of downward trend

TENANTS, rejoice: rents have begun to fall at a majority of condominiums in Singapore on the back of fresh home supply and a turnaround in market sentiment.
Two in every three projects with a substantial number of leases saw rents drop in the second quarter from the previous three months, according to the latest data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

This marks a reversal from the last two years, when private home rents soared, especially in expatriate-friendly areas, due to an insufficient supply of rental homes and an influx of expat tenants.

Now, rents are dipping in almost every location around the island, but particularly in the two areas most popular with expats - East Coast and the central region around Orchard Road.

This could mark the start of a downtrend that experts say may worsen with more home completions, especially in the prime areas, where rents have reached stratospheric levels.

URA's data analysed rents in developments with at least 100 units and that have 10 or more leases each in the first and second quarters this year. Of the 124 projects in this category, 80 - or about 64 per cent - saw rents drop between the two quarters.

But URA also has a more comprehensive rental index that covers all rental transactions, including those at projects with fewer than 10 leases. This showed that rents across the country rose 2.5 per cent overall in the second quarter, the smallest rise in three years.

Rents are taking a hit largely because the stock of homes available for rental has risen, property consultants said.

Several major projects have recently been completed that were heavily bought into by investors planning to rent out their units. These include the 640-unit Icon in Tanjong Pagar, a 430-unit tower at Sail @ Marina Bay, the 600-unit Citylights at Lavender, and the 546-unit Sea View in Amber Road.

Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and advisory at property firm Colliers International, said the 'peakish' rents could also be due to the current run of high inflation, pushing up living costs in general and making expats more resistant to any rental rises.

Another source of rental demand, collective sale sellers, has also dwindled due to the delay in demolishing several en-bloc sale estates amid a slow property sales market, she added.

Colliers' own research showed that monthly rents of luxury apartments fell 3 per cent in the first six months of this year. A 1,000 sq ft apartment was fetching $6,730 in June, down from $6,930 in December last year.

But Ms Tay said luxury rents are unlikely to fall by more than another 10 per cent in the second half, as Singapore remains attractive to expats.

Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, agreed that the rental declines in the prime central districts will be 'more gradual than elsewhere as their central location means there will be no lack of demand'.

'At the other end of the rental market, in far-flung locations such as Changi and Pasir Ris, the declines are expected to be more pronounced as they will face the twin problems of weak demand and declining rentals,' he added.

IMF Sees Prolonged US Slowdown

Source : The Business Times, July 30, 2008

It cites worsening credit conditions for consumers and banks

(WASHINGTON) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday there's no end in sight to the US housing recession and warned that deteriorating credit conditions for consumers and banks may prolong a period of slow economic growth.

'At the moment, a bottom for the housing market is not visible,' the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report, released in Washington. 'Stemming the decline in the US housing market is necessary for market stabilisation as this would help both households and financial institutions to recover.'

The IMF, which a year ago failed to foresee the depth of the sub-prime mortgage collapse, stood by its April forecast for about US$1 trillion in losses stemming from the US mortgage crisis. While US policy makers have helped contain the financial losses, 'credit risks remain elevated' and banks need to raise more capital, the Washington-based lender said.

'The growing concern is that, with delinquencies and foreclosures in the US housing market rising sharply, and house prices continuing to fall, loan deterioration is becoming more widespread,' the IMF said.

Worldwide asset writedowns and losses have totalled US$469 billion in the past year, and US$345 billion has been raised.

The White House also on Monday lowered its forecast for economic growth this year and next and said unemployment is likely to rise as housing and financial debacles along with high energy prices take their toll.

Under the Bush administration's new forecasts, gross domestic product is estimated to grow by only 1.6 per cent this year. That's down from a 2.7 per cent growth projection made in February.

Growth next year is expected to clock in at 2.2 per cent, also lower than the 3 per cent growth rate previously estimated by the White House's budget office.

'The US economy has continued to expand, but growth has slowed as a result of the sharp housing decline, disruptions in financial markets and high energy prices,' the administration said.

Jaime Caruana, head of the IMF's capital market division, said housing data in the US showed few signs of improvement. 'Some indicators continue to go south,' he told the press in Washington on Monday. Improving affordability, he felt, should at some point help the market recover.

Falling share prices are making it harder for banks to raise capital, increasing the risk of a downward spiral in the global economy, the IMF said. The outlook for banks may make investors reluctant to provide fresh funds needed to restore the strength of financial institutions, the fund added.

In its most sweeping effort to halt the biggest housing slump since the Depression, the US Congress last week passed legislation to stem foreclosures for 400,000 homeowners and aid Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest sources of US mortgage financing. President George W Bush may sign the bill into law this week.

The report said oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was too weak.

'Part of the problem stems from the current regulatory framework, which has allowed their balance sheets to expand to their current systemic significance,' the IMF pointed out. -- Bloomberg, AP

Raffles City Bahrain Receives Good Response

Source : The Business Times, July 30, 2008

80% of the 124 units launched sold within three weeks, says CapitaLand

CAPITALAND has reported strong demand for residential apartments within the first Raffles City-branded integrated development in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region.

The property group launched private sales for the Tower 2 residential block in Raffles City Bahrain about a month ago. Eighty per cent, or 101 of a total of 124 apartments and penthouses, were booked within three weeks of the launch.

Buyers include high net worth individuals from the Middle East and Europe.

The units achieved an indicative average sale price of $6,330 per square metre (psm), exceeding the average price of $4,883 psm for other high quality residential apartments in Bahrain.

Lying within the man-made islands of Bahrain Bay, the Raffles City Bahrain integrated development will comprise three residential towers, landscaped sky villas, high-end retail, food & beverage facilities and five-star serviced residences.

CapitaLand also manages the Raffles City Bahrain Fund which owns Raffles City Bahrain. The fund closed in May 2007 at US$350 million and CapitaLand owns a 37 per cent stake in it.

'Entering the GCC countries is a strategic initiative we took in 2006 to balance our investments in the fast-growing economies in Asia. Raffles City Bahrain is our first move in this direction,' said CapitaLand president and CEO Liew Mun Leong.

'We expect to further grow our presence in the GCC region to capitalise on the abundant opportunities there.'

According to CapitaLand GCC Holdings Pte Ltd's CEO Wong Heang Fine, construction of Raffles City Bahrain is well underway and piling is more than 25 per cent complete. 'We are heartened by the successful private sales and are gearing up for the public launch targeted in October this year,' he said.

CapitaLand shares closed at $5.66 yesterday, 17 cents down.