Sale Of Kallang River Hotel Plot Delayed

Source : The Business Times, December 19, 2008

URA says release of the site will be deferred to June 2009

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has deferred the release of a hotel site along Kallang River from this month to June 2009. The site was originally due to be made available for December 2008, as part of the government's plans to transform the Kallang Riverside into a waterfront lifestyle precinct by the edge of the city.

'URA is currently working with other agencies to finalise the detailed planning and development conditions of the Kallang River site to relate to the broader plans for Kallang Riverside and, as more time is needed, the release of this site at Kallang River on the reserve list will be deferred to June 2009,' the agency said yesterday.

The deferment 'makes sense' as the site is unlikely to be triggered in the current market conditions even if it is made available, market watchers said.

URA also announced yesterday that a commercial site at the corner of Stamford Road and North Bridge Road is now open for application under the reserve list system.

The site contains three historical buildings - Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building and Stamford House - that are to be retained and restored for use. The Capitol Theatre, for one, is required to be restored into an arts orentertainment-related performance venue, said URA.

And to strengthen the hotel cluster in the area, the developer of the site will be required to develop a minimum of 40 per cent of the total gross floor area (GFA) for hotel use as well.

Analysts said that the site is unlikely to see interest anytime soon. 'This is an irreplaceable site in terms of its location and heritage value but the timing may be inappropriate to realise its full potential,' said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

'I don't think the site will be triggered in the next six months,' said Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

Other than the poor economic outlook, potential bidders are also likely to be deterred by a few other factors, he said. For one, the conservation element might put off some developers. Others are likely to be deterred by the fact that some of the GFA has to be devoted to hotel use.

Developers are also not too keen on the 'two envelope' system, under which the site is being sold, Mr Mak said. Under such a system, the government first picks out developers whose concepts gel with its vision, then awards the site to the highest bidder.

Analysts also expressed concern that if the government keeps releasing sites on the reserve list, there could soon be too many sites on the list.

4,000 Smaller HDB Flats Coming Up

Source : The Strait Times, Dec 19, 2008

SMALLER flats are making a comeback, with the Housing Board (HDB) ramping up supply to around 4,000 over the next two years to meet surging demand.

It marks a dramatic turnaround for a style of flat that had not been been built for about 20 years.

Next year 2,000 three-room and smaller flats will be built, almost double the amount put up this year, with a further 2000 earmarked for 2010.

The HDB move will mean a steady supply of smaller flats for lower income families and homeowners who need to downgrade amid grimmer economic times.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan flagged the strategy in Parliament last month.

HDB deputy chief executive Tan Poh Hong said yesterday that the board has revived smaller flats on a large scale as 'there are are more people who will need to downgrade, as well as first-timer families who would also like to start with smaller flats to be financially prudent'.

Analysts anticipate a good take-up as 'difficult economic conditions' encourage homebuyers to 'start small'.

Buyers like nurse Liu Li, 29, a home-hunter on the look-out for such affordable flats, said: 'A bigger pool of new, small flats will widen choices for first-timers like me.'

Prices will start from as low as $76,000 for the new small units.

The HDB stopped building two- and three-roomers in the 1980s as growing families fuelled demand for bigger flats.

But they were re-introduced in 2004 and two years ago, the HDB said it would resume building two-roomers to meet increasing demand.

Demand for smaller flats has been red hot recently. HDB sales have attracted over 10 times more applicants than homes available. An October sale of 150 small flats was swamped with 2,426 applications in just a week.

Mr Kelvin Wang, who recently bought a three-roomer in Tiong Bahru, said he had difficulty finding the home, his first, because there were so few small ones around.

'The increased supply will help ease demand for such homes,' said the 24-year-old engineer.

Some of the new smaller flats form part of a new standard project launched by the HDB yesterday.

Dew Spring @ Yishun at the junction of Yishun Ring Road and Yishun Street 41 offers 504 four-room, 216 three-roomers and 144 two-room units.

The build-to-order (BTO) project has the largest number of smaller flat types among HDB's BTO launches this year. BTO projects are built only when a certain level of demand is reached.

HDB's Ms Tan stressed that the homes will be kept affordable.

Two-roomers at Dew Spring start at $76,000 to $90,000; three-roomers go for between $120,000 and $146,000 with four-roomers at $197,000 to $238,000.

For the first time, the HDB has released comparable prices of resale flats in the same area to show the affordability of the new flats being launched.

Prices of 20-year-old three-roomers nearby of similar size, for example, are selling for $175,000 to $180,000 - higher than the launch price, the HDB said.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that Dew Spring flats 'are priced very attractively. The smaller units are below $200 psf (per square foot), which is much lower than the median resale prices for that area in the last quarter'.

The HDB has launched 6,600 homes this year under its BTO scheme, of which 883, or 13 per cent, were two-room and three-room flats.

It plans to launch a further 1,180 units in the next two weeks, which will include 280 studio apartments, two-room and three-room homes.

10,000 Homes On DPS

Source : The Straits Times, Dec 19, 2008

SINGAPORE said on Friday there were 10,450 uncompleted private homes purchased under the country's deferred payment scheme, revealing for the first time the potential number of homes that may be returned to developers.

The scheme, which was withdrawn in 2007, allowed buyers to buy property under construction without lining up bank financing in advance so long as they made a downpayment of 10-20 per cent. --PHOTO: BT

About 4,560 of these homes are scheduled for completion next year while another 2,540 will be ready in 2010, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a statement.

Singapore introduced the deferred payment scheme in 1997 in a bid to boost the then-moribond property market. The scheme, which was withdrawn in 2007, allowed buyers to buy property under construction without lining up bank financing in advance so long as they made a downpayment of 10-20 per cent.

The recent fall in Singapore home prices, coupled with the financial crisis that has made banks reluctant to lend, has led to concerns about a jump in the supply of unsold homes due to the failure of buyers to get loans.

'The data is provided to enable the public to make a better informed assessment of the private housing market,' URA said. -- THOMSON REUTERS

义顺推出较便宜组屋

Source :《联合早报》December 19, 2008

建屋发展局在义顺推出名为“Dew Spring”的预购组屋项目（BTO），售价比附近组屋的转售价便宜10％至40％。其中近一半是两房式和三房式的小型组屋，是建屋局今年推出最多小型组屋的发展项目。

建屋局昨天召开记者会宣布增建小型组屋时也说，为继续设法帮助低收入者拥屋，建屋发展局计划在未来两年兴建4000个单位小型组屋，也就是明后两年各建造2000个单位，比今年推出的1000个多出一倍。

位于义顺的“Dew Spring”预购组屋，有864个标准单位，售价比附近组屋的转售价便宜10％至40％。

Dew Spring预购组屋是建屋局过去一年来在义顺推出的第三个预购项目，位于义顺环路和义顺41街交界处，毗邻建屋局过去一年推出的前两批预购项目“JadeSpring”和“Jade Spring@Yishun Phase 2”。

七座864个标准单位非常靠近镇中心、地铁站、纳福坊购物中心和兴建中的邱德拔医院。该项目预期2012年完工。

计划兴建的新预购单位当中，有144个两房式、216个三房式和504个四房式单位。45平方公尺的两房式售价介于7万6000元和9万元之间；65平方公尺的三房式售价介于12万元和14万6000元之间；90平方公尺的四房式则介于19万7000元和23万8000元之间。

建屋局房地行政与产业处处长叶振铭昨天受访时说：“为了照顾那些低收入家庭的购屋需求，以及一些受当前经济情况影响而想转购小型组屋的屋主，建屋局将兴建更多小型组屋以应付需求。”

建屋局副局长（房产与企业）陈宝凤说，建屋局也将时时监督组屋市场的供需情况，并在有必要时，推出更多价格廉宜的小型组屋，以应付人们的购屋需求。

建屋局透露，它今年已推出6600个预购单位，其中883个是两房式和三房式组屋，占总数量的13％。它计划在今年年底之前，推出另280个小型组屋单位。

面对当前的金融危机，建屋局并不担心市场反应冷淡。叶振铭估计公众的反应会很热烈，他说：“义顺过去两个项目的组屋几乎已卖完，我认为公众对这个新项目的反应也会很热烈，因为新组屋靠近义顺公园和实里达下段蓄水池，而且距离地铁站和购物中心并不远，价格也是很多人都负担得起的。”

根据建屋局提供的数据，Dew Spring的售价比附近组屋的转售价来得低。比如，附近面积相若的三房式组屋的转售价介于19万7000元至20万3000元之间。四房式的转售价则介于21万零400元至34万元。

市场人士认为，建屋局选择在这个时候推出小型组屋，正适其时。

博纳集团（PropNex）总裁伊斯迈受访时说：“这些单位的售价非常吸引人，有些单位每平方英尺的价格低于200元，比上一个季度的转售价中位数低许多。”

伊斯迈估计，由于义顺Dew Spring的预购组屋地点适中，靠近蓄水池和高尔夫球场，因此反应将会很不错，可能出现四个人争购一个组屋单位的局面。

公众可通过建屋局网站www.hdb.gov.sg申请预购组屋，并可到建屋局中心3楼展示厅参观及索取销售资料，展示厅平日开放时间是上午8时至下午5时，星期六是上午8时至下午1时。申请截止日期是本月31日。

公众也可上建屋局网站，或电hdbsales@hdb.gov.sg，或在办公时间拨1800-8663066询问详情。建屋局表示，首次申请小型组屋的低收入家庭，还可获得高达3万元的额外公积金房屋津贴。

今年房地产拍卖所得锐减 跌至10年来最低

Source :《联合早报》December 19, 2008

今年售出的新私宅单位数额可能为90年代初以来最低记录，不但如此，今年以拍卖方式出售的房地产，总拍卖所得也锐减了约八成，跌至10年来的最低水平。

高力国际（Colliers International）最新发表的数据显示，今年在拍卖会上卖出的房地产，总拍卖所得仅为8367万元，较去年的4亿零743万元来得少79％，也比1998年亚洲金融危机时的1亿3570万元低了83％。

其中，私宅市场所受的打击最大，总拍卖所得只有2523万元，较去年暴跌了88％。在富裕人士避开房地产投资的影响下，今年只有三个位于黄金地带的房子成功被拍卖，大部分拍卖成功的为大众化和中档私宅。

办公楼和工业厂房的拍卖成绩也分别下跌了86％和80％，零售商店和店屋则下滑了56％。

此外，成功售出的单位数额也锐减。今年上半年共有38个、总值3864万元的房地产成功以拍卖方式出售，下半年则有34个、总值4503万元，包括土地管理局于8月份成功拍卖的四幅腾空地段(infill sites)。

另据莱坊（Knight Frank）发表的数据，今年的拍卖交易总额为6990万元，较去年的4亿2230万元低了83％，而注册拍卖的房地产数额也从去年的1302个，减少至852个，跌幅为35％。

莱坊也指出，拍卖的成功率也减了一半，只有8％注册拍卖的房地产成功找到买家，去年的成功率则达16％。相比季度，每一季的成功率都较去年同期减少10％左右。其中，第四季的表现最差，仅有5％注册拍卖的房地产成功售出。

两家房地产咨询有所不同是因为使用的计算法有异。

高力国际副董事经理黄黎明说：“拍卖所得锐减反映了整体房地产市场的情况。在经济前景越来越不明朗的情况下，购屋者变得非常谨慎。然而，业主却不肯降低要价，以致双方陷入僵局，无法达成交易。”

莱坊表示，虽然业主的要价相对过去实际，但许多买家希望能压低价格捡便宜，进而刺激抵押逼卖项目的销量比去年来得好，占总成交项目的36％，略比去年的32％高。

另外，房地产身价缩水也是拖累总拍卖所得锐减的另一因素。

以嵋雅林（Merawoods）为例，莱坊指出，该项目的一个单位上个月以每平方英尺535元，或72万元售出，但今年上半年，该项目的低层楼单位的交易价却介于630至650元之间。

同样的，统一大厦（King's Mansion）的一个14层楼单位今年8月以每平方英尺842元拍卖出，而类似的单位却在4月份以991元售出，售价跌幅为17％。

除了私宅外，其他类别的房地产在拍卖会上的表现也趋软。商店方面，一间咖啡店在8月份里以360万元售出，这比市道好时的平均500万元售价，显著来得低。

一些工业厂房的拍卖价也见打折扣，比如阿裕尼工业大厦在8月份被人出价每平方英尺262元买下，一年前在公开市场上的类似交易则获得280至290元的标价。

抵押逼卖项目 10年来最低纪录

虽然经济情况恶劣，但抵押逼卖项目却在今年连续第四年下滑，只有270个这类房地产被注册拍卖，较去年荣景时少了58％，也是10年来的最低记录。

展望明年，黄黎明表示，失业人数和坏账情况料增加，抵押逼卖项目将再度回升，而买家焦点将依然锁定在低于100万元房地产。

她说：“私宅价格自第三季开始下滑，一些正等待进场机会的买家可能在明年动身。”

莱坊也预测，明年注册拍卖的房地产将激增，一方面是抵押逼卖项目可能增多，另外以延迟付款计划（deferred payment scheme）买下单位，或房子即将落成的业主可能因为无法申请到贷款，或无法负担贷款而必须脱售，拍卖售屋是最快的途径。

不过，考虑到明年的经济环境可能更为恶劣，莱坊认为，买家可能不愿进场，使房地产拍卖的交易量保持在今年的低水平。贷款而必须脱售。