Singapore - Housing 01 (May 08 - Oct 08)

[kennynah]

Wheelock Properties at Outperform with S$2.85

sian man...i see this kind of target price.... usually never see one...

[millionairemind]

Saw this letter in the forum page for BT today. Standard reply to all the queries on Y HDB is selling the flat at such high prices...

Sigh... and you wonder Y so many Singaporeans have to work so hard for so long just to pay off the loan.... working for the bank..

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
HDB approach reflects true subsidy

WE refer to Mr See Leong Kit's comments on the pricing of HDB flats in his letter 'HDB contributing to price spiral', (BT, June 20).

HDB adopts a market-based pricing approach so as to reflect the true subsidy that buyers are enjoying. Under this approach, HDB determines the market value of the flat, based on its location, the finishes and other attributes. Then, it sells the flat at a discount to the market value.

HDB buyers understand this, and appreciate that new HDB flats are priced lower than resale flats. Similarly, when they want to sell their flats in the open market, they are allowed to do so at the prevailing market value, not at their cost of purchase of the flat.

We also wish to highlight that under this approach, the current sharp escalation in construction costs does not directly affect the selling price of HDB flats.

Currently, a new 4-room flat can cost close to $300,000 to develop, taking into account land, building and other costs. This is significantly higher than the subsidised price of a 4-room flat sold by HDB at about $200,000-$260,000.

Kee Lay Cheng (Ms),
Deputy Director,
Marketing & Projects for Director,
Estate Administration & Property,
Housing & Development Board

[iam802]

Currently, a new 4-room flat can cost close to $300,000 to develop, taking into account land, building and other costs. This is significantly higher than the subsidised price of a 4-room flat sold by HDB at about $200,000-$260,000.

The land alone is enough to jack up cost. And note that they always reference it to 'market value'.

That is why no HDB in Nassim Hill.

More cubicles housing coming.

[HengHeng]

If you notices how cheaply the "building" projects are bidded at , you know the hard cost of "building" a hbd really isn't that expensive.

The issue is the "land" worth which is the amount segmented out as reserves. More often that not assuming if you are looking at En Blocks , they would already "earned" several times at least back in reserves for that particular acerage. Just image one 12th Storey block taken down to put up a 28 level one and squeeze 2 more units per level into it.

I would just like to highlight the severe inefficiency of our HBD which is employing far too many people to do that little amount of jobs. Most of them would have being fired assuming if they were in the private sector and the ministers still argue that they need to get private pays.

[kennynah]

Saw this letter in the forum page for BT today. Standard reply to all the queries on Y HDB is selling the flat at such high prices...

Sigh... and you wonder Y so many Singaporeans have to work so hard for so long just to pay off the loan.... working for the bank..

sigh....why do so many still insist in voting in a monopolistic and manipulative government, which enacted electoral boundaries so successfully that only 25% of the population get to vote !!!


802 : $300K to build ONE 4-room unit ? hahahaha... they must really think we have gone from dumb to a complete idiots...

[kennynah]

That is why no HDB in Nassim Hill.
.

becos only the familee, relations and cronies get to stay there... it is not a place meant for peasants...

[winston]

Analysts say Singapore's property boom cooling
Posted: 06 July 2008 1118 hrs

SINGAPORE - Singapore's booming residential property sector is finally showing signs of cooling but projects including the two integrated resorts developments should underpin long-term prices, analysts say.

The market was described by real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle as the world's hottest in 2007, when the city-state's property prices surged 31 per cent overall.

But this year the sector has not escaped wider concerns over a US-led global economic slowdown and inflationary pressures.

Private home prices rose 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, the slowest increase in four years, the government's preliminary figures showed last week.

The second-quarter rise was also much slower than the 3.7 per cent increase recorded in the previous three months but prospective buyers waiting for huge bargains may be disappointed.

Property analysts say prices are likely to fall further in the third quarter but experts rule out massive declines because of the multiplier effect from two multi-billion-dollar gaming resorts now under construction.

Housing demand is expected to pick up when the first integrated resort opens next year, employing thousands, said Chua Yang Liang, head of Southeast Asia research with Jones Lang LaSalle.

Some of the workforce for the resorts will likely come from foreign countries, creating possible demand for housing, he said.

"To staff these people, you need housing so there will be a potential effect," Chua told AFP.Foreigners currently make up more than 20 percent of Singapore's 4.6 million population.

The Marina Bay Financial Centre, a new financial district under construction which will also feature luxury apartments, should also underpin the market in the longer term, analysts said.

Tan Huey Ying, director for research with Colliers International real estate consultants, said prices are not about to spiral downwards even though second quarter figures indicate the residential property market may have peaked.

"Singapore's positive mid-term prospects on the back of the completion of the two integrated resorts and the Marina Bay Financial Centre will help to prop prices up," said Tan.

Values may hold, or decline by no more than three percent, in the third quarter but overall for 2008 home prices could still rise four to eight percent, said Tan.

Analysts from DTZ real estate consultancy said buyers are still interested in project launches.

"Some residential projects are enjoying sell-out status while others are being well received," said Margaret Thean, DTZ's executive director for residential.

Government approval for the two intgrated resorts in 2005 was one of the major factors behind the revival of Singapore's property market, which had been stuck in a rut stemming from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Efforts to woo wealthy foreigners to take up residence in Singapore, along with an all-out bid to attract skilled foreign migrants, also drove the property market revival, analysts said.

The rebound left many expatriates struggling to cope with soaring rents which in some cases doubled over the past year. - AFP/vm

[LenaHuat]

Potential property buyers - Juz a note for yr consideration.
Be prepared for poorer quality of construction. Contractors' margins are squeezed.

[winston]

- The surging rents in prime areas look to be easing, with some condos already registering falls of up to 12 per cent.

Will post more when I see the report later..

[LenaHuat]

2day's BT printed an article containing the Credit Bureau's statistics. There is a line to this effect : "About 72% of property borrowers has less than S$200,000 outstanding in their loans".
Wonder if this includes HDB owners? If not, there is a big pool of owners who can acquire their 2/3/4 properties.