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28-01-2012, 04:58 AM
Business Times - 28 Jan 2012
Private property prices and rentals at standstill
Q4 data hints that market may have peaked; secondary-market volumes are slowing down
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(Singapore)
PRICE rises for private homes almost ground to a halt last quarter while rental increases also tapered off. The latest official data has sparked a discussion in property circles on whether the market has peaked.
Most observers say that either the peak has already been touched, or will be touched very soon.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority's benchmark private home price index inched up just 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter (q-o-q) in Q4 last year, its ninth consecutive quarter of moderation. For the full year, the index's 5.9 per cent rise was a third of the 17.6 per cent gain registered in 2010. The figures were identical to flash estimates released on Jan 3.
And for the first time since Q3 2009, the increase in URA's landed property sub-index was lower than that for the non-landed property sub-index. The landed sub-index rose just 0.1 per cent q-o-q in Q4 2011, compared with 0.3 per cent for the non-landed sub-index. In fact, for semi-detached houses, the price index actually fell 0.6 per cent q-o-q in Q4.
'In that quarter, prices of semi-detached houses in the east fell 1.6 per cent while those in the north-east softened by 1.3 per cent. This shows that some segments of the landed market are facing stronger price resistance,' says Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui. 'However, landed prices have risen 80 per cent from the market trough in Q2 2009, outperforming the 48 per cent increase for non-landed for the same period.'
URA's overall rental index for private homes rose 0.4 per cent q-o-q in Q4, or half the 0.8 per cent rise it had posted in Q3. Full year 2011, the index was up 3.8 per cent - a fraction of the 17.9 per cent gain it had put on in 2010.
The outlook for private home prices looks bleak. CBRE predicts a price drop of 5-15 per cent this year, with luxury/prime properties taking the bigger hit and mass-market homes being the least affected.
Credo's Mr Ong says: 'It's difficult for prices to regain momentum as the recently imposed ABSD (additional buyer's stamp duty) and the economic slowdown could ease demand. Sustained supply and competition among sellers will also keep a lid on prices.'
Giving a different take, Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong said: 'We still believe it's difficult to conclude if we've reached an inflexion point, if any at all.'
Mr Cheong cites the oligopolistic nature of the Singapore residential property market, with large developers with deep pockets who're likely to resist any price cut. 'A cocktail of low interest rates till at least late-2014 (as pledged by the US Federal Reserve) and higher inflation will in due course reignite another round of interest in the residential market as it's deemed a good hedge against inflation,' he said.
Credo's Mr Ong paints two scenarios. 'In the best-case scenario, if the economic slowdown is milder than expected, then buying sentiment may remain positive, translating to sustained buying activity which will help to keep prices stable amid the build-up in supply. In the worst-case scenario, if there's a recession, we can expect demand to slacken, creating downward pressure on prices.'
Lamenting the difficulty in making accurate predictions, Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng said: 'Each time after the government has announced cooling measures in the past two years, I thought the measures would be sufficient to cool the market. But things have turned out to be otherwise.'
He admits that the ABSD will have some effect in curbing investment and foreign demand for private homes. 'Prices will come down - but to what degree before they go up again? What's the alternative for people with savings? Where should they put their money? If you believe in the longer term, property is as good a bet as any. After all, interest rates are expected to stay low for the next couple of years.'
Price declines could be exacerbated by the secondary market, where volumes have slowed down more sharply than in the primary market (that is, developer sales). The number of units (excluding executive condos, or ECs) sold by developers fell 2.4 per cent from 16,292 units in 2010 to 15,904 units in 2011. However, the number of homes sold in the secondary market (resales and subsales combined) slipped 27.6 per cent, from 22,608 in 2010 to 16,357 in 2011.
Developers are wooing buyers with nice showflats and appealing ad pitches. The ease of stretching out progress payments over a few years - compared with having to pay the full price upfront when buying a completed home in the secondary market - is another reason to buy a home directly from a developer.
DTZ's Asia Pacific research head Chua Chor Hoon said: 'When secondary volumes come down, eventually it will affect prices. If demand slows down and sellers find it hard to sell after a few months hanging on to their prices, some owners will start to reduce prices. There will be more bargaining power for buyers as well as occupiers as rents start to ease.'
URA stats also show that developers completed 12,469 private homes (excluding ECs), up 19.9 per cent from the 10,399 in 2010. This has begun to weigh on residential rents, which are rising at a slower rate.
Savills Singapore expects a 'mild correction' of 5 per cent in rentals this year as more new apartments come on stream in the months ahead. It also expects the number of private residential leasing deals (excluding ECs) to hover around 45,000 in 2012, after hitting an all-time high of 45,062 leases last year. The figure for 2010 was 41,573.
'The strong 2011 showing may be attributed to Singapore becoming the preferred location among MNCs for their regional HQs. This has also attracted more senior and top executives to relocate here,' said Savills' residential leasing head Patrick Lai.
DTZ's Ms Chua said rental pressure is greater in Core Central Region but this is likely to shift to Outside Central Region in three to four years due to expected completion of projects in suburban areas arising from the ramp-up in Government Land Sales since the second half of 2010.
Private property prices and rentals at standstill
Q4 data hints that market may have peaked; secondary-market volumes are slowing down
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(Singapore)
PRICE rises for private homes almost ground to a halt last quarter while rental increases also tapered off. The latest official data has sparked a discussion in property circles on whether the market has peaked.
Most observers say that either the peak has already been touched, or will be touched very soon.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority's benchmark private home price index inched up just 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter (q-o-q) in Q4 last year, its ninth consecutive quarter of moderation. For the full year, the index's 5.9 per cent rise was a third of the 17.6 per cent gain registered in 2010. The figures were identical to flash estimates released on Jan 3.
And for the first time since Q3 2009, the increase in URA's landed property sub-index was lower than that for the non-landed property sub-index. The landed sub-index rose just 0.1 per cent q-o-q in Q4 2011, compared with 0.3 per cent for the non-landed sub-index. In fact, for semi-detached houses, the price index actually fell 0.6 per cent q-o-q in Q4.
'In that quarter, prices of semi-detached houses in the east fell 1.6 per cent while those in the north-east softened by 1.3 per cent. This shows that some segments of the landed market are facing stronger price resistance,' says Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui. 'However, landed prices have risen 80 per cent from the market trough in Q2 2009, outperforming the 48 per cent increase for non-landed for the same period.'
URA's overall rental index for private homes rose 0.4 per cent q-o-q in Q4, or half the 0.8 per cent rise it had posted in Q3. Full year 2011, the index was up 3.8 per cent - a fraction of the 17.9 per cent gain it had put on in 2010.
The outlook for private home prices looks bleak. CBRE predicts a price drop of 5-15 per cent this year, with luxury/prime properties taking the bigger hit and mass-market homes being the least affected.
Credo's Mr Ong says: 'It's difficult for prices to regain momentum as the recently imposed ABSD (additional buyer's stamp duty) and the economic slowdown could ease demand. Sustained supply and competition among sellers will also keep a lid on prices.'
Giving a different take, Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong said: 'We still believe it's difficult to conclude if we've reached an inflexion point, if any at all.'
Mr Cheong cites the oligopolistic nature of the Singapore residential property market, with large developers with deep pockets who're likely to resist any price cut. 'A cocktail of low interest rates till at least late-2014 (as pledged by the US Federal Reserve) and higher inflation will in due course reignite another round of interest in the residential market as it's deemed a good hedge against inflation,' he said.
Credo's Mr Ong paints two scenarios. 'In the best-case scenario, if the economic slowdown is milder than expected, then buying sentiment may remain positive, translating to sustained buying activity which will help to keep prices stable amid the build-up in supply. In the worst-case scenario, if there's a recession, we can expect demand to slacken, creating downward pressure on prices.'
Lamenting the difficulty in making accurate predictions, Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng said: 'Each time after the government has announced cooling measures in the past two years, I thought the measures would be sufficient to cool the market. But things have turned out to be otherwise.'
He admits that the ABSD will have some effect in curbing investment and foreign demand for private homes. 'Prices will come down - but to what degree before they go up again? What's the alternative for people with savings? Where should they put their money? If you believe in the longer term, property is as good a bet as any. After all, interest rates are expected to stay low for the next couple of years.'
Price declines could be exacerbated by the secondary market, where volumes have slowed down more sharply than in the primary market (that is, developer sales). The number of units (excluding executive condos, or ECs) sold by developers fell 2.4 per cent from 16,292 units in 2010 to 15,904 units in 2011. However, the number of homes sold in the secondary market (resales and subsales combined) slipped 27.6 per cent, from 22,608 in 2010 to 16,357 in 2011.
Developers are wooing buyers with nice showflats and appealing ad pitches. The ease of stretching out progress payments over a few years - compared with having to pay the full price upfront when buying a completed home in the secondary market - is another reason to buy a home directly from a developer.
DTZ's Asia Pacific research head Chua Chor Hoon said: 'When secondary volumes come down, eventually it will affect prices. If demand slows down and sellers find it hard to sell after a few months hanging on to their prices, some owners will start to reduce prices. There will be more bargaining power for buyers as well as occupiers as rents start to ease.'
URA stats also show that developers completed 12,469 private homes (excluding ECs), up 19.9 per cent from the 10,399 in 2010. This has begun to weigh on residential rents, which are rising at a slower rate.
Savills Singapore expects a 'mild correction' of 5 per cent in rentals this year as more new apartments come on stream in the months ahead. It also expects the number of private residential leasing deals (excluding ECs) to hover around 45,000 in 2012, after hitting an all-time high of 45,062 leases last year. The figure for 2010 was 41,573.
'The strong 2011 showing may be attributed to Singapore becoming the preferred location among MNCs for their regional HQs. This has also attracted more senior and top executives to relocate here,' said Savills' residential leasing head Patrick Lai.
DTZ's Ms Chua said rental pressure is greater in Core Central Region but this is likely to shift to Outside Central Region in three to four years due to expected completion of projects in suburban areas arising from the ramp-up in Government Land Sales since the second half of 2010.
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