New Futura By CDL

25/07/2020

Singapore private home prices eke out surprise 0.3% rise in Q2: URA data

PUBLISHEDJUL 24, 2020, 9:54 AM SGT

SINGAPORE - Defying Covid-19 circuit breaker measures and a recession, private home prices in Singapore edged up 0.3 per cent in the second quarter from the previous three months, according to final data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (July 24).

But analysts warned that a market recovery is far from certain as business closures, salary cuts and job losses will eventually take their toll in the months ahead.

The 0.3 per cent gain in the second quarter of 2020 bucked the 1.1 per cent drop in the URA's flash estimate released on July 1.

It comes after private home prices dropped 1 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, their first quarterly decline in a year.

Year on year, prices have risen 1.2 per cent from the second quarter of 2019.

"This surprising turnaround was mainly due to pent-up demand in the later half of June as showflats were opened – with safe distancing precautions – as well as viewings being allowed under stringent conditions," said Mr Leonard Tay, head of research, Knight Frank Singapore.

For the first half of 2020, overall prices of private home dipped 0.7 per cent, a very mild decline considering the unprecedented pandemic and economic disruption," he noted.

Developers launched 1,852 uncompleted private residential units excluding executive condominiums (ECs) for sale in Q2 2020, compared with 2,093 units in the previous quarter.

They sold 1,713 units (excluding ECs) in Q2, 20.3 per cent less than the 2,149 units taken up in the previous quarter.

"The imposition of the circuit breaker in April seemed to stop activity in the private residential market. However, new home sales volume picked up from the end of April as buyers got used to “transacting-from-home”, increasing by 75.8 per cent from April to May, and then more than doubling between May to June when showflats were allowed to reopen on 19 June," said Mr Tay.

The growing number of transactions as well as relative price stability in the second quarter, may prompt developers to launch more new projects in the remaining half of the year, analysts say.

Seventeen new residential projects with a total of 5,243 units will be ready for launch in the next 6 to 9 months, ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said.

"About three quarters of these units are located in the prime or core central region, which is a significantly higher proportion than that launched in 2019. Last year, 54.7 per cent of the units launched were in the core central region. This would contribute to a higher percentage of more expensive properties being transacted in the primary market, and help support prices," he said.

Still, prices may remain soft in the coming months due to growing economic uncertainties and escalating tensions. "We estimate that overall prices may dip up to 3 per cent this year," OrangeTee & Tie's head of research and consultancy Christine Sun said .

For the second quarter, prices of non-landed properties rose 0.4 per cent from the previous three months, compared with the 1 per cent drop in the previous quarter.

Giving a breakdown by region, the URA said that prices of non-landed properties in the core central region jumped 2.7 per cent in Q2, compared with the 2.2 per cent drop in the previous quarter. Prices of non-landed properties in the city fringe or rest of central region fell 1.7 per cent, compared with the 0.5 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

Prices in the suburbs or outside central region edged up 0.1 per cent, compared with the 0.4 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

The URA also said that prices of landed properties remained unchanged in the second quarter of this year, after dipping 0.9 per cent in the first quarter.

Unlike prices, rents of private residential properties weakened in the second quarter, after edging up in the first three months of the year. Rents fell 1.2 per cent in Q2 2020, compared with a rise of 1.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

Rental volume dipped below 20,000 in the second quarter, marking the first time since Q4 2017 that rental volume fell below 20,000. Huttons Asia research director Lee Sze Teck blamed rising unemployment, travel restrictions and border closures.

"The third quarter of the year is usually the busiest but this year, we do not expect volume to pick up. Rents may ease by up to 3 per cent in the second half of the year," he said.

Ms Sun noted that the bulk of the rental volume seems to be renewals as many tenants chose to renew their contracts, due in part to the difficulty arranging house movers.

Developers did not launch any EC units for sale in the second quarter, and sold 71 EC units in the quarter. In comparison, they launched 1,044 EC units and sold 590 EC units in the previous quarter.

As at the end of Q2, there was a total supply of 49,090 uncompleted private residential units (excluding ECs) in the pipeline with planning approvals, compared with 48,868 units in the previous quarter.

Of this number, 27,977 units or more than half remained unsold as at the end of Q2, compared with the 29,149 units in the previous quarter.

After adding the supply of 3,613 EC units in the pipeline, there were 52,703 units in the pipeline with planning approvals. Of the EC units in the pipeline, 1,899 remain unsold.

In total, 29,876 units with planning approvals (including ECs) remain unsold, down from 31,099 units in the previous quarter.

SINGAPORE - Defying Covid-19 circuit breaker measures and a recession, private home prices in Singapore edged up 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, against a 1 per cent drop in the first quarter, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (July 24).. Read more at straitstimes.com.

17/07/2020

“The stabilisation of the property market has substantially reduced its vulnerability to the Covid-19 shock. If property prices had been rising rapidly as we entered the Covid-19 crisis, we could have seen a sharp and painful correction,” Mr Menon said.

SINGAPORE — Despite the economic slump as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the existing cooling measures for the property market will stay, the head of Singapore’s central bank said.

21/02/2018

Important notice for Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) with effect from 20 Feb 2018

The Government has raised the top marginal buyer's stamp duty rate from 3 per cent to 4 per cent for residential properties worth more than $1 million.

The new rate will apply to all residential properties acquired from Feb 20.

Buyer's stamp duty is payable on the acceptance of an option to purchase agreement or sale and purchase agreement.

The IRAS e-Tax Guide is enclosed for your info. Click on this link:

https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/uploadedFiles/IRASHome/e-Tax_Guides/Buyer's%20Stamp%20Duty%20(BSD)%20on%20Residential%20and%20Non-Residential%20Properties_2018-02-19_v1.0.pdf

Calculation Example:

Property Price = $2,000,000

1st $180,000 = 1% x $180,000 = $1,800
Next $180,000 = 2% x $180,000 = $3,600
Next $640,000 = 3% x $640,000 = $19,200
Next $1 mil = 4% x $1 mil = $40,000
Total = $64,600
OR

Alternatively take ($2 mil x 4%) minus $15,400 = $64,600.

As a comparison, under previous 3% BSD scheme, the tax is:

1st $180,000 = 1% x $180,000 = $1,800
Next $180,000 = 2% x $180,000 = $3,600
Next $1,640,000 = 3% x $1,640,000 = $49,200
Total = $54,600
OR

Alternatively take ($2 mil x 3%) minus $5,400 = $54,600.

So the difference in the buyer's stamp duty payable is $10,000.

TRANSITION PERIOD

Acquisition of residential properties during the transitional period:

If a buyer of a residential property has been granted an Option to Purchase on or before 19 Feb 2018 and exercises it on or before the earlier of the following dates:

12 Mar 2018; or
date of expiry of the option validity period (without any extension of the validity period or variation to the option on or after 20 Feb 2018),
the buyer may apply to IRAS for remission to apply the BSD rates prior to 20 Feb 2018.

06/02/2018

The demand remains very strong. Do take advantage of the Early Bird Discount before New Futura prices head North.

24 Choice Units left in South Tower.

40 units sold to date in 19 days.

✅ Early Bird Discount still on.
✅ 18 units sold on launch day 18/1/18.
✅ Last 4 Bedder left in South Tower!
✅ Super Attractive Ave $PSF $3,200.

Prices starting from:
2br 1098sf fr $3,800,000 - MOVING FAST
2br 1367sf fr $4,212,000 - LAST 3 UNITS
3br 1830sf fr $5,805,600 - MOVING FAST
4br 2250sf fr $7,677,600 - LAST UNIT LEFT
4br w High Ceiling 2691sf - FULLY SOLD OUT
5br Penthouse 7836sf Asking $39.8M

Viewing by Appointment only.

Register below to get your exclusive VIP viewing session now.

www.official-newfutura.sg

31/01/2018

It is selling hot! By appointment only.
Register your preview session here now:
www.official-newfutura.sg

30/01/2018

18 New Futura units sold at $3,200 psf at launch
PUBLISHEDJAN 22, 2018, 5:00 AM SGT

City Developments (CDL) moved 18 units of its high-end condominium project New Futura at an average selling price of $3,200 per sq ft (psf) on the first day of its launch last Thursday.

Market watchers deemed this a decent showing, given that most of the units sold were the four-bedroom and three-bedroom units.

The project has an army of five marketing agencies - PropNex Realty, ERA Realty, Huttons, OrangeTee & Tie and Savills.


CDL said only 25 units were released during the private viewing on Jan 18.

A third of the buyers were Singaporeans, while two-thirds were Singapore permanent residents and foreigners.

"We are very encouraged by the positive response to New Futura. It is a highly anticipated brand-new luxury project with just 124 exclusive units on a site area of 87,000 sq ft," its spokesman said.

The freehold project in Leonie Hill Road is a 10-minute walk from Orchard Road and is designed by internationally renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The units released for sale are in the South Tower, with prices starting from $3.8 million for a two-bedroom unit of 1,098 sq ft; $5.5 million for a three-bedroom unit of 1,830 sq ft; and $6.9 million for a four-bedroom unit of 2,250 sq ft, according to agents.

Only 25 units of the 124-unit New Futura, in Leonie Hill Road, were released during the private viewing last Thursday. A third of the buyers were Singaporeans, while two-thirds were Singapore permanent residents and foreigners.
Only 25 units of the 124-unit New Futura, in Leonie Hill Road, were released during the private viewing last Thursday. A third of the buyers were Singaporeans, while two-thirds were Singapore permanent residents and foreigners. PHOTO: CITY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
The site was acquired by CDL in 2006 for $287.3 million in a collective sale, which worked out to be $1,179 per sq ft per plot ratio.

The project received time extensions for building completion and received its temporary occupation permit last August.

JPMorgan property analyst Brandon Lee estimated that a pre-tax profit margin of 35 per cent can be chalked up, based on an average selling price of $3,100 psf.

Nearby project Gramercy Park was sold recently at $2,800 to $3,000 psf and OUE Twin Peaks, also nearby, at $2,700 to $ 2,800 psf.

Mr Lee reckoned that upcoming projects in the vicinity, such as 8 Saint Thomas, Paterson Collection and One Tree Hill, may be launched earlier than their initially targeted dates to capture the positive buying momentum.

Ongoing projects being sold en bloc may also draw more interest from developers.

In the prime core central region (CCR), there could be up to nine sites offering close to 1,400 units in the first half of the year, said luxury residential brokerage List Sotheby's International Realty, Singapore.

Most consultants are expecting high-end projects to perform well this year. Mr Lee Nai Jia, who heads research at Edmund Tie & Company, said he expects that the number of foreign purchases will continue to grow.

"Firstly, the Singapore residential market is starting to recover compared with other international residential markets, which are peaking or have peaked. Secondly, the prices of Singapore luxury residential properties compared with other gateway cities such as Hong Kong are lower," he added.

Based on his analysis of caveats lodged, purchases by foreigners (non-Singaporeans and non-permanent residents) formed about 14 per cent of non-landed homes sold in the CCR last year.

This is slightly below the proportion in 2016. But in absolute numbers, purchases by foreigners grew from 389 units in 2016 to 567 units in 2017.

According to List Sotheby's, the number of luxury apartments (above $5 million) bought by foreigners and permanent residents in Singapore's CCR last year more than doubled to 202 units.

Mr Leong Boon Hoe, chief operating officer of List Sotheby's International Realty, Singapore, said: "As the Singapore economy recovers and stabilises, we expect the property market to continue to grow at a steady rate, and in particular, for the luxury property sector to lead the market."