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\n8th February to 14th February 2022
\nHDB resale prices are expected to increase at a slower pace this year as a record number of flats reach their\u00a0Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). Singapore saw new private home sales held steady in January despite the latest cooling measures.
\n1) Hike in HDB resale prices to be slower as record number of flats achieve minimum occupation period
\nAnalysts expect the prices of HDB resale flats to increase at a slower pace as a record number of flats reach their\u00a0MOP this year, reported\u00a0Today.
\nHDB resale prices are forecasted to increase by 4% to 8%, down from the 12.7% hike registered last year, albeit still significant by historical standards.
\nThis comes as a record 31,325 HDB residential units are expected to reach their MOP this year.
\nRelated article:\u00a060 Freshly MOP-ed HDB Resale Flats in Singapore to Expect in 2022\/2023
\nOrangeTee and Tie\u2019s Senior Vice-President of Research and Analytics Christine Sun said the \u201cspike in housing supply may exert some downward pressure on prices\u201d in areas with a high number of flats that are past their MOP.
\n\u201cTherefore, some areas may see prices rising at a much slower pace this year,\u201d she added.
\n\u00a0Demand for resale HDB flats largely come from families affected by BTO construction delays and couples put off by long completion times. Despite HDB\u2019s plans\u00a0to launch up to 23,000 new BTO flats per year in 2022 and 2023, prices are likely to remain high in the short-term until supply is fully restored.
\nRelated article:\u00a0HDB Flats in Singapore: BTO Price vs HDB MOP Resale Price 5 Years Later (2021)
\n2) New private home sales remain steady in January despite cooling measures
\nLaunched in early December 2021, Mori is a freehold condo located in District 14,\u00a0along Guillemard Road.\u00a0Mori sold 61 out of a total of 137 units on its launch weekend.
\nSales for new private homes held steady last month despite the introduction of new cooling measures last year, reported The Business Times.
\nBased on caveats lodged, analysts estimated that developers moved 639 new private homes in January, a slight 1.7% decline from the 650 units shifted in December 2021.
\nLee Sze Teck, Senior Director of Research at Huttons Asia, noted that January\u2019s sales volume is comparable to December 2021 even as only one project was launched last month compared to December\u2019s three launches.
\nIncluding executive condominiums (ECs), new private home sales dipped 4.7% to 685 units last month.
\nWhile sales volume in December and January are expected to be lower due to the cooling measures and the festive lull period, it is encouraging to see that January\u2019s sales did not drastically contract from the previous month, said Nicholas Mak, Head of Research and Consultancy at ERA Realty.
\nAlongside the influx of newly MOP-ed flats entering the market is a flood of\u00a0HDB upgraders in 2022 and 2023. Flush with cash, these HDB upgraders\u00a0typically\u00a0buy larger HDB flats or new entry-level condos\u00a0for own-stay, thus contributing to the demand for non-landed private property.
\n3) Wealth taxes may be introduced under Budget 2022
\nThe government is expected to introduce wealth taxes at Budget 2022 in a bid to boost its coffers and reduce wealth inequalities, reported The Straits Times.
\nDBS Bank Senior Economist Irvin Seah noted that while some form of wealth tax is likely, the shape and form of the tax remains uncertain, given the recent introduction of property cooling measures in December 2021.
\nGrant Thornton Singapore\u2019s Head of Tax David Sandison pointed out that real estate-based taxes are the \u201clowest hanging fruit\u201d since they are easy to legislate and collect.
\nShantini Ramachandra, Deloitte Private\u2019s Tax Leader for Southeast Asia, however, believes that introducing a new wealth tax may be counter-intuitive to the government\u2019s efforts to make Singapore into \u201ca premier hub for wealth management and to attract foreign investors to invest, work and live in Singapore.\u201d
\n4) REDAS wants longer project sales period for sites purchased before latest cooling measures
\nThe Real Estate Developers\u2019 Association of Singapore (REDAS) urged the government to extend the project sales period under the Additional Buyer\u2019s Stamp Duty (ABSD) requirements on land purchased before 16 December 2021, reported The\u00a0Business Times.
\nREDAS President Chia Ngiang Hong hoped the formula of land ABSD will be tweaked to be based on unsold units just like in the case of the qualifying certificate.
\nHe noted that sales of units are forecasted to slow down given the significant increase in ABSD rates \u201cfor second and subsequent home purchases, as well as on foreigners\u201d.
\n\u201cCoupled with a ramped-up Government Land Sales (GLS) supply by the government, developers are concerned that they may not be able to sell all units in their current projects under the revised ABSD framework within the stipulated 5-year timeline,\u201d he added.
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\n5) Vicenta Lodge relaunched for collective sale, price lowered at $27.2mil
\nSource: Century 21
\nVicenta Lodge, a 16-unit freehold development in Kembangan, has been relaunched for collective sale with a reserve price of $27.2 million, down from its $29 million price when it was launched in April last year, revealed PropNex Realty.
\nThe price works out to a land rate of $983 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) or $968 psf ppr inclusive of the 7% balcony space.
\nLocated at 16,18, 20, 22 Lorong Marzuki, the development occupy a 21,281 sq ft site zoned Residential under the 2019 Master Plan with a plot ratio of 1.4. It has a gross floor area of 29,794 sq ft and could potentially be redeveloped into 27 housing units averaging 1,076 sq ft.
\nThe collective sale tender for Vicenta Lodge closes on 10 March.
\nWhile we saw the en bloc market pick up steam in the second half of 2021, the introduction of the Dec 2021 property cooling measures dampened momentum. As the Government replenishes land supply, fewer en bloc sales may occur, with developers\u00a0going for small to medium sites in light of the new cooling measures. \u00a0
\n6) $363mil contract for Pasir Ris East station under Cross Island Line awarded
\nThe Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a $363 million contract to design and build Pasir Ris East station under phase one of the Cross Island Line (CRL) to a joint venture between Singapore Engineering & Construction and Sinohydro Corporation (Singapore branch).
\nConstruction of the Pasir Ris East station is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2022, while passenger service is set to start in 2030.
\nOnce operational, travel time to Ang Mo Kio will be reduced from 60 minutes to about 25 minutes only, while commutes to Bright Hill will be cut from 80 minutes to 30 minutes.
\nThe 12 stations built during Phase 1 of the CRL will serve over 100,000 households in the Pasir Ris, Loyang, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio and Serangoon North areas by 2030. Properties\u00a0located\u00a0close to the CRL\u2019s MRT stations\u00a0are likely to experience the\u00a0\u201cMRT effect\u201d and see considerable price growth.
\n7) PropNex empowers financial literacy in a fun, gamified manner<\/p>\n