{"id":45318,"date":"2017-02-24T07:30:50","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T00:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/news-roundup-february-2017\/"},"modified":"2017-02-24T07:34:13","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T00:34:13","slug":"news-roundup-february-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/news-roundup-february-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"News Roundup (February 2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u00a0
\nOur top Singapore property stories.
\nHigher demand expected for HDB resale flats: experts
\nHDB resale flats have become more appealing for first-time buyers in light of the higher CPF housing grants announced as part of Budget 2017, said Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA Realty Network.
\n\u201cBuyers who are sitting on the fence may very well tilt towards a resale flat with this announcement, as resale transaction time is a fraction of the three-year waiting period for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat,\u201d he noted.
\nHowever, he doesn\u2019t expect HDB resale prices to rise anytime soon, as many HDB flats are largely similar in design and space, among other attributes. If some sellers were to increase their prices rashly, prospective buyers could easily turn to those offering similar flats at lower prices, he said.
\nMeanwhile, JLL\u2019s National Director for Research and Consultancy, Ong Teck Hui, expects the hike in CPF housing grants to help sustain growth in HDB resale volumes, which rose by 7.8 percent year-on-year in 2016, while resale prices, which have remained largely flat since Q3 2015, are projected to stabilise or rise slightly due to better demand.
\nIn his budget speech on 20 February, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that CPF housing grants would be raised from $30,000 to $50,000 for first-timers looking to buy 4-room or smaller HDB flats on the resale market. For 5-room or bigger flats, the grants will be increased from $30,000 to $40,000.
\nLikewise, grants for single first-time buyers will go up from $15,000 to $25,000 for those planning to purchase 4-room or smaller resale flats. For larger units, it will be raised from $15,000 to $20,000.<\/p>\n

Property firms eager to become master developers
\nMany developers in Singapore have expressed their eagerness to participate in a private-public partnership model that will see them master planning new districts, reported the Straits Times.
\nIn recommending the \u201cmaster developer\u201d model, the Committee on the Future Economy said the government should provide more flexibility in land use to enable developers to take a more integrated approach in developing districts.
\nCurrently, the government conducts the master planning of precincts, before offering the land to property developers on a plot-by-plot basis.
\n\u201cThe opportunity for private developers to participate in master planning raises exciting possibilities for the real estate landscape,\u201d said Christopher Tang, CEO of Frasers Centrepoint Singapore.
\nHowever, the tender award for such a model should not be based solely on the highest bid, but also on the developer\u2019s master plan proposal, track record and financial commitment, noted Wen Khai Meng, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore.
\nIn addition, given the longer development horizon and fluid nature of large precinct developments, option pricing may also be considered by the government to ensure business viability, he added.
\nIncentives such as lower development charge rates and additional gross floor area may also encourage the development of underground space, said industry players.
\nChristine Li, Research Director at Cushman & Wakefield, noted that while a significant portion of the master developer\u2019s resources, including human capital and financial capital, is tied up to the project during its duration, the project\u2019s success would \u201cboost the master developer\u2019s reputation and enable it to reap substantial profits\u201d.<\/p>\n

Condos pass by-laws to curb short-term rentals
\nIn light of the growing number of homes offered for short-term rentals, the management committees of some condominiums have taken matters into their own hands by passing by-laws aimed at preventing the misuse of apartments, reported TODAYonline.
\nThe measures taken include forcing residents to present tenancy agreements, placing notices of short-term rental guidelines at lifts and lift lobbies, and limiting access to the condominium through the main lobby.
\nIn February, Parliament passed laws disallowing the use of private homes for short-term stay, effectively making it illegal for owners to rent out their property via online homestay portals like Roomorama and Airbnb, reported Channel NewsAsia.
\nNational Development Minister Lawrence Wong, however, revealed plans to create a new building-use category for private homes whose owners wish to offer their property for short-term rent. He noted that the authorities are also looking at reducing the six-month minimum rental period.
\n\u201cBut whatever adjustments we may make to this minimum period, it is clear that we will not accommodate residential homes that are put up for daily rental,\u201d said Wong.
\n\u201cSuch premises which are rented out daily ought to be regulated more like hotels rather than residential homes, and should be subject to relevant license and conditions to ensure proper standards.\u201d
\nIn a separate report by Channel NewsAsia, Airbnb said while it is \u201ccommitted to working with the government to adopt a model of home-sharing that works for Singapore\u201d, it was disappointed that discussion on the issue has not moved forward.<\/p>\n

Wooing Chinese investors
\nDespite the tough cooling measures put in place to curb speculation and foreign demand, mainland Chinese buyers continue to have an insatiable appetite for Singapore residential property, revealed experts.
\nAnalysis of pageviews between January to June 2016 on Juwai.com showed that China remains their most preferred location when searching for property at 82.8 percent, but Singapore is their top overseas destination at 9.4 percent, ahead of the US and Hong Kong at 1.2 percent each.
\nData from the Chinese international property portal also revealed that the number of enquiries for Singapore properties surged by almost 99 percent from Q4 2015 to Q1 2016, translating to a total enquiry value of US$692.6 million. Further information showed that the median enquiry price was about US$633,000.
\nExperts noted that there are three main reasons for why Chinese investors continue to park their money in Singapore. These include the motivation to educate their children in the city-state, an increase in Chinese tourist arrivals, and more affordable luxury housing compared to other global cities like Hong Kong, London and New York.
\nMeanwhile, PropertyGuru Group, Asia\u2019s leading online property group, has joined forces with Juwai.com to help Chinese investors find the right investment in Singapore.
\nJuwai sees about two million Chinese consumers from around the world visiting its website each month. Ranked as the number one real estate portal by Chinese internet ranking firm CNZZ, it has 2.5 million property listings from 89 countries displayed on its site and mobile app.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

This article was first published in the print version PropertyGuru News & Views. Download PDFs of full print issues or read more stories now!<\/p>\n


\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…News Roundup (February 2017)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Our top Singapore property stories. Higher demand expected for HDB resale flats: experts HDB...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45319,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Luxury-apartments-in-Singapore-1024x680.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-bMW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44908,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/higher-demand-expected-for-hdb-resale-flats-experts\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":0},"title":"Higher demand expected for HDB resale flats: experts","date":"February 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Despite expectations of higher demand in the HDB resale market, prices are not likely to shoot up, say analysts.\u00a0 \u00a0 HDB resale flats have become more appealing for first-time buyers in light of the higher CPF housing grants announced as part of yesterday\u2019s budget, said Eugene Lim Key Executive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":113352,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-resale-prices-up-0-4-in-q4-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":1},"title":"HDB resale prices up 0.4% in Q4 2019","date":"January 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\r As such, the HDB Resale Price Index (RPI), which measures overall price movements of resale HDB flats, is now 131.4.\u00a0 Resale prices of HDB flats have continued to climb in Q4 2019, raising by 0.4% from the 0.1% increase in Q3 2019, according to the latest HDB flash estimates.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HDB-flash-estimates-Q4-2019.png?fit=600%2C343&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":102628,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-resale-prices-down-0-9-in-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":2},"title":"HDB resale prices down 0.9% in 2018","date":"January 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r HDB resale flats in the Ghim Moh area. Resale prices of HDB flats dropped by 0.9 percent for the whole of 2018, revealed the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Wednesday (2 Jan). For the fourth quarter of 2018, resale flat prices dipped by 0.2 percent from the previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49345,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/get-the-guru-view-hdb-resale-a-buyers-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":3},"title":"Get the Guru View: HDB resale – A buyer\u2019s market","date":"March 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Upcoming BTO launches could draw demand away from the HDB resale market. The HDB resale market has seen prices stay flat since Q2 2015. With an increase in the grants available for use, will this market start to see a pickup in 2017? We give you the Guru View.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Guru-View-HDB-Resale-Price-Index-and-Transcation-Volume.jpg?fit=792%2C442&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":95053,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-resale-prices-rise-for-the-first-time-in-nine-quarters\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":4},"title":"HDB resale prices rise for the first time in nine quarters","date":"July 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The latest round of property curbs is expected to make buyers turn to the HDB resale market, where properties are cheaper. Prices of resale Housing Board flats climbed 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018 \u2013 its first increase after nine quarters of decline \u2013 hinting that HDB\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93025,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-resale-prices-up-0-1-govt-to-offer-bto-flats-in-punggol-and-yishun\/","url_meta":{"origin":45318,"position":5},"title":"HDB resale prices up 0.1%, govt to offer BTO flats in Punggol and Yishun","date":"July 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Demand for HDB resale flats is stronger due to interest from displaced en bloc owners and positive sentiment in the private residential market.\u00a0 Prices of HDB resale flats edged up 0.1 percent in Q2 2018 on a quarterly basis, according to flash estimates released by the Housing Board on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}