Maritimeland: September 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

New measures affected Q3 home sales

Sep 24, 2010 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Residential market activity during the third quarter of the year moved at a steady pace until September when the government announced its latest round of measures aimed at cooling the property market, said CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

Sales activity slowed down and market sentiment was dampened as industry players took time to digest the measures’ implications, it added.

The third quarter saw about 3,300 to 3,500 new homes sold, substantially lower compared to the 4,380 and 4,033 units sold in the first and second quarters, respectively.

Projects with small-format units and those with strong location attributes were still the star-performers, with fully-sold condo projects including 368 Thomson, The Scala, Terrene and Dorsett Residences.

Meanwhile, the Greenwich at Seletar Road, which sold 230 of its 319 units and NV Residences at Pasir Ris Grove, which sold 300 of its 642 units, set new price benchmarks of $1,095 psf and $830 psf in their respective locations.

During the third quarter, property developers purchased more than 10 sites from the private sector, with prominent deals including the acquisition of Goodrich Park for S$86.0 million (S$629 psf ppr) and Meng Garden for S$137.0 million ($1,380 psf ppr).

In addition, six residential sites and one commercial-residential site were acquired from the government, including a 444,136 sq ft site located at Jalan Eunos, which was acquired by Far East Organization for S$257.8 million ($415 psf ppr).

“We expect the residential market to mellow in the fourth quarter of 2010,” said CBRE, adding that developers will continue looking for development sites but are expected to be less bullish in their bids.

The volume of new home sales in the last quarter is also likely to be lower at about 2,000 units, it said.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Nice design 63

Nice design 62

New approach promises more flexibility in landed design

Sept 17, 2010 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

A pilot project of modified guidelines aimed at allowing more creative designs for landed homes is being conducted by the URA.

The URA will apply the guidelines on nine landed housing plots that will be auctioned in October under the Phase 3 of Sembawang Greenvale.

The guidelines eliminate some of the existing “micro controls” including attic profile, basement protrusions and floor-to-floor height. Instead, it will control the total bulk of the house or the envelop.

Under the envelop control approach, the total height limit of a three-storey house is, however, lower than under the old guidelines.

According to Singapore’s planning authority, the new approach will provide architects with more freedom to propose different designs and layouts provided that the proposal is compatible with surrounding three-storey houses.

Mok Wei Wei, managing director of W Architects, welcomed the new method, saying: ”It takes care of the big picture by controlling the envelop; in other words, the building shouldn't be bigger than what it should be. But within that, it relaxes some of the earlier controls like the maximum storey height. Under existing guidelines, the first storey has a maximum height of 4.5 metres, and the second and third storeys, 3.6 metres each.”

“But now this maximum storey height control is removed. So it means you have a freer volumetric play of the space, while still allowing you to achieve the same overall built-up area as before. That's the greatest advantage.”

The minimum habitable standard is also not sacrificed since there is still a control of minimum storey height, said Mr. Mok.

If the pilot project at Sembawang Greenvale becomes successful, the URA may consider expanding the envelop control approach to landed housing developments in other places or types of works, said a spokeswoman for URA.

This envelop control approach was a result of feedback during the Focus Group consultation exercise of URA on landed housing in late 2007.

Friday, September 17, 2010

New property rules aim to help first-timers

Sep 16, 2010 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan emphasized that the new property measures are aimed to help first-time homebuyers get “first crack” at the housing market.

The Minister noted that while the cooling measures may cause disadvantage or inconvenience to some homeowners, the broader goal of the new rules was to prioritise first-time homebuyers, as well as reinforce the use of an HDB flat for long-term occupation rather than a mode of investment.

“If you already own a private property, then please don't at this point of time compete with the others to buy HDB resale flats unless you're genuinely downgrading,” said Mr. Mah.

He was responding to questions from Members of Parliament about the new measures implemented in August 30, as the new cooling measures were making it harder for homebuyers to own private and public flat concurrently.

While there are those who wanted to own both private and public flats, some homebuyers had more pressing needs, said Mr. Mah.

“We have a genuine need from first timer couples for HDB resale flats and I think we should let them have first crack at it.”

While some complaints have centred on HDB upgraders, he stressed that the new rules encouraged them to be more cautious, adding that he do not want to repeat the peak and crash of the property market in 1997, when many homeowners lost their flat and faced negative equity.