So what's our public perception of property agents?

The first Public Perception Survey by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has found that most consumers are satisfied with their property agents.

Eight out of 10 said they were satisfied with the conduct and services provided.

Seven out of 10 planned to recommend their agents to others. 

Top of the list was service excellence with agents being contactable, responsive to queries and courteous at all times.

Bottom of the list was knowledge and expertise about the real estate industry.

Consumers felt that the agents should improve their knowledge so that they can advise customers on property transactions.

These include financial matters and accurate and up-to-date information related to the property.

Most consumers, more than 70%, were also aware of key industry practices and regulations.

The awareness level among potential consumers came in lower, averaging about 60%.

The survey also looked at feedback from the industry.

Most were supportive of the initiatives implemented by CEA to enhance professionalism in the sector.

Eighty per cent indicated that the regulatory measures and enforcement of minimum eligibility criteria for agents has helped raise the professionalism of the industry.

More than 90% of agents found that the training that they received in the last 12 months, was effective in raising their professionalism.

The majority of them also indicated that they would require additional training on government rules and regulations and market information.

The survey was conducted between March and July this year.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with more than 2,200 consumers and potential consumers.

An online survey was conducted with more than 1,700 property agents and key executive officers.

The findings will set the baseline for CEA to measure the progress of the industry in delivering professional service to consumers.

Source: Channel News Asia

The wife and I have lost count of the number of property agents we have met over the past few years. While most of these encounters were generally positive, we did come across several that "cannot quite make it".

Our pet peeves are those who are excessively pushy, who do not know the facts about the development that they are marketing and worse of all, pre-judge you on your "affordability" based on appearances.

So what's your best/worst experience with a property agent?

Private home market reaching equilibrium?

Another proponent of impending price easing in the private property market.

But the (two) million dollar questions remain: how soon and by how much?

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Author: Ong Kah Seng

It has been a pulsating year for Singapore's private housing sector, with homebuyers' aspirations remaining firm even as prices and volumes defy conventional market cycles to hit record highs, but there are signs that the market is now heading towards equilibrium.

In today's market, speculation no longer drives the property buyer following the implementation of sellers' stamp duty in January last year for sales that take place within four years of the home purchase. The purchase decision largely comes from a desire to seek out investment opportunities and fulfil ownership aspirations.

These behavioural drivers will have to be managed by the authorities if they want to ease the rate of increase of home prices. Indeed, the current measures may be more effective than previous ones as they target underlying economic, social and homebuying fundamentals.

By now, the lack of investment alternatives due to the persistent low interest rate environment has become the oft-heard explanation for the continued preference for property purchases. A private home will still be a more familiar and safer choice among many property investors, compared to strata offices, shops and factories. Notwithstanding the record high prices, private homes are still perceived to be a good long-term investment.

The easy access to loans with longer tenures often encourages buyers, even those with affordability issues, to satisfy their need for instant gratification. So the curbs introduced last month to cap mortgages at 35 years and reduce the loan-to-value ratio for those that exceed 30 years or extend beyond the borrower's retirement age of 65 years can help mitigate the risks of defaults and failures in property investments, especially if interest rates eventually rise.

Private home prices, especially those of suburban housing, ran up during the periods following the implementation of the United States Federal Reserve's first round of quantitative easing (QE1) in end-2008 and the second round (QE2) in end-2010, but the market contexts were materially different from the present situation.

In 2009, private home prices fell by an average of 15% in the first quarter, hit by the fallout of the Lehman Brothers collapse. The severe drop and the subsequent economic stabilisation and stock market recovery, partly driven by QE1, provided the platform for the strong rebound of 16% in 3Q 2009, as opportunistic investors, including speculators, resurfaced.

The market also jumped in the last quarter of 2010 following QE2 implementation, with prices largely shrugging off the cooling measures effected from September that year.

Against that backdrop, many buyers are now conditioned to believe that property prices will surely rise following the Fed's third round of quantitative easing (QE3). Indeed, in September, when the US central bank announced the measures, there was a strong showing here in both the developer and resale market.

Typically, these buyers believe the ample liquidity will raise home prices next year, and although the high sellers' stamp duty will restrict reselling in the first four years of purchase, paper gains are still psychologically uplifting for owners and investors.

The market has also become more innovative and vibrant, as developers come up with new offerings or incentives to woo homebuyers in the face of fresh tightening measures and new supply.

Still, with Singapore's subdued economic prospects and with Asia increasingly losing its resilience, homebuyers are now expected to be more restrained. This will translate into a more stable market amid more competitive pricing next year.

The private home market rose 0.6% in the third quarter to hit a new all-time high and this has also led to more buyer resistance, especially as new cooling measures target specific demand fundamentals.

The current price levels have also almost fully stretched buyers' affordability, with suburban developer sales averaging $1,000 to $1,300psf, compared against lukewarm demand for resale properties in city fringes going for $1,200 to $1,400psf.

Although resale property requires immediate financing and HDB upgraders often like to be in the same locality, an investment-savvy individual should choose the latter, unless it exceeds his or her affordability. The current pricing is thus the limit for suburban condominiums and any further increase, even driven by low interest rates and QE3, is likely to meet with buyer resistance.

While the lack of investment alternatives and low interest rates drive the housing market, what really underpins the property's potential is beyond the mere low cost of funds. These include the tenant demand base, the property's inherent characteristics, as well as long-term infrastructural improvements and enhancements.

Homeseekers who did not purchase during the 2010 to 2012 market frenzy are generally more risk averse and prudent, and are thus expected to critically evaluate their buying options in the context of ample choices next year. This will curtail further price increases and very likely, prices will ease as competition intensifies.

      Ong Kah Seng is Director of Research at R'ST, an independent property market research company in Singapore.

Source: TODAY Online

 

 

 

 



The Real Deals (22-11-2012)

This latest issue by Maybank-Kim Eng Research is all about the Bartley area. So for those who are eyeing the two new projects along Bartley Road (i.e. Bartley Residences and Gambir Ridge) or wish to know what else is slated to happen around the area, this one for you!

Click on the link below to read the full report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/114132300/The-Real-Deals-22-11-2012#fullscreen

Q3 foreign purchases at 7%: Still blaming the high prices on foreigners?

Foreign buyers of Singapore properties accounted for 7% of the market in the third quarter this year.

The proportion had remained unchanged from the previous second quarter.

However, for the first three quarters of the year, foreign purchases averaged about 6%.

This is according to the latest report on demand for Singapore's residential properties in Q3 by property consultant DTZ.

The report also said that demand for luxury landed homes remained strong in the same quarter.

There were altogether 14 Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) transacted in Q3, compared to 12 GCBs in the previous quarter.

Interest in the landed segment was also strong in Sentosa Cove with 6 units sold in Q3 compared to 5 in Q2 and two units in Q1.

These are for purchases worth more than $10 million.

Notably, purchases by US nationals and Norwegians in Sentosa Cove have increased since the implementation of the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD).

The 10%  additional stamp duty does not apply to them.

Year-to-date, US nationals have bought a total of 126 private homes in Sentosa Cove, making them the top non-SIngaporean buyer group of private homes there.

This is a huge contrast to only 3 and 1 purchases by Americans in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

DTZ Research expects the market to continue to gain support from local buyers despite the cooling measures on loan tenure and loan-to-value limit implemented in October 2012.

It also expects limited impact on the high-end segment of above $5 million since the buyers have deeper pockets.

Meanwhile in other segments, it expects demand to shift to smaller and more affordable units as buyers with tight budgets may move one notch lower.

Source: Channel News Asia

Property Spotlight: Tanah Merah vicinity (Part 2)

Soon is concerned that, based on the three new parcels sold this year (including eCO), there will be about 1,900 new homes coming up over the next few years in the neighborhood around the Tanah Merah MRT station. In addition, more supply is in the pipeline. For instance, next to eCO is another land parcel (Parcel B), located at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Bedok South Avenue 3, that is earmarked for a 595-unit residential project sitting on the Reserve List of the government land sales programme. Adjacent to it, where the Tanah Merah MRT station is located, is a parcel designated for "future development".

Even though prices have been stable, and the take-up rate at new launches have been healthy, Soon is concerned that there could be an oversupply in the next few years when these new condos are completed.

David See, senior associate director of OrangeTee, who specializes in marketing units in District 16, is more sanguine. He reckons that, based on the bid prices by the developers, the new projects will be launched at higher prices.

For instance, the 343,171sqft Land Parcel A, located on New Upper Changi Road and Bedok Road, was put up for sale in August and won by Keppel Land last month with a bid of $434.55 million($791psf ppr). The price for the 99-year leasehold site paid by Keppel Land was just 7.1% higher than the second-highest bidder, a joint venture between Fragrance Group and World Class Land.

Incidentally, in August, Fragrance and World Class Land won the tender for a smaller parcel of around 150,700sqft across New Upper Changi Road, with a bid of $285.22 million ($676psf ppr). It is estimated that the new condo, called Urban Vista, will have 550 units, and it is expected to be launched in the coming months.
 

Keppel Land's bid price of $791psf ppr was a record price paid for a residential development land parcel in the suburbs, and is at a 48% premium to the price the Far East-Frasers Centrepoint-Seikisui House consortium paid for eCO's site in February.

Following the close of the tender for the site on New Upper Changi Road on Oct 16, Joseph Tan, CBRE's executive director of residential services, commented: " The 11 bids garnered for the site and the quantum of the bids show that developers are confident that this residential project will be well received when launched."

Tan estimates Keppel Land's breakeven at $1,200psf, with the selling price of the new project pegged around $1,400psf, which is slightly higher than the average $1,300psf achieved at eCO so far. Keppel Land intends to develop a residential project with about 700 units on the site, with sizes ranging from 500 to 1,400sqft.

Source: THE EDGE SINGAPORE