May SRPI: A tale of two newspapers...

It was a rather interesting contrast we found today while reading separate reports about the May SRPI: The Straits Times has painted a rosy picture by reporting that prices of shoebox units (500sqft or smaller) have moved up by 0.9% in May after dipping 0.8% the month before. But things aren't as perky with The Business Times, which reported that the sub-index for small units (up to 506sqft) islandwide has dipped 0.1% between December last year and May this year.

Maybe shoebox buyers are just more adverse to apartments between 500 to 506sqft you think...?!

BUT SERIOUSLY, the wife and I wonder if the price dip for shoebox/small units will continue to exacerbate as more and more such unit surfaces onto the market....

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Braddell View to petition for reduce privatisation fee...

So one of the MPs' many obligations these days is to help HUDC owners to get a lower fee for privatisation, so that they can make a bigger killing when they go en bloc?

If the folks at Braddell View are unwilling to fork out the stipulated amount of money to privatise, they should just stay with their "semi-privatise" status. It is not as if  privatisation will bring substantial change to the way they live their lives...except for the ability to put their estate for collective sale, of course. Oh wait, that IS a substantial change to the way they live their lives... potentially.

Having said that, we wonder if Mr Nair (which happens to be the MP for our area as well) will also help us reduce the amount needed to top-up the lease of our estate. Hmm...

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Singapore Private Property Outlook 2H2012

The good folks at Maybank Kim Eng have produced a report giving their take on the Singapore private property market outlook for the second half of 2012.

And in the spirit of things, the wife and I have gazed into our somewhat hazy crystal ball and these are what we saw:

·         To better exploit cater to demands for low quantum but tiny homes, developers will roll-out a new category of apartment termed "matchbox" units. These will be between 50 to 150sqft in size but at an affordable price of less than $500K.

·         Greece will exit Euro 2012 and thereafter, the Eurozone. Spain and Italy likely to follow.

·         Germany will win Euro 2012 but even the King of Europe is helpless to prevent the continual Eurozone crisis.

·         A new law will be enacted which requires developers to demonstrate that areas such as planter boxes and air-con ledges are indeed "liveable" before these can be marketed as part of the total area of an apartment. Representatives from developer of new projects must live in these areas for a week to prove their "liveability".

·         A new department within URA will be set up to handle the anticipated flood of complaints from shoebox/matchbox owners whose apartment values are set to plummet due to excess supply. This is despite previous government warnings and the fact that most buyers made their purchases with their eyes wide open.

Tongue in cheek? We hope so...

Click on the link below to read the Maybank Kim Eng report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/97494735/Singapore-Property-Outlook-2H2012#fullscreen
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Enbloc News: Kemaman View sold for $45.5 million!

Kemaman View, a freehold residential development located off Balestier Road, was sold en bloc for $45.5 million on Monday.

The sale translated to $935psf ppr for the 17,388sqft site.

The buyer is privately-owned developer Aylesbury Private Limited, who outbid two other entities to clinch the deal.

The development's marketing agent HSR Investment Sales said the owners of each apartment unit could potentially receive approximately $1.5 million as part of the deal.

This represents a premium of about 30% over the resale price if each unit was sold individually.

Kemaman View, which was completed in 1995, comprises a total of 30 apartment units, each about 1,300sqft in size.

The site is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 2.8 and a maximum height of up to 36 storeys, subject to approval.

No development charge is expected to be payable.

Source: Channel News Asia

Click on the link below to read our previous post on this collective sale:
http://www.sgproptalk.blogspot.sg/2012/04/enbloc-news-kemaman-view.html

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New private home sales down 31% in May 2012!

New private home sales in Singapore fell 31.6% in May following strong sales in the first four months of the year.

According to data released on Friday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1,702 new private residential units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), were sold in May, down from April's record 2,487 units sold.

URA said 1,205 new homes were sold in the suburbs, or Outside Central Region, in May.

Meanwhile, 362 new homes were sold in the city fringes, or Rest of Central Region (RCR), and 135 units were sold in the city, or Core Central Region (CCR).

Including ECs, 2,057 units of new homes were sold in May.

Source: Channel News Asia

Thanks to MS for alerting us about the news flash.

So is this just a blip or a sign of things to come...?

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