Resale market coming alive again!

More homebuyers are returning to the private residential resale market as it is seen to offer better value compared to new projects launched by developers.

In fact, the gap in median prices of new and resale transactions has also narrowed.

That's according to real estate agency Dennis Wee Group (DWG).

In a report, DWG said the caveats lodged in the secondary market climbed about 33% in the second quarter in 2012, against the previous quarter.

In particular, the central region saw the largest increase in resale transactions at 37.4%, followed by the North Region at 32.7% and the West Region at 30.9%.

Citing examples, DWG said the record selling prices for new 99-year leasehold projects in Bishan and West Coast are comparable to freehold non-landed residential developments in the resale market, such as Twin Regency and The Regency in Tiong Bahru.

The real estate agency said the revival in interest in the resale market has boosted prices of private homes in the second quarter.

DWG's report showed that the gap in median prices of new and resale transactions has narrowed from 17% in 1Q 2012 to 13% in 2Q 2012.

The median prices of private residential units in the resale market rose 4.6% to $1,026psf in 2Q 2012 from $981psf in 1Q 2012.

Meanwhile, the median prices of new projects on an islandwide basis were flat in 2Q 2012 at $1,160psf.

DWG also notes that the median size of units sold in the new sale market rose to 947sqft in 2Q 2012 from 807sqft in 1Q 2012 as a result of lower sales of small units.

It said this is probably due to recent comments by the government that they are monitoring the shoebox apartment segment which could have put off buyers from purchasing small format homes.

DWG said the number of transactions by foreigners rose in 2Q 2012 as the buyers have accepted the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty as a tax and are selectively picking up properties in Singapore.

445 private residential units were sold to foreigners in 2Q, up 26.8% on-quarter.

Moving forward, DWG said developers are likely to launch more projects before the lunar seventh month which runs from August 17 to September 15.

Source: Channel News Asia

Some may say that we're "马后炮", but the wife and I have always felt that there are untapped potential in the secondary market and have advised the same to whoever that's willing to listen. And despite the supposed narrowing gap between prices in the primary (new) and secondary markets, we still believe that there are hidden "gems" in the later if one bothers to look hard enough...

For those who wish to know the origin of the Chinese phrase "马后炮" and what it means:
http://blog.csoftintl.com/ma-hou-pao/

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Breaking News: 80% of Parc Olympia sold!

The first pharse of launch that is...

This is according to the 6.30pm Mediacorp news report.

As the wife and I were saying before, let's see if this will test the developer's resolve to keep prices below $900psf.

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New Project Info: Parc Olympia

The $800+psf price tag looks to be a draw, since new projects that's below $1,000psf seem more the exception than norm these days.


But if the reception to Parc Olympia is as good as predicted, the wife and I wonder how long the developer will continue to pass savings back to their buyers by keeping prices below $900psf.


Anyway, the other developers of recently launched projects along Flora Drive must be cursing now...

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Check this out: Square Foot Research

*** THIS IS NOT A PAID ADVERTISEMENT! ***

Square Foor Research is a newly created website started by an ex-researcher acquaintance of ours who had spent his past life writing property-related reports for one of them big research houses in Singapore. So the wife and I are pretty convinced that he knows his stuff when comes to the ins and outs of the Singapore property market.

Square Foot Research provides comprehensive research on all sectors of the property market in Singapore. Not only do you get updated market reports and property-related articles, but the wife and I are particularly impressed with their "Trend and Analysis" section - this is especially helpful for those who are eyeing a specific project (both new and old). Some of the stuff you get (e.g. caveats info, developer's sales data, rental yields and buyer profile etc) are information that you will be more than willing to pay to obtain, which you can now access free of charge on this website.

Below is an extract of what you can expect for a named private residential project:

So check out Square Foot Research at http://www.squarefoot.com.sg/ today. Having said that, don't forget about our blog while you are at it!

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Q2 private home prices stage rebound!

Prices of private homes in Singapore swung higher in the second quarter from the previous three months, government data showed on Monday, reversing a short-lived decline in the last quarter.

Preliminary data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed private-residential prices rising 0.4% in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter. Home prices had eased 0.1% in the first quarter in the first decline since the second quarter of 2009.

URA said prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by 0.6 per cent in the core central region in Q2 this year, compared to a decrease of 0.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

There was no change in the prices for private homes in the rest of central region.

Prices of private homes outside the central region increased at a slower pace of 0.4 per cent in Q2, compared to an increase of 1.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

The flash estimates are based on figures from the first ten weeks of the quarter. Full results will be released in a month's time.

Source: Channel News Asia

The Q2 figures bring to mind the chorus of a certain "See Saw Song" written by Duncan Wells:

See saw
teeter-totter tilt
some folks smile some other folks frown
see saw
teeter-totter tilt
one goes up
the other goes down

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