Issue 256

Copyright 2011-2016 www.propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS

FROM THE

EDITOR

p2

Is the CEA Being Fair to Property Agents?

p5

Singapore Property News This Week

p10

Resale Property Transactions

Welcome to the 256th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

(April 4 April 8)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Is the CEA Being Fair to Property Agents?

By Person of Interest (guest contributor)
In one of the replies to a Forum writer of The
Straits Times a couple of years ago, the
Council of Estate Agencies(CEA) cited that,
consumers can carry out their own
transactions by familiarising themselves with
the property transaction process just by
looking up the relevant government agencies'
online resources and attending consumer
seminars.
However, there are no stringent rules
imposed on consumers transacting their own
properties like there are for the real estate
agencies and agents, in the name of uplifting
professionalism and competency standards.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Are Consumers Competent To Transact?
How qualified are consumers to handle such
transactions on their own? And how impartial
are consumers who are sellers in ensuring
their buyers(who are also consumers) are
well protected, like how the CEA protects the
latter by imposing different stringent rules on
the real estate agents?
Will the seller disclose to his buyer a major
crack on one of the tiles, which is covered by
an exquisite Persian carpet, for example? A
professional real estate agent representing
the buyer, will due to his fiduciary duty look
out for unusual situations, literally looking
under the carpet for any mysterious incidents.

Are Consumers Professional?

The CEA has a stringent process CEA to
eliminate the unfit and undesirable agents,
which is understandable and certainly
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commendable. However, the industry is

taking two steps back by allowing consumers
to carry out their own property transactions.
Will these consumers not replicate the unfit
and undesirable behaviour of those
disqualified agents?
Can the buyers lodge complaints to the CEA,
in the event of any wrongdoings by the
sellers, the same way the former would do to
unprofessional agents?
Not Easy Being a Real Estate Agent
Unlike consumers who are allowed to
transact their properties after consulting
online resources, real estate agents have to
go through examinations and take up the
annual
Continuing
Professional
Development(CPD) to obtain the relevant
know-how and CPD points, and support their
licence with an annual fee of about $280 in
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

order to handle property transactions. These
are just a few of the many stringent rules that
the CEA imposes on the real estate agents
since its inception in 2010.
Additionally, real estate agents are often
perceived by the public of having an easy job
with loads of commissions. The public hears
of real estate agents making millions of
dollars, but do not see the difficult and
sometimes unpleasant process that real
estate agents have to go through, in order not
to kill the deals. This takes skill, experience,
patience and flexibility.

consumers from carrying out their own

transactions, among other incomprehensible
rules.
This is far more important than pestering the
Government to ease the cooling measures,
which is premature to even think about.
By guest contributor Person of Interest, a
Service Excellence Advocate and an avid
Forum writer.

The Big Boys

The real estate agencies are the key
representatives of their armies of agents. The
latter should look to them to exercise
whatever power or influence they possess
to lobby the CEA hard to consider prohibiting
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Singapore Property This Week

Residential
Rental transaction volumes increase in
March in private and public residential
market while rentals fall
In March, the rental volume for condos,
private apartments and HDBs have increased
as rentals decline. Market experts believe that
the increase in rental volume is likely to be
due to rental renewals and the tenants
hopping from one property to another rather
than due to an increase in new demand. Not
only so, February is a typical lull period due to
the festivities, thus the base comparison was
lower in March. On the private residential
front, rental volumes have increased by
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35.5% from 3,197 units in February to 4,331

units in March. Year-on-year, rental volumes
were also 9.3% higher than in 2015. Rents
fell by 0.8%, 1.9% and 0.4% in the city
centre, city fringe and suburbs respectively.
On the other hand, HDB rents fell by 0.1%
month-on-month in March while rental
volumes increased by 44.3% to 2,214 flats
from 1,534 units in February. Year-on-year
rental volume had gone up by 3% from March
2015. Rentals fell by 0.8%, 1% and 0.1% for
three-room, four-room and executive flats
respectively. On the other hand, rentals of
five-room flats had increased by 1.5%.
(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Private resale prices up by 0.3% in March

New EC launched in Sembawang

According to SRX Property, resale prices of

non-landed private homes have gone up by
0.3% month-on-month in March. Particularly,
resale prices have increased by 0.1% and
1.3% in the rest of central region and outside
central region respectively. In the core central
region, prices fell by 1.7% over the same
period. However, year-on-year, resale prices
in the core central region had increased by
1.95%. Resale volume had also increased by
47.6% month-on-month to 577 units in March.
Lee Nai Jia from DTZ said that despite the
increase in resale prices and volume, it is still
too early to determine if the market has
stabilised. Nonetheless, market experts
believe that private property resale market will
remain active in March to July before the
onset of the Hungry Ghost festival.

Parc Life, an executive condo (EC) located in

Sembawang has been launched for sale at an
average price of $770 to $800 psf. Market
experts believe that the property will attract
HDB homeowners who are looking to reinvest or upgrade. The EC comes with a full
suite of facilities including a 50m long infinity
pool, spa areas, gymnasium and even a pet
pavilion for pet grooming. The project
consists of 11, 15 and 16-storey blocks, with
a total of 628 units. E-applications for Parc
Life have begun on 16 April. The projects
Temporary Occupation Permit is expected to
be issued in Q1 2018.
(Source: Business Times)

(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Commercial

Cheung Kong Property eyes GLS sites

Woh Hup awarded contract for construction of

CityGate

Cheung Kong Propertys Justin Chiu has

indicated that the company is interested in
acquiring more commercial, residential and
mixed-used sites under the Government Land
Sales (GLS) programme. Particularly, Chiu
said that Cheung Kong is interested in sites
near the Marina Bay Financial Centre and the
company is looking at partnering other
developers to acquire more sites from the
GLS programme. Chiu said that Cheung
Kong intends to take a long term view and
look at each piece of land on its own merit
rather than to time the market. Made up of 30
staff in Singapore, Chueng Kong is slated to
commence sales for its 8th residential project
in Singapore next month. The project, Stars
of Kovan, is a residential cum retail project
that consists of 390 residential apartments, 5
strata terrace units and 46 commercial shops.

To begin in May 2016, the construction of

CityGate is expected to take 32 months. The
construction of the 30-storey commercial and
residential developed located near Beach
Road has been awarded to Woh Hup. Its
expected Temporary Occupation Permit is to
be issued in January 2019. The site has a
land area of 7,269 sqm and could yield a
gross floor area of about 38,525 sqm. It is
expected to yield 188 commercial units and
311 residential units. Sizes of the apartments
range from 431 sq ft to 1,819 sq ft and is sold
at an average price of $1,800 psf. 99% and
57% of the projects residential and
commercial units have been sold respectively,
amounting to about $805 million in sales.
(Source: Business Times)
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

The average price for the residential
apartments are expected to be between
$1,550- 1,600 psf.
(Source: Business Times)
Perceived inflation of property prices
deters high-net worth investors in
Singapore
According to a survey commissioned by Legg
Mason Global Asset Management (LMGAM),
78% of core investors who are aged 40 to 75
have said that local property prices are

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overvalued. 89% of millennials who are

defined as between 18 and 39 years old also
shared the same sentiments. Market experts
believe that as property expectations fall in
Singapore, investors may focus more on
international investments instead. LMGAM
added that local and overseas investors still
view US to provide one of the best
opportunities especially in equity investing.
This is likely to be due to historical
performance of the US market.
(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Apr 4 Apr 8
Postal
District
1
3
4
4
5
5
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
11
11

Project Name
FOOK HAI BUILDING
RIVER PLACE
REFLECTIONS AT KEPPEL BAY
THE INTERLACE
VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM
WEST BAY CONDOMINIUM
THE MERLOT
KERRISDALE
SCOTTS SQUARE
SCOTTS HIGHPARK
CAIRNHILL RESIDENCES
ASPEN HEIGHTS
CAIRNHILL PLAZA
THE QUAYSIDE
ORANGE GROVE RESIDENCES
D'LEEDON
ASTRID MEADOWS
KASTURINA LODGE
VILLA AZURA
NOVENA REGENCY
ALEGRIA

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Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
1,744 1,240,000 711
99
1,055 1,370,000 1,299
99
2,659 4,700,000 1,768
99
2,024 2,519,800 1,245
99
1,636 1,700,000 1,039
99
1,442 1,030,000 714
99
1,098 1,330,000 1,211
FH
1,270 1,400,000 1,102
99
635 2,224,735 3,503
FH
1,744 3,350,000 1,921
FH
1,421 2,550,000 1,795
FH
1,593 2,300,000 1,444 999
2,820 3,850,000 1,365
FH
1,345 1,715,000 1,275
99
2,207 3,700,000 1,677
FH
2,110 3,296,900 1,563
99
1,787 2,633,000 1,474
FH
1,141 1,510,000 1,323
FH
1,356 1,400,000 1,032
FH
1,572 2,605,000 1,658
FH
1,830 2,328,000 1,272
FH

Postal
District
11
11
12
12
12
13
14
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16

Project Name
BASSEIN COURT
THE ARCADIA
THE MEZZO
THE CITRINE
RITZ MANSIONS
THE ACACIAS
WATERBANK AT DAKOTA
ESTA RUBY
D' CASITA
WINDY HEIGHTS
CORALIS
THE SEA VIEW
ONE AMBER
ONE AMBER
FLAMINGO VALLEY
COTE D'AZUR
COASTARINA
STUDIOS@TEMBELING
THE ESPIRA
THE BAYSHORE
THE TANAMERA

Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
1,399 1,620,000 1,158
FH
7,502 5,100,000 680
99
840 1,030,000 1,227
FH
958 1,030,000 1,075
FH
1,561 1,480,000 948
FH
872
880,000 1,009
FH
1,130 1,710,000 1,513
99
958 1,250,000 1,305
FH
527
670,000 1,270
FH
2,476 2,000,000 808
FH
495
838,888 1,694
FH
1,410 2,168,000 1,537
FH
1,335 1,800,000 1,349
FH
1,701 2,250,000 1,323
FH
667
875,000 1,311
FH
1,367 1,710,000 1,251
99
840
950,000 1,132
FH
1,270 1,318,000 1,038
FH
1,141 1,090,000 955
FH
980
915,000
934
99
1,518 1,288,888 849
99

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 256

Postal
District
17
18
18
18
19
19
19
19
19
21
21
22
22
23
23
23
26

Project Name
FERRARIA PARK CONDOMINIUM
DOUBLE BAY RESIDENCES
DOUBLE BAY RESIDENCES
WATERVIEW
KOVAN GRANDEUR
THE MINTON
COMPASS HEIGHTS
COMPASS HEIGHTS
YELEY BUILDING
MAPLEWOODS
SOUTHAVEN II
IVORY HEIGHTS
LAKEPOINT CONDOMINIUM
THE PETALS
NORTHVALE
PALM GARDENS
CASTLE GREEN

Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
915
838,000
916
FH
538
690,000 1,282
99
538
670,000 1,245
99
1,184 1,220,000 1,030
99
388
500,000 1,290
99
1,216 1,275,000 1,048
99
1,324 1,238,000 935
99
1,324 1,238,000 935
99
1,808 1,080,000 597
FH
850 1,180,000 1,388
FH
1,539 1,600,000 1,039 999
1,701 1,300,000 764
100
1,884 1,100,000 584
99
1,765 1,550,000 878
FH
1,270 910,000
716
99
1,206 760,000
630
99
1,410 1,210,000 858
99

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

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