Property market shows signs of cooling - Singapore's Online Community

**Voodoo Vince** · 26-01-2008, 08:42 AM

Property market shows signs of cooling
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

AFTER months of relentless price rises, the property market finally took a breather at the end of last year.

Almost all sectors - including private and public homes, offices and shops - applied the brakes in the fourth quarter, ending almost two years of acceleration, official figures showed yesterday.

They confirmed initial estimates earlier this month that suggested, in particular, that housing demand is cooling.

Experts say this was due partly to the global fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States and partly to local government measures, such as the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme in October.

The slowdown is set to continue this year. Growth will still be healthy, but considerably lower than last year's one-record-after-another spiral, experts say.

Most predict a rise in private home prices of 10 to 20 per cent this year - a far cry from the robust 31.2 per cent growth last year.

Private home rental, which caused tenants no end of headaches by shooting up 41.2 per cent last year, are also expected to moderate to between 5 and 15 per cent.

HDB resale prices are projected to increase by not more than 10 per cent, down from last year's 17.5 per cent. Offices and shops will also fall in line. Price rises are forecast to be less than last year's increases of 32.6 per cent and 13.2 per cent, respectively.

Volatility in stock markets and the stream of bad economic news coming out of the US have made for a quiet start to the year, particularly in the housing market.

Developers have delayed planned launches of new projects or scheduled upcoming launches well after Chinese New Year, according to industry sources.

Plans to start sales for Marina Bay Suites yesterday, for example, are said to have been shelved until after the festive holiday.

'We expect the residential market to remain cautious, at least in the first quarter of 2008, until the global situation becomes clearer,' said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research.

Demand for homes also appears to have eased.

Although a record 14,811 new homes were sold last year, sales in the last three months contributed only 1,449 of those units - the fewest transactions in a quarter since 2005.

But homeowners can take heart: The boom has enough steam to run for some time before reaching its peak, said property consultants.

'I would say we could be nearing a peak, but we're not there yet,' said Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of Singapore research at consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

'Typically, we will see growth of around only 1 per cent in a quarter before we hit a peak,' added Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

Private home prices rose 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 8.3 per cent growth in the third quarter.

HDB resale prices grew 5.7 per cent, compared with 6.6 per cent in the previous three months.

Consultants said while the rises in home prices will slow, prices will not actually fall until at least 2010, when a slew of new homes is expected to be completed.

In the meantime, much of this year's residential market growth is likely to come from HDB flats and suburban mass market condominiums, which are signs of more genuine home-buying demand.

Speculative demand has already dropped dramatically. A measure of speculation is sub-sales, which are when uncompleted homes change hands. These fell to 513 in the fourth quarter - a third of their level in the previous quarter.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Sto...ry_200092.html

**TotalNV** · 26-01-2008, 08:58 AM

finally......... else, next time, i think only high level managers earning big bucks can afford HDB flats.... commoners may have to sleep at the bus stop.... hahahaha....

**Voodoo Vince** · 26-01-2008, 09:01 AM

Luckily, it cool down, or else many people suffer.

**Huaikong** · 26-01-2008, 01:15 PM

i agree.last yr mkt is crazy...

**KongMing** · 26-01-2008, 04:14 PM

Cool down better, if not burnt down the property market.

**Voodoo Vince** · 28-01-2008, 10:17 AM

REAL ESTATE VETERAN SAYS OF COOLING MARKET: PROPERTY'S STILL HOT IN S'PORE

Her view: Upgraders and enbloc sales will keep demand up

By Elysa Chen
January 28, 2008

WHILE most people her age would be blissfully retired, Madam Marlena Chong, a 70-year-old grandmother, is still working, aggressively.

She's no newbie: Madam Marlena Chong has been an active player on the property market for more than 40 years. - Picture: Kelvin Chng

And her work involves millions of dollars.

She is an active player in Singapore's property market, as she has been since she was in her 20s.

One of her friends even calls her 'Queen of Leedon Park' for owning four bungalows there.

They occupy an area of around 100,000 sq ft.

She also has investments in Australia and Malaysia, and is developing a condominium project in China.

Having invested in property locally and regionally for more than 40 years, Madam Chong has seen her share of people going bankrupt over the last three property cycles.

BRIGHT OUTLOOK
Despite the gloom cast by threats of recession in the US and the battering that Asian stock markets took over the last week, Madam Chong retains her 'bright outlook for the Singapore property market'.

Madam Chong, who recently bought a freehold luxury apartment at Scotts Square for $3 million, said: 'The market has softened, but I think it's still holding up. With many en-bloc sales and HDB upgraders, there is still a demand for private housing in the market.

'The prices of freehold landed properties are still far below those in other global cities like London, Hong Kong and New York. People will soon realise that land is still under-valued and will buy the freehold land,' she added, observing how landed property in Sentosa has shot up from $200 to $1,800 per square foot.

Madam Chong's interest in property was first stimulated through discussions with her father, who was in the hotel business.

But Madam Chong, who is a very private person, declined to reveal more details about her family.

She started out first with a few commercial units at People's Park in the 1960s.

In 1972, she bought an apartment at Beverly Mai, a Tomlinson Road condominium, and slowly expanded the number of properties to her name over the years.

Madam Chong declined to reveal the number of properties she and her family own, and also declined to reveal how much she has earned in the property market.

She bought a plot of land with an area of 1hectare for $16 million some years ago.

The land is now worth a cool $40 million.

UNCANNY ABILITY
Talking about her uncanny ability to make predictions about where the property market is headed, Madam Chong said: 'I can feel it.'

In 2004, she asked her friends to buy property when prices were at their lowest.

'But many of them were reluctant to, because property prices had been declining since 1996.

'The mood was still not there and the market was still quiet so they were still unsure,' she said.

Now, Madam's Chong's friends chip in when she makes investments so that they can get a share of the profits as well.

She said: 'Every high that a property cycle brings with it will be higher than that of the last property cycle. It is a good time to buy freehold land.'

Madam Chong's property agent, MsAnnabelle Khan, describes her client as someone with 'good foresight, careful when she makes decisions'.

Madam Chong has bought three properties through Ms Khan since they got to know each other last September.

Ms Khan said: 'She's not stuck up, and she's always willing to give younger people a chance.

'She's always very happy to help people.'

Ms Khan also described Madam Chong as a 'very compassionate' woman, who, after she knew of Ms Khan's family problems, even offered to visit her family.

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...54715,00.html?

**Twinkle** · 29-01-2008, 01:07 PM

Good that the property market is cooling.

**Jake** · 31-01-2008, 09:36 PM

Wouldn't be long. Now that HDB is removing the cap for both couples to more than $8K.