4th January to 9th January 2023
Tenet executive condominium (EC) has sold 93.2% or 576 out of its 618 units following balloting by second-time buyers. Meanwhile, the Anchorvale Parkview flats within the Sengkang estate will undergo repair and redecoration works in the coming financial year.
1) Tenet EC now 93.2% sold
The release of the remaining 163 units at Tenet EC to second-time buyers over the weekend was met with a robust response, with 74.2% (121 units) sold out.
This brings total sales at Tenet to 576 units or 93.2% of the 618 units.
A joint venture project between Qingjian Realty, Heeton Holdings and Santarli Realty, the development achieved an average price of $1,380 per sq ft (PSF).
In a release, the developers said all four-bedroom units have been fully sold, while choice units of three- and five-bedroom apartments are still available for eligible buyers.
It noted that the balloting for the units was the first physical event since the start of the pandemic.
“The enthusiastic response of families and agents to attend the physical event today gives us confidence that we are delivering what buyer wants – a home that is curated for young and multi-generational families,” said Qingjian Realty’s Deputy General Manager Yen Chong.
“We are thrilled with the unique and exciting atmosphere of the live event, the first since the start of the pandemic, and we look forward to the next EC at Bukit Batok later this year,” she added.
2) Mould-stained housing blocks at Anchorvale Parkview to undergo repair works
Source: Google Maps
Housing blocks within the Anchorvale Parkview estate are set to undergo repair and redecoration works in the coming financial year, said Sengkang Town Council.
In fact, the call for tender for the repair and redecoration works at the neighbouring Anchorvale Cove cluster had closed on 31 December 2022 and similar preparation for Anchorvale Parkview is now ongoing, the town council told TODAY.
“We are working to see if the process can be expedited,” it said.
The works come after a resident, who goes by the name “Jane Wendy” on Facebook, complained of the mouldy state of the housing blocks’ outer façade. She noted that while the block where she lives is only about five years old, it looked worse than a 30-year-old building.
Some residents who spoke to TODAY shared that there are also moulds within their flats.
The town council explained that the moulds may be the result of paint oxidation due to the humid conditions of the estate’s surroundings.
3) BTO flats eligible for resale to drop in 2023
For this year, analysts predict fewer Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will enter the resale market following the completion of their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), reported TODAY.
Christine Sun, Senior Vice-president of Research and Analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, expects it to drop by almost 50% to 15,748 units this year, from 31,325 units in 2022.
Although HDB resale prices are expected to continue an upward trend, the pace of their growth will be slower at 5% to 10%.
HDB flash estimates showed that resale prices rose 10.3% in 2022.
Nicholas Mak, ERA Realty’s Head of Research and Consultancy, attributed the moderation in price growth partly to the property cooling measures and the higher supply of BTO flats.
And with price resistance setting in among buyers, Mak sees fewer million-dollar HDB transactions within the resale market.
4) Fewer non-landed luxury homes sold in 2022
Fewer non-landed luxury homes were sold in 2022 even as transaction volume for such homes increased in the second half of the year.
Knight Frank revealed that 158 prime non-landed homes were transacted in 2H 2022 for a total amount of $1.4 billion, up from the 138 transactions seen in 1H 2022 which totalled $1.2 billion.
Prices also increased 5.7% year-on-year to $2,495 PSF in 2H 2022 from $2,360 PSF in 2H 2021.
For the whole of 2022, however, the number of luxury non-landed home transactions declined to 296 from 487 in 2021. Cumulative sales also dropped 36.4% to $2.5 billion in 2022 from almost $4 billion in 2021
“The low-interest rate environment then encouraged buyers to make their purchases sooner rather than later, but the present high-interest rates have now checked buyers,” said Knight Frank.
It also attributed the decline in transactions to the lack of family-sized units for sale as homeowners grow “cautious about selling before a replacement home is secured”.
Looking ahead, Knight Frank expects transaction volume to remain muted in 2023, while prices are forecasted to increase at a moderate pace.
5) Private property rents hit a record high in 2022, to grow at a slower pace in 2023
Rents for private residential properties hit a record high in 2022, rising 23.9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022 – making it 16.7% ahead of the 2013 benchmark.
Property agents said the spike in rents caught many tenants by surprise, with many forced to move out following the end of their lease and landlords raised prices, reported The Straits Times.
“Landlords have raised the rent by at least 30%. Many of them just want to test the market,” said PropNex Realty’s Associate District Director Alex Low, noting that many tenants made an offer even after just one viewing.
Nicholas Mak, Head of Research and Consultancy at ERA Realty, attributed the rent hike partly to an increase in leasing demand from foreigners amid the easing of travel and COVID-19 restrictions.
Looking ahead, he expects the overall housing rent to increase this year, albeit at a slower pace.
“Whether it will plateau and stabilise would depend on whether the job market will soften and lead to a drop in leasing demand,” he said.
6) Singapore sees more real estate agents amid a robust property market
More people are becoming property agents in Singapore, with rising house prices – which continued its upward trend despite the cooling measures and high mortgage rates – being the main draw for new entrants, reported The Straits Times.
The commission-based sector registered 4,487 new agents over the past two years. Generally, property agents are paid a commission of between 2% and 3% of the property price when they represent sellers or buyers.
A spokesman for the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) revealed that 97% of real estate agents with valid registration in 2022 renewed it for 2023.
Based on CEA data, PropNex remains the largest agency, with sales agents rising 8% year-on-year to 11,667 as of 1 January 2023. It is followed by ERA with 8,344 agents, Huttons Asia (4,872 agents), OrangeTee & Tie (3,163 agents) and SRI (1,234 agents).
Overall, there were 34,427 property agents as of 1 January 2023, an increase from the 32,414 agents recorded at the start of 2022 and 30,399 in 2021.
7) Singapore construction company fined $170,000 over safety lapses
Construction firm EC Builders has been fined $170,000 over safety lapses which led to a traumatic brain injury for one of its employees, Ali Mohammad Sohag, reported CNA citing the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
The incident occurred on 1 August 2019, when Ali was instructed by his supervisor to inspect as well tighten lifelines at a worksite.
“In the course of his work, he walked on top of steel bars that were placed on a formwork structure,” said MOM. “He was not anchored to a lifeline, and subsequently slipped and fell from a height of 12m.”
The worker was brought to Changi General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.
Investigations showed that EC Builder failed to ensure that the worker had relevant training and instruction relevant to the installation of lifelines.
“Providing a safe work environment is a basic responsibility of all employers. Employers must ensure that safe work measures are in place to mitigate risks, especially those that could result in fatalities or major injuries,” said the ministry.
8) Why did HDB resale, and private home price growth moderate in Q4 2022?
Property experts said the slower price growth registered for both public and private housing in Q4 2022 can be attributed to the impact of cooling measures, rising inflation and higher borrowing costs, reported TODAY.
Notably, HDB resale prices rose 2.1% in Q4 2022, easing from the 2.6% increase posted in the previous quarter, while private home prices climbed 0.2% during the quarter, versus the 3.8% hike posted previously.
Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia’s Senior Director of Research, said the slower increase in prices showed the willingness of HDB flat owners to negotiate following the cooling measures rolled out by the Government in September.
OrangeTee’s Senior Vice-President of Research and Analytics Christine Sun noted that the moderation in prices is also in line with a weaker macroeconomic projection amid a backdrop of spiralling inflation and rising mortgage rates.
“The higher borrowing costs lowered buyers’ housing affordability. Further, (the) cooling measures introduced in September have lowered the borrowing limits of many buyers,” noted Sun.
The slowdown in price growth of HDB resale flats was also attributed to the sale of fewer bigger flats, which usually fetch higher prices, in Q4 2022.
Analysts also point to seasonal factors, saying that many Singaporeans had travelled overseas during the year-end, which prompted developers to hold back launches.
9) Rents for core CBD Premium and Grade A offices up in Q4 2022
Rents for core Central Business District (CBD) Premium and Grade A office space rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter and 5.9% year-on-year to $11.40 PSF in the fourth quarter of 2022 – marking its highest annual growth since 2019.
Colliers attributed the increase largely to “the addition of new high-quality Grade A buildings to Raffles Place/New Downtown submarket”.
Fringe CBD Grade A Beach Road submarket also saw rents increase 6.7% quarter-on-quarter to $9.60 PSF, on the back of the entry of Guoco Midtown to the submarket.
With the hike in rent and tight supply, average capital values for Core CBD Premium and Grade A offices rose 1.7% quarter-on-quarter to $3,050 PSF in Q4 2022.
“Following a 5.9% rental growth for 2022, we expect full-year 2023 rental growth for the core CBD Premium and Grade A segment to ease to between 2% and 3% year-on-year,” said Catherine He, Collier’s Director and Head of Research for Singapore.
10) Fewer industrial real estate transactions seen in Q4 2022
Singapore saw industrial real estate transactions decline to $715.1 million during the final quarter of 2022 or its lowest since Q2 2020, when some $324.8 million in sales was registered due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Knight Frank attributed the decline in transactions to a hazier economic outlook and weaker business sentiments.
The most significant transactions in Q4 2022 included the sale of $120.6 million sale of Enterprise Logistics Centre in November and the $100 million sale of 10 and 12 Mandai Estate in December.
Apart from these, about 97.2% of the transactions during the quarter involved deals below $10 million.
Despite the slow sales activity, leasing transactions continued to be stable in October and November 2022, with median rent for multiple-user factories rising 8.7% year-on-year to $1.94 PSF per month with 1,571 tenancies.
Looking ahead, Knight Frank expects industrial prices and rents to remain stable, with a marginal growth of 1% to 3% for 2023.
“In the logistics segment, where supply is tight, rents for quality warehouse space might increase by a higher 3% to 5% in the year ahead,” it said.
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.
