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The Business Times - August 12, 2013 SSD scheme may work against govt's intention, say market players [SINGAPORE] With previously locked-up homes getting ready to hit the market, it is timely to relook the sellers stamp duty (SSD), to prevent a head-on collision with the record number of private homes that are expected to make it to the market in 2016, say market observers. According to data provided by Orange Tee, a total of 33,555 units are expected to make it to the market in 2016, compared with the 15,503 units that are available this year. Of this, 27,181 units will originate from newly launched projects while the remaining 6,374 units will be from the stash of previously locked-up units, assuming that owners choose to hold onto their properties and not incur any SSD. This follows enhancements to the SSD scheme in 2011, which saw the holding period raised from three to four years, and rates increased steeply up to 16 per cent. Specifically, properties bo

Channelnewsasia.com   |   POSTED: 09 Sep 2013 9:32 PM The collective sales or en bloc sales market for private residential properties saw a slowdown of 13 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year. SINGAPORE: The collective sales or en bloc sales market for private residential properties saw a slowdown of 13 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) compared to the first three months of the year. The collective sales market in Q2 remained lukewarm as only four small sites were sold for a total of S$215.4 million. This is compared to the three deals worth S$247.8 million done in the first quarter. Analysts said this is due to cooling measures such as the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) that kicked off in January. Going forward, analysts expect sales to slow down further. This could be due to the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) which could further dampen the en bloc market, said Savills Singapore’s senior director of resea

Sep 16, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg The exclusive residential enclave of Sentosa Cove has been rocked again by another complaint of shoddy construction work, this time at YTL Group’s Sandy Island. Just last week, it was reported that Ho Bee was being sued by homeowners at The Coast at Sentosa Cove, for defects such as staircase flooding and termite infestations.   Thio Keng They, the owner of a villa at Sandy Island, claimed that the two-storey five-bedroom property he acquired for about S$14 million had some “serious” defects, media reports said. He revealed that when he took possession of the 8,000 sq ft bungalow in March 2012, it had water leakage in the living area, most of the rooms, “gourmet kitchen” and basement garage. There were also defects on bathroom doors and scratches on glass panes and the timber floor. “I bought the house as I was told by the salesman that it was of top quality and it was a nice development. What I discovered is that it was not so,”

Sep 16, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg In a bid to keep pricing affordable, CapitaLand's latest condominium project in Bishan will be priced lower than its nearby Sky Habitat, media reports said. Although the showflat for the yet-to-be-named project with 694 units opened on Saturday, sales bookings will only start a few weeks later. Units in the first phase are expected to be priced from S$1,380 psf to S$1,550 psf. The developer declined to reveal the number or type of units to be released, or their average psf price, explaining that such details will be revealed closer to the date of bookings. “But we intend to price the new development competitively,” it said. In April last year, Sky Habitat sold 131 units at an average price of S$1,583 psf, based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Sales at the 99-year leasehold condo began during that month. To date, around 172 homes in the 509-unit Sky Habitat have been sold at S$1,589 psf on average.

Sep 16, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg Sales of new private homes for the month of August shot up to 742 units, a 54 percent increase compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, this was still 52 percent lower than in August 2012. Including executive condominiums (ECs), transaction volumes last month reached 1,468 units, an almost 150 percent rise from the 593 units sold previously. Developers were also busy launching 1,819 homes compared to just 557 in July, a hike of more than 200 percent. Notably, 892 ECs were launched in August of which 726 units were sold, a take-up rate of 81 percent. In the first eight months of 2013, 13,887 new homes were sold, 24 percent down from the 18,295 units transacted during the same period last year. As usual, the suburban areas reported the most sales with 1,271 transactions, followed by the city-fringe with 109 units and 88 units in the city centre. Meanwhile, three new launches saw healthy sales in August. Ecopolit