Issue 364

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 CONTENTS FROM THE

p2 New Singapore Property Cooling

EDITOR
Welcome to the 364th edition of the
Singapore Property Weekly.
Measures – The Show Has Just Begun
Hope you like it!
p10 Resale Property Transactions
Mr. Propwise
(June 25 – June 29)

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

New Singapore Property Cooling Measures – The

Show Has Just Begun

By Property Soul (guest contributor)

What a roller-coaster last week for

Singapore’s real estate market. It was a
surprisingly well-coordinated good show put
up by the Singapore government,
complemented by the parts played by
different stakeholders in the industry, with an
unexpected ending of the cooling measures
announcement.

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364
Here’s a day-by-day account of this show:
Day 1: URA Q2 Estimate and PropNex IPO
The show kicked off on Monday when URA
showed an increase of 3.4 percent in its flash
estimate’s of 2nd Quarter 2018 private
residential property price index.
The media reported the good news and the
analysts cheered for another good year for
the property market.
In the meantime, PropNex raised S$40 million
in an IPO which was 24.6 times
oversubscribed by the public, despite
controversies over transfer fee and revenue
discrepancy.
Day 2: Government Land Sales
The next day saw URA awarding the 99-year
Hillview Rise site to Hong Leong Group which
paid the top bid of S$460 million and
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promised to deploy a few innovative
technologies to boost productivity. This
echoed with last week’s GLS announcement
that four new residential sites and seven
more on the reserve list will be launched.
Day 3: MAS Warning
On Wednesday, Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) chief Ravi Menon made use
of the occasion at the MAS annual report
media briefing to deliver his speech on “there
is euphoria in the Singapore property market”,
specifically warning developers, individual
buyers and banks “to be sober, to be
balanced and exercise good judgement”.
Day 4: New Cooling Measures
DBS CEO Piyush Gupta told the audience at
a luncheon that “MAS is getting nervous, And
also, from my understanding so is the URA”
and “it’s something to keep an eye out on”.
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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364
The time was finally ripe to push the new
cooling measures to the market in the
evening, with raising of 5 to 10 percent for
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) and
lowering of 5 percent for Loan-to-Value (LTV).
Desperate developers rushed to open yet-to-
be-ready showflats. Some offered 5 percent
discount until midnight. Desperate buyers
under panic attack of FOMO flocked to the
Riverfront Residences and Park Colonial
showflats for last minute shopping.
Day 5: The Aftermath
Shares of developers, property agencies and
local banks tumbled. Analysts who were
euphoric earlier this week changed their tone
360 degrees to the worst possible scenarios
under the new cooling measures.
Like I said in my earlier blog post “Singapore
property game: The winner takes it all”, “a
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game is fun when everyone can take turns to
play”.
In this case, I am not sure whether “all the
players have equal chances of winning” or
“whether it is a fair battle for all”. But at least,
it is a fun game to play for the obvious winner.
Adding a Singapore Stop to the Cooling
Measures World Tour
From last year, there are property cooling
measures countries around the world with the
slapping of foreign buyer taxes and lending
restrictions by many countries including
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and China.
Last week Hong Kong just imposed a new
vacancy tax on developers’ unsold units.
But unlike the red-hot property market in
these countries, Singapore’s private property
prices have yet to fully recover to reach
historical highs, while foreign buyers
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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364
(including foreigners residing in Singapore
waiting for their PR) only account for 6
percent of total private sales transactions last
year.
Is it necessary to join the world’s party of
cooling measures, when Singapore shares
have just dropped over 10 percent, and stage
a 4-day show to give the market another big
shock – if not for the preparation of the
coming election?
Though we all understand that, in a well-
governed country like Singapore, the only two
real complaints by the citizens are MRT
breakdowns and private home prices not
coming down.
We need players to stage a show
Our government decided that the show must
go on. And it won’t be such a good show if not
for the voluntary participations of different
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players.
Did the URA figures indicate that the market
is looking up?
Well, it depends on how you interpret the
data. A 3.4 percent increase this quarter could
imply that growth has slowed down from the
3.9 percent climb last quarter.
Where are the increase in prices and jump in
volumes coming from?
Prices of new launch projects are set by
developers at a premium above existing
market prices. The price per square foot is
easily 25 to 40 percent above market
valuation of units in nearby projects.
There was no major launch in Q1 except the
Tapestry. Just in April and May, we had the
launch of Rivercove EC, The Verandah, Park
Place, Twin View and the relaunch of a few
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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364
projects in subsequent phases. These
launches help to drive up volumes and
stimulate sales in the market.
Developers are the ones that sell new
projects at “future prices”. This is a self-
fulfilling prophecy. Why would anyone be
surprised to see prices increase 3.4 percent
in the last quarter?
But without fail, the media couldn’t help
interpreting it with euphoric headlines such as
“highest spike in private property prices since
2014”; the industry stakeholders couldn’t help
wearing the hats of fortune tellers to predict
property prices to grow 8 to 20 percent this
year.
We understand that the media is looking
forward to more new launches, more property
advertisements and higher advertising
revenue. But they are playing their usual role
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without realizing that this time they are falling
into the trap to pave the way for tougher
buying restrictions from the government.
The research head of a property agency once
told me that he has stopped picking up calls
from reporters long time ago. Why bother?
They are only looking for certain quotes from
you to reinforce what they say in the articles.
By the way, did anyone read the last
sentence in the URA 2nd Quarter 2018 flash
estimate press release? It said “the public is
advised to interpret the flash estimates with
caution”.
More walk-ons joining the show
But we need some extras in a show – those
walk-ons in the street scenes of a movie or
the background of a performance with no
speaking line. But this time, instead of being
paid, the extras pay to appear in the show.
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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

Undecided buyers who lack individual Do these buyers really know what they are
judgement are always looking for a sign to tell buying? Do they know what they are
them what to do. With the government’s doing?
sudden addition of ABSD and tightening of
On 28 June 2013, MAS announced the 8th
the LTV, they immediately saw this as “the
round of cooling measures with
sign” they have long been waiting for.
implementation of the detrimental Total Debt
To beat the July 5 23:59 deadline, developers Servicing Ratio (TDSR).
that just acquired sites at record prices were
Anyone remember how the buyers rushed to
desperately getting rid of as many hot
sign the Sales & Purchase Agreement and
potatoes as they could. Some developers
exercise their options to beat the midnight
were bringing forward the launches by a
deadline? What happened to these buyers
couple of weeks.
now? They found that they had bought at the
So we have a few not-so-ready to launch new peak of the market.
projects being sold to a group of anything-
There is no point taking the offer of a 5
also-buy homebuyers. Property is probably
percent discount from the developers. Who
the most expensive thing people buy in their
knows how big a discount they will give to
life, with a few hundred thousand or even
future buyers to clear the rest of the units?
over a million dollars price tag, to be payable
over the next 25 to 30 years.

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364
If tomorrow the developer offers 6 percent
discount to buyers, they might as well forfeit
their 5 percent booking fee. Why? There is no
point holding onto the unit when they can buy
it cheaper now.
If tomorrow the developer offers 21 percent
discount to buyers, or prices drop 21 percent,
their units immediately become a negative
asset with an outstanding loan (20 percent)
higher than the market value. That is when
the bank asks them to top up the difference in
cash.
I’m not making this up. The same situations
happened before in 1998 and in 2008.
Never buy on the way down. You never know
what’s going to happen next. You don’t want
to buy today and see prices drop tomorrow.
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And no one can tell when the drop is going to
stop.
– Property Soul, “Property investment in
uncertain times“
Why listen to property agents? They are
often proven wrong
Remember those who bought under the
Deferred Payment Scheme, stay-then-pay
programme or two-year lease option? If they
still want to keep the units, now they have to
pay the 4 percent buyer stamp duty and 5
percent more ABSD, but with 5 percent lower
LTV.
What I didn’t get is: Didn’t the government
just announce the launching of four new
residential sites and putting up another seven
sites on the reserve list?
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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

With two other “white sites”, we can

potentially build a total of 10,745 new private
units. And that is on top of 44,261 units that
are already in the supply pipelines.

Where is the rush to buy?

It is a game after all. Whether you choose to

play or not, it is up to you.

– Property Soul, “Singapore property game:

The winner takes it all”

I know I still haven’t touched on the

developers and the banks which are two key
players of the show. But it’s time for
intermission.

By guest contributor Property Soul, a

successful property investor, blogger, and
author of the No B.S. Guide to Property
Investment.

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jun 25 – Jun 29

Postal Area Transacted Price Postal Area Transacted Price

Project Name Tenure Project Name Tenure
District (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf) District (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
3 THE CREST 893 1,882,000 2,107 99 10 NASSIM MANSION 3,412 10,600,000 3,107 FH
3 THE CREST 1,238 2,527,000 2,041 99 10 NASSIM PARK RESIDENCES 6,932 20,800,000 3,001 FH
3 ECHELON 1,292 2,450,000 1,897 99 10 STELLAR RV 452 868,000 1,920 FH
3 THE CREST 1,270 2,336,000 1,839 99 10 THE CORNWALL 667 1,260,000 1,888 FH
3 THE CREST 1,561 2,834,000 1,816 99 10 RV EDGE 646 1,150,000 1,781 FH
4 REFLECTIONS AT KEPPEL BAY 1,227 1,800,000 1,467 99 10 THE MERCURY 1,044 1,850,000 1,772 FH
5 HUNDRED TREES 1,475 2,150,000 1,458 956 10 THE FERNHILL 1,227 2,100,000 1,711 FH
5 TREASURE PLACE 990 1,388,000 1,402 FH 10 D'LEEDON 840 1,360,000 1,620 99
5 THE VISION 904 1,200,000 1,327 99 10 THE LEGEND 1,485 2,218,000 1,493 FH
5 HERITAGE VIEW 1,206 1,438,000 1,193 99 10 WATERFALL GARDENS 2,196 3,200,000 1,457 FH
5 BLUE HORIZON 926 1,020,000 1,102 99 11 VIVA 1,345 2,950,000 2,192 FH
5 VARSITY PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,604 1,730,000 1,079 99 11 THE GLYNDEBOURNE 1,044 2,100,000 2,011 FH
7 CONCOURSE SKYLINE 807 1,580,000 1,957 99 11 RESIDENCES @ EVELYN 1,033 1,950,000 1,887 FH
8 CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES 570 942,000 1,651 FH 11 STRATA 506 948,000 1,874 FH
9 NEW FUTURA 1,367 4,864,000 3,558 FH 11 RESIDENCES @ EVELYN 2,250 4,020,000 1,787 FH
9 MARTIN PLACE RESIDENCES 1,044 2,570,000 2,461 FH 11 NINETEEN SHELFORD ROAD 829 1,480,000 1,786 FH
9 SKYLINE 360 @ SAINT THOMAS WALK 1,733 3,950,000 2,279 FH 11 CUBE 8 1,421 2,280,000 1,605 FH
9 VIDA 527 1,150,000 2,180 FH 11 LA MAISON 1,292 2,030,000 1,572 FH
9 CAIRNHILL CREST 818 1,750,000 2,139 FH 11 BASSEIN COURT 1,399 2,000,000 1,429 FH
9 WILKIE 80 409 821,000 2,007 FH 12 REGENT RESIDENCES 409 650,000 1,589 FH
9 LUMA 904 1,750,000 1,935 FH 12 THE RIVERINE BY THE PARK 980 1,550,000 1,582 FH
9 WATERSCAPE AT CAVENAGH 1,313 2,480,000 1,889 FH 12 CASA IRRAWADDY 893 1,239,000 1,387 FH
9 UE SQUARE 2,196 4,000,000 1,822 929 12 CRADELS 657 880,000 1,340 FH
10 BOULEVARD VUE 4,478 18,270,240 4,080 FH 14 AVANT RESIDENCES 377 688,000 1,826 99

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

Postal Area Transacted Price Postal Area Transacted Price

Project Name Tenure Project Name Tenure
District (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf) District (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
14 WATERBANK AT DAKOTA 1,184 1,860,000 1,571 99 17 EDELWEISS PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,281 1,080,000 843 FH
14 ASTORIA PARK 850 915,000 1,076 99 17 BALLOTA PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,432 1,080,000 754 FH
14 SIMS GREEN 1,249 1,024,000 820 99 18 WATERVIEW 1,216 1,300,000 1,069 99
15 THE SEAFRONT ON MEYER 1,066 2,000,000 1,877 FH 18 SEA ESTA 904 870,000 962 99
15 SILVERSEA 980 1,630,000 1,664 99 19 CASA CAMBIO 474 707,000 1,493 FH
15 38 I SUITES 452 740,000 1,637 FH 19 THE SCALA 829 1,230,000 1,484 99
15 DE CENTURION 1,044 1,650,000 1,580 FH 19 MIDTOWN RESIDENCES 657 945,000 1,439 99
15 SUITES @ AMBER 840 1,308,888 1,559 FH 19 KOVAN REGENCY 1,130 1,585,000 1,402 99
15 POSHGROVE EAST 1,238 1,850,000 1,495 FH 19 KOVAN REGENCY 1,130 1,580,000 1,398 99
15 THE CRISTALLO 624 875,000 1,402 FH 19 TERRASSE 1,335 1,630,000 1,221 99
15 EAST SIGNATURE 1,001 1,400,000 1,399 FH 19 JEWEL @ BUANGKOK 1,141 1,370,000 1,201 99
15 ST PATRICK'S RESIDENCES 1,496 2,050,000 1,370 FH 19 KOVAN MELODY 1,302 1,390,000 1,067 99
15 PALM GALLERIA 495 638,000 1,289 FH 19 RIVERSOUND RESIDENCE 1,292 1,250,000 968 99
15 MANDARIN GARDENS 732 920,000 1,257 99 19 RIO VISTA 1,249 1,100,000 881 99
15 COSTA RHU 2,153 2,500,000 1,161 99 19 COMPASS HEIGHTS 1,550 1,300,000 839 99
15 VENTURA VIEW 753 860,000 1,141 FH 19 RIVERVALE CREST 1,389 1,050,000 756 99
15 ENVIO 1,033 1,160,000 1,123 FH 19 THE LUXURIE 1,722 1,258,000 730 99
15 MARSHALL LODGE 1,776 1,810,000 1,019 FH 20 GOLDENHILL PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,313 2,068,000 1,575 FH
15 NEPTUNE COURT 1,636 1,510,000 923 99 20 SKY HABITAT 1,302 1,934,400 1,485 99
15 VILLA MARINA 1,421 1,260,000 887 99 20 CENTRO RESIDENCES 926 1,305,000 1,410 99
15 AXIS @ SIGLAP 1,884 1,540,000 818 FH 20 BISHAN 8 1,163 1,440,000 1,239 99
16 ECO 1,076 1,630,000 1,514 99 20 BISHAN 8 1,184 1,330,000 1,123 99
16 ARCHIPELAGO 527 707,000 1,340 99 21 THE RAINTREE 1,044 1,033,000 989 99
16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,238 1,640,000 1,325 99 22 CASPIAN 463 655,000 1,415 99
16 WATERFRONT KEY 1,206 1,438,000 1,193 99 22 CASPIAN 872 1,000,000 1,147 99
16 AQUARIUS BY THE PARK 893 880,000 985 99 22 CASPIAN 1,281 1,455,000 1,136 99
17 PALM ISLES 786 760,000 967 99 22 THE LAKESHORE 1,152 1,238,000 1,075 99

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 SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 364

Postal Area Transacted Price

Project Name Tenure
District (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
23 FORESQUE RESIDENCES 1,130 1,350,000 1,194 99
23 CASHEW HEIGHTS CONDOMINIUM 1,658 1,980,000 1,194 999
23 HILLSTA 990 1,050,000 1,060 99
23 THE AMSTON 1,313 1,340,000 1,020 999
23 THE MADEIRA 3,046 2,408,880 791 99
23 THE WARREN 1,270 1,000,000 787 99
23 NORTHVALE 1,356 1,000,000 737 99
27 THE ESTUARY 603 672,000 1,115 99
27 THE NAUTICAL 1,119 1,100,000 983 99
27 THE ESTUARY 1,302 1,180,000 906 99
28 H2O RESIDENCES 1,130 1,180,000 1,044 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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