Buyers are being drawn to more affordable and smaller units following the government's latest property cooling measures and stricter loan rules, according to a report from DTZ.
During the second quarter, 2,571 buyers (38 percent) opted to buy homes below S$1 million, higher than the 1,835 buyers (31 percent) in the previous quarter. Purchases between S$1 million to S$1.5 million also increased to 33 percent or 2,265 units in Q2.
Smaller developers are teaming up as consortiums to leverage on each other's resources when bidding for sites amid stiff market competition, said media reports.According to Donald Han, Managing Director at property consultancy Chestern Singapore, smaller players need to raise more funds "unlike bigger listed developers who have access to a myriad of financing facilities and sources of funds".
For instance, the recent tender for an executive condominium (EC) site in Yuan Ching Road recorded a top bid of S$418 psf ppr, submitted by a consortium comprising Evia Real Estate, CNH Investment, BBR Development and OKP Land. In
SINGAPORE: 74 per cent of Singapore home buyers are delaying their property purchases, and 59 per cent of the respondents surveyed are confident prices will not decline.
According to a recent survey conducted by property website iProperty Group, 60 per cent of the Singapore respondents have called for additional cooling measures. This compares to 27 per cent who do not want further cooling measures.
Singapore's property market is unlikely to be hit too hard by the concerns about an unwinding in U.S. monetary stimulus which are giving Asian asset prices a drubbing, analysts say.
Expectations that the cheap liquidity which has helped boost Asian real estate markets will come to an end with the U.S. Federal Reserve likely to start winding down its monetary stimulus soon have hit Asian risk assets hard. The sell-off in emerging markets this week has been particularly pronounced.
With stricter loan requirements set for private property, many buyers are now finding cheaper alternatives in the executive condominium (EC) market, media reports said. The shift is mainly due to the introduction of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, which covers a borrower's total debt repayment including mortgages. Banks now need to ensure that borrowers' total monthly debt repayments do not exceed 60 percent of their gross monthly income.This buying trend became evident when two recent launches reportedly saw bullish sales.
The 495-unit Sea Horizon EC in Pasir Ris was three times oversubscribed
The Tembusu condominium project (pictured) in Kovan has received strong interest from buyers, with over 200 units sold as of yesterday, media reports said.
Developed by Wing Tai Holdings, the 337-unit development commenced sales yesterday, two weeks after the showflat was opened for VVIPs and those who had pre-registered earlier. The units are likely selling for S$1,400 to S$1,500 psf on average, sources said.
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