http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...pent-up-demand
Landed property sales 'buoyed by pent-up demand'
RealStar Premier MD also attributes recent pick-up in such deals to anticipated changes in ABSD
By Prisca Ang
[email protected]
Jun 3, 2015
SALES of landed properties appear to have picked up in recent months, and could climb further amid the pent-up demand and anticipated changes in the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), according to RealStar Premier Group managing director William Wong.
He was speaking to the media at the launch of RealStar's showroom and sales gallery for premium landed property on Tuesday.
The implementation of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and other cooling measures saw the number of transactions falling up to 50 per cent towards the end of 2013, especially among bungalows and high-quantum properties. It also resulted in buyers targeting smaller units worth less than S$5 million, he said.
However, the group's landed property transaction sales have gained momentum to hit almost its pre-TDSR, 2012 levels, buoyed by pent-up demand from both buyers and developers, Mr Wong said. According to him, the group registered a monthly average of 20 landed property transactions back in 2012.
This year, the group moved S$400 million in transaction sales, three of which were managed in the first two days of June alone.
Enquiries have also been picking up. "The number of enquiries from potential customers has been rising in recent months, especially in the last two to three weeks since the (soft) opening of the showroom," said RealStar's business development manager Jasmin Ong.
The total value of RealStar's landed property transactions thus far in 2015 amounts to more than S$400 million.
Recent transactions include properties at Robin Road, Hillcrest Road and Oriole Crescent, of which most are bungalows with land area large enough to accommodate sub-division. Other properties moved recently include three 3,800-square-foot semi-detached Richards Place units in Kovan, sold in the last three months within the S$4.7 million to S$4.85 million range.
Its highest transactions this year, two Good Class Bungalows at Bishopsgate and Swettenham Road, were moved at S$33 million and S$23.52 million respectively. It is also currently in negotiation with developers over a 43,900-sq-ft Leedon Road unit, which can be used to develop two Good Class Bungalows.
Developers make up roughly 30 per cent of RealStar's customer base, while the remaining 70 per cent comprises end-users. The group's portfolio includes freehold and 999-year-leasehold landed units in Singapore's northern, eastern and central districts. These range from detached and semi-detached units to terraces, good class bungalows, and brand new units by developers.
Mr Wong said there are some expectations in the market that changes will be made to the ABSD, levied on foreign home buyers, as well as Singaporeans who own more than one residential property here. Such tweaks, if and when effected, could increase the affordability of properties for second-time home buyers, and therefore raise demand for landed homes.
He added that the changes - which are expected by developers to take effect by end-2015 - are most likely to raise the affordability of second-time home purchases among Singapore citizens.
The TDSR will stay, however, to discourage overleveraging, he said.
RealStar's new showroom - the first for landed properties in Singapore - features pictures of its landed property range across its various sales regions in Singapore.
Situated below RealStar's Bukit Timah Road office, it will also host property talks and seminars, and features the company's e-category which provides information on the units it is selling.
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