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Thread: Property Agent Eating Grass?

  1. #1
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    Default Property Agent Eating Grass?

    Non-landed resale homes market remains soft in Feb

    SRX flash figures show transactions down 18.5% m-o-m

    [SINGAPORE] Cooling measures and the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework continued to send non-landed private home resale volume on a controlled descent to a level not seen since December 2008 during the global financial crisis.

    Flash figures released yesterday by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) showed resale transactions down 18.5 per cent month-on-month to an estimated 242 transactions last month.

    The drop was a more pronounced 22.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis, from 311 resale deals closed in February 2013.

    Meanwhile, resale prices reversed consecutive price gains in December and January to dip 2 per cent, which consultants say shows a "natural" pullback from "unsustainable" price increases in the previous two months.
    Ong Kah Seng, director at R'ST Research, believes that December and January's higher prices were driven by investors looking to buy resale units to latch on to the perceived wave of better leasing activity in the first half of the year when more expatriates usually come to Asia, including Singapore.
    By February, it would have been too late, given that a resale transaction takes a couple of months to complete, he said.
    This would explain the reversion of February prices to negative territory in the Core Central Region (CCR) or city area, and the Outside Central Region (OCR) or city fringes, which remain expats' preferred locations to lease.
    Prices in the CCR fell 3.9 per cent month-on-month in February, after climbing 1.8 per cent in January, while those in the OCR fell 1.8 per cent, after climbing 2.6 per cent the month prior.
    Only the suburban Rest of Central Region (RCR) bucked the downward trend, with resale prices climbing 0.4 per cent in February, after falling 3 per cent in January - itself also a correction, Alan Cheong, director for research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, said.
    "The resale market remains soft, but is still holding up quite well and has not gone into any flat spin," he concluded.
    SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak agreed, saying: "The gradual price decline indicates an absence of panic selling, as many property owners are still able to sustain their real estate investments due to the current low interest rate environment."
    Sam Baker, co-founder and CEO of SRX also noted that for the last 15 months, the price indices for non-landed resale homes have been bouncing between the 170 and 180 bands.
    "Prices have been unable to break through the 180 ceiling, yet at the same time, prices are resisting the pressure from the cooling measures to fall below the 170 support level," he said.
    Consultants BT spoke to expect prices to drop by 4 to 10 per cent in the private resale market for the whole of 2014 amid weak demand, with the greatest signs of distress in the CCR, which may see prices fall by 10 to 12 per cent.
    This is due to companies' cutting back on expats' housing allowance, as well as the deterrence of the hefty additional stamp duty buyers have to pay, since most already own a residential property.
    Leasing activity also stayed weak in February, with rental prices falling one per cent islandwide despite a temporary rebound in January.
    All three regions saw rental prices decline in February. Rents in the RCR fell the most, down 1.9 per cent, while rents in the CCR and OCR fell by 0.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
    Some 2,442 rental contracts were signed in February, 6.6 per cent fewer than in January.
    While consultants expect rental prices in the private market to fall by up to 8 per cent this year, Savills' Mr Cheong said that it is hard to tell how the rental market will perform as more shoebox apartments get completed and rented out in the OCR and RCR.
    "Shoebox rents are softer now than a year ago, but tend to have higher per-square-foot prices. The heavier weightage of shoeboxes on the rental price index going forward will more greatly influence the index. It may also interfere with it and give a false reading," he said.
    "Never argue with an idiot, or he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."

  2. #2
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    need to slowdown liao after making millions and millions from 2010-2013

  3. #3
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    got to work harder for the honey

  4. #4
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    surprise COE prices not coming down yet.
    "Never argue with an idiot, or he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."

  5. #5
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    Great news! Music to my ears. I remem when I bought my 1st property, the agent was rushinh me and telling me that he can only hold my unit for 5min. He give me a take it or leave it look. Now they will be more humble and really work for their customer and not the other way round. This will have a positive effect on the reno industry too as too many so called ID are just middleman and not really trained or certified.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ringo33 View Post
    surprise COE prices not coming down yet.
    Because economy still doing well.

    Need more cooling measures for COE to drop like property prices.

    Maybe could impose a levy on 2nd car onwards within the same household. More paperwork is needed but can be quite effective.

  7. #7
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    Overall data dropping

    But when u go ppty guru and check asking prices, generally no noticeable change in asking prices. Perhaps more negotiable who u offer?

    They mention MMs. Unless there are personal issues (bankrupt etc), still very hard to get discount as quantum low and sellers can hold

  8. #8
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    Agree- if you go propguru, generally no change in asking price.

    Volume is too low to be accurate guage. With high employment rate and low interest almost all sellers have strong holding power especially if rented out.

    I don't think agent will eat grass la. The good agent should really be busy now advising his client to identify good project and bargains (esp. in CCR where prices really drop by alot)

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maxim1 View Post
    Agree- if you go propguru, generally no change in asking price.

    Volume is too low to be accurate guage. With high employment rate and low interest almost all sellers have strong holding power especially if rented out.

    I don't think agent will eat grass la. The good agent should really be busy now advising his client to identify good project and bargains (esp. in CCR where prices really drop by alot)

    IIRC, there are about 20-30,000 property agents in Singapore, if resale transaction fall to say 300 per month, that means only 1 in 100 agents manage to close a deal. On top of that, commission will still need to be share with company.

    I do know of many agent moving to MLM or taxi.
    "Never argue with an idiot, or he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ringo33 View Post
    IIRC, there are about 20-30,000 property agents in Singapore, if resale transaction fall to say 300 per month, that means only 1 in 100 agents manage to close a deal. On top of that, commission will still need to be share with company.

    I do know of many agent moving to MLM or taxi.
    In some cases, there may be co-broke as well, so commission is even lesser for each.

  11. #11
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    when the market is hot, many become Property agent to make fast money
    many are not in for the long term, it's about time to clean up

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by wt_know View Post
    when the market is hot, many become Property agent to make fast money
    many are not in for the long term, it's about time to clean up
    Ppty agents can also work partime or switch and then come back again when market is good.

    The good ones will survive and prosper again. There will always be ppty transactions unless there is war and famine.

  13. #13
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    Have seen through a few property cycles. Only the most positive ones can survive with huge rewards! Wonder what is the percentage of the survival rate of property agents?

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