Singapore Property Weekly Issue 138

8/13/2019 Singapore Property Weekly Issue 138

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Issue 138Copyright 2011-2013 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.propwise.sg/http://www.propwise.sg/


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CONTENTS

p2 Are You an Armchair Property Investor?

p8 Singapore Property News This Week

p14 Resale Property Transactions

(December 25 December 31)

Welcome to the 138th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

FROM THE

EDITOR
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138

Page | 2Back to Contents

Are You an Armchair Property Investor?

By Gerald Tay (Guest Contributor)

On a daily basis, I probably get 5 to10 emails

telling me investing in property is my route to

financial freedom or its a better bet than

investing in stocks. And for some, property

might be. But for many, it can be the worstinvestment you make.

There are far too many companies shouting

about the benefits of property investment,

when really what they mean is Pleaseinvest

in property so WE can get rich.The reality is,

many people I have met who want you toinvest in property dontcare two hoots if you

make money or not, as long as they profit

from your investment!


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Are you an armchair investor?

I must admit, I find armchair investorsvery

perplexing.

I strongly believe that the best person to lookafter my money and my financial future is the

person I see in the mirror, not a third party

with a sales agenda.

I cannot understand the concept of sitting

back and letting someone else take all the

responsibility for my money, my investment

decisions, and my financial future no matter

how trustworthy that person might seem.

I actually want to roll up my sleeves and get

my hands dirty. I want to strive to understand

my investments from every angle. I want totake responsibility for how my money is

spent. I want to be on the "factory floor"

dealing with the everyday running of the

business so that I can grow my skills and

knowledge.

If I invest my time and diligence in my

property business, then there is hopefully far

less chance of it going wrong than just taking

someone else's word for it.

Armchair investors sitting back in their

armchairs calling themselves "investors" are

really "armchair speculators on a third party's

ability to make the right buying decisions for

them".

Property is not a case of "one size fits all". If

you don't want to roll your sleeves up and get

your hands dirty, then maybe you shouldn't

get involved at all.

If you think of yourself as an "armchairinvestor" and not get in the thick of the action,

then there's a strong possibility your

investment will go off the rails.


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Armchair investors are similar to war

generals overseeing the critical juncture of a

battle while hiding in their well-secured

bunkers.

Whom does the typical Armchair

Investorbuy from?

These are three types of salespeople such

investors commonly fall prey to:

1. Developers- Selling local & overseas new

launches or off-the-plan properties that

comes with exotic names, addresses and

themes to investors who hope to flip at a

higher price when completed or via a sub-

sale.

2. Overseas Property Packaged Deals -Claim to pay investors a Guaranteed Rental

over a period of time and provide property

management support.

3. Seminar Gurus - claim the armchair

investorconcept is an easy way for anyone

to become an instant property millionaire,

then sell their students a bunch of properties

and profit themselves. Attendmy powerful 3-

day millionaire secrets seminar and make

ME rich.

If any gurupromises to give you the wealth

of your dreams with minimal effort, itssafe to

assume that yourebeing lied to. The seminar

industry rakes in millions every year from lazy

people looking for the next quick fix, and

theyll keep doing it as long as you keep

falling for it.

Yes, I can understand that if you are cash rich

but time poor you might like a bit of help and

support. That is understandable. However, toabsolve yourself of all responsibility and "just

sign papers", which I have heard someone

say recently, is a complete anathema to me

personally.


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It is always better for you to learn how to

invest in property (or other investments)

yourself, instead of relying on someone else

to do it for you. Many people use lack of

timeas a reason why they dontget into the

gritty details of managing a property

themselves. This is just an excuse. We can

achieve anything we decide to make a

priority.

You need to determine your underlying

Investment Principles

When it comes to Property Investing, have

you ever actually sat down and analysed your

principal aims?

And have you then matched them against the

properties you already own or those you

may now be considering?

Basically, you'll find most people purchase

property for one (or more) of three reasons.

1. To receive a solid cash flow;

2. To provide a profitable return;

3. As a hedge against inflation.

You may feel you'd like to achieve all of

these. But generally, one or two will stand out

as being more important for you.

As you're probably aware, the truly rich tend

to generate their capacity for wealth through

their business activities. But then, they turn toProperty to preserve and grow that wealth.

And in the same way, your underlying

principles should also be to (Priority Order):

Protect your original Equity; and then

Obtain a worthwhile, on-going return on it.With that in mind, you would need to remove

anything of a highly-speculative nature from


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among the properties you pursue. Because,

what you're effectively seeking is solid growth

without unnecessary risk. And that brings

us to

Your Investment Profile

More often than not, you can determine your

Profile based upon your personality type and

your past experience.

Type #1: The Risk Taker

Some people love telling stories about how

they "gambled a lot" where they would

have either made a fortune, or gone broke.

These investors can be quite entertaining to

listen to, but rather dangerous to imitate.

Type #2: The NATOInvestor

No Action, Talk Only. These people certainly

know their stuffbecause they attend lots of

seminars, read many books and are probably

a regular on several forums. But they never

have enough conviction to actually invest for

themselves.

Type #3: The Bull-MarketInvestor

These investors only make money when

markets are on a bull-run, and ONLY during a

bull-run. Their investment strategy is never

planned on or built for a bear market. They

believe just anyproperty or investment can

make money because bulls are too sacred tobe killed.

This is typical of many investors today.

Type #4: The Shrewd Conservatives and

Hands-On Investor

These are the mildly-aggressive investors,who only increase the size of the portfolio

when they have enough funds in reserve.

They do their homework before buying, and

don't put the existing properties at risk.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 138


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These investors are likely the ones who

willingly to roll up their sleeves and get their

hands dirty. They are highly involved in every

aspect from the buying, to the letting,

managing tenants, having a strong support

team and overseeing the entire property

management themselves.

Bottom Line:As you can appreciate, it is the

Type #4 Investor who is most likely to

succeed. And that's the one you should striveto emulate, going forward from year 2014

onwards.

Yes, you can build wealth with real estate.

You just need to educate yourself, work hard,

start conservatively, think long-term, and most

importantly, be prepared for lean years. This

is not a quick or easy path to riches.

Gallop steadily ahead in your financial wealthfor the Horse year and beyond!

By guest contributor Gerald Tay, CEO of

CREI Academy Group, who exposes widely-

held property investment myths that have

proven highly ineffective in creating wealth,

and prevent a comfortable retirement for the

ordinary investor.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY I 138
http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/http://www.crei-academy.com/


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Singapore Property This Week


Residential

S t r o n g t o p b i d f o r J u r o n g W e s t E C s i t e

Despite the latest rule changes affecting the

executive condo market, an EC site in Jurong

West drew 12 bids with the highest bid at

$381.81 psf ppr from a Koh Brothers-Heeton

Homes partnership. The second highest bid

was only 0.45 percent lower, from a joint

venture between City Developments and TID.

This highest bid is near the top end of the

predicted range at the site launch in late

October. This could reflect that demand for

ECs would remain strong. Despite the

optimistic top bids, the bottom half of the bids

were generally cautious and below

expectations.

(Source: Business Times)

T he P rem i er e s el ler s n o t l ik e ly t o h av e

prof i t able resale prices

Residents at The Premiere who think that

their unitsbetter location and fittings would

help them with a good resale price may not

get what they hope, even though these units

in the five-year-old pilot Design, Build and

Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in TampinesAvenue 6 are ripe for the resale market. The

asking prices for five-room units,



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available in 1,173 sq ft, 1,184 sq ft and 1,227

sq ft configurations, are between $720,000

and $850,000. A scan of the advertisements

on marketing platforms shows that these

sellers are asking for higher prices thanconsultants think the market will accept.


Hillfords 60-y ear l eas e an o b s tac le t o

i n v e s t o r s

Although the first retirement resort in

Singapore The Hillford could offer

potential buyers a chance to buy into the

highly desired Bukit Timah address cheaply,

its 60-year leasehold could limit its demand.

There is no age limit on potential buyers for

the project. It includes 281 units, with a mix of

one-, two- and two-bedroom dual-key units

equipped with built-in elder-friendly features.

Indicative prices for its units start from $980

psf or about $388,000 for a one-bedroom

unit, $498,000 for a two-bedroom unit and

$648,000 for a two-bedroom dual-key unit.

Key pull factors for the project include its

attractive quantum and location. However, its60-year leasehold cap could make it harder

for investors to finance the property since it

may be harder to get bank loans for a shorter

lease, and also harder for investors to unload

the property in the resale market due to its

limited remaining tenure.


HDB m ed ian v al ue d o wn fo r f ir st t im e

sinc e Q4 2009

Data from the Singapore Real Estate

Exchange (SRX) shows that the median price

for a Housing and Development Board (HDB)

flat has decreased for the first time since Q4

2009.



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The median valuation for an HDB unit in Q4

2013 was $435,000, a 0.7 percent decrease

from Q3 2013. Jeremy Lee, co-founder of

StreetSine, the company behind SRX said

that this decline is the first one they registered

after the global financial crisis, and is pulled

down by the lowering of the COV (cash over

valuation) and overall resale prices coming

down. Ong Kah Seng, director at R'ST

Research said that median HDB valuation

prices had been expected to fall in end of

2013, because valuations depend on

comparable recent flat sales and resale flat

prices have trended downwards since H2

2013.


Commercial

S in g ap o r e p r o p er t ie s d r aw $4b f o re ig n

i n v e s t m e n t s

A report from property consultancy DTZshows that Singapore properties have drawn

$4.1 billion from foreign investors in 2013, 30

percent higher than 2012. Nearly 90 per cent

of these foreign investments are from Asia,

especially from China with $2.9 billion from

Chinese investors. Notable deals involving

China players include Bright Ruby Resources'

purchase of Grand Park Orchard for $1.2

billion, Kingsford Developments winning of

two adjacent private residential sites at Upper

Serangoon View,



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and Qingjian Realty (South Pacific) Groups

acquisition of two executive condominium

sites at Woodlands Avenue 5/Avenue 6 and

Anchorvale Crescent. In addition, Japan

investors contributed another $468 million.


K i m C h u a n D r i v e i n d u s t r i al s i t e u p f o r s a l e

A freehold 34,729-sq-ft industrial site at Kim

Chuan Drive is up for sale by tender at an

indicative price range from $44 million to $46

million. The plot is located at 47/A to 65/A Kim

Chuan Drive, with a three-storey development

comprising 10 shophouses and 10 homes. It

is zoned for Business-2 development with a

plot ratio of 2.5, making heavy industrial use

possible on the plot. The plot can be

redeveloped into a factory or warehouse of 49

strata units of 1,500 sq ft in size each.


S h o p u n i t p r i c e t o m o d e r a te t h i s y e a r

According to analysts, the price growth for

strata-titled retail property is likely to

moderate this year, after its spiraling for the

past two years with new records set. This is

because the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR)

curbed investors' ability to purchase.

However, as investors are still interested in

shopping space which has been untouched

by the property cooling measures, the

number of sales transactions may hold up to

the levels of last year. According to Savills

Singapore, prices for strata-titled retail

property increased 11.7 percent in 2013, after

a 10.5 percent increase in 2012, but much of

the price increase took place before theTDSR was introduced. DTZ said that there

were 974 transactions in 2013, a 30 percent

decrease from 2012.




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E m in en t P la za a nd n ex t -d o o r L av en d er

Food Square t o be redeveloped

Eminent Plaza and the next-door Lavender

Food Square are reported to be torn down

and redeveloped later this year by two

associated companies of Tong Eng Group

into a 16-storey project with office and retail

units. Some of these units would then be up

for sale. The two associated companies of

Tong Eng Group built the development back

in the 1980s. The new development called

ARC 380 will have 167 strata units consisting

of 23 retail units on ground level and 144

office units on levels five to level 16. 71 units

will be released for sales (52 office units, 19

retail units). Hawkers at the famous LavenderFood Square will move out in six to nine

months.


Long H ouse Food C ent re sold f or $45. 2m

Long House Food Centre along Upper

Thomson Road has been sold for $45.2

million to TEE Ventures, a subsidiary of the

mainboard-listed TEE Land, in a deal

brokered by Knight Frank. A family-held

asset, Long House is on a 1,575 square

metre freehold site designated for commercial

and residential use under the 2008 Master

Plan. TEE Land is reported to redevelop the

property into a commercial-cum-residential

development.


A m akeover fo r Tr i pl eOne Som erset

After its acquisition of TripleOne Somerset for$970 million last month, a consortium led by

retail mall veteran Pua Seck Guan is planning

to spend $150 million to give the property a

makeover.



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This includes increasing retail offerings,

improving the quality of the 17-storey

building's office towers, and a possible

creation of an underground pedestrian link

between the building and Somerset MRT.TripleOne Somerset has two office towers

and two floors of retail space, with a total

gross floor area of 766,550 square feet and

an annual net property income at about $40

million.


I n d u s t r i a l r e n t s t o c o n t i n u e u p w a r d t r e n d

in 2014

Property consultancy DTZ said that industrial

rent would rise in 2014, continuing its upward

trend since Q4 2013. This trend is attributed

to an uptick expected in manufacturing

activity, and a moderate supply of available

space this year. The manufacturing sector

grew 3.5 percent year- on-year in Q4 2013,

and is expected to gain further this year. The

rental market for industrial real estate also

mostly grew in line with the increased

manufacturing activity.


http://www.moneymatters.sg/


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Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Dec 25 Dec 31

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale propertytransactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore LandAuthority. Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after apurchaser signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

Postal

DistrictProject Name

Area

(sqft)

Transacted

Price ($)

Price

($ psf)Tenure

1 EMERALD GARDEN 807 1,561,545 1,934 999

1 THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY 893 1,700,000 1,903 99

5 HERITAGE VIEW 1,195 1,480,000 1,239 995 BANYAN CONDOMINIUM 1,227 1,370,000 1,116 FH

5 FABER CREST 1,259 1,325,000 1,052 99

9 HILLTOPS 1,550 5,150,000 3,323 FH

10 THE LEGEND 1,421 2,060,000 1,450 FH

12 SUITES @ TOPAZ 377 590,000 1,566 FH

14 CASA SARINA 1,184 1,220,000 1,030 FH

15 MELROSE VILLE 517 805,000 1,558 FH

15 PEBBLE BAY 1,894 2,750,000 1,452 99

15 VENTURA VIEW 1,206 1,240,000 1,029 FH

15 BLU CORAL 2,088 1,780,000 852 FH

16 COSTA DEL SOL 1,776 2,168,000 1,221 99

18 CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM 1,281 1,120,000 874 99

18 EASTPOINT GREEN 1,884 1,610,000 855 99

19 KOVAN MELODY 904 1,150,000 1,272 99

19 SUNSHINE LODGE 2,024 1,688,888 835 FH

20 GOLDENHILL PARK CONDOMINIUM 1,313 1,930,000 1,470 FH

20 FAR HORIZON GARDENS 2,002 1,500,000 749 99

21 JARDIN 1,701 3,200,000 1,882 FH

23 PARK NATURA 1,378 1,600,000 1,161 FH

27 THE ESTUARY 1,313 1,408,000 1,072 99

28 GRANDE VISTA 1,238 1,205,000 973 999
http://propertymarketinsights.com/

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