Going green has its privileges for drivers of eco-friendly wheels, such as hybrid cars, who get to use reserved parking spaces at some malls.

At least two malls here – 313@Somerset in Orchard Road and City Square Mall in Kitchener Road – have such reserved spots, even if these tend to be mostly empty. The two malls’ spokesmen said they want to give drivers of eco-friendly cars a pat on the back.

Hybrid cars are so called because they have a petrol engine as well as an electric one. They pollute less but cost more than petrol-driven cars.

There are only 2,600 hybrid cars (the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and Lexus RX400h models) here, compared to 571,600 petrol-driven cars.

All-electric cars are also privileged at the two malls but there is only one such vehicle here as of last year, the Land Transport Authority’s website showed.

A spokesman for property developer City Developments Ltd (CDL), which manages City Square Mall, said: ‘We encourage shoppers to choose eco- friendly vehicles to save the environment.’

City Square Mall’s 10 hybrid- only parking spots are painted green and located close to lift lobbies. There are also four spots (painted light blue) for electric cars.

Over at Land Lease’s 313@Somerset, there are four ‘green’ parking spots. Drivers of hybrid and electric cars can use them. So can drivers of bi-fuel cars which can run on both petrol and compressed natural gas.

Honda Civic Hybrid driver Jannie Lim, 52, welcomes such parking spots. ‘It’s like icing on the cake,’ said the manager of a local multimedia firm. She said she has saved at least 30 per cent on her petrol expenses since buying the car three years ago.

Some other malls contacted remained non-committal.

But a spokesman for CapitaMalls Asia, one of Asia’s largest mall operators, told The Sunday Times it might take the cue from the two malls.

‘We are currently looking into the possibility of providing special spots for hybrid and electric cars,’ she said.

CapitaMalls’ properties here include Ion Orchard, Plaza Singapura, Junction 8, Bugis Junction and Raffles City Singapore.

Marina Centre Holdings, which manages Marina Square, said it is ‘keeping options open’ on such green parking spots.

This wait-and-see attitude may be for reasons ranging from the small number of eco-friendly cars to having to monitor the reserved spaces.

Even Land Lease and CDL admitted their reserved spots are not always taken up. Drivers of petrol-driven cars have also ignored the ‘wheel clamp’ warning signs on the pillars and walls next to these spots.

Since City Square Mall opened in September last year, it has issued 10 warning notes to such drivers but no car has been clamped to date.

CDL’s spokesman said: ‘Our guards patrol the area, cameras monitor the carpark and we place notes on cars which may have unintentionally parked in these spots.’

City Square Mall keeps a record of the car plate numbers of previous ‘offenders’.

A spokesman for Land Lease said security guards at its 313@Somerset mall randomly enforce the parking restrictions.

When they see unauthorised vehicles in the green spaces, they wait for the owners to return to their cars before telling them they are not allowed to park there.

But Land Lease does not keep tabs on unauthorised vehicles parking in the green spots, ‘to avoid offending our shoppers’.

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

As last year drew to an end, so, finally, did my patience with my 786 sq ft ‘dollhouse’ apartment.

The single bathroom was just too small, the pretty-but-useless balcony too big, and the desire to move too overwhelming to ignore any longer.

And so began the arduous search for a new ‘Goldilocks’ house that was just right.

It didn’t take long for it to, ahem, hit home that that was a fairy tale. At least, for those of us who don’t rule a kingdom full of geese that lay golden eggs.

While a peasant like me can’t be much of a chooser, it soon became evident that there were still dozens of choices to be made in finding a new home.

That may sound like it’s stating the obvious, but it wasn’t all that apparent to my husband and me when we bought our first home two years ago, as a starry-eyed, idealistic young couple.

We simply set a budget, found a location we liked, and happily mapped out our future life based on a floor plan.

Now we knew better. We had Preferences. Priorities. Prejudices.

And every single one of them, as it turned out, was a reflection on the kind of adults we were becoming.

As a home-buyer, your self-definition process starts from the very minute you choose a category to peruse in the classified ads.

Young couples who buy Housing Board flats, for instance, are on the guaranteed track to riches and wealth one day.

Not just because these are the cheapest accommodations available, allowing them to invest the rest of their money elsewhere, but also because Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has publicly decreed that flat prices will keep rising as long as the economy grows.

Those who buy HDB flats and then rent them out and continue living at home with their parents will be even richer – because they clearly know their way around the rules.

As for first-time home-seekers who manage to afford private property in Singapore, a few conclusions can be drawn about them too.

They can safely be assumed to already own a kingdom, be on the way to inheriting one, or be working feverishly to usurp the nearest viable throne – or their boss’ seat.

Then there’s the tenure test.

Young buyers who insist on freehold condos and refuse to consider anything else tend to turn into adults who always take the safe, conservative path in life.

They will minimise risk, equate price with quality, and pat themselves on the back for their ‘good investments’.

Those who opt for leasehold homes tell themselves they won’t be around for another 99 years anyway. They will forever live in the moment, on the edge, and under constant stress from the big ticking time bomb they imagine is built into their leasehold walls.

And the select few who snap up really old apartments with less than 30 years left on the lease are the true daredevils of our society. They are likely to be firemen, deep-sea divers and opposition politicians.

As we discovered with our first home, size is also, well, a huge factor in house hunting.

Anyone who thinks he can live comfortably in a few hundred square feet usually grew up with even less space – or just simply does not have any imagination.

At the other extreme, young adults who buy generously sized first homes are probably not very well-acquainted with the concept of housework.

Of course, there is a whole variety of other housing judgments to be made, in more than one sense of the word.

People who buy flats on high floors believe in obtaining only the best in life; those who stay on the second floor are the epitome of cost-conscious pragmatism.

But as every Singaporean knows, the most important part of choosing a home is deciding on its location.

This is not just a matter of rental profitability or resale value. It’s also a question of your fundamental, lifelong happiness.

According to Cornell economist Robert Frank, while people adjust quickly to a big house and start taking the space for granted, they never get used to a long and tedious commute to work.

The heavy traffic – whether vehicle or human – that they suffer through every day takes the same toll on their mood by the time they reach their destination, no matter how many times they have done it before. In fact, their irritation only gets worse with time.

And so the happiest people are not necessarily those who stay in the biggest houses, but those who live closest to where they work.

With that in mind, my husband and I set a budget, found a location we liked, made sure it was big enough for all our junk, and are currently happily mapping out our renovation plans.

Home may be where the heart is but, at least, now we have plenty of space for all our other organs as well.

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

We refer to Ms Josephine Chia’s letter, ‘Single PR can’t buy resale HDB flat’ (Feb7), and Ms Teo Wai Lee’s letter last Sunday, ‘Single PRs and HDB flats’.

The needs of Singaporeans always come first. Permanent residents (PRs) who are singles are not eligible to buy an HDB flat alone under the Single Singapore Citizen scheme. They could consider other housing options, such as buying or renting private properties, renting a room or a whole HDB flat, or staying with their friends or relatives.

In Ms Chia’s case, since her sons are Singapore citizens, she can buy an HDB flat together with either or both of them, if they meet the eligibility conditions collectively.

Lily Chan-Wong Jee Choo (Mrs)
Deputy Director (Policy and Property)
Housing & Development Board

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

Sub-sales of non-landed homes fell to a three-year low last year, with the proportion at 14 per cent of total non-landed sales, said the latest report from property consultancy DTZ.

This figure is below the 16 per cent in 2008 and 15 per cent in 2007, but much higher than the 2 per cent to 11 per cent registered between 1998 and 2006.

A sub-sale takes place when a buyer buys a new apartment, then resells it before it is built. These deals are usually used as an indicator of speculative activity in the property market.

There were some concerns about the rise in speculative buying in the middle of last year when prices were rising.

In mid-September, the Government announced cooling measures which appeared to have tempered speculative interest, said Colliers International director of research and advisory Tay Huey Ying.

New measures announced on Friday could further dampen interest a little.

The Government said it would levy a stamp duty on sellers of private homes if they were to sell the homes within a year of purchase on or after Feb 20 this year.

It also lowered the loan-to-value limit to 80 per cent for all housing loans provided by financial institutions, from 90 per cent previously.

The Government introduced these measures to ‘temper sentiments and pre-empt a property bubble from forming’.

The moves come despite the comparatively lower speculative activity now.

In 1995, sub-sales accounted for a hefty 29 per cent of total non-landed sales. This figure was at 23 per cent in 1996. Last year, median sub-sale prices rose by 24 per cent.

DTZ noted that the median sub-sale price of non-landed homes rose by 3.8 per cent to $1,090 per sq ft in the fourth quarter of last year.

In the last three months of last year, Casa Merah in Tanah Merah saw the highest number of sub-sale transactions, followed by Ferraria Park in Changi.

Median sub-sale prices at Casa Merah rose to $800 psf in the fourth quarter, up from $770 psf in the third quarter and $671 psf at the end of 2008. Both projects were granted Temporary Occupation Permits in the third quarter of last year, DTZ said.

Newly completed projects or those nearing completion usually attract a higher level of sub-sales as the new buyer can move in or rent it out quickly, consultants said.

Knight Frank managing director for residential services Peter Ow thinks sub-sales as a proportion of total home sales may rise this year as many projects will be completed this year.

Other experts think that with the new measures, sub-sale numbers may hold steady this year.

In any case, consultants generally do not expect sub-sales to rise significantly this year. Said Ms Tay: ‘Last year, many people bought mass market properties. But, as mass market prices may not rise substantially this year, there may not be many gains to be made in the sub-sale market.’

High-end prices are expected to rise more than mass market prices this year, but runaway prices are unlikely, said DTZ, given concerns such as credit tightening in China.

‘Those who want to flip can do so only when the market is rising very fast,’ said its head of South-east Asia research, Ms Chua Chor Hoon.

‘The new measures won’t scare away the speculators. But they will make them think very carefully about flipping as the Government could introduce more measures if needed,’ said Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Nicholas Mak.

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

Buyers with the financial means to hold a property will not be affected by the two new measures that came into effect yesterday, Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu said.

She emphasised that the Government had acted to prevent a speculative bubble from forming.

In closely monitoring the property situation, it did not just look at prices, she said yesterday.

It also took into account a comprehensive range of indicators, including the volume of sub-sales and the ‘churn’ – also known as ‘flipping’ – in the market.

Ms Fu’s comments – made at the sidelines of a community event – came a day after the new measures were announced.

From yesterday, any property sold within a year of its purchase will attract stamp duty of around 3 per cent. This is on top of the stamp duty the prospective seller had earlier paid on the purchase.

Home buyers will also have to fork out more of their own money to buy property. Lending institutions will now be allowed to lend only up to 80 per cent of the value of the property, instead of 90 per cent.

Ms Fu said rising property prices were not the only reason that the Government decided to step in.

‘We don’t really comment on property prices. But we look at a whole host of indicators…So it’s not just about pricing,’ she said.

Asked why the new rules had come hard on the heels of last September’s market-cooling measures, Ms Fu said the Government had been monitoring the market very closely and felt ‘it was the right thing to do for the moment’.

‘We would like to, in a way, make sure that there’s no bubble formation and can do it before the bubble is being formed. We think it’s a suitable time,’ she said.

Emphasising that the aim was to deter speculative behaviour, she said: ‘We want our investors to be on a more solid ground when they invest in property.

‘It should not deter genuine buyers who have the financial resources to hold a property. So, to an extent, we think it’ll help maintain a healthy state of the market.’

Last September, the Government removed the interest absorption scheme and interest-only housing loans – both of which removed or reduced regular instalment payments for uncompleted properties. It had also announced the resumption of confirmed-list land sales in the first half of this year.

Asked if any financing restrictions on Housing Board loans were in the pipeline, Ms Fu said there were already stringent credit checks to curb speculation in public housing.

‘Plus the fact that HDB buyers who come to us for first-time loans, they are likely to live in the house that they buy,’ she said.

She added that the new rules were not meant to curb the rising cash-over-valuation (COV) sums.

‘COV happens when someone is prepared to pay a price above the valuation, so as long as a person has the means, then he will be willing to pay for the flat if he thinks it’s worth it.’

Meanwhile, home buyers yesterday continued to throng showflats across the island despite the new measures that had kicked in.

Those whom The Sunday Times spoke to said the new rules will not affect them.

Sales manager William Shie, who is in his 40s, welcomed the new rules.

Mr Shie, who was at the 408-unit The Shore Residences showflat in Katong, said: ‘It won’t affect people like me who need a house. I actually welcome the new ruling. The lower the maximum possible loan, the better, because it chases away speculators.’

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

Rising too much and too fast? Not any more, it seems.

The prices of new private homes are expected to stabilise – and remain firm – this year, said analysts.

This is thanks to new measures which kicked in yesterday to cool the property market.

The two rules: Lending institutions can lend only up to 80 per cent of the value of the property, not 90 per cent; and a new stamp duty of around 3 per cent for those who sell the property within a year of buying it.

These moves could dampen sentiment temporarily as buyers pause and take stock, said Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh.

Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and advisory at real estate consultancy Colliers International, expects the measures to curb the buying frenzy.

Prices will stabilise instead of soaring like they did in the third quarter of last year, she added.

Then, private home prices spiked 15.8 per cent (from the second quarter) and 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter (from the previous one), according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Mr Singh expects the new measures to affect only a small proportion of buyers – those with a ’short-term view of their investments’.

‘On the whole, demand for private homes, especially at the low end, is still expected to remain strong. Hence, prices may continue to firm up this year,’ he added.

Similarly, Ms Tay said prices are likely to ’stand firm’.

The new financing rules are not expected to hurt genuine buyers, said analysts, because banks were conservative and not prone to doling out loans of 90 per cent anyway.

But some Housing Board upgraders may feel the pinch.

Dennis Wee Group’s associate director Elvin Tan said two out of 10 clients were getting loans close to the maximum allowed before – 90 per cent.

‘Now that they have to fork out at least 20 per cent of the price of a private property, they will suddenly feel strapped for cash,’ he said.

Commenting on the new stamp duty for sellers, analysts said fly-by-night speculators will be weeded out.

They said these speculators – who tend to ‘flip’ a property less than a year after buying it for quick profits – make up 10 per cent to 20 per cent of all new private home buyers today.

The latest move by the Government came swiftly after last month’s sharp rebound in new private home sales.

Developers sold 1,476 units, triple the 481 sold in December last year.

‘Although speculative activity has not reached a level deemed excessive, there is a likelihood that its volume may rise in tandem with improved confidence and economic conditions,’ Ms Tay said.

With the new measures in place, she expects private home prices to rise moderately by 10 per cent to 12 per cent this year.

What buyers say

The Sunday Times visited 10 showflats, including The Shore Residences in Katong, Altez in Tanjong Pagar and Meadows@Peirce in Upper Thomson, yesterday.

Mr Nick Chong, 43
Chief operating officer

‘The stamp duty will have a larger impact on speculators, but if the market has a good growth rate, they’ll do well regardless of the new rules. The rules will probably affect the middle-income speculators, those who have to borrow money to speculate, and not the richer ones.’

Mr William Shie, early 40s
Sales manager

‘It won’t affect people who need a house. I actually welcome the new ruling; the lower the maximum possible loan, the better, because it chases away speculators.’

Ms Doris Teo, 59
Teacher

‘I don’t want to borrow too much from the bank, and I definitely wouldn’t get a loan of as much as 80 per cent. The news just came out so I’m still unsure of how it would affect me. But it’s possible that I might have to find a flat in a cheaper location.’

Ms Elaine Lek, 31
HR executive

‘If I see a place and have a good feeling about it, even with the new bank limit, I’ll still figure out a way to buy the unit.’

Mr Sean Toh, 38
IT professional

‘I think the new measures will affect only those who are looking for condos as an investment; it won’t affect home buyers like me. I will be selling my condo in Yishun and we will use the money from that to buy a new one.’

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010

Prices of private property in the resale market could still head north despite the Government’s measures to curb speculation, said industry players.

The reason: People who held back hoping that prices would fall in the recession last year, but are now keen to enter, given the rebound in the market.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said that based on caveats for last month, the resale market is showing strong volume.

Statistics from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed there were 3,353 resale transactions in the fourth quarter last year, compared to 5,798 in the third quarter and 4,164 in the second.

Mr Mak added: ‘With the economy picking up and greater job stability, people are buying as their sentiment has turned positive and there are expectations the market could pick up.’

Said ERA agent David Lim: ‘A lot of people reckon we are still probably at the foot of the mountain, and that they should go in now.’

His average monthly transactions for private resale properties have gone up, from three or four last October to five or six in December and January.

Buyers now face tighter rules to curb speculation.

Lending institutions will now be allowed to lend only up to 80 per cent of the value of the property, not 90 per cent.

Anyone who sells a property within a year of buying it must now foot stamp duty of around 3 per cent.

Still, those with deep pockets can still speculate but they may be less active, said ERA agent Eugene Ow.

Mr Lim forsees another peak this year in terms of prices. He said: ‘A large part of the investors with real money can still go in despite these measures.’

Even if they need loans, they might not need the full 90 per cent in the first place anyway, he added.

Commenting on the new measures, Knight Frank property consultant Peter Ow said mid- to long-term buyers with a horizon of more than two to three years would not be discouraged.

Also, the high-end and landed property segments should not be badly hit as people usually buy these for occupation, not speculation.

Mr Peter Ow added: ‘The upgrader market will be the one affected; these are the people moving up from HDB flats to condominiums. They’re the ones who borrow to the maximum of 90 per cent.’

Mr Steven Tan, executive director of property firm OrangeTee, said most banks have already been discouraging clients from taking up 90 per cent loans.

He said: ‘After the financial crisis, most banks tightened credit policies and put a much higher interest rate on those borrowing 90 per cent.

‘So buyers are prepared to borrow less.’

Another reason for prices possibly going up? The fear that more curbs will kick in.

Mr Mak noted the Government has yet to apply all the meaures at its disposal to cool the market.

‘They could put in capital gains tax, or extend stamp duty from one year to maybe two years,’ he said.

Source: Sunday Times, 21 Feb 2010