As prices of new homes rise, investors are turning to auctions and the resale marketINVESTORS who are put off by the exuberant prices of late for newer properties are turning to auctions to pick up older properties that have not quite appreciated in the same way.

Two apartments at Four Seasons Park near Orchard Road and an apartment at The Waterside in Tanjong Rhu have changed hands at auctions this week.

Colliers International sold the pair of neighbouring three-bedroom apartments at Four Seasons Park, on the fifth floor of the development’s Autumn block, for more than $2,100 per square foot each.

The apartments, each of 2,260 square feet, were put up for sale by a mortgagee bank on vacant possession basis. Unit #05-01 was sold for $4.8 million or $2,124 psf, while the next door #05-02 fetched $4.84 million ($2,142 psf).

The two units were bought separately by Singaporeans.

BT understands that the same mortgagor had owned the two properties. According to caveat records, the units were purchased at $3.25 million each, one in August 2001 and the other in January 2002.

In June this year, a 3,821 sq ft unit on the 20th level of Four Seasons Park changed hands at $2,146 psf. In April, a 19th floor unit sold for $1,637 psf.

Jones Lang LaSalle at its auction yesterday sold a 14th floor unit at The Waterside condo in Tanjong Rhu for $2.55 million or $1,190 psf. It was also a mortgagee sale.

At another auction this week, conducted by DTZ, a three-bedroom apartment on the 22nd floor of Spottiswoode Park was sold for $630,000 or $496 psf. The development is on a site with a remaining lease of 66 years.

‘Buyers are turning to the resale market, whether through private treaty or auction, to pick up properties that are more than 10 years old as their prices have not escalated as much as prices for newer properties,’ says Knight Frank executive director and auctioneer Mary Sai.

Landed homes have also been in good demand at recent auctions. A strata bungalow, 261 Northshore, in Ponggol Seventeenth Avenue sold for $1.87 million at Knight Frank’s auction on Aug 20. The freehold property’s built-up area is about 5,500-5,600 sq ft. The property was sold by its owner, who is also in the midst of negotiating the sale of the next door bungalow at 263 Northshore after it was withdrawn at the same auction.

Colliers deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng said: ‘The frustration being faced by those shopping for landed homes is that when they make an offer, sellers often increase their asking prices, which thus becomes a moving target. In contrast, at an auction, once the seller’s target price has been reached, there is certainty the property will be sold to the highest bidder.’

At its auction on Wednesday this week, Colliers sold a freehold semi-detached house at 102 Sunbird Circle, off Upper Changi Road, in District 16 for $1.98 million or $565 psf based on the land area of 3,506 sq ft. The two-storey house has five bedrooms.

At its auction yesterday, JLL sold a third level shop at Sim Lim Square for $2.95 million or $4,282 psf. The 689 sq ft shop (comprising two units – front and back) is near a lift. Sim Lim Square has about 73 years remaining lease.

Also transacted at the same auction were 16 and 18 Tanjong Pagar Road, at $2.48 million. The ground floors of the two-storey conservation shophouses are currently leased to a pub/karaoke lounge while offices occupy the upper level.

The shophouses, which have a single title, have a land area of 1,976 sq ft and have about 90 years remaining lease.

Source: Business Times, 29 Aug 2009

The firm says it could be due to banks being less anxious to foreclose

BARGAIN hunters waiting for more distressed properties to show up at auctions could be in for a disappointment.

Real estate consultancy firm DTZ believes that the number of mortgagee sale properties will not rise in the second half of the year as the open market has improved.

‘The recent buying interest in the property market and stabilisation of prices across all sectors in Q2 2009 would have enabled cash-strapped owners to dispose of their properties,’ says DTZ in a report released yesterday.

Fresh data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) illustrates the renewed enthusiasm
among home buyers.

Developers sold 1,825 new units in June, breaking the previous record of 1,723 units set in August 2007.

In fact, after a spike in February, the number of mortgagee sale properties put up for auction has tapered off.

‘The less than expected mortgagee sales in the current economic downturn could be due to banks being less anxious to foreclose now,’ DTZ says.

It explains that the government has been urging banks to give debtors more leeway to service their loans.

Banks are also not rushing to foreclose on properties if they have to accept lower prices and risk ending up with too much stock.

DTZ’s views on the number of mortgagee sale properties to surface differ slightly from another industry watcher’s.

Colliers International deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng expects to see a ‘marginal increase’ in such cases at auctions.

Colliers’ report late last month notes that it can take six months or longer for a bank to repossess properties and put them up for auction, after owners default on their loans.

Banks may also give owners some time to sell the properties on their own.

As a result, more mortgagee sales may only enter the market in the second half of the year.
DTZ and Colliers share similar views on most other trends in the auction market.

For instance, the value of properties sold through auction has certainly picked up tremendously since last year.

According to DTZ, major auction houses in Singapore posted $72.5 million in transaction value in the first half of this year.

This already surpasses the transaction value in the whole of 2008, which was $65.5 million. In particular, buying interest soared in March and remained buoyant up till June.

June was the most active month, accounting for 34 per cent of the total number of properties sold in the first half of the year.

The proportion of properties successfully sold through auctions also rose between March and June.
The success rate in that period was 26 per cent, compared with just 5 per cent between January and February.

Source: Business Times, 16 July 2009

Figures show uplift in property market over the past few months

AUCTION sales have surged in the first half of this year, with the number of transactions dramatically higher than what was clocked up last year.

The numbers tell a story of a property market rapidly gaining in confidence, especially in recent months, according to consultancy Colliers International yesterday.

Sales in the first half reached $72.39 million. That is 61 per cent up on the $45 million recorded in the second half of last year, and 87 per cent higher than the $38.64 million racked up in the same period a year ago.

Much of the pickup happened in the second quarter, after the stock market rallied and sentiment improved. This month has seen strong sales of $24.7 million, compared with the miserable $3.6 million sales in January and $1.4 million in February.

Jones Lang LaSalle, which conducted the last auction for this month yesterday, said it sold four properties worth $11.29 million, including a $3.45 million Leonie Towers apartment.

Sales were lacklustre in the first quarter because buyers had bid very low and opportunistic prices, said Ms Grace Ng, Colliers’ deputy managing director (agency and business services) and auctioneer.

The mood in auction rooms now is decidedly more upbeat, with sellers keen on repricing properties about 5 per cent to 10 per cent higher, said Knight Frank auctioneer Mary Sai.

But the increased expectations do not signal a clear price rise yet. ‘Prices were lagging behind the market so the sellers were moving up to match the market,’ Ms Sai said. ‘Those that we sold were mostly the $800,000 to $1 million types. These are the safe buys as mass market homes aren’t likely to retreat much.’

The buying mood has even carried over from mass market homes to some landed and high-end property, said Ms Ng. These include two apartments at The Clift worth $605,000 and $1.047 million.

Few mortgagee sales have occurred this year despite the weak economic climate. The 103 repossessed units on the block represented only about 23 per cent of total properties put up for auction in the first half. This compares with 28 per cent last year, 44 per cent in 2007 and 50 per cent in 1998.

The number is about half of what was put up during the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

In all, there were 54 homes sold through auction in the first half.

‘The continued low number of mortgagee sales could be partly attributed to financial institutions attempting to manage their distressed asset portfolio by giving property owners the opportunity to dispose of the property of their own accord,’ said Ms Ng. ‘There will be less contention over the sale price, as the price is determined through a consultation process with the owner.’

Ms Ng expects to see more mortgagee sales in the second half of the year due to the general lag time of approximately six months or more.

Ms Ng also expects the buying momentum to persist in the next few months, possibly leading average monthly auction sales to surpass $30 million in some months. That could send auction sales over $160 million for the year, almost twice the $83.67 million achieved last year, she said.

Source: Straits Times, 27 June 2009

Figures show uplift in property market over the past few months

AUCTION sales have surged in the first half of this year, with the number of transactions dramatically higher than what was clocked up last year.

The numbers tell a story of a property market rapidly gaining in confidence, especially in recent months, according to consultancy Colliers International yesterday.

Sales in the first half reached $72.39 million. That is 61 per cent up on the $45 million recorded in the second half of last year, and 87 per cent higher than the $38.64 million racked up in the same period a year ago.

Much of the pickup happened in the second quarter, after the stock market rallied and sentiment improved. This month has seen strong sales of $24.7 million, compared with the miserable $3.6 million sales in January and $1.4 million in February.

Jones Lang LaSalle, which conducted the last auction for this month yesterday, said it sold four properties worth $11.29 million, including a $3.45 million Leonie Towers apartment.

Sales were lacklustre in the first quarter because buyers had bid very low and opportunistic prices, said Ms Grace Ng, Colliers’ deputy managing director (agency and business services) and auctioneer.

The mood in auction rooms now is decidedly more upbeat, with sellers keen on repricing properties about 5 per cent to 10 per cent higher, said Knight Frank auctioneer Mary Sai.

But the increased expectations do not signal a clear price rise yet. ‘Prices were lagging behind the market so the sellers were moving up to match the market,’ Ms Sai said. ‘Those that we sold were mostly the $800,000 to $1 million types. These are the safe buys as mass market homes aren’t likely to retreat much.’

The buying mood has even carried over from mass market homes to some landed and high-end property, said Ms Ng. These include two apartments at The Clift worth $605,000 and $1.047 million.

Few mortgagee sales have occurred this year despite the weak economic climate. The 103 repossessed units on the block represented only about 23 per cent of total properties put up for auction in the first half. This compares with 28 per cent last year, 44 per cent in 2007 and 50 per cent in 1998.

The number is about half of what was put up during the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

In all, there were 54 homes sold through auction in the first half.

‘The continued low number of mortgagee sales could be partly attributed to financial institutions attempting to manage their distressed asset portfolio by giving property owners the opportunity to dispose of the property of their own accord,’ said Ms Ng. ‘There will be less contention over the sale price, as the price is determined through a consultation process with the owner.’

Ms Ng expects to see more mortgagee sales in the second half of the year due to the general lag time of approximately six months or more.

Ms Ng also expects the buying momentum to persist in the next few months, possibly leading average monthly auction sales to surpass $30 million in some months. That could send auction sales over $160 million for the year, almost twice the $83.67 million achieved last year, she said.

Source: Straits Times, 27 June 2009

They include Belmont Road bungalow, Fernhill Road site and condo units

(SINGAPORE) As action in the property market drifts up to the high end, more top-notch properties are surfacing at auctions.

A good-class bungalow (GCB) on Belmont Road, a 7,000-square-foot freehold site on Fernhill Road and condo units at St Regis Residences, Leonie Towers and Gallop Gables are among properties that will go under the hammer next week.

The GCB at 62 Belmont Road has been put up for sale at an indicative price of $26 million to $30 million. This works out to $797 to $919 per square foot (psf) based on the sprawling site of 32,627 square feet.

The existing single-storey bungalow, which will be offered at Knight Frank’s auction on June 23, is more than 30 years old.

‘The property can be rebuilt into a new two-storey bungalow with a basement. And there’s space for a tennis court and swimming pool,’ says Knight Frank executive director and auctioneer Mary Sai.

Colliers International’s auction on June 24 will feature a recently renovated two-storey freehold bungalow with six bedrooms and a maid’s room at 2 Branksome Road, off Tanjong Katong Road.

The property is being offered at an indicative price of $9 million or $815 psf of land area, says Colliers deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng. The bungalow has a swimming pool and Balinese-style decor.

A trustee sale of a 7,232-sq-ft freehold vacant site in Fernhill Road is indicatively priced at $6.5 million to $7 million, which reflects a unit land price of $641 to $691 psf of potential gross floor area (GFA). This excludes any development charge that may be payable.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio – the ratio of maximum potential GFA to site area. It can be developed into a small apartment project or a landed housing development.
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is auctioning the property on June 26.

Another property at the event will be a sheriff’s sale of a maisonette on the 12th floor of Leonie Towers, a freehold condo at Leonie Hill. The indicative price is $2.6 million to $2.8 million or $895-$964 psf of strata area.

The sheriff’s sale is being held to recover a debt owed by the owner, which is a company, to two individuals. The unit will be sold with vacant possession.

Colliers is also offering at its auction an apartment with four bedrooms plus a maid’s room on the 13th floor of St Regis Residences. It is also selling a two-bedroom unit with a utility room on the third level at Gallop Gables.

The Gallop Gables unit, which is leased until August 2013, has a prospective price of $1,400 to $1,500 psf of strata area, working out to $1.6 million to $1.7 million. That translates to a net annual yield of about 2.7 per cent.

The St Regis unit’s indicative pricing is $5 million or $2,358 psf. The property is subject to a two-year tenancy starting this month, with a monthly rental of $11,000.

If all of the above properties are sold at the various auctions next week, it would provide a fillip to auction sales this year, which totalled $47.7 million in the first five months.

The figure for the whole of last year was $83.7 million – an 11-year low.

JLL’s head of auctions Mok Sze Sze says ‘the competitive method of auction bidding is the best way to fetch the optimum price for owners of high-end properties, especially if they are rare and few in supply’.

Source: Business Times, 18 June 2009

They include Belmont Road bungalow, Fernhill Road site and condo units

(SINGAPORE) As action in the property market drifts up to the high end, more top-notch properties are surfacing at auctions.

A good-class bungalow (GCB) on Belmont Road, a 7,000-square-foot freehold site on Fernhill Road and condo units at St Regis Residences, Leonie Towers and Gallop Gables are among properties that will go under the hammer next week.

The GCB at 62 Belmont Road has been put up for sale at an indicative price of $26 million to $30 million. This works out to $797 to $919 per square foot (psf) based on the sprawling site of 32,627 square feet.

The existing single-storey bungalow, which will be offered at Knight Frank’s auction on June 23, is more than 30 years old.

‘The property can be rebuilt into a new two-storey bungalow with a basement. And there’s space for a tennis court and swimming pool,’ says Knight Frank executive director and auctioneer Mary Sai.

Colliers International’s auction on June 24 will feature a recently renovated two-storey freehold bungalow with six bedrooms and a maid’s room at 2 Branksome Road, off Tanjong Katong Road.

The property is being offered at an indicative price of $9 million or $815 psf of land area, says Colliers deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng. The bungalow has a swimming pool and Balinese-style decor.

A trustee sale of a 7,232-sq-ft freehold vacant site in Fernhill Road is indicatively priced at $6.5 million to $7 million, which reflects a unit land price of $641 to $691 psf of potential gross floor area (GFA). This excludes any development charge that may be payable.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio – the ratio of maximum potential GFA to site area. It can be developed into a small apartment project or a landed housing development.
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is auctioning the property on June 26.

Another property at the event will be a sheriff’s sale of a maisonette on the 12th floor of Leonie Towers, a freehold condo at Leonie Hill. The indicative price is $2.6 million to $2.8 million or $895-$964 psf of strata area.

The sheriff’s sale is being held to recover a debt owed by the owner, which is a company, to two individuals. The unit will be sold with vacant possession.

Colliers is also offering at its auction an apartment with four bedrooms plus a maid’s room on the 13th floor of St Regis Residences. It is also selling a two-bedroom unit with a utility room on the third level at Gallop Gables.

The Gallop Gables unit, which is leased until August 2013, has a prospective price of $1,400 to $1,500 psf of strata area, working out to $1.6 million to $1.7 million. That translates to a net annual yield of about 2.7 per cent.

The St Regis unit’s indicative pricing is $5 million or $2,358 psf. The property is subject to a two-year tenancy starting this month, with a monthly rental of $11,000.

If all of the above properties are sold at the various auctions next week, it would provide a fillip to auction sales this year, which totalled $47.7 million in the first five months.

The figure for the whole of last year was $83.7 million – an 11-year low.

JLL’s head of auctions Mok Sze Sze says ‘the competitive method of auction bidding is the best way to fetch the optimum price for owners of high-end properties, especially if they are rare and few in supply’.

Source: Business Times, 18 June 2009

Property market watchers will likely be keeping an eye on the ‘forced-sale’ auction on June 23 of two units at Jasmine Court condominium along Upper Thomson Road.

The two units, owned by one person, will be offered as MCST (management corporation strata title) sales at the Knight Frank auction.

The last time Knight Frank offered such a sale was in April last year. A condo’s management can initiate an MCST sale if a unit owner is in arrears on monthly maintenance and service payments.

Given the current downturn, there has also been talk that the number of mortgagee sales – when owners are unable to refinance their home loans – may increase.

Mr Shaun Poh, DTZ’s senior director for investment advisory services and auction, said, however, that in the short term ‘maybe (in the) next three to six months, I will not expect any increase in the number of mortgagee sales’.

He said banks this time round are quite prepared.

‘That’s why I think there is no panic repossession or foreclosure. The banks are not pulling the plug and are more prepared to talk to borrowers about restructuring their loans,’ he explained.

Colliers International’s figures show that the number of mortgagee sales across all auction houses has not seen a large jump in the first five months of the year.

The highest number of mortgagee-sale auctions was 21 – in February – while the lowest was 15 – last month.

Ms Grace Ng, Colliers’ deputy managing director and auctioneer, said: ‘I think the banks prefer to give the owners time to manage the property on their own.’

She said, however, that the number of mortgagee sales might rise in the third or fourth quarter of the year.

‘Normally, there is a lag time between when the bank repossesses the property and when it puts it on the market.’

Colliers’ data also showed that some $18.5 million worth of properties were sold across all auctions – forced sales or otherwise – last month.

‘Owners are now quite receptive to putting properties up for auction. They have more or less accepted it as an acceptable mode of sale, compared to maybe a decade ago, when mortgagee sales had a bad image,’ said Ms Ng.

Ms Mok Sze Sze, the head of auction and sales at Jones Lang LaSalle, said some good deals were transacted during her firm’s last auction last month.

An example, she said, was a semi-detached house in Namly Garden. It was withdrawn in an auction in January at the highest bid of $2.8 million. Last month, it was sold for $3.7 million.

‘With the recent improved market sentiment, we are seeing more owners’ sales coming on board, with some owners looking at auctions as a way to attain the desired optimum price within a definite timeframe,’ she said.

Perhaps another sign of the improved times is the confidence the owner of a colonial bungalow, in the choice Belmont Road area, has in getting an optimum price.

He will put his property, with a whopping land area of 32,627 sq ft and an indicative price range of $850 to $1,000 per sq ft, up for bidding at Knight Frank’s auction next Tuesday.

Ms Mary Sai, the executive director of Knight Frank, said: ‘Bungalows are hardly put up for auction. It’s basically very rare property.’

Source: Straits Times, 14 Jun 2009

May deals outstrip all of Q1; some banks allowing owners to hock their own properties

Property auctions are in vogue again, with deals touching $18.5 million in May alone. This is higher than the $17.9 million for the whole of Q1 this year, show Colliers International figures.

Banks are playing their part by occasionally stepping aside and letting owners hock their own properties. This is because prices tend to slide when financial institutions repossess a property and offer it as mortgagee sale.

After a slow start to the year, a total of $47.7 million worth of properties have been sold at auction in the first five months. Colliers deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng is now predicting that the year would see about $150 million of auction deals – compared to $83.7 million for 2008, which was an 11-year low.

The May figure is the highest since August last year, when auction sales touched about $22.7 million. But last August’s number was bumped up by state auctions that raised $13.81 million, while no such special factor was at play in May.

Owner sales accounted for 44 of the 59 properties that went under the hammer last month. Fifteen properties actually got sold, of which just over half – eight – were mortgagee sales. They fetched a combined $8.7 million.

Said Ms Ng: ‘We’re not seeing a surge in the number of repossessed properties in the market yet as financial institutions are making an effort to manage the situation by helping owners to ride through this difficult period and giving them the opportunity to sell the properties in the open market instead of repossessing the property immediately.’

Knight Frank executive director and auctioneer Mary Sai added: ‘Banks know that once they take over a property and it is offered as a mortgagee sale at an auction, some buyers will offer lower prices thinking it’s a fire sale or cheap sale. So it’s to the bank’s advantage to talk things over with the borrower, restructure the mortgage if necessary or at least give him a chance to try selling the property himself first.’

The stockmarket rally and strong homes sales by developers improved the overall sentiment and contributed to the strong auction sales in May.

Attendance at property auctions perked up last month, said Ms Sai. ‘Success rates also rose. For instance, in Q1, one or two properties, or even none in some cases, were sold at auctions. However, in May, most of the big auction houses achieved sales of at least two properties per auction.’

Jones Lang LaSalle head of auctions Mok Sze Sze noted that the price gap between buyers and sellers narrowed in May, resulting in more deals being sealed at auctions. Even though 96 properties were offered for auction in April and only 59 in May, last month saw more sealed deals.

Looking ahead, Ms Mok expects total auction sales for this year to surpass last year’s tally.
Colliers’ Ms Ng expects buoyant sales to continue in the next few months but whether the trend can be sustained depends on the economic recovery, the stockmarket performance and the selling price.

Agreeing, Knight Frank’s Ms Sai said: ‘There are buyers at auctions if prices are right. But if the reserve price is too high, they will not participate.’

Several landed homes were auctioned off in May, which accounted for its strong showing. They included a semi-detached house at 69 Namly Garden which was sold for $3.7 million or $716 per square foot of land area; the $4.1 million ($442 psf) sale of a bungalow at 20 Bright Hill Crescent off Upper Thomson Road; and 2 Pasir Ris Way (a semi-D) that fetched $2.3 million ($459 psf). The Pasir Ris and Namly Garden properties were mortgagee sales.

Colliers’ Ms Ng does not foresee an immediate rise in the number of mortgagee sale properties hitting the auction block.

‘A pick-up is likely to happen only in Q3 or Q4 this year. Currently, there’s an average of 18 distressed properties being put up for auction per month and the number could go up to about 22 properties per month in Q3 or Q4 this year.’

Knight Frank’s Ms Sai expects owner sales to continue buoying auctions in coming months, given the advantage this mode has over private treaty. ‘Once the sale is done, the seller collects 10 per cent payment immediately at the auction – instead of having a two-week option period. Prices and terms are pre-determined, avoiding protracted negotiation.

‘The advantage to the buyer is that the seller has to sell once the reserve price is reached at the auction, unlike private treaty where the seller can change his mind even if you meet his price before he grants an option.’

Source : Business Times, 11 Jun 2009

THE Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has launched for auction one land parcel for heavy vehicle park use at 20 Eunos Road 4 under tenancy.

It has a site area of 20,288 square metres and a tenure of 3+2 years. The specified minimum deposit is $24,600.

SLA has appointed Colliers International (Singapore) as the auctioneer. The public auction will be held at 2.30pm on May 27 at Amara Hotel.

The site is being released to help meet heavy vehicle parking needs in the area. Heavy vehicles that will be allowed to be parked there include trailers, buses and other vehicles with a maximum laden weight of over 5 tonnes.

Source: Business Times, 6 May 2009

More mortgagee properties going on the block, with trend seen deepening.

SOME $18 million worth of properties was transacted at auctions in the first quarter of this year, more than three times the $5.4 million notched up in the preceding quarter and also surpassing the $9.5 million in Q1 last year.

The market revved up in March after a muted start in January and February.

Colliers International figures also showed that while the number of repossessed properties put up for auction sales by banks and financial institutions (or mortgagee properties) rose 17.8 per cent quarter on quarter to 53 in Q1 2009, the number of properties put on the auction block by owners themselves slipped 15 per cent over the same period to 136.

The property consultancy group’s deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng is predicting only a slight increase in the number of mortgagee sale properties being put up for auction in the next quarter. However, with an expected increase in retrenchments, which would result in more defaults by borrowers on loan repayments, Ms Ng reckons the pace of mortgagee sale properties going under the hammer could pick up later this year or next year.

‘There’s generally a lag time of about six months or more between when a buyer defaults on his loan repayments and when the bank repossesses the property and puts it up for auction sale,’ Ms Ng observed.

She recalled that during the Asian financial crisis, the number of mortgagee sale properties put up for auction rose markedly only in first-half 1999, although retrenchment numbers had begun to rise as early as Q4 1997.

However, she pointed out that some mitigating factors are also at play this round which may reduce banks’ propensity to race to auction houses when borrowers default on mortgage payments.
‘Financial institutions tend to be more sympathetic and flexible now compared with the Asian crisis days. For example, to help owners ride through this trying period, some financial institutions have provided options, like allowing borrowers in financial difficulty to service only interest payments.
Such a move helps reduce or delay the number of properties being repossessed,’ Ms Ng said.

DTZ’s senior director for investment advisory services and auctioneer Shaun Poh said: ‘This time, both banks and borrowers are better prepared than during the Asian crisis, when some people panicked and just handed the keys to their banks. Now, banks are more prepared to talk to the borrowers; that’s partly why we don’t see a lot of mortgagee properties put up for auction. Banks are trying to space out the properties a bit, restructure, renegotiate. And they’re asking owners to try and sell their properties themselves first, whether it’s by auction or private treaty.’

‘It’s also a value preservation strategy. Banks have learnt from the last round that if they pull the plug and take over a property, its value falls. Potential buyers’ perception is that they can strike a bargain for mortgagee sale properties as they’re like fires sales,’ Mr Poh added.

Colliers’ Ms Ng suggests another reason for banks not being in a hurry to foreclose on properties this round may be due to a rule change in 2002 that gave banks first claim to a mortgaged property – ahead of the Central Provident Fund Board – in the event of borrower default. ‘The pressure to foreclose the property by banks/financial institutions is now lower, as their exposure to losses – due to unrecoverable outstanding loan amount – is reduced,’ she added.

Colliers’ analysis showed that 77 per cent or 41 of the 53 mortgagee properties that went on the auction block in Q1 were residential properties; 27 were apartments/condos while the remaining 14 were landed homes. These landed properties were mostly in District 19, which includes Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol.

‘We can expect to see more apartments/condos surfacing at auctions as there are about 14,600 non-landed properties due for completion in the next two years,’ Ms Ng said.

Just four properties were sold at auction for nearly $5 million in January and February this year but things started to hot up a bit in March, with eight properties transacted for $13 million. ‘The price gap between sellers’ asking price and buyers’ offer price appears to have narrowed in March. The rallies in the stockmarket, together with the positive take-up rate at developers’ launches in the past two months, seem to have spilled into the secondary market – resulting in buyers’ commitment to purchase the units.

‘Interestingly, owner occupiers constitute the bulk of buyers making commitments to purchase now,’ Ms Ng said.

Source: Business Times, 28 Mar 2009