Outlook still favourable but mass market properties more popular

BUYERS are still showing relatively muted interest in the most luxurious homes in the city centre, the latest set of new home sales data shows.

But they are making a beeline for very popular mass market homes, followed by mid-tier units, the figures show.

Property experts say the outlook for the luxury sector remains favourable, though growth has slowed and current global uncertainties mean these prime high-end homes are unlikely to rebound this year as some experts had hoped.

A few months back, it was expected that luxury projects such as Ardmore3 and those on the former Grangeford and Parisian condo sites in the Orchard area would be launched in the first half year.

No major luxury projects were launched last year.

Developers of these homes have been cautious again this year. Bukit Sembawang recently said it will be launching the marketing of Paterson Suites in its current financial year ending March31 – unusually late in the game for a project that has already received its temporary occupation permit.

Underscoring the point, City Developments chairman Kwek Leng Beng last week said luxury homes had not sold as well as the industry had expected.

He said this segment would perform well – perhaps next year – only if the wider global economy stabilises.

Said Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han: ‘Singapore may not be the place to make extraordinary gains but the good thing is the luxury market is still compelling.The market is just taking a breather. The earliest possible time for the return of interest in the luxury end market will be at the end of the year.’

While the prime segment (homes selling for $2.5million to $5million) saw some activity in the first half, transactions in the luxury ($5-$8million) and super-luxury (above $8million) segments have been rather scarce, said CBRE executive director, residential, Mr Joseph Tan.

‘Most homebuyers were generally more cautious towards high-priced projects under the present uncertain conditions on the global front.’

Still, Colliers International’s director of research and advisory, Ms Tay Huey Ying said the price rebound in high-end and luxury properties, which started in the second half of last year, had continued this year, though the pace of growth has moderated to more sustainable rates.

‘Developers are holding back their high-end and luxury launches because there has been some derailment in the strength of the economic recovery due to the euro zone crisis. There is also growing uncertainty in the recovery of the US economy. Prices are not yet at the levels they are aiming for.’

More investors are going for cheaper new properties – mostly those under $1,500 psf – as global uncertainties have put a lid on risk appetites, said Ms Tay.

The slight slowdown means that price growth in the high-end and luxury segments is likely to come in towards the low end of the firm’s forecast range of 15-20per cent for this year, she said.

Experts note that in the first half year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s price index for non-landed homes in prime districts was already up 10per cent, and is just 1.8per cent off the 2008 peak. This is just a tad slower than the 10.3per cent and 12.9per cent price gains seen for non-landed homes in the city fringes and suburban areas respectively.

CBRE expects high-end home prices – still about 5-10per cent below 2007 boom levels – to be stable till year-end.

While high-end prices are up this year, sales volume has not picked up significantly owing to fresh concerns on the global economic recovery’s sustainability.

But the number of high-end home deals of $3,000 psf and above has risen from eight units in the fourth quarter to 29 units and 35 units in the first and second quarters respectively, noted Savills Prestige Homes director Steven Ming.

‘This is an indication that pockets of luxury home buyers are still streaming into the local market,’ he said.

However, as high-end homes are very dependent on foreign demand, sales could recover to previous peaks in the next 12 to 18 months after macro-economic concerns have been sorted out, he said.

CBRE’s Mr Tan said developers have adopted a low-key strategy to marketing luxury projects, such as direct invitations for private previews and appointments.

For example, Far East Organization recently launched its luxury brand ‘Inessence’, and sold a handful of units in Boulevard Vue and Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard. Wheelock Properties and Hong Leong Group sold a few units at their respective new super-luxury projects, Orchard View and Sage.

Mr Tan said there is a ‘strong likelihood’ the high-end market will continue in this manner for the rest of the year.

However, the few possible high-end launches in September such as Twin Peaks and The Peak @ Cairnhill will test the market’s receptivity. If these launches do well, it will motivate developers to launch more high-end projects, he said.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

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DEVELOPERS HOLDING BACK

‘Developers are holding back their high-end and luxury launches because there has been some derailment in the strength of the economic recovery due to the euro zone crisis. There is also growing uncertainty in the recovery of the US economy. Prices are not yet at the levels they are aiming for.’

Colliers International’s director of research and advisory, Ms Tay Huey Ying

Source: Straits Times, 19 Aug 2010

Increases of up to $20k surprise analysts, given buyers’ income ceiling

PROPERTY developers have raised the prices of condominium-style public flats for the first time since their inception, in a bid to ride the mass market property boom.

A check by The Straits Times revealed that prices of flats at Natura Loft at Bishan and The Peak@Toa Payoh have risen by up to 3 per cent, or $20,000, depending on the attributes of the flats.

This move has surprised industry analysts, as buyers of such hybrid flats under the Housing Board’s Design, Build and Sell scheme (DBSS) have a fixed household income ceiling of $8,000.

‘The prices are higher but the income ceiling is still the same. These buyers are unlikely to have seen their wages rise, given the recent recession,’ said one industry analyst who declined to be named.

DBSS projects are designed, built and sold by private developers. They offer condominium-style fittings, layouts and facilities but are subject to public housing rules, such as the household income ceiling, ethnic quotas and a five-year minimum occupation period.

Developers told The Straits Times yesterday their move was in line with the booming market, with a stunning 2,767 private homes sold in July.

Mass market condominiums such as Centro Residences in Ang Mo Kio and Trevista in Toa Payoh have been launched in these mature HDB estates to good response; Centro reportedly sold at the $1,100 psf level and Trevista at $900 psf.

Three centrally located DBSS projects – The Peak@Toa Payoh, Park Central in Ang Mo Kio and Natura Loft at Bishan – priced slightly above $500 psf, have reported brisk sales, as demand for private homes has spilled into the HDB market.

Mr Zuo Hai Bin, managing director of Natura Loft developer QingJian Realty, said the 480-unit project is now more than 80 per cent sold, up from 75 per cent just a month or so ago.

Four-roomers are now all sold out, leaving five-room flats. QingJian has raised prices by between $5,000 and $20,000 on the back of an improved market, he said. But the firm has also been giving away free household appliances to attract buyers, he added.

The Peak’s developer, Hoi Hup Sunway, said prices had risen only for selected units by about 1per cent, or $5,000 to $7,000. ‘The public is still receptive to the development and demand is still strong,’ said its spokesman.

Other DBSS projects, like Park Central in Ang Mo Kio and Parc Lumiere in Simei, however, have maintained their prices.

Managing director David Liew, of Park Central developer United Engineers Developments, said prices had held at an average $500 psf as ‘DBSS housing is, after all, public housing’.

‘There’s an obligation by us to keep the selling price relatively affordable for the masses,’ he added.

From a commercial viewpoint, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail, it is ‘only natural that developers want to ride the market momentum’.

But others feel the real competition for DBSS flats is not mass market condominiums, but HDB resale flats.

‘The price gap between DBSS flats and resale HDB flats must not be too wide. Otherwise, developers will find it takes a long time to sell their flats and DBSS projects may not be viable in the future,’ said Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak.

When contacted, HDB said that, while developers can decide and adjust selling prices, they should ensure that prices are affordable to the target group of buyers.

‘If they overprice DBSS flats, they face the risk of poor demand and having to hold onto vacant flats. Therefore, it is in their own interest to set appropriate pricing in order to sell their flats,’ said an HDB spokesman.

Home buyer Cheow Kai Ying, 27, is one who feels that couples with an $8,000 income ceiling are unlikely to be able to afford such upmarket HDB flats if prices increase any further.

‘Public flats are, after all, meant to be subsidised,’ said Mrs Cheow.

Source: Straits Times, 5 Sep 2009

Mass-market and mid-tier projects are hot, but it is taking longer to sell investment properties

The upbeat sentiment in the new private home market has lured out the sellers in the sub-sale market.

Sub-sales – the sale of uncompleted homes by their buyers – of non-landed private properties tripled to 1,200 units in the second quarter, according to a DTZ quarterly report.

This time, though, it is mainly the mass-market and mid-tier projects that are popular sub-sales. In 2007, it was the higher-end projects that found favour with buyers.

Also, the sellers are taking longer to sell their investment properties.

The DTZ study found that a few mass-market projects made their way to the Top 10 list of projects with the most sub-sales. These included Casa Merah, located near the Tanah Merah MRT Station, The Centris in Jurong West and The Quartz in Compassvale.

For instance, there were 54 sub-sales in Casa Merah in the second quarter, and the median sub-sale price rose from $658 psf in the first quarter to $734 psf in July and August.

The most popular sub-sale project in the second quarter was Rivergate, located at Robertson Quay.

The median price of its sub-sale units rose from $1,200 psf to $1,400 psf, and 105 of its 545 units changed hands in the second quarter alone. Prices have since risen further – deals done in July and August ranged from $1,400 to $1,880 psf, according to caveats lodged.

Two perennial favourites are The Sail @ Marina Bay and Icon, prime projects in the central locations of Marina Bay and Tanjong Pagar respectively.

Despite being launched between 2003 and 2005, they still remain popular in the sub-sale market. Their median prices rose 27 per cent and 17 per cent respectively from the last quarter.
Sub-sale buyers tend to be true investors, said HSR Property Group executive director Eric Cheng.

Upgraders, he said, prefer not to buy sub-sales as they do not wish to pay a premium. Those who do, however, find mass- to mid-tier market projects more affordable.

Analysts say that the higher number of sub-sales could be due to the many units that were completed this year.

Ms Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ’s head of South-east Asia research, says there is normally a high level of sub-sales for a project when it is nearing, or just after, completion.

‘In 2006, 6,250 units were completed. This year, 11,367 units are expected to be completed,’ she said.

Mr Cheng pointed out that projects sell out very quickly in today’s market, and some buyers who missed out on the chance of buying a unit do not mind paying a small premium to get a unit if the price is not too far away from the launch price.

These buyers often have compelling reasons, said Mr Cheng. They might have family living nearby, or even on the same unit level.

Despite the higher number of sub-sales now, the number of properties bought and sold within a short span of time is not as high as during 1996 or 2007, said Ms Chua.

‘The number and percentage of units bought and sold within a six-month period in the first half of the year is a lot less than those in 2007 and 1996,’ she said.

Citing data from Realis, she said 88 units were ‘flipped’ in the first half of this year, compared to 517 in 1996 and 835 in 2007.

Flipping occurs when someone buys a property and resells it quickly for a profit.

‘Buyers now tend not to buy another unit so quickly because they often have a choice of other surrounding units that are being sold as well,’ said Mr Cheng.

‘There are a lot of short-term investors who would like to resell for a profit, but might not be able to because they ask for too much. There are also a lot of launches coming up.

‘Market fundamentals are not that strong even though market sentiment is, and we might see a pull-back effect,’ he said.

Source: Sunday Times, 30 Aug 2009

The analysts say mass launch prices have hit 2007 peak, and may stagnate

LAUNCH prices for new private homes rose 10 per cent and 18 per cent in prime and mass districts respectively in the first half of 2009, according to UBS Investment Research.

On the back of this, analysts Regina Lim and Michael Lim now expect prime prices to rise 18 per cent from here to 2007 peak by end 2010, as interest continues to improve and foreigners start to buy. However, luxury prices are not expected to reach the $4,000-$4,500 per square foot (psf) levels seen in 2007. By contrast, mass launch prices have reached the 2007 peak due to fervent buying by locals and prices could stagnate at current levels, the analysts said in an Aug 24 report: ‘For mass market launch prices, we believe they could stagnate at current levels after rising around 20 per cent in 2009.’

UBS’ research also showed that most of the demand for private homes this year came from local buyers. In the first seven months of 2009, developers sold over 10,100 units, mostly in mass market condominiums where buyers were largely Singaporeans.

‘In H1 2009, we saw a sharp increase in buyers who currently live in public housing (HDB),’ said the report. For new sales, 54 per cent of buyers had HDB addresses, compared with 24 per cent in 2007. For resale transactions, 44 per cent of buyers had HDB addresses, compared with 22 per cent in 2007. In addition, a large portion of non-Singaporean buyers were permanent residents.

Looking ahead, UBS believes that demand for prime residential units will grow as interest grows among foreigners. ‘We saw signs of improvement for prime units in Q2 2009,’ said the report. ‘In Q2 2009, resale transactions in the prime districts increased more than five times to 230 a month, from 42 a month in Q1. Prime resale transactions now make up 24 per cent of all resale transactions, compared with 16 per cent in Q1 2009 and 30 per cent in Q1 2007.’

The price growth that UBS expects will be supported by low completions supply, the analysts said. UBS expects the total number of homes to be completed from 2009 to 2015 to be around 16,000 per year – similar to the levels in 2000-2008.

‘We believe this is not excessive, if we expect population growth to be 2.4 per cent, which translates to around 116,000 persons per annum,’ said the report. ‘We believe that supply is reasonable and we expect rental growth in 2009-2015 to be at least 5 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) as completions are similar to 2000-2008, yet population growth is expected to be 15-20 per cent higher.’

However, other analysts here are less bullish. RBS Singapore analyst Fera Wirawan said recently that residential property prices could fall 10 per cent to 20 per cent over the next 12 months on back of anti-speculative measures, falling rental yields and increasing supply.

Based on her analysis, prices of mass-market homes are now at peak 2007 levels, while prices of mid-tier and high-end homes are just 8 per cent and 22 per cent off their peaks respectively.

Source: Business Times, 26 Aug 2009

Consultants forecast top bid of $136 to $200 psf ppr for the residential site

(SINGAPORE) Strong homes sales in the mass-market segment have led to a 99-year leasehold site at Chestnut Avenue in the state’s reserve list being triggered for launch.

This will be the first time in a year that the government will be launching a residential site for tender.

The successful applicant has undertaken to bid at least $62 million at the tender, which works out to $120.83 per square foot of potential gross floor area. Under the reserve list system, the state will launch a site for tender only if there is an application by a developer undertaking to bid at a minimum price acceptable to the government.

Property consultants indicated a wide price range for the successful bid for the site at the tender, which will be launched soon – $136 to $200 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Assuming the site fetches $200 psf ppr, the breakeven cost for a new condo could be about $480 psf and the developer could be looking to sell at an average price of $600-620 psf, says Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho, who reckons the successful bid could come in at $150-160 psf ppr, said that the developer would be planning to sell the new project at above $600 psf. ‘The site is located at the edge of the Bukit Panjang HDB estate and Chestnut Avenue landed estate.

‘Based on the current strong take-up of new projects, coupled with a lack of mass-market projects in this location, it is likely that developers will be interested to bid for this site.’

However, DTZ’s head of South-east Asia research Chua Chor Hoon, predicts the site will fetch only $120-136 psf ppr. ‘The site is not very accessible by public transport. So I don’t think it will attract many bidders,’ she added.

Knight Frank’s Mr Tan said that a new condo on the project will offer views of the surrounding park and Upper Peirce Reservoir. ‘However, it will also be fairly noisy, as it will be located next to the BKE.’

The 244,345 sq ft plot can be developed into a condo with about 450 units, CBRE estimates. The site has a plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) of 2.1.

After the strong wave of launches over the past five months, the pipeline of 99-year leasehold suburban condos catering to upgrader demand has shrunk.

Projects that have yet to be launched include those that will be developed by TID in Tanah Merah, Far East Organization on a plum Ang Mo Kio site, NTUC Choice Homes on its plot near Braddell MRT Station and MCL’s project in Yishun. Others include a project on the former Minton Rise site in Hougang and condos in Bedok Reservoir and Pasir Ris.

‘Developers catering to the upgrader market are hungry for land, and the best supplier of land in this segment will be the government,’ notes Mr Tan.

Separately, City Developments yesterday said that it has sold 55 units at its freehold Volari condo in the Balmoral area at an average price of ‘over $2,000 psf’.

About 20 per cent of buyers took up the interest absorption scheme. Foreigners comprise 45 per cent of buyers. Prices have been adjusted upwards by 2 per cent.

Source: Business Times, 21 July 2009

With 1,423 private homes sold in H1, it is far ahead of all other developers

Brisk weekend sales indicate continuation of strong momentum

SALES of new condominium projects continued at a robust pace last weekend, despite some developers starting to test the market with slightly higher prices.

Buyers picked up 120 units at Waterfront Key in Bedok Reservoir at an average price of $735 per sq ft (psf), even though that price is higher than that at the neighbouring Waterfront Waves condo, where units are going at $700 psf on average.

Both are 99-year leasehold projects and are being jointly developed by Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint.

In the Upper Changi area, Hong Leong Group sold 50 more units of The Gale on Flora Road at prices ranging from $650 to $725 psf – up from $650 to $700 psf the previous weekend. This makes 265 units sold to date at the 329-unit freehold development, or about 80 per cent.

In the higher-end segment of the market, City Developments (CDL) has also raised prices for its newly launched Volari@Balmoral by 2 per cent, after it saw a fairly good take-up rate over the weekend.

CDL released 65 units out of a total of 85, and sold about 55 of them. The average price of the units sold was over $2,000 psf, it said in a press release.

The developer added that almost half the buyers were foreigners. Prices start from $2.7 million for a two-bedroom unit.

The transactions over the weekend indicate that this month’s home sales figures are likely to maintain the strong momentum started in February, which has seen more than 1,000 new homes sold every month.

Another interesting point: fewer buyers appear to be taking up the interest absorption scheme, which allows them to defer the bulk of their payments until their apartment is completed but often at a higher price.

Only a third of the buyers at The Gale took up the interest absorption scheme. About 20 per cent of Volari@Balmoral‘s buyers opted for the scheme, which means they paid 2 per cent more for their units.

At Waterfront Key, ‘practically all’ the buyers went with the normal progressive payment scheme, said Far East Organization’s chief operating officer Chia Boon Kuah. This could be because interest absorption for this project comes at a 4 per cent premium.

When asked why the prices were higher at Waterfront Key than at Waterfront Waves, Mr Chia mentioned the project’s ‘thoughtful facilities’, including three outdoor villas and two ‘island villas’, as well as the fact that all units would have views of either the park, reservoir or pool.

The developers released 176 units at Waterfront Key last Friday. A further 102 units will be released during the project’s public launch this Saturday. The condo has 437 units in all.

Of the buyers last weekend, about 60 per cent were HDB upgraders, said Mr Chia. They bought mainly the smaller units: all the 57 two-bedroom units from the first to 15th storeys have been sold, at prices starting from $593,000. The four-bedders, which are 1,518 sq ft in size, are going for up to $1.42 million each.

Source: Straits Times, 21 July 2009

If sold, it will be first state-owned residential site sale in 10 months

EVER since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the United States and Singapore’s slide into recession, the Government has been unable to attract bids for residential development sites.

But yesterday – after 10 straight months without selling a single residential site – the Government said it had finally received an offer for a condominium parcel in Bukit Panjang.

An unnamed property developer has committed to bid at least $62 million for the 244,347 sq ft plot, in what consultants say is a further sign of the property market’s rebound.

The 99-year leasehold site located along Chestnut Avenue has been sitting on the Government’s reserve list since March last year. Sites on the reserve list are made available for sale, but are not launched for tender until a developer puts in a minimum bid.

Now that the Chestnut Avenue plot has been triggered for sale, it will be put up for tender by the Housing Board by the end of this week, HDB said yesterday.

The bid submitted works out to about $120 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area, as compared with the $220 to $270 psf expected when the site was first made available in March last year.

Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, thinks the final winning bid will be $150 to $160 psf of potential gross floor area, or $76 million to $82 million in total.

The Chestnut Avenue site can accommodate a development of about 450 units.

If sold, it will be the first state-owned residential development sale since Sept 10 last year – just before Lehman’s demise – when a condo site at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue went for $84 million.

A few days later, on Sept 16, the HDB launched an executive condominium site at Punggol Field, but found no takers.

Now that buyers are returning in large numbers to showflats, developers’ confidence appears to be on the rise, according to consultants.

Home buyers have been snapping up more than 1,000 new homes each month since February, culminating in a record 1,825 new homes sold last month – even more than the number sold in August 2007, the peak of the boom two years ago.

Last week, owners of the freehold Dragon Mansion in Spottiswoode Park Road launched the year’s first collective sale, with a bullish price tag of $120 million.

Yesterday’s offer for Chestnut Avenue shows that there is renewed interest in the market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of Singapore research Chua Yang Liang, who is still only cautiously optimistic.

‘The market is stirring and some developers may be excited, but by and large I don’t think there’s an overall bullishness in the market,’ he said.

And he predicts just a handful of bids for the Chestnut Avenue land.

‘I’m not sure if the rest of the developers will bite, considering there is still uncertainty in the larger economy.’

The site is located near other property developments such as Maysprings, Cashew Heights Condominium and Hazel Park Condominium. In recent months, units at the 99-year leasehold Maysprings have been sold at just below $500 psf, while those at the other two condos – both freehold – have gone for $560 to $600 psf, said CB Richard Ellis Research’s Mr Li.

He expects the developer who buys the Chestnut Avenue site to plan to sell finished units at more than $600 psf. Such entry-level private homes would be targeted at HDB upgraders – a promising segment of buyers unaffected by fears of a possible oversupply of mid-tier and high-end homes.

Analysts are anticipating more developers to resume buying land in the second half of this year, given that the Urban Redevelopment Authority has received inquiries about some of the other sites on its reserve list.

Also, as market sentiment improves, developers have started to pick up land meant for hotel and industrial development.

Earlier this month, $43.9 million was offered for a hotel site in New Bridge Road, prompting a public tender for the plot. And last month, 14 valid bids were received for a hotel site in Short Street.

Source: Straits Times, 21 July 2009

PROPERTY sales over the past few days continued to post encouraging numbers.

City Developments is understood to have sold between 50 and 60 units of its 85-unit Volari@Balmoral condo at Balmoral Road. The 12-storey freehold project, priced at about $2,000 psf on average, will be built on the current Garden Hotel site. Residents will enjoy views of the lush greenery of the Goodwood Hill area. It was released for sale late last week.

Over at Bedok Reservoir, Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint have sold 120 units of Waterfront Key at an average price of $735 psf.

This pricing is about 5-8 per cent higher than the $680-700 psf average price at which the two developers are selling units at the adjacent Waterfront Waves, which was 78 per cent sold as of last Thursday. Both projects are 99-year leasehold.

As for their latest condo, the 437-unit Waterfront Key, 176 units have been released since Friday. Far East said that in terms of absolute quantum, prices range from $593,000 for a two-bedroom unit of 840 sq ft to $1.42 million for a 1,518 sq apartment with four bedrooms. The sole penthouse in the initial batch of 176 units is a 2,992 sq ft unit priced at $3.14 million.

Buyers of nearly all the 120 units sold did not opt for an interest absorption scheme (IAS), which comes at a 4 per cent price premium. The units released so far comprise a good mix of reservoir-facing, park-fronting and pool-view apartments. The 15-storey condo has a total of eight blocks.

Volari’s prices range from $1,800 psf to $2,300 psf. BT understands that an IAS is included in the price. However, the majority of buyers are understood to have opted for normal progressive payments, which means that they save 2 per cent on the pricing.

Developers have sold over 7,300 private homes in Singapore in the first six months of this year, surpassing the measly 4,264 units sold for the whole of last year. This has started to give developers some pricing power.

A seasoned property developer said that typically, price stability sets in when developers sell about 5,500 to 6,000 units over a 12-month period.

Increasingly, property analysts are predicting an increase in private home prices for the whole of this year and see the trend gaining momentum in 2010. Analysts’ estimates of full-year sales for this year range from around 9,000 to 14,000 units.

The strong home buying in recent months runs counter to the backdrop of wage cuts and job losses amid the recession.

Analysts credit the revival in home buying to developers’ strategy of chopping prices earlier this year, pent-up demand, the stock-market rally, a low interest rate environment, lack of trust among investors in financial instruments after Lehman’s collapse and the appeal of property as an anti-inflationary hedge.

Source: Business Times, 20 July 2009

WHILE the prices of luxury private homes are heading south, DBS Vickers foresees that those of mass-market projects may start rising by the second half of the year.

In a property research report yesterday, the brokerage said of the mass-market residential segment: “We believe that clearing levels have been reached. Should demand continue to be sustained, this segment is likely to see positive price increase by H2 ‘09.”

Over the past three months starting February, the private residential market enjoyed strong sales with over 1,000 units sold monthly. The good showing was led by the mass-market and mid-tier segments.

“As sentiment and confidence improves, the property market should also benefit,” said DBS Vickers, citing a growing view among economists that the first quarter already witnessed the worst of gross domestic product data.

But it feels the high-end sector is “still dormant”, with activity remaining “subdued” for the next few months. “2010 is an important indicator as the potential of default risk could hit completing projects that were purchased at peak prices.”

Still, there are signs of the luxury segment stirring. Official data showed developers launched five times as many high-end units in April compared to March. Where buyer demand was strong, attractive pricing is usually a reason.

Frasers Centrepoint Homes itself said so in a press release yesterday on the take-up of its luxury project, Martin Place Residences: It sold 80 out of the 100 units during a soft launch over this past weekend, priced at $1,260 to $1,700 per square foot (psf), it said.

That is significantly lower than the price range of $1,700 to $2,000 psf for the 28 units sold last year.

Frasers said Singaporeans made up 62 per cent of the buyers during the soft launch, while the remainder were foreigners and Permanent Residents.

Source: Business Times, 19 May 2009