Thursday, May 12, 2011
Rental growth for residential units expected to moderate
Rental growth for residential units expected to moderate
By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 10 May 2011 2234 hrs
SINGAPORE : Rental growth for residential units is expected to moderate over the next few years, as 30,491 new homes come onstream in 2013.
This is according to property consultants.
Data out earlier from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that residential rental growth slowed down to about 1 per cent in the first quarter this year - the slowest pace in more than a year. And the downward trend is expected to continue.
A potential oversupply of private housing, a moderating economy and possibly a lower influx of foreign talent may spell the end of rental growth, which increased at its slowest pace from January to March this year.
Liang Thow Ming, head of residential services at Credo Real Estate, said: "With an uncertain economic going outlook ahead - especially due to the global situation - (and) probably less foreigners coming in - especially due to the recent displeasure about the influx of foreigners in Singapore - in terms of demand, we would see a slight drop; in terms of supply, we will probably see a huge increase.
"Therefore, it does not bode well in terms of rental value and yields. And we will probably see a decline maybe in about two years' time."
Currently, there are about 10,500 vacant non-landed residential units in the rental market.
This is in addition to the 30,491 uncompleted residential units coming onstream by 2013.
Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 4 to 6 per cent this year, compared to 14.7 per cent last year.
From June 2009 to June 2010, the number of non-residents grew by 4.1 per cent to 1.30 million. This is slower than the 4.8 per cent growth from one year earlier.
But for now, rentals are expected to grow at about 2 per cent this year.
Suburban and city fringe homes rental yields will also perform better than their central region counterparts in the near term.
Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research (Southeast Asia), at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "With capital values being more moderate than it was in terms of growth wise, there is potential for more income returns there. But the question is how many foreigners can we expect in the next few years."
Prices of suburban and city fringe homes are about 10 per cent lower than those in the central region, thickening yield margins in the process.
This brings suburban and city fringe rental yields to about 3 to 4 per cent, compared with central region rental yields of 2.5 per cent.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
Datacraft officially rebranded as Dimension Data
Datacraft officially rebranded as Dimension Data
By Ryan Huang | Posted: 10 May 2011 2216 hrs
SINGAPORE : Datacraft has officially rebranded itself as Dimension Data, the name of its parent company.
This exercise is part of a worldwide brand campaign to help ensure global consistency in its business operations.
The rebranding was first announced in January.
In a statement, the company said this was also in line with its business strategy to provide more services-centric solutions consistently across multiple technologies and geographies.
Plans to integrate the company under a single brand started in 2008, when Datacraft became a wholly-owned unit of Dimension Data.
Dimension Data, which owned part of Datacraft since 1997, bought the remaining 44.9 per cent of the company in 2008 and delisted it from the Singapore Exchange.
Other than the brand change, the company will continue to be responsible for the Asia Pacific markets (excluding Australia).
The current organisational structure and management team remain unchanged.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
En bloc sale market picking up: analysts
En bloc sale market picking up: analysts
By Stella Lee | Posted: 11 May 2011 2245 hrs
SINGAPORE : The en bloc sale market has been feverishly picking up activity this year.
Apart from more en bloc properties being offered for sale, analysts say that the average prices for the sites have also increased by more than 50 per cent compared to a year ago.
However, the offer prices have yet to surpass the levels seen by the market at the peak of the property boom in 2007.
Since the start of this year, some 20 collective sales have been announced.
Analysts say that 9 deals have been closed so far, worth a total of S$880 million.
This compares with 34 collective sales deals completed last year totalling S$1.7 billion.
Analysts say that average transaction sizes have increased, from S$52 million in 2010 to over S$80 million this year as property developers are bullish on the economy.
Donald Han, vice chairman of Cushman and Wakefield, said: "Bottom line (is) so long as the economy grows within the 4 to 6 percent, I think generally the confidence will be there in terms of investors coming into Singapore, looking to investing in this part of the world.
"It's going to be a fairly active market. I think we're beginning to see the sort of response as what we saw in the first quarter. Confidence will start coming back again, and if we're beginning to see more cooling measures then that puts a hinder on project sales movement.
"Then developers might hold back again. So it's a touch-and-go scenario depending on government measures, if any."
Two sites were launched for collective tender on Wednesday.
Vista Park, a large leasehold residential redevelopment site off Pasir Panjang Road, has been put up for sale with a guide price of S$338 million. The tender will close at 3.00pm on June 30.
Separately, a post-colonial development in River Valley with a unique tenure of nearly a million years is expected to fetch a reserve price in the range of S$72 million to S$80 million. The tender closes at 2.30pm on June 9.
Analysts say the market for en bloc sales currently favours smaller developments as large land banks continue to be dominated by government land sales.
Mr Han said: "I think generally I tend to be a bit more bullish on the smaller ones because the more bite-sized (they are), the number of new players in the market will tend to be a bit more, compared to new entrance for large-sized projects."
Analysts say the collective sale market for this year will be focused more on locations at city fringes such as Balestier and Katong. This is because the land banks offered for sale in these areas will likely be smaller in size.
Mr Karamjit Singh, managing director, Credo Real Estate, said: "Various en-bloc sites have different fortunes. Smaller ones are more successful because for smaller developers, en-bloc sites are their main source of land supply. Bigger developers, on the other hand, are more keen on government sites."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Stella Lee | Posted: 11 May 2011 2245 hrs
SINGAPORE : The en bloc sale market has been feverishly picking up activity this year.
Apart from more en bloc properties being offered for sale, analysts say that the average prices for the sites have also increased by more than 50 per cent compared to a year ago.
However, the offer prices have yet to surpass the levels seen by the market at the peak of the property boom in 2007.
Since the start of this year, some 20 collective sales have been announced.
Analysts say that 9 deals have been closed so far, worth a total of S$880 million.
This compares with 34 collective sales deals completed last year totalling S$1.7 billion.
Analysts say that average transaction sizes have increased, from S$52 million in 2010 to over S$80 million this year as property developers are bullish on the economy.
Donald Han, vice chairman of Cushman and Wakefield, said: "Bottom line (is) so long as the economy grows within the 4 to 6 percent, I think generally the confidence will be there in terms of investors coming into Singapore, looking to investing in this part of the world.
"It's going to be a fairly active market. I think we're beginning to see the sort of response as what we saw in the first quarter. Confidence will start coming back again, and if we're beginning to see more cooling measures then that puts a hinder on project sales movement.
"Then developers might hold back again. So it's a touch-and-go scenario depending on government measures, if any."
Two sites were launched for collective tender on Wednesday.
Vista Park, a large leasehold residential redevelopment site off Pasir Panjang Road, has been put up for sale with a guide price of S$338 million. The tender will close at 3.00pm on June 30.
Separately, a post-colonial development in River Valley with a unique tenure of nearly a million years is expected to fetch a reserve price in the range of S$72 million to S$80 million. The tender closes at 2.30pm on June 9.
Analysts say the market for en bloc sales currently favours smaller developments as large land banks continue to be dominated by government land sales.
Mr Han said: "I think generally I tend to be a bit more bullish on the smaller ones because the more bite-sized (they are), the number of new players in the market will tend to be a bit more, compared to new entrance for large-sized projects."
Analysts say the collective sale market for this year will be focused more on locations at city fringes such as Balestier and Katong. This is because the land banks offered for sale in these areas will likely be smaller in size.
Mr Karamjit Singh, managing director, Credo Real Estate, said: "Various en-bloc sites have different fortunes. Smaller ones are more successful because for smaller developers, en-bloc sites are their main source of land supply. Bigger developers, on the other hand, are more keen on government sites."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Singapore heats up as temperatures soar to 35 degrees
Singapore heats up as temperatures soar to 35 degrees
By Monica Kotwani | Posted: 11 May 2011 2246 hrs
SINGAPORE: It has been a hot and humid week for Singaporeans. During the day, maximum temperatures have reached highs of between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius.
Singapore's National Environment Agency expect the average daily temperature for the next two weeks to hover around a slightly cooler 31.6 degrees Celsius.
But this forecast does not sit well with some.
A taxi driver said: "We also have to take rest. We cannot take the heat at all. Many people might think we are making much money, but actually it is not. Because it is too hot, and some of the taxi drivers also fall sick."
Some un-air conditioned coffeeshops said business has slowed to a crawl, reporting meagre earnings even at night.
But the weather comes as a boon to some. Some air conditioner servicing companies said business has increased by about 40 per cent.
Zhang Wei, a Project Manager with Man Ling construction & Engineering, said: "Because it's recently been hotter than usual. Since it suddenly became so hot, those who didn't maintain their air conditioners will suddenly feel that it's not cool anymore, so they will rush to get it fixed. It's very busy like this, same time every year."
Mr Zhang said he has been working 12 hour days since the start of May, servicing about 10 air conditioners a day.
NEA said the hot weather is common this time of the year, as inter-monsoon months are characterised by hot weather and occasional thunderstorms. It said the warm temperatures are also common at this time due to strong solar heating and light winds.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
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