Residential collective sales market rebounds

Residential collective sales market rebounds
Posted: 27 December 2010 2051 hrs

SINGAPORE : Singapore's residential collective sales market has rebounded after a virtual lull last year, and prospects of larger deals look good going forward, said real estate services firm DTZ Research.

Since the start of 2010, DTZ's quarterly report said, 34 residential collective sale deals worth a total of S$1.47 billion have taken place.

The burst of activity in the market followed the solitary sale of Dragon Mansion for S$100.8 million in the whole of 2009.

However, the market is still far below the heydays of 2007 when 136 deals worth a total of S$12.4 billion were recorded, DTZ said.

The deals so far this year included developments with a predominant residential component such as Changi Complex and Katong Mansion. But most of the deals were below the S$100-million mark. Only one deal, namely Meng Garden, went over the threshold at S$137 million.

Of the 34 collective sales this year, 26 or 48.6 per cent were dealt at a price tag of less than S$50 million. In comparison, the bulk of value in 2007 was from transactions sealed above the S$100-million category.

With rising risk appetites, the collective sale market has entered its second phase, which could see transactions for larger sites, DTZ said.

A few sites such as Hawaii Tower with reserve prices above S$500 million have been launched for tender, or have garnered the requisite 80 per cent approval.

A number of major condominium sites are in the process of gathering residents' approval and could be put up for sale next year, including Faber Garden, Amber Park, Astor Green and Pandan Valley.

However, DTZ said 2011 might still not match the watershed year of 2007. Seller fatigue has crept in, particularly in projects that had earlier failed in their collective sale bids. Some sellers were also holding out for higher prices.

DTZ added that the market appears more rational this time round, with developers pricing land based on prevailing market rates of the units that they expect to sell.

- CNA/al

- wong chee tat :)

Electricity tariffs to go up next year

Electricity tariffs to go up next year
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 29 December 2010 1652 hrs

SINGAPORE: After falling this quarter, electricity tariffs for households will go up by 3.3 per cent for the first three months of next year.

SP Services said this is due to higher fuel oil prices, which have increased to almost US$100 a barrel.

As a result, it said the electricity tariffs for households will increase 0.76 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) to S$0.241.

SP Services said families in four-room HDB flats will on average pay about S$3.15 more a month on electricity charges.

The Energy Market Authority has approved the latest tariffs.

-CNA/ac

- wong chee tat :)