The Continuum Sells Over 26% of its Units, New Property Cooling Measures May Not Reduce Overall Property Prices, and More
3 May to 8 May 2023
The Continuum sold more than 26% or 216 out of its 816 units during its launch over the weekend. Meanwhile, Blossoms by the Park in Buona Vista witnessed robust demand, registering a 75% take-up rate within two days of its launch – indicating that the latest cooling measures may not cool property prices.
1. The Continuum sells over 26% of units at an average price of $2,732 per sq ft (PSF)
The Continuum sold more than 26% or 216 out of its 816 units during its launch over the weekend, with healthy demand seen across all unit types.
Dr Tan Tee Khoon, Country Manager – Singapore, PropertyGuru said: “The largest and only freehold developer launch in District 15, The Continuum, is the second project to debut and in this instance, 10 days after the announcement of new Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates affecting multiple property purchasers and foreigners.
Having sold 216 units on the first weekend of sales, this meant a conversion of more than 40% expressions of interest from the preview period. Comparatively, the 816 unit development has performed just as well given that it is three times larger than Blossoms By The Park and after news of another Fed rate hike on 3 May 2023.
Noteworthy of mentioning is that healthy demand was observed for all unit types with an average selling price of $2732 PSF. This indicates that homebuyers value freehold tenure as a prized investment for the long haul, even for legacy purposes.
As the en bloc market is anticipated to decelerate, there may be fewer freehold launches in District 15 in the future. This makes the area particularly attractive to buyers purchasing for their children who wish to reside close to their parents. Additionally, The Continuum appeals to landed homeowners looking to downsize as they approach retirement age. Districts 15 and 16 boast a robust demand catchment, with one of the largest enclaves of landed homes in the region. We expect sales for the project to continue at a steady rate.”
Jointly developed by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Property, The Continuum sits on a 263,715 sq ft site on Thiam Siew Avenue, featuring 816 units spread across six 17- to 18-storey towers.
Over 60% of the units offered are 2- and 3-bedroom units.
2. New property cooling measures may not reduce overall property prices
Despite the introduction of new property cooling measures, Blossoms by the Park in Buona Vista witnessed robust demand, registering a 75% take-up rate within two days of its launch.
Most of the buyers were locals and the project set new benchmark prices in the area, reported The Straits Times.
With this, some people questioned whether the new cooling measures – which involve higher ABSD rates for Singaporeans and Permanent (PRs) buying second and subsequent homes as well as a 60% ABSD rate for foreign buyers – is effective in curbing investment demand.
“In the coming months, we can expect new mid-tier and mass-market residential projects to be launched at new record-high benchmark prices. Therefore, the latest cooling measures are unlikely to reduce the overall residential property prices,” said Nicholas Mak, Chief Research Officer at Mogul.sg.
Some analysts believe developers of new projects within the city fringe areas and suburbs will push ahead with their launches, given that buyers are predominantly comprised of Singaporeans and PRs.
However, developers of projects within the prime district, which tend to appeal to foreign buyers, may decide to review their pricing strategies.
3. More than 900 HDB BTO flats are to be built in Sin Ming
HDB is constructing over 900 BTO flats at Sin Ming Road, reported CNA.
The project, which is yet to be launched, will feature five residential blocks with 984 flats and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027.
“It appears that HDB is building BTO flats in mature estates in advance so as to deliver it within a shorter time,” said Lee Sze Teck, Senior Director of Research at Huttons.
Situated beside Block 25 Sin Ming Road, the new estate will offer “social communal facilities” such as a multi-storey car park and a roof garden.
The last BTO flats built within the Sing Ming area were completed in 1988 or 35 years ago.
With this, analysts expect demand for the new flats to be strong due to potential pent-up demand within the area and its proximity to good schools such as Ai Tong and Catholic High.
Lee anticipates the upcoming project to have a mix of community care apartments as well as 2- to 4-room BTO flats, with prices ranging from $525,000 to $650,000 for 4-room flats.
Related article: HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) Flats in Singapore
4. High rents force young people to move back in with their parents
With rents rapidly increasing, some young people in Singapore who moved out of their family homes during the pandemic have returned to their parents’ houses, reported CNA.
“Singles who moved out of their parents’ places when the lockdown ended on 1 June 2020, are moving out of the rented places because it is now time to renew rents and landlords are upping their asking rates by 100%,” said Alan Cheong, Savills Singapore’s Head of Research and Consultancy.
Aside from rising rents, other factors contributing to these young tenants’ move include the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, improved family relations and other practical reasons such as their parents’ house being nearer to their office.
Nonetheless, there are still some who choose to stay in their rented places as they want to maintain their independence, with co-living Coliwoo still frequently receiving inquiries from young Singaporeans.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the rising rent in Singapore is becoming a political problem.
“We all know that Singapore is a very comfortable, reliable country to live in,” said Belle, who declined to reveal her last name. “But it is just a little sad that it doesn’t seem like the government’s really changing its course and there are no safeguards to managing the rental increases.”
5. Singapore imposes the world’s highest total stamp duty on foreign house buyers
Singapore has the highest stamp duty rate for foreign buyers of residential property in the world, amounting to around 64% of the selling price, showed a Savills study.
This comes after the Singapore Government doubled the ABSD rate for foreigners buying residential property from 30% to 60% to curb investment demand.
Hong Kong imposes the second highest rate at 31.3%, followed by Cape Town at 13.5%.
Comparatively, cities in the US have the lowest rate, with Miami at 0.5% and San Francisco at 0.9%.
But while foreign buyers may be initially discouraged by the ABSD hike, they will eventually “come to term with it, bite the bullet and move on”, Aric Lim, who works at Huttons Asia told CNA.
Dr Lee Nai Jia, Head of Real Estate Intelligence, Data and Software Solutions, PropertyGuru Group, expects demand to ease over the next three months.
However, he believes foreigners will still buy properties here given that prices in other cities such as Shanghai are also increasing at a much higher rate than in Singapore.
Related article: Buyer’s Stamp Duty Guide for Singapore Property Buyers (2023)
6. Singapore needs to keep some land for future generations, says Minister for National Development Desmond Lee
Minister Lee said Singapore has made hard trade-offs due to its small size and the need to create a balance between the needs of the current generation and future generations, reported The Straits Times.
“Sometimes it means making difficult decisions – whether it’s land use, and land use versus housing, land use versus conservation, land use versus healthcare, making people upset sometimes, because it is in the interest of some other group or another generation,” said the minister at the 52nd St Gallen Symposium in Switzerland.
He noted that the government had to control eligibility for certain facilities and access to housing since “we need to get some land for people not yet born, who can’t vote, who can’t speak up, and keeping optionalities for them”.
7. Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) to gather feedback on possible lifting of cat ban on HDB flats
A survey conducted by the AVS in 2022 showed that 90% of more than 30,000 respondents believe cats were fit to be kept as pets, reported The Straits Times.
With this, AVS will hold focus group discussions from June to gather feedback on the possible lifting of the ban on cats within Housing Board flats. Notably, cats are banned in HDB flats since 1960 as part of a blanket ban on animals, livestock, and poultry.
The discussion will consider the potential impact of the proposed measures on pet cats and their owners as well as community cats and their caregivers.
AVS hopes to get public suggestions on ways to encourage responsible pet ownership and caregiving to foster greater understanding among neighbours about pet-related matters.
It also seeks to gather feedback on the proposed measures and will provide stakeholders and households adequate time and support to adapt to any change which may be introduced.
Those interested to provide feedback can do so here.
Related article: Keeping Pets in Singapore: 5 Extra Costs and Considerations for Your New Home (2023)
8. Flood at Yishun flat due to defective pipes
National water agency PUB said the “unfortunate and unusual” incident that resulted in flooding from within a Yishun flat was caused by defects found in the unit’s private sanitary pipes, reported CNA.
PUB shared that the family of five was “understandably distressed as they were preparing to move into their newly renovated home”.
The agency, along with Nee Soon Town Council (NSTC), has since isolated the pipe leak to stop the water flow and provided the family with temporary accommodation. They also assisted them with the clean-up as well as shifting and storage of their furniture and belongings.
“As the homeowners work through the repairs to their unit, we hope our continued support will help to alleviate some of their anxiety,” said PUB.
Related article: 6 HDB Flat Renovation Disasters and Incidents Over the Years and What Homeowners Can Do to Avoid Them
9. Demand for shophouses increases following the April 2023 property cooling measures
The increase in ABSD rates for residential properties has driven up demand for shophouses, with owners raising their asking prices, reported The Straits Times.
One such owner, J has decided to hold out even as the buyer has raised the offer from $20 million to $21 million. J has set his asking price at $22 million.
“I have been in negotiations with the buyer for a while. But after the ABSD hike, I am not interested to sell my unit any more. If the deal is not closed soon, I will take it off the market and wait for prices to go up further before I put it up for sale again,” shared J.
Huttons Asia Research Head Lee Sze Teck expects prices and demand for shophouses to increase over the coming months, reported Singapore Business Review.
“The value of shophouses will continue to rise over time due to its limited supply, thus providing good wealth preservation for Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals and family offices,” said Lee.
In fact, Richard Tan, Senior Associate Group District Director at PropNex, and his team have sealed four shophouse deals, with prices ranging between $10 million and over $20 million, said The Business Times.
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Marcus Lee, Content Executive at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: marcuslee@propertyguru.com.sg.
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