Issue 214

Copyright 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2

FROM THE

EDITOR

20 Pearls of Wisdom to Build Sustainable

Property Wealth

Welcome to the 214th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.
Hope you like it!

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Singapore Property News This Week

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Resale Property Transactions

Mr. Propwise

(June 10 June 16 )

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

20 Pearls of Wisdom to Build Sustainable Property Wealth

By Gerald Tay (guest contributor)

Someone once told me that there are two
types of people in the world those that spend
all their time trying to make their fortunes but
lose them eventually, and those that once
they make their fortunes, spend all their time
trying to guard it. Who do you prefer to be?
Everyone says they want to be the latter, but
most end up as the former.
If you want to be able to guard your fortune
instead of losing it, take heed of the following
pearls of wisdom Ive gathered over the
years.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

1. Property is a poorhedge against inflation
when you buy at inflated, future prices.

to go out and get laid tonight. They

normally go home on their own.

2. Singapores population growth has no

direct correlation with property prices.

6. Owning property with little or no down

payment can sound quite wonderful, but
there are major pitfalls to this strategy
and plenty of marketing BS too!

3. Spend time learning the math. The math

will keep you from buying a bad deal,
which is more important than buying a
good one!

4. Keep in mind the Chinese proverb

(literally translated as success is
when the horses come). Success comes
only to those who dare and act; it seldom
goes to the timid. The pessimist
complains about the wind; the optimist
expects it to change; the realist adjusts
the sails.
5. The people who say All I want is to buy
and sell my property and be a millionaire
are a bit like blokes who say All I want is
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7. The prized location properties have

corresponding negative cash flows that
may negate any true increase in wealth
from ones long term appreciation in
value.
8. The Cash Flow Positive Mantra means
nothing if a whole $200 a month net cash
flow on a million dollar property purchase
is all you get for your trouble and effort.
9. Own properties that pay a fair Cash-onCash Return. When you buy property you
are taking money out of your liquid
financial assets and putting it into a very
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

illiquid asset property. If you were
earning a rate of return on your financial
assets, say 4 percent or 6 percent, you
should strive to earn a fair cash-on-cash
rate of return on your property.
10. Owning a property is less risky than
owning stocks and shares, if you do it
properly.

11. The investment is only as good as theskill

of the investor.
12. "Return = Skill + Work." The moreskills
and work you put into your property
investment, the higher your return should
be.
13. It is important to understand who is going
to be renting from you before buying a
property. If you cannot answer that
question, then you havent done enough

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research. If you need to spend hours in

front of the entrance of an apartment just
to see what kind of occupants dwell in the
building, you do just that.
14. Theres no such thing as a bad property
investment. Only a bad investor. So never
blame everyone else but yourself for
failure(scams included).

15. One mans meat is another mans

poison. What is a good property for one
person, maybe a bad one for another.
16. Know whether you are an Investor or a
Speculator. The difference is simple: an
investor looks at a property as part of a
business and he as the owner for the long
term, while the speculator see property as
an asset they buy now in the hope that
someone will pay more for it down the
road.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

17. If youre not prepared to manage tenants,
avoid property investing. Buy mutual
funds instead.
18. A market correction is an opportunity for
the patient, long-term investor. Long-term
investors
should
welcome
market
corrections as an opportunity to purchase
good properties at attractive prices.

19. Property investing is not about how

beautiful the property is, but rather how
much the return you are getting on your
investment. Or as one property investor
once told me, "Only women are beautiful.
What are the numbers?"
20. Home buyers are looking for attractive
neighbourhoods,
good
schools,
amenities, connectivity and nearby MRT

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stations. Experienced property investors

buy investment properties solely based on
factors that will influence rents, prices and
occupancy.
If youve enjoyed these gems, I have dozens
more Ive gathered to share in the future.
By guest contributor Gerald Tay, who is the
founder and coach at CREI Academy Group
Pte Ltd, an organization dedicated to
empowering retail property investors with
smarter investing philosophy and strategies.
He is a full-time investor with over 13 years of
solid experience in building his wealth
through Property Investment and is financially
wealthy today.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

Singapore Property This Week

Residential
Site at Dundee Road sold for $483m in
tender
In a recently closed tender, a residential site
at Dundee Road was sold to the top bidder
for $483.18 million or $871.14 psf ppr. The
site, which has a 99-year lease, is likely to be
developed into a 700-unit condominium
according to the Business Times. The land
parcel is located near to Queenstown MRT
Station and is about 10,516 sq m. It is
expected to be launched in Q1 of 2016.
Desmond Sim from CBRE said that the high
bid price reflects developers interest in the
land parcel. Nonetheless, Chua Yang Liang

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from JLL pointed out that the number of bids

placed in that tender was the lowest for a
residential site in the rest of central region
since Q3 2014.
(Source: Business Times)
High vacancy rates in condos suggest
oversupply
According to the Business Times, rising
vacancies in the private housing market may
suggest that there is an oversupply. A year
ago, the Business Times photographed 10
completed condo projects to show that many
condo units are still unoccupied. In May this
year, a similar photography project was
conducted for the 10 developments.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

However, only one out of the 10
developments was visibly more lit up than last
year, said the Business Times. Jacqueline
Wong from Savills Singapore said that these
developments may appear unoccupied as
their tenants may be foreigners who are
based here but travel around the region for
work. Not only so, these units may be used
as holiday homes. Furthermore, Ong Kah
Seng added that some local high-net-worth
individuals may be holding off from renting
out the newly-completed projects due to the
weak rentals. On the other hand, experts
believe that the unoccupied condos in the
sample that Business Times photographed,
could suggest that there is a problem of
oversupply. The number of units that have
obtained TOP surged from 13,150 units in
2013 to 19,941 units in 2014, up by 51.6%.
Also, the vacancy rates of private homes
increased by 2.8% from end-2010 to endBack to Contents

2014. While the vacancy rate had fallen from

7.8% in 2014 to 7.2% in Q1 of 2015, market
experts expect the occupancy rates to drop
for the rest of the year due to an increase in
supply of private homes.
(Source: Business Times)
Redevelopment site at Amber Road up for
tender

Located at Katong, a redevelopment site that

is about 22,800 sq ft has been put up for
tender. The freehold site at Amber Road has
a gross plot ratio of 2.8. It is about 150
meters from Amber MRT Station, which is
expected to be operational in 2023. It has
been zoned for residential use under the
2008 Master Plan. According to the Business
Times, the property is expected to attract bids
that are about $60 million or $941 psf ppr
before factoring in development charges.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

Yong Choon Fah from JLL added that for a
redevelopment up to a gross plot ratio of 2.8,
the development charges may be around
$18.47 million. Therefore, for a land price of
$60 million, the land rate would be around
$1,230 psf ppr. The tender will close on July
28.
(Source: Business Times)

More renters may switch to buying private

homes in 2016
According to a report by Nomura, more
Singaporeans are choosing to rent their
private homes. However, Sai Min Chow
believes that when rental contracts are up for
renewal in 2016, this group of renters may opt
to purchase private homes instead. Sai added
that the motivation to buy in 2016 may be due
to a change in policy that raises the CPF
salary ceiling to $6,000, and also due to weak
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leasing environment. According to Sai,

landlords may choose to sell their homes at a
discounted price if they find it hard to lease
out their properties. This may lead to a larger
number of resale transactions. In 2014,
56,000 private homes were leased out. This
was an 11.9% increase from the previous
year. Due to low rental prices, in Q1 this year,
leasing transactions in the private housing
market rose by 17.2% year-on-year, said the
Business Times.
(Source: Business Times)
Commercial

Tampines industrial plot sold for $5.9m in

tender
An industrial site at Tampines was sold for
$5.9 million or $68.85 psf ppr in a tender. The
plot is about 5,686 sq m large.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

It has a 1.4 permissible gross plot ratio and
has been zoned for heavy industrial use.
Nicholas Mak from SLP believes that the top
bid for the land parcel has been priced lower
than a similar-sized plot at Tuas because of
the restrictions on land usage. Mak believes
that the land parcel may be developed into a
storage facility for bulky construction
equipment.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Jun 10 Jun 16

Postal
District
3
4
5
5
5
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Project Name
LANDMARK TOWER
REFLECTIONS AT KEPPEL BAY
THE PARC CONDOMINIUM
THE PARC CONDOMINIUM
VISTA PARK
CITYLIGHTS
CITYLIGHTS
MERA SPRINGS
REIGNWOOD HAMILTON SCOTTS
THE CLAYMORE
MARTIN PLACE RESIDENCES
THE LIGHT @ CAIRNHILL
RIVERGATE
PARC MACKENZIE
HORIZON TOWER
TOMLINSON HEIGHTS
ARDMORE II
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE
BOTANIC GARDENS VIEW
THE TRESOR
THE TRIZON
SOMMERVILLE GRANDEUR
THE MERASAGA

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Area
(sqft)
1,292
1,292
1,216
1,302
958
678
678
1,066
2,756
3,348
1,894
1,561
1,539
1,335
2,616
2,745
2,024
2,454
1,259
1,604
1,894
1,195
1,367

Transacted
Price ($)
1,150,000
2,900,000
1,508,000
1,610,800
850,000
1,160,000
1,155,000
1,305,000
8,500,000
8,500,000
3,900,000
3,150,000
3,047,000
2,002,500
2,850,000
7,950,000
5,800,000
6,572,124
2,400,000
2,680,000
2,800,000
1,735,000
1,940,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
890
99
2,245
99
1,240
FH
1,237
FH
887
99
1,711
99
1,703
99
1,225
FH
3,085
FH
2,539
FH
2,059
FH
2,018
FH
1,980
FH
1,500
FH
1,090
99
2,896
FH
2,866
FH
2,678
FH
1,906
FH
1,671 999
1,478
FH
1,452
FH
1,419
99

Postal
District
10
10
11
11
12
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
16
17
18
19
19
20
20

Project Name
MONTVIEW
ALLSWORTH PARK
NINETEEN SHELFORD ROAD
IRIDIUM
CITY REGENCY
EAST SHINE
EUNOS GREEN
THE SHORE RESIDENCES
PEBBLE BAY
PARKSHORE
CASUARINA COVE
HERITAGE EAST
FLORA EAST
WATERFRONT KEY
THE BAYSHORE
CASA FLORA
EAST MEADOWS
BALLOTA PARK CONDOMINIUM
LIVIA
THE SPRINGBLOOM
RIVERVALE CREST
CLOVER BY THE PARK
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN

Area
(sqft)
1,507
1,959
947
1,076
517
980
1,206
1,432
2,282
1,722
1,528
1,356
1,399
1,206
1,012
1,561
1,195
1,249
1,324
1,302
990
1,292
1,227

Transacted
Price ($)
2,100,000
2,530,000
1,250,000
1,420,000
728,000
1,050,000
927,000
2,200,000
3,000,000
2,200,000
1,650,000
1,350,000
1,280,000
1,420,000
1,025,000
1,440,000
1,093,000
860,000
1,250,000
1,330,000
770,000
1,660,000
1,200,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,394
FH
1,291 999
1,320
FH
1,319
FH
1,409
FH
1,072
FH
769
FH
1,537 103
1,315
99
1,277
FH
1,079
99
995
FH
915
FH
1,178
99
1,013
99
923
FH
915
99
689
FH
944
99
1,021
99
778
99
1,285
99
978
99

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 214

Postal
District
20
21
21
21
21
21
21
22
23
23
23
23
26
28

Project Name
GRANDEUR 8
FLORIDIAN
THE CASCADIA
MAPLEWOODS
MAPLEWOODS
SELANTING GREEN
HIGHGATE
LAKEHOLMZ
HILLBROOKS
HILLVIEW REGENCY
HILLVIEW REGENCY
REGENT GROVE
CASTLE GREEN
SELETAR SPRINGS CONDOMINIUM

Area Transacted Price

Tenure
(sqft) Price ($) ($ psf)
1,259 1,110,000 881
99
1,001 1,580,000 1,578
FH
1,184 1,738,000 1,468
FH
850 1,240,000 1,458
FH
1,335 1,880,000 1,409
FH
1,302 1,300,000 998
FH
1,485 1,378,000 928
FH
1,572 1,363,000 867
99
1,227 1,180,000 962
FH
969
810,000
836
99
1,109 925,000
834
99
1,173 848,000
723
99
1,302 880,000
676
99
947
740,000
781
99

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

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