Developers may have sold 1,700-1,800 private homes in Jan

				Business Times: Thu, Feb 02
			(SINGAPORE) Developers may have sold 1,700-1,800 private homes excluding executive condos (ECs) in January, a sharp reversal from the mere 632 units moved in December. December's sales marked a 63 per cent month-on-month drop from November's 1,702 units sold, and a year-on-year drop of 53 per cent. Including ECs, which are a public-private housing hybrid, developers moved 670 units in December, down 64 per cent month on month and down 61 per cent year on year. And January's figures could be even higher once ECs are included. Far East Organization chalked up the bulk of January sales. It moved 1,253 private homes (including at joint-venture projects). The figure came mostly from two projects - Watertown and The Hillier. Watertown in Punggol was the clear chart-topper in January, with 771 units sold, followed by The Hillier next to the upcoming Hillview MRT Station, with options for 387 units issued. The average price is $1,224 psf. In Woodlands, Fragrance Group and World Class Land are understood to have sold nearly 200 units at Parc Rosewood condo. Some 80 units at Riversound Residence in Sengkang East Avenue and 85 units at The Nautical in Sembawang found buyers last month. City Developments sold 224 units including ECs. 'I think many of us in the market are surprised by the strong sales in January,' said DTZ's Southeast Asia chief operating officer, Ong Choon Fah. But she added that last month's strong numbers came mainly from Watertown and The Hillier. Their attractive locations next to MRT stations and strategic marketing by their developer were key factors for their popularity. Both projects are part of retail-residential mixed developments. Watertown fronts My Waterway@Punggol. Far East is developing Watertown with Frasers Centrepoint and Sekisui House, but The Hillier on its own. Sales at most other projects have been less spectacular. 'There're steady sales. There're people coming to showflats but they're taking their time to consider. They're more cautious because of the additional buyer's stamp duty, economy and supply. 'People don't see the urgency to buy now. On the one hand, they expect prices to fall, but on the other hand they know underlying demand is still strong. So it's quite a struggle for them,' said Mrs Ong. Urban Redevelopment Authority will release the official January developer sales information on Feb 15.   Source: Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.
			» Fewer foreigners buying private homes in S'pore	Business Times: Thu, Feb 02
			(SINGAPORE) The proportion of private homes picked up by foreigners who are not Singapore permanent residents spiked in December before easing in January, according to preliminary numbers. A caveats analysis by DTZ Research shows that the foreign buying share increased to 23 per cent in December, from 16 per cent in November and 20 per cent in October. However in January 2012, the share slipped to just 3 per cent - although the caveat pool for the month is small, with just 131 caveats lodged so far. More will stream in over the coming weeks. In comparison, for October, November and December last year, 2,147, 2,191 and 1,711 caveats respectively were lodged. Despite the small caveat pool for January, the sharp drop in foreign buying share to 3 per cent in that month from 23 per cent in the preceding month is remarkable, say analysts. DTZ's Asia Pac research head Chua Chor Hoon suggests the surge in foreign buying share in December could have been due to foreigners rushing to close purchases on the night of Dec 7, when the government announced the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD). The duty was set at 10 per cent for any foreign purchase of residential properties in Singapore starting Dec 8. Remission of ABSD was given for options granted on or before Dec 7 and exercised on or before Dec 28, 2011. Offering another explanation, SLP International managing director Peter Ow reckons the jump in the foreign buying share in December could be a reflection of strong sales to foreigners in the preceding month. 'Typically a caveat would be lodged upon exercise of option and this is usually a few weeks after the date of grant of option,' he adds. Agreeing, Rodyk & Davidson partner Norman Ho says: 'For developer sales, buyers may have up to five weeks from the date of grant of option to exercise the option by returning the signed sale and purchase agreement to the developer. In the secondary market, it's usually two to three weeks.' 'In some cases, buyers may not even have engaged lawyers to act for them in the early stages of their transactions and hence caveats may not be lodged until much later,' he adds. Initial evidence of a slowdown in foreign buying post-ABSD has already started to surface. At the popular Watertown condo in Punggol, where 771 units were sold in January, non-PR foreigners accounted for about 5 per cent of buyers (with PRs making up further 5 per cent of buyers and Singaporeans the majority 90 per cent). At The Hillier next to the upcoming Hillview MRT Station, options for 387 units were granted last month, with non-PR foreigners and PRs each having a 10 per cent buyer share. In comparison, at another Far East Organization development - The Tennery above the Ten Mile Junction LRT Station in Bukit Panjang - launched last year, non-PR foreigners made up 23.2 per cent of buyers, and PRs just 0.2 per cent. DTZ's Ms Chua reckons that foreign buying is set to ease as the 10 per cent ABSD would be a substantial premium for most buyers - although not the super-rich. SLP's Mr Ow acknowledges that foreign buying has come off in the aftermath of the ABSD. 'However, it will take about six months to figure out the full impact of the ABSD. For instance, once prices stabilise after an initial fall and if the Singapore economy continues to be fundamentally sound, foreign buyers are likely to re-enter the Singapore market, notwithstanding the 10 per cent ABSD,' he added. DTZ's caveats analysis also showed that non-PR foreign buyers made up 20 per cent of private homes bought in the fourth quarter of last year, up from a 19 per cent share in Q3 and 16 per cent each in the first two quarters of 2011. Full year 2011, the foreign buying share was 17 per cent, up from 12 per cent in 2010. For non-landed properties, the most sought-after projects by foreigners in Q4 2011 were euHabitat at Jalan Eunos (65 units), The Minton in Hougang(25 units) and Bedok Residences (23 units). For Q4 2011, the most popular landed properties among foreigners were at euHabitat (8 units) and Woodhaven in Woodlands (5 units). Because these two projects have condominium status, foreigners do not require the Singapore Government's permission to buy strata landed homes in such projects.   Source: Business Times