Developers have sold more than 900 private homes so far this month - based on BT's poll of developers and property agents - and with another week to go, the tally is easily expected to cross 1,000 units by month's end.

Besides Allgreen Properties' Holland Residences, which will be previewed this week, Wing Tai is said to be at an advanced stage of preparation for an imminent preview for L'Viv at Newton Road. The average price is touted at about $1,900-$2,000 per square foot (psf) - significantly higher than the $1,700 psf average price at which Ho Bee is selling its Trilight condo nearby.


Wing Tai is eyeing a higher per square foot price by offering smallish units (thus keeping the absolute lump sum price per unit 'affordable' to potential buyers). The developer is said to be packaging its project with Deferred Payment Scheme as it had clinched approval for it before the scheme was scrapped in 2007.

L'Viv comprises a total of 147 units - 72 units have one bedroom and a study and these come in two sizes, both 600-sq ft plus; another 72 units have two bedrooms and a study (all about 1,000 sq ft); and there are three penthouses (all three bedders).

Trilight does not have any one-bedders. It has two, three and four bedders as well as penthouses. Two bedders range from 1,100 to 1,200 sq ft.

Fortune Development is also slated to begin previewing this week RV Edge in the River Valley/Shanghai Road vicinity. The 108-unit freehold project, being marketed by Huttons, comprises mostly smallish apartments ranging from one-bedders to two-bedroom with study units. The smallest unit is about 400 sq ft. Prices are expected to start from $600,000-plus per apartment.

City Developments Ltd (CDL) said yesterday evening that it has sold about 85 per cent or about 150 of the the total 177 units at its Cube 8 condo at Thomson Road (pictured above), which it began previewing last week.

Singaporeans bought 75 per cent of the units sold. The other 25 per cent were picked up by permanent residents (PRs) and other foreigners - mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, India, China and Europe.

The District 11 freehold project was initially priced at $1,250 psf on average but prices were upped 2-3 per cent for subsequent releases.

CDL group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong said in a statement that the buyers were an 'equal mix of owner-occupiers and investors' and that this pointed to the development's appeal to both home owners and investors.

Some market watchers suggest, however, that the project has probably also drawn a fair number of specuvestors. Slightly over half of the total 177 units comprised one and two bedders and these were the first to go, mirroring the pattern for other projects that were launched in Districts 9, 10 and 11 last year.

In addition to the buying buzz created this month from the release of new projects, some developers have been pleasantly surprised with a steady stream of activity even for existing projects that have been on the market for at least a few months. For instance, Ho Bee Investment has sold about 60 units at its Parvis condo at Holland Hill and 10 units at Trilight since the start of the year.

CDL is also understood to have sold more than 50 units at its Livia condo in Pasir Ris this month and the 724-unit project is now left with about 10 units.

'Sentiment has picked in the mid and high-end markets because of the improvement in the economy; the imminent opening of the two integrated resorts (IRs) may also have given a psychological boost to foreign buying interest, which seems to be returning,' says Ho Bee executive director Ong Chong Hua.

Agreeing, a fellow developer said: 'We're seeing a bigger variety of buyers from the region this round - including markets like Myanmar and Laos.'

UOL Group has sold this month 25 units at Double Bay Residences in Simei and 18 units at Meadows @ Peirce along Upper Thomson Road. The group plans to launch two projects in the first half of this year - a 99-year-leasehold condo with about 600-plus units at Dakota Crescent and a project with some 170 units on the Rainbow Gardens site in the Toh Tuck area. The latter will be a joint development with LaSalle Asia Opportunity II fund.

Developers' home sales slipped below the 1,000-unit per month mark in Q4 last year as they wound down their launch activities towards year-end. Some potential buyers had also grown cautious following the government's measures in September to cool the property fever.

However, fear of missing the boat appears to be re-igniting with strong signs of another round of price hikes this year.

'For the economy, the worst is over and much of the physical infrastructure investment like the IRs is close to completion,' says Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng.

Asked if the authorities are likely to come up with fresh measures to cool the market if another wave of buying frenzy builds up, Mr Tan said: 'Frankly, it's very hard to deter people from buying, if you look at how strong the HDB resale market is. There's very strong bottom-up support.'

Source: Asiaone

PHASE 2 of CapitaLand's Urban Suites' launch has attracted keen interest from buyers who have snapped up units despite a hike in prices.

The 50 units released in Jakarta, Indonesia, last week were all sold out, while at home an additional 16 sales have been clinched since Phase 1 of the project's launch closed in early January.

The popularity of the development was undiminished by an increase in prices - from between $2,400 and $2,700 psf in Phase 1, to $2,500 and $2,800 psf in Phase 2 - for the units located in District 9 between Cairnhill, Hullet and Saunders roads.

Wed, Jan 20, 2010
By Harsha Jethnani, The Straits Times

For Booking or Information about
The Urban Suites Orchard
(Condominiums For Sale)
Please Call (65) 8181-7777 Paul Poon

Singapore: From 1 Feb 2010, flat owners who sub-let rooms in their HDB flats will have to register with HDB within 7 days of doing so. They are also required to notify HDB when they renew or terminate the sub-letting of rooms, and when there are changes to their sub-tenants' particulars. There is no need to seek prior approval for sub-letting of rooms.

2 The new requirement will support the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s on-going efforts to eradicate loan-sharking activities, and to better protect HDB residents. Currently, some people use their old addresses to borrow from loan-sharks while they rent a room in another HDB flat. As they have moved their place of residence without updating addresses in their NRICs, this resulted in the new flat occupiers being harassed by the loan-sharks while the borrowers are untraceable.

3 Through this new rule, HDB will be able to capture the particulars of those who rent rooms in HDB flats. With information on the addresses of owners and sub-tenants, MHA will be able to trace the movements of borrowers.

Details of Registration

4 The new rule will apply to all new and existing cases of room sublets:

• For the existing cases where the sub-letting tenancies commenced before 1 Feb 2010, owners are given a 6-month grace period from 1 Feb 2010 to register their sub-letting of rooms with HDB
• For new cases of sub-letting from 1 Feb 2010, owners will have to register with HDB within 7 days from the start date of the subletting

5 To facilitate registration, flat owners may either register their sub-letting of rooms online or at the Branch Office, where HDB staff will be on hand to guide them on the registration process.

6 Flat owners will be required to provide only essential information shown in Annex A.
Penalty for Non-Compliance

7 A penalty of up to $3,000 will be imposed on those who flout the rule. HDB may compulsorily acquire the flats of flat owners who repeatedly fail to comply with the new requirement.

8 Apart from this new rule, there is no change to the other terms and conditions for sub-letting of rooms as shown in Annex B.

Enquiry

9 For further information or enquiries, the public can contact the HDB Branch Office Service Line at 1800-2255432.

Date Issued : 12 Jan 2010


Annex A

Information To Be Provided By Flat Owners Who Sublet Rooms
a) Sub-letting commencement date
b) Sub-letting expiry date
c) No. of rooms sublet
d) Rental per month
e) Name of sub-tenants
f) Household structure of sub-tenant (family or individual)
g) UIN/FIN of sub-tenant
h) Nationality of sub-tenant
i) Citizenship of sub-tenant
j) Ethnicity of sub-tenant
k) Work pass of sub-tenant (e.g work permit, employment pass)
l) Sector which subtenant works in (service, construction, manufacturing..etc)
m) Reasons for subletting


Annex B

Terms and Conditions of Sub-letting of Rooms

ELIGIBILITY OF FLAT OWNERS
Eligible Flat Owners
a. Owners of HDB flats are allowed to sublet their bedrooms if they own a 3-room or bigger flat. No prior approval from HDB is required for subletting of bedrooms.
b. Owners and all authorized occupiers must continue to reside in the flat at all times during the period of subletting.
c. Owners of 1 and 2-room flats are not allowed to sublet their bedrooms. Number of Bedrooms Allowed For Subletting

Flat Type Maximum Number of Bedrooms Allowed for Subletting. Maximum Number of Occupiers* Allowed in Each Flat

3-room 1 bedroom 6 persons
4-room 2 bedrooms 9 persons
5-room 2 bedrooms 9 persons
Executive 2 bedrooms 9 persons
*include owners, authorized occupiers and subtenants

ELIGIBILITY OF SUBTENANTS
Permitted Subtenants :-
a. Singapore Citizens;
b. Singapore Permanent Residents;
c. Non-citizens legally residing in Singapore [holders of Employment Passes, S Passes, Work Permits, Student Passes, Dependant Passes, Professional Visit Passes, Long Term Social Visit Passes (6 months and above)].

Non-Permitted Subtenants :-
a. Non-Malaysian foreign construction workers;
b. Owners or tenants of existing HDB flats, except for

· owners/tenants who are divorced/legally separated. However, only one
of the divorced/legally separated parties is eligible to be a subtenant;
· owners who are eligible to sublet their whole HDB flat. However, they
must sublet their own flat within one month after they have rented a
bedroom/bedrooms in an HDB flat from other flat owner.
c. Owners of existing Executive Condominium units where the 5-year minimum
occupation period has not been met.

REGISTRATION OF SUBLETTING OF BEDROOMS & PROVISION OF
SUBTENANTS’ PARTICULARS
a. Owners need not seek HDB’s approval to sublet bedrooms. However, they must register the subletting of bedrooms with HDB within 7 days from the commencement date of the subletting. They must also notify HDB of the subsequent renewal and termination of the subletting and changes to their subtenants or subtenants’ particulars within 7 days from the date of occurrence of the respective events.

b. Owners must provide subtenants’ particulars and other subletting details such as effective and expected expiry date of subletting, number of bedrooms sublet, rental per month etc at the time of registration and inform HDB of subsequent changes.

PERIOD OF SUBLETTING
The maximum period for subletting of bedrooms is 3 years per registration. A new registration is required for each new or renewal of the subletting.

FAILURE TO REGISTER SUBLETTING OF BEDROOMS WITH HDB
If the owners fail to register the subletting of bedrooms with HDB and inform HDB of subsequent changes (termination and renewal of subletting and changes to subtenants or subtenants’ particulars) within the stipulated grace period, the subletting of bedrooms will be deemed as unauthorized and HDB can take action against the owners under the Housing & Development Act which includes imposition of penalty up to a maximum of $3,000. For repeated offenders, HDB can compulsorily acquire the flat.

EXPIRY OR TERMINATION OF SUBLETTING
The owners must ensure that the subtenants vacate the premises upon expiry of the subletting period or when the owners cease to be eligible to sublet the bedrooms, whichever is earlier. They must terminate the subletting when they cease to be eligible to sublet the bedrooms.

RESPONSIBILITY OF FLAT OWNERS/ADMINISTRATORS/EXECUTORS/PUBLIC
TRUSTEE/COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE COURT
The owners/administrators/executors/Public Trustee/Committee appointed by the
court are responsible for :-

a. ensuring that the bedrooms are sublet to eligible subtenants only;
b. ensuring that the maximum number of bedrooms which are sublet does not exceed the maximum number allowed by HDB;
c. ensuring that there is no overcrowding and that the maximum number of persons* staying in the flat does not exceed the maximum number allowed by HDB;
d. ensuring that the subtenants observe and comply with all the covenants in the lease and the provisions of the Housing & Development Act Cap 129
(including all amendments made hereto) and be responsible for all infringements committed by them;
e. ensuring that the non-citizen subtenants have entered and are remaining in Singapore lawfully at all times while the subletting is in force.
f. ensuring that the subtenants do not further sublet the bedrooms to other persons;
g. surrendering vacant possession of the flat to HDB in the event the flat is repossessed by HDB; and
h. evicting the subtenants upon notice from HDB.
* includes owners, authorized occupiers and subtenants

PHYSICAL OCCUPATION OF FLAT
The owners and all authorized occupiers must continue to reside in the flat at all times during the period of subletting.

--- end of file---

Tue, Sep 22, 2009, The Straits Times By Jessica Cheam

DEMAND for private homes remained strong over the weekend despite measures announced by the Government last week to take the froth off the market.

Property developers CapitaLand and Hotel Properties said yesterday that 233 units - or 65 per cent - of 360 units launched at The Interlace project, at the former Gillman Heights site in Alexandra Road, were sold in the past week.

A wide range of units from two-roomers to penthouses were sold at a price range of $850 per sq ft (psf) to $1,150 psf...

---

Government Announcement on Property Measures 14 Sept 2009

1 Mr Mah Bow Tan, the Minister for National Development, announced today that the Government would take the following measures to ensure a stable and sustainable property market:

a. Reinstatement of the Confirmed List for the 1st Half 2010 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme. ⿨
b. Removal of the Interest Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest-Only Housing Loans (IOL), with effect from today, i.e. 14 Sep 2009.
c. Non-extension of the Jan 2009 Budget assistance measures for the property market when the measures expire.

Reinstating the Confirmed List in 1st Half 2010 GLS Programme

2 Demand for uncompleted private housing units has picked up strongly since Feb 2009. The 10,017 units sold by developers in the first seven months of 2009 had already exceeded the 4,260 units sold for the whole of 2008. In response to the strong demand from home-buyers, developers have triggered four sites to date this year from the Reserve List of the 2nd Half 2009 GLS Programme, which together could yield about 1,600 units.

3 The Government will reinstate the Confirmed List for the GLS Programme in the 1st Half of 2010. While there are still 16 residential sites in the current Reserve List that can be triggered for sale by developers, MND will also replenish the supply when drawing up the 1st Half 2010 Reserve List to meet possible increases in demand. MND will announce the details of the 1st Half 2010 GLS Programme towards the end of the year.

Interest Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest-Only Housing Loans (IOL)

4 The Monetary Authority of Singapore will disallow the IAS and IOL with immediate effect from today, i.e. 14 Sep 2009. This measure will apply to all private residential projects. The only exception will be uncompleted private residential projects where the units had already been offered for sale under the IAS before 14 Sep 2009. The IOL will be disallowed with immediate effect.

5 The IAS and IOL are currently offered to buyers of uncompleted private residential properties. These schemes could encourage property speculation in a buoyant market where prices are rising rapidly, as they are forms of housing loans that entirely eliminate or substantially lower regular installment payments for property purchasers in the first few years before the properties are completed i.e. issued Temporary Occupation Permit. Under the schemes, a property purchaser will not have to make any significant payment, apart from the upfront 10-20% down-payment, until the housing project is completed.

6 Genuine home-buyers can continue to purchase private housing under the standard payment scheme. The removal of the Interest Absorption Scheme and Interest-Only Loans will also encourage prospective home-buyers to consider carefully their ability to afford the properties over the long term and not rush into any purchases. This will promote a more healthy and sustainable property market in the long-run.

Property-Related Budget 2009 Assistance Measures

7 A number of measures were announced in Budget 2009 in January this year to help stabilize the property market, in view of the sharp fall in demand and considerable uncertainty in the economic outlook at the time. These measures provided developers greater flexibility to adjust supply in response to a property market downturn.

8 In view of the recent strong demand for private housing and improved conditions in the property market, the measures will not be extended when they expire. The measures are:

a. Allowing one-year extension of project completion period
b. Allowing re-assignment of Government Land Sale (GLS) sites and private land owned by foreign developers
c. Giving developers up to four years to dispose of all private residential units in the development
d. Allowing developers to rent out unsold private residential units for a maximum of four years
e. Allowing up to 2 years of property tax deferral for land under development

9 The first four measures will expire on 21 Jan 2010, and the last measure on 21 Jan 2011.

---

Aug 29, 2009

Toa Payoh condo draws keen interest; developer releases extra units
By Joyce Teo & Charissa Yong WHAT ghost month?

The traditional lull in home-buying activity during the Hungry Ghost month has been swept aside amid the current property market frenzy.

Buyers were out in force yesterday at the preview of Trevista, a new 590-unit condominium in Toa Payoh, a traditional heartland area.

A queue had formed at least 20 minutes before the showflat doors opened at 2pm. By 5pm, all 210 units released for sale had been snapped up by buyers.

Developer NTUC Choice Homes had said it would release just those units for sale this weekend at an average price of $898 per sq ft (psf). However, the response was so strong that it released another 190 units at higher prices just after 8pm, said a spokesman. She could not say how much higher the prices were.

Of the 210 units, the two-bedders averaged $830,000 while the three- and four-bedroom units averaged $1.065 million and $1.43 million respectively under the normal payment scheme.

Owner-occupiers were eyeing the bigger units while investors were mostly keen on the small units.

The 99-year leasehold Trevista, within walking distance of both Braddell and Toa Payoh MRT stations, has 44 one-bedroom units, from 463 sq ft to 721 sq ft. Other units are 861 sq ft to 2,002 sq ft.

Teacher Jean Tan, 29, a potential investor, was keen to get a studio apartment as a ''first property investment'' for herself and her husband.

One buyer, who asked to be known only as Mr Goh, 44, bought a high-floor three-bedder priced at $1.05 million or $949 psf. He had recently sold another condo unit ''too low'', and is buying the Trevista unit to recoup this loss, he said.

''It''s close to the city, and near Oleandar Towers where I presently live. I''m treating it as an investment, possibly for my kids to live in when they grow up,'' said Mr Goh, who is self-employed.

Another keen buyer, Mr James Tan, 55, who lives in Palm Grove in Hougang, wants to live there. ''It''s a convenient location with good schools nearby for my daughter to attend in the future,'' he said.

The market was expecting big crowds at Trevista as it is the first condo to be launched in the mature Toa Payoh estate since 1996. ERA and CBRE are marketing agents.

There was talk that plenty of blank cheques were collected prior to the preview. Some agents expect a sell-out.

Yesterday, the queue continued even after the doors were opened, as the number of visitors inside the showflat was controlled to avoid overcrowding.

It appears that the Hungry Ghost month from Aug 20 to Sept 18 is not an issue for these buyers even though many Taoist households in Toa Payoh burn incense during the month in the belief that this will appease the spirits. Many buyers would have been from the local area.

The property market traditionally goes into a lull during this period as some Chinese consider it inauspicious to buy a house at this time.

But in recent years, practicality has often overridden superstition, agents say.

''Some developers may want to wait until the end of the ghost month to launch but those with launch-ready projects will want to capitalise on the buying momentum,'' said Savills Residential director Phylicia Ang.

''There are a lot of young buyers who are not very superstitious.''

Also, when the market is slow, buyers may stick to their superstitious beliefs but when the market is hot and a good investment opportunity presents itself, they will not hesitate to jump in, lest they miss the boat, explained Ms Ang.

Another project that previewed yesterday also saw fairly strong demand. The Lenox, a freehold five-storey project along Changi Road, sold 52 units.

It has 76 units - the studio units are just 334 sq ft in size while the three bedders go up to 872 sq ft, and three shops.

Sources said it was priced around $1,000 to $1,100 psf, but the total quantum is low as the units are small.

Another freehold project, Trizon @ Mount Sinai by Singapore Land, will start its public preview today at $1,300 psf to $1,500 psf.

Some units have been sold as a staff preview and a sale exhibition in Jakarta was held recently, sources said.