Issue 138

Copyright 2011-2013 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS
p2
p8 p14
Are You an Armchair Property Investor?
Singapore Property News This Week Resale Property Transactions (December 25 December 31)

FROM THE

EDITOR

Welcome to the 138th edition of the Singapore Property Weekly. Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

Contribute
Do you have articles and insights and articles that youd like to share with thousands of readers interested in the Singapore property market? Send them to us at info@propwise.sg, and if theyre good enough, well publish them here, on our blog and even on Yahoo! News.

Advertise
Want to get your brand, product, service or property listing out to thousands of Singapore property investors at a very reasonable cost? Head over to www.propwise.sg/advertise/ to find out more.

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138

Are You an Armchair Property Investor?

By Gerald Tay (Guest Contributor) On a daily basis, I probably get 5 to10 emails telling me investing in property is my route to financial freedom or its a better bet than investing in stocks. And for some, property might be. But for many, it can be the worst investment you make. There are far too many companies shouting about the benefits of property investment, when really what they mean is Please invest in property so WE can get rich. The reality is, many people I have met who want you to invest in property dont care two hoots if you make money or not, as long as they profit from your investment!

Back to Contents

Page | 2

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 Are you an armchair investor? I must admit, I find armchair investors very perplexing. knowledge. If I invest my time and diligence in my property business, then there is hopefully far less chance of it going wrong than just taking someone else's word for it. Armchair investors sitting back in their armchairs calling themselves "investors" are really "armchair speculators on a third party's ability to make the right buying decisions for them". Property is not a case of "one size fits all". If you don't want to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty, then maybe you shouldn't get involved at all. If you think of yourself as an "armchair investor" and not get in the thick of the action, then there's a strong possibility your investment will go off the rails.

I strongly believe that the best person to look after my money and my financial future is the person I see in the mirror, not a third party with a sales agenda.
I cannot understand the concept of sitting back and letting someone else take all the responsibility for my money, my investment decisions, and my financial future no matter how trustworthy that person might seem. I actually want to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. I want to strive to understand my investments from every angle. I want to take responsibility for how my money is spent. I want to be on the "factory floor" dealing with the everyday running of the business so that I can grow my skills and
Back to Contents

Page | 3

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 Armchair investors are similar to war generals overseeing the critical juncture of a battle while hiding in their well-secured bunkers. Whom does the Investor buy from? typical Armchair investor concept is an easy way for anyone to become an instant property millionaire, then sell their students a bunch of properties and profit themselves. Attend my powerful 3day millionaire secrets seminar and make ME rich. If any guru promises to give you the wealth of your dreams with minimal effort, its safe to assume that youre being lied to. The seminar industry rakes in millions every year from lazy people looking for the next quick fix, and theyll keep doing it as long as you keep falling for it. Yes, I can understand that if you are cash rich but time poor you might like a bit of help and support. That is understandable. However, to absolve yourself of all responsibility and "just sign papers", which I have heard someone say recently, is a complete anathema to me personally.
Page | 4

These are three types of salespeople such investors commonly fall prey to:

1. Developers - Selling local & overseas new launches or off-the-plan properties that comes with exotic names, addresses and themes to investors who hope to flip at a higher price when completed or via a subsale.
2. Overseas Property Packaged Deals Claim to pay investors a Guaranteed Rental over a period of time and provide property management support.

3. Seminar Gurus - claim the armchair

Back to Contents

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 It is always better for you to learn how to invest in property (or other investments) yourself, instead of relying on someone else to do it for you. Many people use lack of time as a reason why they dont get into the gritty details of managing a property themselves. This is just an excuse. We can achieve anything we decide to make a priority. 1. To receive a solid cash flow; 2. To provide a profitable return; 3. As a hedge against inflation.

You may feel you'd like to achieve all of these. But generally, one or two will stand out as being more important for you.
As you're probably aware, the truly rich tend to generate their capacity for wealth through their business activities. But then, they turn to Property to preserve and grow that wealth. And in the same way, your underlying principles should also be to (Priority Order): Protect your original Equity; and then Obtain a worthwhile, on-going return on it. With that in mind, you would need to remove anything of a highly-speculative nature from

You need to determine your underlying Investment Principles

When it comes to Property Investing, have you ever actually sat down and analysed your principal aims? And have you then matched them against the properties you already own or those you may now be considering? Basically, you'll find most people purchase property for one (or more) of three reasons.
Back to Contents

Page | 5

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 among the properties you pursue. Because, what you're effectively seeking is solid growth without unnecessary risk. And that brings us to Your Investment Profile More often than not, you can determine your Profile based upon your personality type and your past experience. a regular on several forums. But they never have enough conviction to actually invest for themselves. Type #3: The Bull-Market Investor These investors only make money when markets are on a bull-run, and ONLY during a bull-run. Their investment strategy is never planned on or built for a bear market. They believe just any property or investment can make money because bulls are too sacred to be killed. This is typical of many investors today. Type #4: The Shrewd Conservatives and Hands-On Investor These are the mildly-aggressive investors, who only increase the size of the portfolio when they have enough funds in reserve. They do their homework before buying, and don't put the existing properties at risk.
Page | 6

Type #1: The Risk Taker

Some people love telling stories about how they "gambled a lot" where they would have either made a fortune, or gone broke. These investors can be quite entertaining to listen to, but rather dangerous to imitate. Type #2: The NATO Investor No Action, Talk Only. These people certainly know their stuff because they attend lots of seminars, read many books and are probably
Back to Contents

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 These investors are likely the ones who willingly to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. They are highly involved in every aspect from the buying, to the letting, start conservatively, think long-term, and most importantly, be prepared for lean years. This is not a quick or easy path to riches. Gallop steadily ahead in your financial wealth for the Horse year and beyond! By guest contributor Gerald Tay, CEO of CREI Academy Group, who exposes widelyBottom Line: As you can appreciate, it is the Type #4 Investor who is most likely to succeed. And that's the one you should strive to emulate, going forward from year 2014 onwards. Yes, you can build wealth with real estate. held property investment myths that have

managing tenants, having a strong support

team and overseeing the entire property management themselves.

proven highly ineffective in creating wealth,

and prevent a comfortable retirement for the ordinary investor.

You just need to educate yourself, work hard,

Back to Contents

Page | 7

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138

Singapore Property This Week

Residential
Strong top bid for Jurong West EC site Despite the latest rule changes affecting the executive condo market, an EC site in Jurong West drew 12 bids with the highest bid at $381.81 psf ppr from a Koh Brothers-Heeton Homes partnership. The second highest bid was only 0.45 percent lower, from a joint venture between City Developments and TID. This highest bid is near the top end of the predicted range at the site launch in late October. This could reflect that demand for ECs would remain strong. Despite the optimistic top bids, the bottom half of the bids were generally expectations. cautious and below

(Source: Business Times) The Premiere sellers not likely to have profitable resale prices Residents at The Premiere who think that their units better location and fittings would help them with a good resale price may not get what they hope, even though these units in the five-year-old pilot Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project in Tampines Avenue 6 are ripe for the resale market. The asking prices for five-room units,

Back to Contents

Page | 8

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 available in 1,173 sq ft, 1,184 sq ft and 1,227 sq ft configurations, are between $720,000 and $850,000. A scan of the advertisements on marketing platforms shows that these sellers are asking for higher prices than consultants think the market will accept. (Source: Business Times) Hillfords 60-year lease an obstacle to investors Although the first retirement resort in Singapore The Hillford could offer potential buyers a chance to buy into the highly desired Bukit Timah address cheaply, its 60-year leasehold could limit its demand. There is no age limit on potential buyers for the project. It includes 281 units, with a mix of one-, two- and two-bedroom dual-key units equipped with built-in elder-friendly features. Indicative prices for its units start from $980
Back to Contents

psf or about $388,000 for a one-bedroom unit, $498,000 for a two-bedroom unit and $648,000 for a two-bedroom dual-key unit. Key pull factors for the project include its attractive quantum and location. However, its 60-year leasehold cap could make it harder for investors to finance the property since it may be harder to get bank loans for a shorter lease, and also harder for investors to unload the property in the resale market due to its limited remaining tenure. (Source: Business Times) HDB median value down for first time since Q4 2009 Data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) shows that the median price for a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat has decreased for the first time since Q4 2009.
Page | 9

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 The median valuation for an HDB unit in Q4 2013 was $435,000, a 0.7 percent decrease from Q3 2013. Jeremy Lee, co-founder of StreetSine, the company behind SRX said that this decline is the first one they registered after the global financial crisis, and is pulled down by the lowering of the COV (cash over valuation) and overall resale prices coming down. Ong Kah Seng, director at R'ST Research said that median HDB valuation prices had been expected to fall in end of 2013, because valuations depend on comparable recent flat sales and resale flat prices have trended downwards since H2 2013. (Source: Business Times) Commercial Singapore properties draw $4b foreign investments

A report from property consultancy DTZ shows that Singapore properties have drawn $4.1 billion from foreign investors in 2013, 30 percent higher than 2012. Nearly 90 per cent of these foreign investments are from Asia, especially from China with $2.9 billion from Chinese investors. Notable deals involving China players include Bright Ruby Resources' purchase of Grand Park Orchard for $1.2 billion, Kingsford Developments winning of two adjacent private residential sites at Upper Serangoon View,

Back to Contents

Page | 10

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 and Qingjian Realty (South Pacific) Groups acquisition of two executive condominium sites at Woodlands Avenue 5/Avenue 6 and Anchorvale Crescent. In addition, Japan investors contributed another $468 million. (Source: Business Times) Kim Chuan Drive industrial site up for sale A freehold 34,729-sq-ft industrial site at Kim Chuan Drive is up for sale by tender at an indicative price range from $44 million to $46 million. The plot is located at 47/A to 65/A Kim Chuan Drive, with a three-storey development comprising 10 shophouses and 10 homes. It is zoned for Business-2 development with a plot ratio of 2.5, making heavy industrial use possible on the plot. The plot can be redeveloped into a factory or warehouse of 49 strata units of 1,500 sq ft in size each. Shop unit price to moderate this year According to analysts, the price growth for strata-titled retail property is likely to moderate this year, after its spiraling for the past two years with new records set. This is because the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) curbed investors' ability to purchase. However, as investors are still interested in shopping space which has been untouched by the property cooling measures, the number of sales transactions may hold up to the levels of last year. According to Savills Singapore, prices for strata-titled retail property increased 11.7 percent in 2013, after a 10.5 percent increase in 2012, but much of the price increase took place before the TDSR was introduced. DTZ said that there were 974 transactions in 2013, a 30 percent decrease from 2012.

(Source: Business Times)

Back to Contents

(Source: Business Times)

Page | 11

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 Eminent Plaza and next-door Lavender Food Square to be redeveloped Eminent Plaza and the next-door Lavender Food Square are reported to be torn down and redeveloped later this year by two associated companies of Tong Eng Group into a 16-storey project with office and retail units. Some of these units would then be up for sale. The two associated companies of Tong Eng Group built the development back in the 1980s. The new development called ARC 380 will have 167 strata units consisting of 23 retail units on ground level and 144 office units on levels five to level 16. 71 units will be released for sales (52 office units, 19 retail units). Hawkers at the famous Lavender Food Square will move out in six to nine months. (Source: Business Times) Long House Food Centre sold for $45.2m Long House Food Centre along Upper Thomson Road has been sold for $45.2 million to TEE Ventures, a subsidiary of the mainboard-listed TEE Land, in a deal brokered by Knight Frank. A family-held asset, Long House is on a 1,575 square metre freehold site designated for commercial and residential use under the 2008 Master Plan. TEE Land is reported to redevelop the property into a commercial-cum-residential development. (Source: Business Times)

A makeover for TripleOne Somerset

After its acquisition of TripleOne Somerset for $970 million last month, a consortium led by retail mall veteran Pua Seck Guan is planning to spend $150 million to give the property a makeover.
Page | 12

Back to Contents

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138 This includes increasing retail offerings, improving the quality of the 17-storey building's office towers, and a possible creation of an underground pedestrian link between the building and Somerset MRT. TripleOne Somerset has two office towers and two floors of retail space, with a total gross floor area of 766,550 square feet and an annual net property income at about $40 million. (Source: Business Times) Industrial rents to continue upward trend in 2014 grew 3.5 percent year- on-year in Q4 2013, and is expected to gain further this year. The rental market for industrial real estate also mostly grew in line with the increased manufacturing activity. (Source: Business Times)

Property consultancy DTZ said that industrial rent would rise in 2014, continuing its upward trend since Q4 2013. This trend is attributed to an uptick expected in manufacturing activity, and a moderate supply of available space this year. The manufacturing sector
Back to Contents
Page | 13

SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 138

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Dec 25 Dec 31
Postal District 1 1 5 5 5 9 10 12 14 15 15 15 15 16 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 23 27 28 Project Name EMERALD GARDEN THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY HERITAGE VIEW BANYAN CONDOMINIUM FABER CREST HILLTOPS THE LEGEND SUITES @ TOPAZ CASA SARINA MELROSE VILLE PEBBLE BAY VENTURA VIEW BLU CORAL COSTA DEL SOL CHANGI RISE CONDOMINIUM EASTPOINT GREEN KOVAN MELODY SUNSHINE LODGE GOLDENHILL PARK CONDOMINIUM FAR HORIZON GARDENS JARDIN PARK NATURA THE ESTUARY GRANDE VISTA Area Transacted Price Tenure (sqft) Price ($) ($ psf) 807 1,561,545 1,934 999 893 1,700,000 1,903 99 1,195 1,480,000 1,239 99 1,227 1,370,000 1,116 FH 1,259 1,325,000 1,052 99 1,550 5,150,000 3,323 FH 1,421 2,060,000 1,450 FH 377 590,000 1,566 FH 1,184 1,220,000 1,030 FH 517 805,000 1,558 FH 1,894 2,750,000 1,452 99 1,206 1,240,000 1,029 FH 2,088 1,780,000 852 FH 1,776 2,168,000 1,221 99 1,281 1,120,000 874 99 1,884 1,610,000 855 99 904 1,150,000 1,272 99 2,024 1,688,888 835 FH 1,313 1,930,000 1,470 FH 2,002 1,500,000 749 99 1,701 3,200,000 1,882 FH 1,378 1,600,000 1,161 FH 1,313 1,408,000 1,072 99 1,238 1,205,000 973 999

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.

Back to Contents

Page | 14