Planning areas with positive ‘green shoots’ in resale price and unit growth during Q2 2014

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the final estimates of resale volume and price information for Q2 2014.The data shows that sales volumes have been on a rise while prices saw only marginal declines on a quarter-on-quarter basis (QoQ). There are still some pockets of areas that exhibit positive resiliencies in resale volunes and prices.These trends might appeal to savvy investors who are willing to go that extra mile to seek out for gems in today’s market. The study excludes planning areas with less than ten transactions.

URA_source_table1

Four planning areas, namely Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East and Newton stood out in terms of having the largest changes in resale volumes on both quarterly and yearly basis. The Newton area displayed relatively high increase in resale volumes due to 1) Declining resale prices by as much as 16.8 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, resulting in many affluent locals and expatriates starting to take a closer look at Newton not only for the attractive pricing, but also the prestige associated with the affluent neighbourhoods around the area; and 2) Positive impacts from the introduction of Downtown Line (DTL) and potential home price appreciation arising from it.

Jurong East has seen relatively high resale volume increases due to the popularity of the upcoming developments in the area, including Lakefront and Lakeville Residences hotel developments, and being one of the potential shortlisted sites for the upcoming High Speed Rail Network (HSRN) linking to Malaysai. These developments are part of the plans laid out for the Jurong Lakeside district area highlighted in the latest URA Master Plan 2014.

The Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang areas are seeing increases in resale volumes possibly due to the infrastructure developments around the estates. These include the upcoming Downtown Line (DTL) which is slated to complete by 2018, a hawker centre to be completed next year in Bukit Panjang, and a mixed development project (The Tennery) located near an air-conditioned indoor bus interchange that is currently being built. The bus interchange will serve as a major transportation hub for residents around the Bukit Panjang area and nearby neighbourhoods including Bangkit, Fajar, and Senja.

Going forward, we believe that as the government starts to develop towns and areas away from the city centre, private residential developments located within the Outside Central Region (OCR) areas with major transformations underway, such as Jurong East and Bukit Panjang, will likely continue to command relatively high resale transaction volume.

URA_source_table 2

Bukit Timah, Choa Chu Kang, Geylang, Pasir Ris and Serangoon are the five planning areas that have so far been showing positive resale price trends. Based on the above table, the planning area that stood out the most in terms of price resiliency was the Serangoon area. Resale prices in Serangoon achieved positive 7.3 percent on-quarter and 11.1 percent on-year median price growths respectively.

The Serangoon Planning Area covers several neighbourhoods, including Chuan Drive which is situated close to famous food places like ‘Chomp Chomp’ food centre, and shopping malls such as Nex Mall, one of the largest retail malls in Singapore. Most importantly, the Serangoon MRT station serves as an interchange for the North-East and Circle MRT lines allowing residents to connect other parts of the island with ease. The area is also well connected by major expressways such as the Central Expressway (CTE). As for parents who are looking for renowned schools, there are many institutions to choose from, including Paya Labar Methodist Girls' School, Cedar Primary School and Maris Stella High School, all of which are located within 1 kilometre of the Serangoon MRT Station.

The Pasir Ris area is located close to theTampines Regional Centre and Changi Business Park (CBP) which serve as major workplace locations for many residents living there. For families intending to move to Pasir Ris, plans to introduce new amenities include 1) A revamped Downtown East leisure hub by 2017 2) New neighbourhood parks 2) The Round-Island North Eastern Park Connector Loops by 2016-2017.These new facilities, along with others, are part of the redevelopment proposals outlined for Pasir Ris Town under the latest URA Master Plan 2014.

Conclusion

In this article, STProperty has looked into planning areas that have displayed increases in resale volume and price on a quarterly and yearly basis. Although the market dynamism depends on various factors, there are still pockets of opportunities in the local property market for investors to seek out for. That might provide impetus for buyers and investors to equip themselves with handy information tools such as Singapore Property Watch (SPW) so as to make sound property investment decisions.

Source: STProperty 8th August 2014

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Planning areas with positive ‘green shoots’ in resale price and unit growth during Q2 2014

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