Economic fundamentals and Monetary Policy - Property Launches & Investments

Cooling measures raised home ownership costs, dampened property demand: Redas president

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 19 July 2018 in Property News

SINGAPORE - The imposition of heftier additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) on developers is "a big setback for the property market in Singapore", Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) president Augustine Tan said on Tuesday (July 17).

Referring to the government's recent cooling measures that also include tightened loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, he said that the changes have raised the cost of home ownership and cooled demand from investors and foreigners, while possibly eroding the confidence of developers, investors and buyers.

Currency will continue to be a driving factor for global property market, says Knight Frank

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 06 September 2017 in Property News

Currency market movements can have a significant impact not only on the return provided by an overseas asset, but also on the flow of international capital into property markets, said global property consultancy Knight Frank.

“Currency has, and will continue to be, a driving factor for both property purchaser patterns and property asset performance.

Singapore housing market

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Saturday, 02 July 2016 in Property News

Singapore’s housing market has shown signs of life recently, as both developers and buyers drive a pick-up in activity.

BUYERS HAVE SOAKED UP WELL-POSITIONED PROJECTS

In March, Sim Lian Holdings surprised the market with strong sales of its executive condominium project Wandervale, moving almost 300 units out of a total of 534 units within the first month of launch.

Based on feedback from the ground, Sim Lian is again poised to do well for its pending launch of another EC, the Treasure Crest. Some might attribute its better-than-expected performance to the projects being ECs that are fairly priced and cater to local demand.

However, over the last weekend, GEM Residences, a private condominium project, managed to sell about 50 per cent of its units despite its relatively high price and not too exciting location. These rather strong sales performances are being achieved despite known market weaknesses.

Weak property market to fuel Singapore deflationary streak in 2016

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 20 December 2015 in Property News

And transport-related prices probably won’t spike either.

According to a report by BMI, Singapore headline inflation is expected to remain subdued in 2016, amid mild commodity price, monetary aggregate, transport, and housing fundamentals. This will extend Singapore’s deflationary trend that’s lasted over the last 12 months.

BMI forecasts that the deflationary impulse from housing will persist as the gradual rollback of decline in the inflow of skilled foreign labour has impacted demand right when an influx of new units poured into the market. Meanwhile, regulators are adamant on property market cooling measures such as loan-to-valuation ratios and additional buyer’s stamp duties.

What awaits stocks in 2016?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 06 December 2015 in Property News

The property market is about to hit bottom.

Policy-battered property developers will likely heave a sigh of relief once 2015 draws to a close. Analysts expect that some cooling measures might finally be eased in 2016, which in turn might provide a much-needed boost to beaten property stocks.

Private property prices have fallen by about 8% from their peak in 2013. Analysts expect that some cooling measures will be eased once prices have fallen by 12% to 15%, which is likely to occur either in the second half of 2016 or early in 2017.

Singapore Housing Purchases Drop as Rates Poised to Rise

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 15 August 2014 in Property News

James Hee, a property agent who lives with his family of four in a government-built flat he owns in Singapore, was eyeing a condo for about S$1.5 million ($1.2 million) earlier this year. Then Hee discovered that he wouldn’t qualify for a mortgage after the government restricted lending.

“Being self-employed, only 70 percent of what I earn is considered for the loan calculation, and with my car loan I can’t get the amount I would need to upgrade,” Hee, 32, said.

A risky year for the global property market?

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Thursday, 01 May 2014 in Property News

The U.S. Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program to stimulate the U.S. economy has long sparked fears that it was inflating property prices. But now the Fed has started to wind down its purchases, concerns are rising that "tapering" could generate new risks for global property markets.

The Fed's $85 billion of bond purchases every month had pumped extra liquidity into the world's financial system. All these extra funds encouraged investors to pile into riskier assets – such as property.

This in turn contributed to dramatic house price rises across a number of emerging markets. In 2013, Indonesian house prices rose by 13.5 percent, Turkey's increased by 12.5 percent and Brazil's were 11.9 percent higher, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank's Global House Price Index.

IMF says Singapore needs to narrow current account surplus

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 08 December 2013 in Property News

Singapore needs to narrow its huge current account surplus further and the International Monetary Fund supports the government's plans to raise public spending on infrastructure and social services, the IMF said on Thursday.

"Singapore's external position appears to be stronger than warranted by fundamentals, suggesting the importance of further efforts to narrow the current account surplus over the medium term," the IMF said on Thursday in its annual review of economic developments and policies in the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state.

Property fuels surge in S'poreans' net wealth

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 04 December 2013 in Property News

MAS review shows household debt rising, but savings piling up faster; cautions that risks remain-

Singapore households have been given a clean bill of health as far as their debt is concerned. Despite warnings of an increasing exposure to mortgages, net wealth has grown robustly over the past decade and stands at about four times GDP, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore Financial Stability Review 2013

Singapore households have been given a clean bill of health as far as their debt is concerned. Despite warnings of an increasing exposure to mortgages, net wealth has grown robustly over the past decade and stands at about four times GDP, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore Financial Stability Review 2013.

Property curbs slow lending but sector still a concern

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Wednesday, 04 December 2013 in Property News

The property curbs over the past few years have slowed home lending and are squeezing speculators out of the market, the central bank said yesterday.

But it warned that prices remain high, mortgage debt is still rising and some households could be hit if interest rates rise.

Home loans grew 12 per cent in September from the same month last year, down from a peak of 22 per cent growth in September 2010, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its Financial Stability Review 2013 report.

S'pore economy to be productivity driven

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 29 November 2013 in Property News

Change is likely to result in shift to jobs in services sector: JP Morgan exec

THE local economy is entering challenging times as it transits to one led by productivity and it's also a fallacy to think that the economy will benefit as much as previously from stronger growth of the developed markets.

People tend to compare Singapore with global cities but it actually has a developing market structure, only the cost of living is comparable to places such as New York and Hong Kong, said James Sullivan, JP Morgan head of Asean/Singapore equity research.

"All of us who live here know it is very expensive," said Mr Sullivan yesterday in a Singapore equities outlook presentation.

Not only is Singapore among the costliest cities in the world, its ranking continues to move higher.

Singapore raises growth forecast

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Sunday, 24 November 2013 in Property News

Singapore has upgraded its economic growth forecast for the year, boosted by growth in the services and manufacturing sectors. The economy is now expected to grow between 3.5 and 4 per cent, up from an earlier forecast of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.

SINGAPORE: Singapore has upgraded its economic growth forecast for the year, boosted by growth in the services and manufacturing sectors.

The economy is now expected to grow between 3.5 and 4 per cent, up from an earlier forecast of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.

Singapore's economic growth picked up pace between July and September.

Third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 5.8 per cent on-year. This is compared to the 4.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter, and higher than advance estimates of a 5.1 per cent growth.

Singapore's latest economic data

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Friday, 22 November 2013 in Property News

New data on Singapore's economic performance in the July to September quarter was released on Thursday morning by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Here's a quick summary of the key points:

1. Stronger growth this year:

The Singapore economy's growth forecast for this year has been upgraded to between 3.5% and 4%, from a previous estimate of between 2.5% and 3.5%, on the back of stronger-than-expected growth in the third quarter. This year's growth will be three times as fast as last year's 1.3% expansion, and is due to a better global economy and continued strength in construction and services.

Malaysia's 2014 Budget aims to boost economy, curb debt

Posted by Property Launch Invest on Monday, 18 November 2013 in Property News

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tabled on Friday the 2014 Budget amounting to RM264.2 billion, aimed at invigorating economic activity and ensuring the well-being of the people towards achieving a developed nation status.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tabled Friday the 2014 Budget amounting to RM264.2 billion, aimed at invigorating economic activity, strengthening fiscal management, inculcating excellence in human capital, intensifying urban and rural development and ensuring the well-being of the people towards achieving a developed nation status.

When tabling the budget themed "Strengthening Economic Resilience, Accelerating Transformation and Fulfilling Promises" in Dewan Rakyat on Friday, Najib who is also the Finance Minister said RM217.7 billion was allocated for operating expenditure and RM46 billion for development.

PROPERTY LAUNCHES & INVESTMENTS

Property Launches & Investments

Singapore has upgraded its economic growth forecast for the year, boosted by growth in the services and manufacturing sectors. The economy is now expected to grow between 3.5 and 4 per cent, up from an earlier forecast of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tabled on Friday the 2014 Budget amounting to RM264.2 billion, aimed at invigorating economic activity and ensuring the well-being of the people towards achieving a developed nation status.