Property portal 99.co presents the following weekly property news roundup for the week of 15 to 21 August:
#1: New launch condos continue sales uptrend
Figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on 17 August revealed that, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 1,080 condo units in total in July, up 8.2% from 998 units in June. The July number also marks the first month that the number of developer-sold, newly launched condo units broke through the 1,000-unit mark for the first time since February 2020.
Experts noted that investors were also entering the market, underlining the reputation of local private real estate as safe-haven assets. “Investors continue to throng the property market … amid the growing economic uncertainties and turbulent equity markets,” Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee, told CNA.
Meanwhile, the sale of pricier homes hit a seven-year high, according to OrangeTee’s analysis, signalling that wealthier buyers with higher incomes are re-entering the market.
However, other experts also warned that an underperforming economy, which has shrunk by 13.2% on an year-or-year basis, may eventually “take its toll” on the private home sales.
[Recommended article: The FULL list of 2020 New Launch Condos in Singapore (+ Analysis)]
#2: GuocoLand teases plans for upcoming prime development at Bugis
We’ve long known that Midtown Modern will be the next upcoming condo in Bugis after Midtown Bay and The M, but developer GuocoLand has just dropped more information, despite not having confirmed a launch date for the condo.
GuocoLand revealed that Midtown Modern will take the form of two 30-storey towers. There will be over 500 apartments ranging from 1- to 4-bedroom units in “a forest garden setting”.
Residents can enjoy “large green spaces and a wide range of recreational facilities not usually found in central business district projects”, GuocoLand added in its press statement.
Midtown Modern will be located directly above the Bugis MRT station along Tan Quee Lan street, with integrated access to the station via a retail podium called Midtown Square, which will sit underneath the residential tower blocks.
The development will also connect seamlessly via an underground connection to the earlier-announced Guoco Midtown mixed-use project, and will be known as Guoco Midtown II.
Combined, the two developments will comprise two condominiums (Midtown Bay and Midtown Modern), three retail clusters, a 30-storey office tower, a five-storey Network Hub building serving as a purpose-built business and social networking club, and over 20 concept gardens and public spaces.
[Recommended article: 5 new launch condos most likely to hit the market during Phase Two]
#3: Red-hot second-timer demand for BTO projects at Ang Mo Kio and Geylang
In the HDB’s recently concluded August 2020 BTO sales exercise, 5-room flats at Ang Mo Kio were 21.5 times oversubscribed with a total of 3,006 applications for 140 units at Kebun Baru Edge.
Competition among second-timer applicants at Kebun Baru Edge is particularly intense, as 1,325 applicants will be hoping to get one of the only seven 5-room units allocated to them.
Aside from being within walking distance of the soon-to-open Mayflower MRT station, the appeal of Kebun Baru Edge among second-timer applicants coincides with the project being within one-kilometer of Ai Tong School and CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, both well-regarded primary schools.
At Geylang’s Dakota One, 4-room flats were 14 times oversubscribed with 6,394 applicants in the ballot for 334 units. Here, 1,802 second-timers will vie for 17 four-room units.
Dakota One is the BTO project nearest to the city in the Aug 2020 sales exercise, and is within walking distance to Dakota MRT station and right next to Kong Hwa School.
For these mature estates, only 5% of the flat supply are allocated to second-timers, which are those who have previously bought a flat directly from HDB, or have previously received housing grants.
Read the full reviews of the BTO projects here:
- Part 1: Pasir Ris and Tampines
- Part 2: Woodlands and Ang Mo Kio
- Part 3: Bishan and Geylang
- Part 4: Choa Chu Kang and Tengah
#4: Facing mortgage woes, more households seek help from HDB
A total of 1,356 HDB households sought help from HDB with their monthly mortgage payements from April to June this year, the Straits Times reported.
The number is nearly 3 times more than the same period last year, as Singaporeans deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Out of the households receiving help, two-thirds requested to defer their loan instalments or pay their loan arrears by installments, while the remaining one-third received other forms of assistance, including the extension of their mortgage loan tenure to reduce monthly instalments.
Flat owners who require help and advice with their HDB Concessionary Loan mortgage payments can reach out to HDB on their hotline or make an appointment with housing counsellors at the HDB branch offices. Measures to help flat owners may include the following:
- Reduce or defer their loan instalments for six months, with a further six-month extension if necessary
- Pay their loan arrears by instalments till their financial situation improves
- Extend their mortgage loan tenure to help reduce their monthly instalments, if needed
Meanwhile, 34,000 homeowners taking bank loans for their homes have applied to defer their home loan payments until the end of this year, according from data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Another 2,100 people have asked banks to defer their renovation and education loans.
[Recommended article: Should I defer my home loan? Here’s the math]
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About Kyle Leung
Content Marketing Manager @ 99.co
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