Singapore Real Estate
Collective sales hit $2.65b, but face speed bump
Singapore – The collective sale market has defied the trials and tribulations of the pandemic over the past 12 months but the road ahead just got a lot bumpier, thanks to a new round of property cooling measures. The numbers underscore the fact that 2021 has certainly had its moments: 10 collective sale sites worth around $2.65 billion have been sold to developers so far this year, compared with deals totalling just $127.3 million last year, JLL noted.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/collective-sales-hit-265b-but-face-speed-bump-0
Crypto billionaire Zhu Su in early stage of buying S$49m GCB as trustee for 3-year-old
Singaporean crypto billionaire Zhu Su is understood to be in the early stage of buying a bungalow in Yarwood Avenue on 31,862 square feet of land for S$48.8 million. The price works out to S$1,532 per square foot (psf) on the land area. On the 999-year leasehold site is an old 2-storey bungalow with 6 bedrooms that is understood to be leased currently. It is ripe for redevelopment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/crypto-billionaire-zhu-su-in-early-stage-of-buying-s49m-gcb-as-trustee-for-3-year-old
Luxury condo in Bukit Timah sells 5% of units in launch days after latest cooling measures
Singapore – Luxury condo Perfect Ten saw a somewhat muted launch on Sunday (Dec 19), in the first high-profile sale days after new property market cooling measures were announced. The freehold development in Bukit Timah Road moved 12 out of 230 units as at Sunday evening, industry sources told The Straits Times.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/luxury-condo-in-bukit-timah-sells-5-of-units-in-launch-days-after-latest-cooling-measures
Singles can apply for HDB rental units and be paired with a flatmate in pilot
Singles can now apply for public rental flats without having to find a flatmate under a pilot model launched by the Housing Board yesterday. The Joint Singles Scheme Operator-Run model allows singles to apply for a rental flat individually to be paired up with a flatmate, unlike the existing Joint Singles Scheme (JSS) where singles have to apply for a unit with someone they know, such as a relative or friend.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/singles-can-apply-for-hdb-rental-units-and-be-paired-with-a-flatmate-in-pilot
Singapore Economy
Retail sector on its feet and humming
The circuit breaker, social distancing and other curbs have belted retailers left, right and centre over the past 18 months but the sector is still on its feet and with bright prospects in store. Outlets from department stores to supermarkets and fashion retailers are on track to have a robust final quarter in the lead-up to Christmas with sales expected to stay healthy into March, noted a survey from the Department of Statistics (Singstat).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/retail-sector-on-its-feet-and-humming-0
Companies’ Brief
CDL acquires UK site for £6.5m; to develop build-to-rent residential skyscraper
City Developments Limited (CDL) has acquired a 250-year leasehold site in Birmingham, UK for a purchase consideration of £6.5 million (S$11.8 million), to develop an octagonal-shaped residential skyscraper that it plans to rent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-acquires-uk-site-for-%C2%A365m-to-develop-build-to-rent-residential-skyscraper
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-to-develop-build-to-rent-residential-skyscraper-in-uk-at-cost-of-200m
Singapore’s The Ascott crowned World’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand at World Travel Awards 2021
Singapore – Attention to health details during the pandemic saw local company The Ascott become the first hospitality company in the world to offer guests complimentary health, wellness and security support. In May, it announced a partnership with International SOS, a health and security services firm, to provide telehealth, telecounselling and travel security advisory.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/singapores-the-ascott-crowned-worlds-leading-serviced-apartment-brand-at-world-travel-awards-2021
Longer stays to drive longer-term growth for Pan Pacific’s regional strategy
South-East Asia will remain a growth market for Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), especially as travel and tourism recover from Covid-19, chief executive Choe Peng Sum told The Business Times. Despite virus-related delays, the UOL-owned hotelier has a steady pipeline of upcoming projects in the region – including 12 out of 13 assets that have had launches announced for the next 3 years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/longer-stays-to-drive-longer-term-growth-for-pan-pacifics-regional-strategy
OUE to acquire 17.2% stake in Indonesian tech investment company for 1t rupiah
Property developer OUE’s wholly-owned subsidiary has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a 17.2 per cent stake in Multipolar (MPC), an Indonesian technology investment company, for 1 trillion rupiah (S$95.6 million).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-to-acquire-172-stake-in-indonesian-tech-investment-company-for-1t-rupiah
GIC remains confident in China’s real estate market
Singapore’s US$744 billion (S$1 trillion) sovereign wealth fund sees potential opportunities to do deals and buy debt in China’s battered real estate sector, confident Beijing will not let things “spiral out of control” following several defaults.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/gic-remains-confident-in-chinas-real-estate-market
S-Reits generate 6% total returns in 2021 to date
With two more trading weeks left for the year, the benchmark Straits Times Index has gained 13 per cent in total returns in 2021 to date (as at Dec 15, 2021). All sectors in the Singapore market have yielded positive total returns led by the energy (63 per cent), financials (30 per cent) and technology (29 per cent) sectors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-generate-6-total-returns-in-2021-to-date
Views, Reviews, Forum & Others
Triple whammy of cooling measures, rising supply and higher rates can end up cycle in home prices
Transaction costs have just gotten a lot higher for those who are thinking of using their year-end bonus to help fund the purchase of another private home here for investment. New property cooling measures kicked in on Thursday (Dec 16) to temper the exuberance in the private home and Housing Development Board (HDB) resale markets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/triple-whammy-of-cooling-measures-rising-supply-and-higher-rates-can-end-up-cycle-in-home
Riding the BTO roller coaster
During the Before Times, or pre-pandemic days, my partner and I had decided to wait till I graduated from university and landed a full-time job before applying for a Housing Board flat. That would’ve been this year. The average waiting period for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats was around three to four years then (around 2019).
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/riding-the-bto-roller-coaster-0
Is the market too rich and too thin?
Like a concerned parent clucking over a wan teenager, investors are worried that the market looks thin. Breadth – an umbrella term for various measures of the proportion of stocks in an index that are performing well – has collapsed. Does this mean those few stocks still hitting highs are on borrowed time?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/is-the-market-too-rich-and-too-thin
The effect of rising interest rates on mortgages in an open economy like Singapore
With interest rates coming off record lows, mortgage brokers are advising prospective homeowners and those looking to refinance to lock down fixed rates – where they are still hovering around a fairly low range – before the gap between fixed- and floating-rate financing widens.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/the-effect-of-rising-interest-rates-on-mortgages-in-an-open-economy-like-singapore
Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation
Number of Covid-19 cases in ICU down by half since start of this month
Singapore – The number of critically ill Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) has more than halved since the beginning of the month, from 61 as at Dec 1 to 29 on Sunday (Dec 19). About 43.8 per cent of ICU beds were being used as at Sunday, with seven patients requiring close monitoring.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/number-of-covid-19-cases-in-icu-down-by-half-since-start-of-this-month
Is Singapore ready for Omicron?
This time last year, Singapore had eased Covid-19 restrictions, allowing groups of eight to gather and dine out together. The nation also embarked on a journey to vaccinate as many people as possible. Today, Singapore is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world but dining and gathering limits are back down to five, with the country bracing itself for a possible surge in cases involving the Omicron variant.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/is-singapore-ready-for-omicron
S’pore businesses gear up for more vaccination-differentiated rules, but some already feel the pinch
Singapore – One event organiser had to double the strength of the operations team to ensure visitors’ compliance with vaccination-differentiated measures at a recent Mice event. The additional cost is the new normal for some businesses in recent months, and will likely hit more firms as Covid-19 safe management protocols are rolled out to more settings and venues from Feb 1 next year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/businesses-gear-up-for-expanded-roll-out-of-vaccination-differentiated-measures-but-some
Time needed to find out how virulent Omicron is: Experts
Two more weeks – that is when more will be known of the Omicron Covid-19 variant that has countries worldwide rushing to take precautionary measures, including tightening their borders. Perhaps by then, countries will be able to make more science-based decisions on how to deal with this new variant that has sat the world on its ear.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/time-needed-to-find-out-how-virulent-omicron-is-experts
No quarantine for vaccinated S’poreans flying to Melbourne, Sydney
Fully vaccinated Singaporeans will be able to fly to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia without having to serve a three-day quarantine period from next Tuesday. This development restores two-way travel without quarantine between Singapore and parts of Australia, after a three-week suspension.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/no-quarantine-for-vaccinated-sporeans-flying-to-melbourne-sydney
Tour plans hit after Italy’s surprise ban on tourists from Singapore
Travel agents have postponed or cancelled plans to organise tours to Italy, after a surprise ban on leisure travellers from Singapore started on Thursday. The Italian Embassy in Singapore said on Wednesday that its Health Ministry has moved Singapore and Brunei to a list of countries deemed to be at higher risk of Covid-19 infections.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/tour-plans-hit-after-italys-surprise-ban-on-tourists-from-singapore
*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation
Global Economy & Global Real Estate
New variant biggest threat to global public health, G-7 cautions
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/new-variant-biggest-threat-to-global-public-health-g-7-cautions
Dutch town approves licence for Meta data centre, the Netherlands’ biggest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/dutch-town-approves-licence-for-meta-data-centre-the-netherlands-biggest
Paris city council tightens rules on tourist rentals
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/paris-city-council-tightens-rules-on-tourist-rentals
Canada keeps mortgage stress test benchmark unchanged despite hot housing market
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/canada-keeps-mortgage-stress-test-benchmark-unchanged-despite-hot-housing-market
China’s property distress sours steel sector in warning sign for economy
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/chinas-property-distress-sours-steel-sector-in-warning-sign-for-economy
Ringgit may continue to weaken through 2022, even as economy recovers: analysts
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/ringgit-may-continue-to-weaken-through-2022-even-as-economy-recovers-analysts