S'pore's new blueprint will give residents more flexibility to choose ideal home: Analysts
The new masterplan – Singapore's land use development blueprint for the next 10 to 15 years – focuses more on creating an environment that fosters a healthier and more active lifestyle, supports the Republic's ageing population and addresses the challenges of climate change, they added.
Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property agency OrangeTee Group, said there is a bigger emphasis on an environment that enhances the quality of life for Singaporeans through the provision of more homes with access to sea, river and park views, as well as more parks and amenities, and the preservation of heritage buildings and cultural sites.
Furthermore, there is a dedicated effort to build new sports facilities closer to residential areas to encourage a healthier lifestyle, Ms Sun said.
This means that Singaporeans will have a more diverse array of housing options to suit their needs, be they near the city centre, schools, parks or waterways.
With each community designed to be better connected with essential amenities, this ensures convenient access to schools, healthcare facilities and recreational areas wherever residents choose to live, added Ms Sun. 'All these initiatives will help to create a more balanced, sustainable living experience for all residents, regardless of age and budget,' she said.
At least 80,000 public and private homes will be introduced across more than 10 new housing areas in the next 10 to 15 years, with new neighbourhoods planned in areas such as Dover, Defu, Newton and Paterson. Integrated community hubs with sports facilities, healthcare and community spaces are also in the works for Sengkang, Woodlands North and Yio Chu Kang.
Mr Marcus Chu, chief executive of real estate agency ERA Singapore, said that with more housing estates catching up in terms of amenities and accessibility, housing demand may start to be spread more evenly across Singapore.
This could, in turn, lead to more even price growth across different regions.
More land parcels around MRT stations and more business hubs are also being planned outside the Central Business District to bring work closer to homes, spread the load on the transport network and reduce the need to set aside land for roads, said Mr Mark Yip, CEO of property firm Huttons Asia.
One such example is the greater one-north precinct, which has developed into a bustling research-and-development hub with more than 50,000 knowledge workers.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, Huttons' senior director of data analytics, said there is therefore a need to provide more homes so that the workers can live near their workplaces. 'This will reduce travelling time and stress on the transport network,' he added.
The Dover-Medway neighbourhood in the precinct could see 6,000 new public and private homes built in the first phase, while some 5,000 new private homes could be introduced in Mediapolis, which is also in the area.
Ms Sun said building more homes in Dover-Medway and Mediapolis will in turn attract more workers, researchers, students and expats to live there, and support business growth in the area.
Mr Ismail Gafoor, CEO of property firm PropNex, said land use for three plots in Ayer Rajah Crescent, near Media Circle in one-north, has been changed from business park to residential, with commercial use on the first storey.
That should bring more amenities to Media Circle, which is set to see more high-density housing.
In addition, two sites in the nearby Singapore Science Park II have been updated from business park use to residential. This ties in with the ongoing rejuvenation of the Science Park, he added.
In the heart of town, Paterson – on the doorstep of Orchard Road – could get 1,000 new private homes as part of an integrated development with retail, food and beverage and office spaces above Orchard MRT station.
Ms Sun said expanding the residential landscape in the Orchard Road precinct is a good move due to the scarcity of available land in prime areas. New government land sites in prime areas – especially near Orchard Road – are quite rare, and it has been many years since The Orchard Residences, an integrated development near the heart of Orchard, was launched, Ms Sun noted.
But given the luxury property market's slower growth, some of these new sites may be placed on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, she added. Such sites are launched for sale when a developer offers a minimum price that the Government accepts, or when there is enough market interest.
Mr Lee pointed out that the land parcel above Orchard MRT station has been rezoned to a white site, and the plot ratios have been bumped up. White sites refer to land parcels designated for mixed-use development and allow for flexibility in development plans, while plot ratios measure how intensively land can be developed.
'This is a prime opportunity to build an iconic shopping and residential project as the last GLS site above Orchard MRT was Ion Orchard and The Orchard Residences in 2005,' he said.
But the 60 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty on foreign buyers may not give developers the confidence to bid for that site if it is launched for sale, Mr Lee added.
Meanwhile, Ms Catherine He, head of research at commercial real estate services firm Colliers, said sites including Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB), Sembawang Shipyard and the former Singapore Racecourse in Kranji were chosen for redevelopment into housing estates to optimise land use for the maximum benefit of residents, and relocate industrial and commercial activities farther out.
In particular, the relocation of PLAB in eastern Singapore from 2030 will be a game-changer, said real estate consultancy Knight Frank Singapore's research head Leonard Tay.
With about 800ha of land to be freed up for the development of residences, offices, factories and recreational areas, this means that building height restrictions imposed for the safe navigation of aircraft in surrounding towns could be lifted.
Although higher plot ratios around PLAB have not been announced in the latest draft masterplan, Mr Tay said it would be reasonable to expect some collective sale opportunities, as older properties that are no longer constrained by low-rise plot ratios could see an increase in land values after 2030.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Entrepreneur
23 minutes ago
- Entrepreneur
Wipro to Acquire HARMAN's Digital Transformation Solutions Unit
The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by December 31, 2025, and will see over 5,600 DTS employees, including leadership, transition to Wipro across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Wipro announced the acquisition of the Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) business unit of HARMAN, a Samsung company, in a move that strengthens its engineering research and development portfolio. The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by December 31, 2025, and will see over 5,600 DTS employees, including leadership, transition to Wipro across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The acquisition expands Wipro's digital engineering and device engineering services across industries such as technology, industrial, aerospace, healthcare, and consumer sectors. DTS brings expertise in connected products, domain-led design, and software platforms, along with AI-native frameworks and proprietary accelerators. "Welcoming DTS into the Wipro family marks a pivotal step in our transformation journey," said Srini Pallia, CEO and Managing Director of Wipro. He added that combining Wipro's consulting-led, AI-powered capabilities with DTS' specialized engineering will enhance client value, accelerate innovation, and reduce time to market. Srikumar Rao, Managing Partner and Global Head of Engineering at Wipro, noted that the integration will allow clients to connect virtual and physical worlds, embed AI throughout engineering processes, and pursue complex transformation programs. Christian Sobottka, CEO of HARMAN, stated that joining Wipro will enable DTS to scale faster, reach more industries, and unlock greater potential through complementary capabilities. Wipro will also enter a multi-year strategic agreement with HARMAN and Samsung, opening new opportunities for joint growth. Following completion, DTS will be integrated into Wipro's Engineering Global Business Line.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
When does passive ETF investing not trump actively managed funds?
There must be some misunderstanding There must be some kind of mistake —Genesis Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth There is barely a month that goes by where I don't learn something new about some widely held views on investing. While some of these views are rooted in reason, logic, and evidence, others are not. Active versus passive management: A no-brainer There is a growing sentiment among investors that passive funds, or index-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs), are generally superior to actively managed portfolios. To be blunt, there is no reasonable counterargument to this assertion. According to the most recent S&P Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) Canada scorecard the vast majority of managers have underperformed their benchmarks in almost every single investment category. For example, based on absolute returns, 88.06 per cent to 98.19 per cent of actively managed funds underperformed their benchmarks — which range from Canadian Equity to Canadian dividend focused and income equity, U.S. equity and global equity — at the 10-year mark. What about risk? Many investors are not focused solely on return but are also concerned with volatility and risk-adjusted returns. As such, condemning a manager for lower returns may be unjust in instances where their clients are compensated in the form of reduced volatility. However, the percentage of funds that underperform their benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis is similarly high to those based on simple returns. Based on risk-adjusted returns, 51.92 per cent to 100 per cent of actively managed funds underperformed their benchmark at the 10-year mark. It's not about the wrapper, it's what's inside that counts A growing number of investors have been ditching fund investments in favour of index-tracking ETFs. All else being equal, the only difference between a mutual fund and an ETF is the wrapper (in other words, the legal structure). If a mutual fund and an ETF have the same portfolios and charge the same fees then investors should be indifferent between the two. However most mutual fund assets are actively managed whereas most ETF assets are in passive, index-tracking mandates. As such, the problem isn't that mutual funds are inferior to ETFs per se, but rather that most actively managed portfolios underperform their index-tracking counterparts. Active mandates charge higher fees than passive ones. However, given that there are a small proportion of active funds that outperform their benchmark by a sufficient margin to more than offset their higher fees, investors would be well-served to expend the effort to identify them. Relatedly, it is important to understand the main reasons why most active managers have underperformed. It's hard to win if you're not even trying Many active managers limit the degree to which their portfolio holdings deviate from those of their benchmark indexes. This practice, which is pejoratively referred to as closet indexing, tends to produce gross returns that lie within a few basis points of indexes and net returns that lag them, which is simple math. If an actively managed portfolio is essentially the same as its benchmark, then its returns will also be the same, less fees (in other words, a quasi-guarantee of underperformance). A 2013 paper titled 'The Mutual Fund Industry Worldwide: Explicit and Closet Indexing, Fees, and Performance,' analyzed the prevalence of closet indexing in different countries. Out of the 20 countries which the study analyzed, Canada ranked highest in terms of its percentage of actively managed funds that were not truly active, with more than 40 per cent identified as closet indexes. Imitation, flattery, and underperformance There seems to be no shortage of managers who subscribe to John Maynard Keynes's conclusion that 'Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.' Although imitation may be the greatest source of flattery, it is value destructive when it comes to investing. When managers strive to outperform using the same approach, their respective efforts will cancel each other out, thereby leading to average results that generally range from mediocre to subpar. Bigger isn't better There has been research showing that small and emerging fund managers often outperform their large, household name peers by a significant margin with less risk. And yet, larger managers tend to dominate asset growth. As investing icon Warren Buffett's longtime partner Charlie Munger said, 'Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome' (no pun intended). Smaller firms need to grow to survive and thrive. Conversely, for larger firms, growth is a 'nice to have' rather than a necessity. Moreover, smaller managers lack the sales and marketing budgets of their larger peers and thus are more dependent on performance to grow. The visibility and familiarity of large fund companies give investors comfort. This reassurance can dull people's critical thinking and come at the cost of mediocrity and frequent underperformance. Even when these household names underperform, people give them the benefit of the doubt and overlook better-performing yet lesser-known managers. There have been countless instances where I have been asked by clients and prospective clients to analyze brand name manager funds in which they have been longtime investors. In the vast majority of cases, these funds underperform, and often meaningfully so. Small, different and focused For investors who are interested in average performance, passive investing constitutes a practical and attractive option. Following rate hikes, bonds are back in the game You can't always get what you want — the tariff rendition However, if you are interested in something more, then my advice is to expend the effort finding managers that have demonstrated a track record of outperformance, are relatively small and have a clearly defined process that differs from the crowd. Noah Solomon is chief investment officer at Outcome Metric Asset Management LP. _____________________________________________________________ If you like this story, sign up for the FP Investor Newsletter. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tether, Circle to Meet South Korea's Top Banking CEOs as Stablecoin Momentum Mounts
Following reports that South Korea is preparing to launch a legal framework for stablecoins in October, top executives from some of the country's biggest financial groups are set to meet with executives from stablecoin giants Tether and Circle Internet Group this week. Tether issues USDT, while Circle issues USDC, the world's two largest stablecoins by market capitalization. According to Korean news agency Yonhap, the executives will discuss the potential distribution and use of dollar-pegged stablecoins in South Korea. The meetings will also cover the issuance of stablecoins backed by the country's currency, the won. The CEO of Shinhan Financial Group, Jin Ok-dong, and Hana Financial Group CEO Ham Young-joo are set to have separate meetings with Circle President Heath Tarbert on Friday. Ham is also reported to be meeting an unnamed official from Tether later on Friday. Meanwhile, KB Financial Group's Chief Digital & Information Technology Officer Lee Chang-kwon and Woori Bank President Jeong Jin-wan are also said to be planning a meeting with Circle's President, though an official date has not yet been set. Rajiv Sawhney, Head of International Portfolio Management at Wave Digital Assets International, thinks the development is an 'interesting' one considering how South Korea's regulators have treated crypto in the past. South Korea's Ruling, Opposition Parties Clash Over Stablecoin Regulation 'Regulators there have historically blocked foreign institutions from registering and operating in the region,' he told Decrypt. 'It's a very domestic market, and the exchanges there are only allowed to list spot products, not perpetuals or leverage trading.' He points out that Upbit, the country's largest exchange, is entirely Korean owned and operated, and its listings are primarily quoted against Korean won fiat. South Korea and stablecoins Despite the East Asian nation's current President Lee Jae-myung being widely considered crypto-friendly, the appropriate legal frameworks have proved politically controversial in the country. Under his presidency, Bitcoin ETFs have headed toward legalization in the country, while crypto KYC and AML oversight has been ramped up. The country's ruling party and the opposition party have both expressed different opinions about how to regulate the area, with the opposition Democratic Party debating the use of interest-generating stablecoins and the enforcement of strict capital limitations. Meanwhile, executives from Korea's central bank have mulled linking its deposit tokens to a public blockchain, enabling them to "coexist" with stablecoins issued by the private sector. Kakao Prepares Korean Won Stablecoin on Kaia as Lawmakers Weigh New Rules But these issues haven't stopped some Korean companies from already preparing to issue their own stablecoins, with South Korean internet conglomerate Kakao recently registering trademarks for a Korean won stablecoin. Sawhney argued that a joint venture or partnership between Circle or Tether and one of the banks would allow them to "maintain their market share in the stablecoin space" versus South Korean fintech firms issuing their own won-based stablecoins. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
