Latest news with #propertymarket
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore luxury condos' early struggle shows boom's limits
By Low De Wei (Bloomberg) — A large-scale luxury development in Singapore sold only a tiny fraction of units when it started accepting bookings, reflecting the struggles of the priciest segment in the city-state's otherwise stratospheric property market. The W Residences Marina View condominium began pre-sales last Saturday, and buyers booked only two of its 683 units over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified sharing private information. The complex is located in the heart of the country's central business district, a short walk from skyscrapers that house global financial institutions and multinational companies. The units' preview prices started from about S$3,200 ($2,491) per square foot, which means the cheapest one-bedroom units were advertised for S$1.8 million. Five-bedroom units were priced at S$11.6 million and up, according to marketing materials seen by Bloomberg News. The project's weak debut shows how property developers face an uphill challenge trying to attract wealthy home-buyers to luxury towers in Singapore's iconic business district, which lines its downtown waterfront. The government in 2023 doubled already hefty taxes on foreigners' property purchases, while locals have gravitated to suburban private homes that are closer to schools and other amenities. Last weekend, LyndenWoods, a mass-market condominium project about 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) from the downtown luxury residence, sold over 94 per cent of its 343 units in a single day, despite new curbs that were added in early July. Average pricing was about S$2,450 per square foot. Overall private home prices in Singapore have climbed roughly 40 per cent over the past five years. However, apartment prices within the so-called core central region – which covers the CBD and other high-end neighbourhoods – have lagged behind, with a smaller increase of about 19 per cent. The W Residences Marina View is being built by IOI Properties Group Bhd, a Malaysian developer that paid S$1.5 billion in 2021 for the site. The project will be managed by Marriott International. A spokesperson for the developer said there was 'strong interest' from individuals who were invited to its private previews, and 'it's natural that buyers are taking a measured approach amid a wave of new launches' in the area. The 99-year leasehold development has yet to be built, and buyers could pull out in the early stages of a sale if they pay a fee. 'Developers are likely to be more cautious and recalibrate their land acquisition plans following the poor demand' for properties in the prime city centre, said Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property portal 'They will avoid a price war at all costs.' A nearby high-end residential project called Skywaters Residences, which is part of a broader development backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and local developer Perennial Holdings Pte, has sold just two of its 190 units since it launched more than a year ago. One 7,761-square-foot apartment sold for S$47.3 million, while the other smaller unit went for S$30.9 million. Such prices are comparable with mansions in land-scarce Singapore. Local property giant City Developments Ltd., which is building another 'ultra-luxury development' in the business district, hasn't set a launch date for its Newport Residences project, which will feature serviced apartments and 246 residential units. Developers have largely refrained from offering major discounts, betting that they can still attract wealthy locals and foreigners who have residency in Singapore, granting them lower property levies. More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Home sweet home? More like investment sweet investment in Hong Kong
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification How do we put into perspective Hong Kong's property market? On the one hand, we have parties such as Morgan Stanley projecting that 'the decline in prices is behind us' and talking as if the decline has been an issue. On the other hand, we still have one of the most expensive property markets in the world where 46 per cent of households live in government-owned or -subsidised housing. Think about this for a moment: in a city with the third highest number of dollar billionaires in the world, nearly half of households need government support for one of life's most basic essentials, shelter. Given this situation, why would we want housing costs to increase? Yet the administration's measures to boost the property sector are obviously going to make housing even less affordable while propping up the wealthy.
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sales of villas, luxury homes rise to 3-year high in Hong Kong on demand by wealthy buyers
Sales of villas, bungalows and luxury homes in Hong Kong soared to a three-year high in the first six months of this year, as an influx of wealthy immigrants fuelled the hunt for bargains on the top end of one of Asia's priciest residential property markets. Advertisement There were 286 registered transactions of villas in the first half, a jump of 23.3 per cent from the same period last year, according to data provided by Centaline Property, one of the largest real estate agencies in the city. The sales value of the property fell 15.3 per cent to HK$12.34 billion over the same period, due to a 'significant decline' in the sales of primary homes valued at more than HK$500 million, the data showed. The rising volume reflected the 'improved sentiment in both the property and stock markets', and was supported by the start of an interest rate reduction cycle and the city government's relaxation of investment immigration rules, said Centaline's senior associate director Yeung Ming-yee. The Villa Rosa project in Tai Tam on the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island on January 23, 2024. Photo: May Tse Homebuyers and investors are 'actively entering the premium luxury housing market, stimulating capital inflows and driving a recovery,' she added. Advertisement 'Developers delayed the launch of new luxury projects over the past three years, leading to insufficient supply that kept primary-market transactions at a relatively low level of around 30 deals,' said Yeung. She added that the primary market's total transaction value of HK$4.4 billion was 48.1 per cent lower compared to the same period last year.
Bloomberg
19 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Luxury Condo's Early Flop Shows Property Boom's Limits
A large-scale luxury development in Singapore sold only a tiny fraction of units when it started accepting bookings, reflecting the struggles of the priciest segment in the city-state's otherwise stratospheric property market. The W Residences Marina View condominium began pre-sales last Saturday, and buyers booked only two of its 683 units over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified sharing private information. The complex is located in the heart of the country's central business district, a short walk from skyscrapers that house global financial institutions and multinational companies.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
The return of the property investor - but why?
The rebound is being driven by investors who own up to four properties, says Cotality. Photo: RNZ Investors seem to be returning to the property market - but why? Cotality has released its latest property data, which shows that while first-home buyers remain a strong presence in the market, investor activity is picking up. Mortgaged multiple property owners were responsible for 23 percent of purchases in the second quarter, up from 21 percent in the middle of last year. In Auckland and Christchurch, they were 26 percent of transactions. Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson said the rebound was being driven by investors who owned up to four properties including their own home. Their share rose from 12 percent to 14 percent. They seemed to be targeting the more affordable end of the market, he said. Their share of purchases in the bottom 30 percent of properties by price rose from 21 percent last year to 24 percent so far this year. They were also more likely to buy existing properties, compared to last year, which Davidson said was probably driven by the absence of the tax advantage that used to come with buying a new build. But forecasts for capital gains are soft. Infometrics expects house prices to be 20 percent lower than 2021's peak in real terms even next decade . Rents have also been forecast to be subdued well into next year . Migration is weak and there has been a lift in housing supply, which keeps the pressure off prices. "If you're thinking about the future, well, the tax system might not be quite so favourable for property, the Government's pushing pretty hard on land supply," Davidson said. "We've got debt-to-income ratio restrictions now and that long-term downward trend in interest rates can't be repeated so I think there are reasons to be fairly cautious about future capital growth rates. "I speak at a few investor events and investors are certainly concerned about costs such as council rates going up." So what is pulling investors in? Davidson said property was still a "trusted" asset class. "Even if you think capital gains will be lower in the future there will probably still be some capital gains and people have still got their trust factor - they can still see the property, they kind of vaguely know how it works. "That's still a factor as to why people are buying rental properties." He said the changes to the loan-to-value restrictions and brightline test had helped, and the reintroduction of investors' ability to offset their interest costs against their income for tax purposes. "For me the biggest thing is lower interest rates. If you go back to the middle of last year when interest rates were still pretty high, a top up on a standard rental property could have been $400 or $500 a week - that's pretty chunky for your average mum and dad. Come forward to now and it might be $200 a week. It's still there but it's a lot lower than it was. That's a really big factor." He said it would not be a bad thing for investors to focus on the cost and income of a rental property rather than buying purely for the hope of capital gains. Sarina Gibbon, general manager of the Auckland Property Investors Association, said it did seem counterintuitive for investors to be more active. "I reckon it is to do with long-term confidence in the resilience of property as an investment vehicle. The 'headwinds' are very much perceived as short-term turbulence. "Overall, there is still a deeply seated belief among Kiwis that property will hold its value better than most other assets over time. Additionally, the sort of control and leveraging power you get with property, you're just not going to get that with anything else. "There are also some really interesting paradoxical forces at play. It seems like the weaker the economy gets, the more people are convinced about second or alternative income streams. And property still delivers that overall stability and confidence for Kiwis as a way to support and provide for their families. "So what we are seeing isn't a bet on capital gains, it is a hedge against the fading dream of upward mobility. Amongst investors, property is becoming less about wealth creation and more about income replacement. In terms of narrative, we've definitely moved away from the Covid era of FOMO, 2025 property investment is very much Plan B." Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said the growth was coming off a low base. "If you look at the number of investor mortgages over the last year… the total of 32,284 is still lower than at any time between 2015 and February 2022. "I don't see a lot of substance to the pick-up, or the growth being sustained, particularly when you look at how negative the trends are in rents at the moment, the fact that net migration and population growth are still easing, and consent numbers of about 34,000pa are substantially above underlying demand for new housing. "Part of the growth over the last year or so is likely to have been driven by more favourable tax treatment for mortgage interest making the numbers financially a bit more attractive …the reduction in the brightline test to two years meaning people are perhaps more willing to take a shorter-term punt on capital gains. The decline in interest rates will also have led to people looking for better returns thank banks are offering, which might have helped buoy investor demand for property a bit." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
