More options for homebuyers, and rethinking ownership and investment

CRACKS, leaks, clogged pipes and popping tiles – that’s the stuff of nightmares for homeowners. For some, such defects surfaced in brand-new condos they had just collected their keys for.

These might range from serious waterproofing issues, to easy fixes for minor problems like chips, dents and soft-closing cabinet doors that don’t close. Ry-Anne Lim talks to owners, defect inspectors and developers to find out if construction quality is worsening, and what can be done about defects.  

Two new residential projects started booking sales over the weekend, with varying success. The Altura executive condominium launch did predictably well, moving 220 out of 360 units - about 60 per cent. Recent EC launches have sold quickly. 

At S$1,433 per square foot (psf) on average, pricing at Altura is 5 per cent higher than the December launch of Tenet in Tampines, and 10 per cent more than the average at Copen Grand in Tengah, which was marketed in November.

Meanwhile, at The LakeGarden Residences in Jurong, 71 out of 306 units were sold at launch. This made for a take-up of 23 per cent at an average of S$2,120 psf. Agents put the slower sales down to “buyer fatigue” – several new launches are also on the market competing for attention – as well as caution setting in among house hunters faced with S$2,000-plus psf prices amid macroeconomic gloom.

Next up will be TMX Maxwell, the first of four upcoming downtown CBD projects to be marketed. Pricing starts at about S$3,100 psf.  

Faced with retreating buyers, one major developer in Hong Kong has fired a drastic salvo – launching a new project at prices around 20 per cent below market rates in the area, and with the “cheapest” home in Hong Kong since 2019. (That’s HK$2.9 million for a 210 square foot studio, or the equivalent of about S$2,380 psf.) Things could get ugly after CK Asset’s shock move, agents in Hong Kong said. 

Plans for the new Singapore-Johor Bahru rail are underway and on track to be completed by the end of 2026. The service could see as many as 10,000 commuters moving in both directions every hour. Ahead of the opening, property buyers are hunting for deals and transactions in residential properties in Johor Bahru are on the rise, Tan Ai Leng reports. 

The tricky thing about holding both public and private property

Singapore government rules allow for an HDB flat-owning citizen to concurrently own a private home, subject to the minimum occupation requirements. On the flip side, private homeowners wanting to buy HDB flats have to sell their private property before they are allowed to own an HDB home. Such rules are in place to ensure that public housing remains affordable and accessible to more households. 

For more equitable treatment, should the policy be either to bar all citizens from concurrently owning HDB flats and private homes, or to allow all citizens to own an HDB home as well as private homes? Leslie Yee takes on the tricky question, and makes the case for allowing more Singaporeans to own both an HDB flat for owner occupation, and a private home for investment.  

Big plans for HarbourFront? 

Mapletree Investments is eyeing a redevelopment of its HarbourFront Centre at 1 Maritime Square, and has bagged provisional permission for an expansion of almost 50 per cent more gross floor area. The approval for the proposed development was granted in May, and came among a string of projects granted provisional permission in the second quarter, Kalpana Rashiwala reports. 

Hong Leong Holdings got an early nod to redevelop Anson Centre at 51 Anson Road into 87 residential apartments and offices. And Frasers Property units had plans approved for serviced apartments at Unity Street, where it owns Robertson Walk mall and Fraser Place Robertson Walk, and for a project with 622 residential apartments and serviced apartments in River Valley Road, where its Valley Point shopping centre and office tower and Fraser Suites Singapore sit.

What’s new in Reits

In a groundbreaking move, Sabana Reit unitholders voted to kick out its external manager and install internal management. The result brings to an end the long campaigns by both activist investor Quarz Capital and Hong Kong-listed ESR Group, which owns the Sabana Reit manager and has a 20.6 per cent interest in Sabana Reit. And so begins the long process to rebuild the Reit’s management - the saga isn’t over yet.

More Reits’ results are in:

MPACT reports lower Q1 DPU on stronger Singdollar

Elite Commercial Reit H1 DPU down 32% to £0.0174 on higher borrowing costs

CapitaLand Ascendas Reit H1 DPU declines 2% on higher interest expense, enlarged unit base

Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust reports positive rental reversions for Q3

First Reit posts 6.1% drop in H1 DPU on higher finance costs, one-off increase in unit base