This year will be remembered for its unpredictability, especially on the global political front. The ramifications are being felt in the Singapore market, leading to doomsday predictions and comparisons with financial crises past. And yet, the Singapore housing market rebounded in 4Q2016, with 2,400 to 2,600 units sold, resulting in “the strongest quarter for the year — a contrast to what is usually a slower quarter”, says Ong Teck Hui, JLL national director of research and consultancy.
Project launches that stood out this year include City Developments’ Forest Woods near nex shopping mall and the Serangoon MRT station, MCC Land’s The Alps Residences in Tampines, and Sim Lian Group’s executive condominium project in Sengkang, Treasure Crest.
Pool view of Gramercy Park, City Developments’ luxury condo that was completed recently
Some property developers with unsold inventory of high-end condos also introduced novel schemes. The most notable was OUE’s deferred payment scheme at OUE Twin Peaks and CapitaLand’s stay-then-pay scheme at d’Leedon and The Interlace. Its success spawned other copycat schemes, with varying results. However, what is obvious is that buyers were motivated to re-enter the Core Central Region.
Oxley Holdings boldly enlarged its global footprint with a rollout of projects in Batam and Phnom Penh, with Dublin and Kuala Lumpur slated for 2017.
This year, mainland Chinese developers MCC Land and Hao Yuan Investment launched the most residential projects in the mid-tier and mass-market segments. Another mainland Chinese developer, Qingjian Realty, made its first en bloc purchase, namely Shunfu Ville, at a record price for a collective sale ($638 million), surpassed only by those done at the height of the last collective sale fever in 2007, namely Leedon Heights (now Leedon Residence) for $835 million and Farrer Court (now d'Leedon) for $1.34 billion in 2007.
Several mixed-use developments notched significant milestones this year. GuocoLand’s Tanjong Pagar Centre was completed this year and opened with new-to-market F&B concepts. OUE announced that its OUE Downtown on Shenton Way will feature The Work Project coworking centre as an anchor tenant at its Downtown Gallery lifestyle mall. OUE Downtown will also see the debut of Singapore’s first Oakwood Premier serviced residences.
In the suburbs of Bukit Panjang, Sim Lian announced that its Hillion Mall, scheduled for completion in 1Q2017, is 90% leased. Hillion Mall is part of Sim Lian’s first integrated development, which includes Hillion Residences, and is linked to the MRT and LRT stations. A more challenging economic environment, and impending US Federal Reserve rate hikes — which are likely to affect lending rates in Singapore — may cast a cloud over the property market. Against this backdrop, Desmond Sim, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South East Asia, is projecting lower home sales in 2017 compared with 2016. However, next year may turn out to be as unpredictable as this one.
This article appeared in The Edge Property Pullout, Issue 760 (Dec 26, 2016) of The Edge Singapore.