The sudden Singapore property market cooling measures on 5th July 2018 had shocked the market as no one was expecting this measures. Many panicked causing a knee-jerk reaction which caused developers to launch 3 projects on the very night these measures were announced, find out more about these measures in this article and how it affects you. In any measure, there will be different impact on different groups of stakeholders. Inadvertently, there are winners, losers and opportunities created.   In this article, four main questions will be discussed 1.How does the cooling measures affect different groups of people? 2.What is likely to happen to a few market segments? 3.What are the side effects? 4.Are there any winners? For those who would like to read more about the cooling measures can do

On Thursday evening, the government announced a new series of property cooling measures which took effect on Friday, citing a sharp 9.1% rise in private residential prices over the past year and growing transaction volumes. The measures include significantly higher ABSD rates on property transactions and tighter loan-to-value (LTV) limits. Except for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents purchasing their first residential property, property buyers have to pay an additional 5% in Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) when purchasing new properties, while entities would pay an additional 10%. Property buyers will also face additional restrictions when taking out a mortgage, as the LTV limits were tightened by 5% for all housing loans. The government said the move was necessary to prevent a p

According to SRX, the rental index for non-landed private residential units rose 0.2% in May 2018 compared to April 2018. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In terms of rental volume of private non-landed residential units, overall numbers have fallen to 4,674 in May 2018 compared to the previous month (4,831) and the same month last year (4,929). The average number private non-landed residential leases inked over the last 12 months is approximately 4,880 per month. Also read: APAC Realty a good stock to invest in? The highest number of rental deals continue to be inked in the Outside Central Region (1,610 in May 2018), compared to Core Central Region (1,046) and Rest of Central Region (1,273). The index for Core Central Region properties stayed flat while that of th

The en bloc market continues its run with a number of projects being marketed, latest of which is Dalvey Court which is up for S$160m. The reserve price of S$160m for the 32 unit apartment in District 10 represents a land rate of about S$2,009 per sqft per plot ratio. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The project’s gross floor area of 7,401 sqm or 79,660 sqft can be redeveloped into an apartment with 93 units, each of which is assumed to have a unit size of 70 sqm. Located close to Botanic Gardens, Dalvey Court is near a stretch of high-profile schools such as St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road). Selegie Centre Just last week, news appeared that an en-bloc attempt is being done for Selegie C

JLL, Lendlease launch proptech accelerator in Singapore GLOBAL real estate giants JLL and Lendlease are partnering to launch an accelerator in Singapore to kickstart innovation in real estate, an industry said to have been slow to tech advancements. But unless both companies commit to a substantial investment and a long-term plan to “transform legacy businesses”, the accelerator will yield limited benefits, observers said. Propell Asia – described as the first Singapore-based regional property technology (proptech) accelerator – opens for applications on Monday. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); HDB closer to solar power target after awarding latest tender SOLAR panels are set to be installed in blocks of public flats managed by the West Coast

PropNex Limited is the latest stock initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange. Shares of the home-grown real estate service group debuted at 68.5 cents on Monday and rose as high as 22% in its first day of trading before closing at 71.5 cents. The 2.125 million shares offered for public subscription was subscribed 24.6 times, indicating buoyant sentiment among investors for the PropNex IPO and the local property sector in general. If you’re looking at the PropNex IPO with interest, here are four things to know before you invest: 1. PropNex is the largest real estate agency in Singapore According to the independent market research report presented in the IPO prospectus, PropNex is the largest real estate agency in Singapore. As at 1 January 2018, PropNex has 6,684 agents und

Recently, while I was researching stocks to add to my portfolio, I came across a few Singapore-listed companies that I thought were interesting. A quick search on the internet also showed that not many investment analysts cover these companies extensively. In this article, I will discuss the fourth company that I like: APAC Realty Ltd (SGX: CLN). For the first three companies in this series, you can check out the following: 1) Company 1: Advancer Global Ltd (SGX: 43Q) – head here 2) Company 2: Samurai 2K Aerosol Ltd (SGX: 1C3) – head here 3) Company 3: United Global Ltd (SGX: 43P) – head here The business APAC Realty, which was listed on Singapore’s stock market in September 2017, is a real estate services provider with three primary business segments: real estate brokerage ser

PropNex Limited is gunning for a public listing in the Singapore stock market, amid a buoyant mood in the local property sector. If successfully listed, PropNex will join APAC Realty Ltd (SGX: CLN), which operates the second largest real estate agency in Singapore, as another real estate services provider on the local stock exchange. About PropNex’s business According to its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus, PropNex is an integrated real estate services group. It has four business segments, and they are real estate brokerage, training, property management, and real estate consultancy. PropNex’s primary business is in the “provision of real estate brokerage services comprising real estate agency and project marketing services.” It operates its real estate agency through its

The enbloc fever has yet to fizzle out leading into the second half of 2018. In the first week of June alone, another slew of properties have been reported to be up for collective sale. The properties– Spanish Village, Katong Plaza, Gilstead Court and Elizabeth Towers – are collectively asking for a total of $1.8 billion. Local investors are no strangers to Singapore’s land scarce property market. As enbloc activities ramped up since the start of this year, investors were also quick to jump on stocks of reputable developers the likes of City Developments and UOL Group. But as investors piled in on developers in Singapore, they left behind some overlooked counters that could also ride along the property upcycle. Amongst this group of “obscure” counters, APAC Realty stands out as i

The upcoming months are going to see heightened volatility as US and China both ratchet up their trade war rhetoric. Meanwhile, prospects of the Fed’s interest rate hike are also keeping the market on its feet as it prepares for the possibility of a total of four hikes this year. According to UOBKH, investors should be turning their focus towards mid-large cap picks that are cash generative and provide decent dividend yield to help protect any price downside. Investors Takeaway: 5 Dividend Plays In A Volatile Year City Developments With the largest residential landbank in Singapore, UOBKH highlights and recommends City Developments as the best proxy to Singapore residential recovery. Residential properties make up almost 40 percent of City Developments’ gross asset value. With risi

The number of new private homes sold in May jumped 53.1% compared to April and 7.9% compared to the same month last year, according to information released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday, 18 June. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Developers sold 1,121 private homes in May 2018, excluding executive condominiums, compared with 732 units in April. The number of units sold was also the highest since August 2017, when 1,246 new private homes were sold. Including ECs, 1,257 units were sold in May, a slight drop from 1,328 sold in April and lower than 1,416 sold in the same month last year. Categorized by location, the Core Central Region (CCR) saw 43 units sold; the Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw 286 units sold; the Outside Central Region (OCR) saw

APAC Realty is one of the leading players in the real estate brokerage industry in Asia. APAC Realty operates three main business segments – the real estate brokerage services; franchise agreements; and training, valuation and other ancillary services. In this post, I share more about the business model, recent developments related to the company and my views on the stock. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Basic information APAC Realty traded at S$0.89 as of 8 June 2018. The peak was at S$1.26 on 9 Mar 2018 and was priced at S$0.78 during IPO on 29 Sept 2017. The present share price is 14% higher than IPO and 29% lower than its peak. Also read: Keppel DC REIT’s acquisition of a data centre How does APAC Realty earn money? There are 5 ways APAC Realty earns t

MARKET OVERVIEW- The broader market remains sluggish even as a tech rally on Wall Street lifted local blue chips against a backdrop of trade tensions.- Technically, the grossly oversold STI could reclaim more lost ground with near-term resistance at 3,510 (near 50-dma), while underlying support remains at 3,424 level (200-dma).POSITIVE NEWS*Keppel Corp- Secured a $50m contract from FueLNG (50:50 JV with Shell) to build Southeast Asia's first LNG bunkering vessel.- The 7.500m3 vessel is scheduled to be completed in 3Q20 and will support the growth of clean fuel newbuild solutions along the gas value chain.- FueLNG will receive a grant of up to $3m as part of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's LNG Bunkering Pilot Programme.- Ytd, the group has won over $600m of new orders, compri

On 16/4/18, I bought into Ascendas Hospitality Trust at $0.80, and thus will be receiving its $0.0313 dividend later this month. Its shares took a beating recently, and drew my attention as a result. Being in the hospitality industry, its revenues and earnings would tend to fluctuate more as compared to more resilient sectors like […]

High-speed rail loss ‘a setback, not knockout blow to Jurong’ THE Ministry of Transport (MOT) issued a statement late on Monday to say that Singapore has yet to receive official word from Malaysia regarding the supposed cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR). The MOT, indicating that it would wait for official word from Malaysia before proceeding, said in its statement: “We had agreed to proceed with the HSR project based on mutual benefits and obligations set out in the HSR bilateral agreement.” Meanwhile, property analysts have said that although the cancellation of the project – which is to have its terminus in Jurong – will put a dampener on the area’s aspirations to be Singapore’s second central business distric

APAC Realty Ltd (SGX: CLN) is a real estate services provider that was listed on Singapore’s stock market at the end of September last year. It has three main business segments: real estate brokerage services; franchise agreements; and training, valuation, and other ancillary services. The real estate brokerage services segment is operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd, one of the largest real estate agencies in Singapore. Shares of the company have gone up by slightly more than 40% since going public at S$0.66 per share. However, before you jump on the bandwagon to own a piece of the business, it is important to understand more about the company. Here are three questions about APAC Realty’s financials, growth drivers and valuation answered. How much money

MARKET OVERVIEW- The market could be off to a nervy start following the shock election result in Malaysia but oil-linked counters may stand to gain from 3.3% jump in crude prices in the wake of the US exit from Iran and an unexpected drop in US stockpiles. - Technically, STI could continue to trade sideways in the near term within the broad 3,500-3,610 range.CORPORATE RESULTS*CSE Global- 1Q18 net profit surged 90% to $5.7m, achieving 37% of full-year consensus estimate.- Revenue jumped 23.7% to $92.2m from growth in oil & gas (+23.3%) and infrastructure (+24%) segments. These were mainly driven by oil & gas projects in the Americas (+66.7%).- Gross margin narrowed 2.4ppt to 26.8% but operating expenses were well contained, reflecting higher labour productivity and cost efficiencies.- Fewer

The calls to go “long” on the property sector have been going on for a while now. While investors tend to go for blue chip property counters the like of City Developments and UOL Group, these “obvious” choices have all seen a run-up in their share price ever since the sector bounced back from its doldrums, leaving behind laggards and more obscure counters that are waiting for value to be realised. Amara Holdings Amara Holdings is principally engaged in property development, as well as hotel investment, management and operation. The home-grown group operates four hotels under the Amara brand – 2 in Singapore, 1 in Bangkok and another in Shanghai. On the domestic front, slower growth in the supply of new hotel rooms mean that the company may ride along the trend of higher revenue

The impact of a US-China trade war will be prominent, especially for a small and open economy like Singapore. Singapore’s electronics industry would be the greatest loser if the trade tariffs discussed by China and the USA get implemented. However, RHB believes that various other sectors have been negatively impacted by the uncertainties in the global economic environment. In particular, the consumer and real estate sectors in Singapore should still be buoyant even if a full-blown US-China trade war sparks off. If you are looking for a portfolio that hedges against any US-China trade tantrums, RHB recommends investing in Singapore companies with clear visibility of earnings growth and potential to deliver steady cashflow. Investors Takeaway: Hedging Against US-China Trade War With These

APAC Realty Ltd (SGX: CLN) is a real estate services provider that was listed on the local stock market at the end of September last year. The company has three main business segments: real estate brokerage services; franchise agreements; and training, valuation, and other ancillary services. The real estate brokerage services segment is operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd, one of the largest real estate agencies in Singapore. My Foolish colleague, Chong Ser Jing, recently ranked all the stocks in the Singapore market according to the Magic Formula, an investing strategy popularised by Joel Greenblatt in his book, The Little Book That Beats The Market. Ser Jing wanted to find the 30 best stocks in Singapore for 2018, based on the Magic Formula, and APAC Rea