It is no secret that Singaporeans love to invest in properties. And who can blame them? Over the past decade, Singapore’s property market has skyrocketed. A growing economy, scarce land supply and low-interest rates have resulted in increasing demand for property. These in turn have propelled prices of property in Singapore to among the most expensive in the world. Investors who had purchased property a few decades ago would likely have made a killing. However, despite its marvellous track record, there are limitations to investing in property in Singapore. For one, investors require a large capital outlay. There are also additional stamp duties for permanent residents and Singaporeans buying their second property. Additionally, property is an illiquid asset that can take months or even

FPL’s 3QFY18 core PATMI of S$157m (-13% YoY) came in above estimates, due to faster-than-expected recognition of development profits in Singapore. Net gearing improved 6%pts QoQ but remains high at 89% and suggests that more properties are likely to be injected into its listed S-REITs. Also read: Parc Esta new launch cond (former Eunosville) up for sale On the residential front, volumes jumped 35% QoQ to 897 units. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The recurring-income segments posted a mixed performance this quarter, with Singapore office seeing negative reversions and Hospitality SBU posting a 2nd quarter of net loss but solid occupancies in its Singapore retail and Australia investment properties. FPL has fallen 18.3% YTD, underperforming both Developers (-8.3%)

UOL’s 2Q18 core PATMI of S$94.1m (-6% YoY) came in slightly below projections/consensus, which is attributed to the uneven recognition of profits from development property. We estimate that sold residential units surged 5x QoQ, to 145 units, helped by solid sales at 62%-sold Amber 45. Despite cooling measures, UOL has not changed its launch schedule for the three upcoming projects, which we believe is due to their competitive cost. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); While the contribution from OneKM fell, the proposed AEI should reposition it as one of the beneficiaries of the rejuvenation of Paya Lebar Regional Centre, spearheaded by the upcoming Paya Lebar Quarter project. UOL has declined 21.1% YTD, underperforming both Developers (-10.1%) and FSSTI (-4.0%), but a

Performance of Straits Times Index (STI) Constituents in July 2018 The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 51.15 points or 1.54% higher to 3319.85 in July 2018.(compared to 3268.70 on 29-Jun-2018) Top Performers: Singapore Press Holdings, Jardine Strategic, Jardine Matheson, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Thai Beverages. Least Performers: Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, City Developments, Golden Agri Resources, Singapore Airlines, Venture Corp. Most Volatile: City Developments, Golden Agri Resources, UOL Group, Singapore Press Holdings, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust. Advertisement Continue Reading »

The Singapore government stepped in to introduce cooling measures at the start of July to prevent Singapore’s property from overheating. Additional buyer stamp duty (ABSD) and tighter loan-to-value (LTV) limits were both adjusted to the surprise of the market. What Were The Property Cooling Measures Introduced? The ABSD was raised by five percentage points for Singapore citizens who are buying their second or subsequent residential properties. For Singaporeans buying their second home, the ABSD will be raised from seven percent to 12 percent. For those who are buying their third or subsequent home, ABSD will be raised from ten percent to 15 percent. The government also introduced an additional ABSD of five percent that is non-remittable for developers purchasing residential properties fo

It is that time of the year again when companies provide updates on how they have performed over the quarter. Many things have happened since the last quarterly earnings update. Globally, the ongoing trade conflict between China and the United States has led investors to shy away from companies that rely on exports. Manufacturing companies in Singapore have predictably taken a big hit in the process with share prices of some of the major companies spiraling down more than 30% from their peaks. In June, the US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate to 1.75%to 2%. This is already the second increase of the year, and the Fed has signalled for two more hikes in 2018 and possibly another four in 2019. Central bankers now expect the rate to end the year at 2.4% rather than 2.1% projec

As we enter 2H18, investors are now busy pruning their portfolio and re-allocating their cash into different markets. If you are one of them and looking for ideas on how you should re-allocate your portfolio, DBS thinks that Singapore should be one of the markets that you should overweight in your portfolio. Here are three reasons why DBS thinks you should take an overweight position on the Singapore market. 3 Reasons Why You Should Take An Overweight Position On The Singapore Market Singapore’s Economic Transformation Underway To Make Singapore More Attractive For Investments Singapore’s economy is historically heavy on exports. However, the Singapore government is working on an economic transformation to steer Singapore towards a more broad-based economy with the services sector to

Latest curbs could see developers lower prices up to 10% DEVELOPERS may trim prices of new launches by as much as 10 per cent from their earlier indications in response to the latest round of property cooling measures, with high-end homes likely to see bigger adjustments, analysts say. In downgrading their stock ratings across several developers, some have started pricing in a 5-10 per cent reduction in average selling prices (ASP) in their forecasts, though they note that it is too early for any developer to consider writedowns on their projects yet. Maybank Kim Eng property analyst Derrick Heng, who has priced in a 5-10 per cent ASP reduction in his projections, said: “While we expect a moderation in EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margins to single digits for most projects

There are many ways to find investment ideas. Some useful methods are to screen for stocks or to look at a list of stocks near their 52-week lows to sieve out potential bargains. Studying what institutional investors have been buying or selling is another avenue. Institutional investors are typically large investment organisations, such as hedge funds, mutual funds, unit trust companies, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and so on. These investors tend to possess vastly greater resources than individual investors like you and me when researching stocks. Hence, it may be useful to keep a close eye on what they are doing, as a way to generate ideas. In this article, I will look at three Singapore stocks that were in the list of the top 10 stocks that saw the highest net sales in do

The Singapore Government announced a set of property cooling measures effective 6 July 2018 aimed at moderating home price growth. The authorities raised the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD)  by 5 percentage points for owners of second and subsequent residential properties purchases as well as lifting Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits by 5 percentage point for all new housing loans. On the other hand, developers will now incur a higher remissible ABSD of 25 percent, on top of an additional 5 percent non-remittable ABSD for enbloc transactions. DBS expects the combined impact of the measures to hit buyers’ sentiments significantly, and projected that total sale volumes to fall to 9,000 to 10,000 units in 2018. Meanwhile, the curbs added further pressure on developers as the revised ABSD i

Last Thursday, the Singapore government made a surprise announcement that it is increasing the buyer stamp duty for private properties and tightening the loan-to-value limits. This comes as private property prices have risen to a four-year high after a frenzy of collective sales. These new regulations will not only affect property prices, but have also impact on some companies listed on the stock market. Here’s a quick list of stocks represented in the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) that might be affected. Property stocks Perhaps the biggest hit will be the property stocks that have residential development projects in Singapore. The new regulations will affect demand for residential property in Singapore and in turn, affect prices. Already, property developers have been courting home bu

On Friday last week, property stock giants – City Developments Limited (SGX: C09), CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31) and UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) – plunged 15.4%, 6.0% and 13.5% respectively. This was a knee-jerk reaction to the surprise news that the Singapore Government is implementing additional property cooling measures. Investors are anticipating lower demand for Singapore residential property and lower returns on investments for future residential projects in Singapore. This is due to the fact that demand will be dampened and that developers will also have to incur an additional 5% stamp duty when they purchase land banks. That said, the reaction from the market seemed too drastic in my view. Here are a few reasons why. Other revenue streams All three property companies have mult

Property stocks in Singapore nose-dived dramatically on Friday, following the announcement of new property cooling measures in Singapore. The Singapore government made a surprise announcement to increase the buyer stamp duty by 5% for everyone, except for Singaporean and permanent resident first-time home owners. In addition, it also tightened the loan-to-value limits by five percentage points. This would have an impact on investors looking to buy a second investment property in Singapore and also increases the down payment needed to purchase a home. This will most certainly put investors off, and also make it more difficult for home-buyers to purchase a private property due to the higher initial down payment. The lower demand for private homes will, in turn, affect property developers who

The Singapore stock market, as represented by the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), tumbled 2.4%, or around 77 points, to 3,191.8. Other than trade war fears between the US and China, the market was spooked by the announcement of higher stamp duty rates and tighter loan limits for residential property purchases here. For the week, of the 30 index components, 20 were in the red while the remaining 10 were in the green. The big decliners among the Straits Times Index companies were property stocks. City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) plunged 13.4% to S$9.46; UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) tumbled 12.1% to S$6.70; and CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31) slipped 5.4% to S$2.99. Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4), which has a property arm, was the third biggest loser of the index, falling 8% to S$6.

Singapore property stocks have plummeted today. At the time of writing, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) component stocks, CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31), UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) have fallen 5.03%, 9.81% and 16.15% respectively. So why is this happening? Property cooling measures The government announced two surprise property cooling measures that became effective today. This is aimed at ensuring price escalations do not go out of hand. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief, Ravi Menon, warned investors to be careful as euphoria has led to aggressive bidding by developers for both en-bloc sale tenders and government land sites. The Singapore property market has also seen a resurgence in prices and transactions over the past year as pric

As at the time of writing, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) has tumbled 2.2%, or 72.6 points, to 3,1841. However, the property developers in the index, such as City Developments Limited (SGX: C09), UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31) have taken a bigger beating. Those shares are down from 5% to 17%. Ok, What Happened?   Yesterday, the Singapore government announced that it is raising the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and tightening the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits for residential property purchases. In its statement, the Singapore government said that private residential prices have “increased sharply by 9.1% over the past year” and warned that the “sharp increase in prices, if left unchecked, could run ahead of economic fundamentals and

Investors Takeaway: 4 Big-Name SG Stocks That MUST Be In Your Portfolio Keppel Corporation (Keppel Corp) According to CIMB, Keppel Corp has the potential to declare higher dividends on the back of stronger gains from its asset recycling, along with stronger recovery in offshore and marine (O&M) margins. With the OPEC striking a new deal on production output, higher oil prices should support the demand for rigs. This will eventually lead to more de-risking of its jack-up inventory, resulting in improvement in operating leverage. Apart from its offshore and marine business, CIMB notes that Keppel Corp is also a proxy to ride the property cycle in Singapore and emerging markets with its land bank of 61,000 homes. BUY, TP $10.00 Sheng Siong Group (Sheng Siong) Following a slowdown in

Shares of property developers fell sharply after the Singapore government announced new measures to cool down a heated property market. The new set of rules include higher stamp duties and tighter requirements around the loan-to-value limits on residential property purchases. Before the implementation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) had warned of “euphoria” and “excessive exuberance” in the property market. As of 10:45 am today, shares of City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) and UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) had fallen 15.8% and 12.5%, respectively. CapitaLand Limited‘s (SGX: C31) shares also dived 4.1%. Singapore’s banks, which provide housing loans, were not spared either. DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) fell almost 3% while its peers Over

Property Stocks Cooling Measures Measures To Cool The "Euphoria" in Singapore Property MarketThe Government announced adjustments to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits on residential property purchases, to cool the property market and keep price increases in line with economic fundamentals.The new rates are effective 06-Jul-2018, but there will be a transitional provision for cases where an Option to Purchase (OTP) has been granted by sellers to potential buyers on or before 05-Jul-2018.Check out the list of current projects of key SGX listed developers including CapitaLand, City Developments, UOL Group / UIC, GuocoLand, Bukit Sembawang, Oxley, HongKong Land, Chip Eng Seng, Roxy Pacific, Far East Organisation according to Maybank Kim E

If you’re thinking of buying a private property for rental income or investment purposes in 2018, it is worth noting that the rental market is still not very strong. In the near-term, you should not expect super attractive yields from your properties. With rising interest rates, it might be prudent to also be conservative when counting on rental income to service any debt obligations. However, if you are in the market for a condominium to live in, then the property market is still a viable option today. Here are four condominiums due to launch in the second half of 2018 that have the lowest indicative prices. Whether these condos are worth their asking prices is something prospective homebuyers need to carefully evaluate for themselves. Read Also: En-Bloc Fever 2017: How Mu