Jet Li's Singapore Bungalow

 Here's a view of Jet Li's Singapore bungalow at Bukit Timah. The actor from Beijing had reportedly spent almost S$20 million on this 22,723 sq feet bungalow in the upscale district of the country.

Apparently, the reason to relocate to Singapore was in the interests of his daughter's education. They are expected to send her to the Singapore American School.

The attraction of British Colonial black and white Bungalows

Colonial bungalows – the legacy left behind by the British. Now owned by the Singapore Land Authority, they are however available for rent. Starting from $6000/month, they are the property favourites of expatriates and professional executives. Why do they favor these particular property types? And how do you go about renting one? 

Expatriates have fallen hard for Singapore’s famous black and whites, with about 70 per cent of the stately bungalows owned by the Government rented out to foreigners. They have become a popular pick among executives and professionals looking for something different amid the high-rise life here.

Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which handles rentals, has almost 500 of the homes available for lease. They are allocated through a tender process. Like other state properties, they have an average lease of two years, though many tenants opt to extend their terms.

RealStar Premier Group managing director William Wong owns property around Singapore but has lived with his family in a single-storey black and white in Seletar’s Piccadilly Circus neighbourhood for almost 41/2 years. ‘It’s like a ‘little England’, with some of my neighbours having tree houses in their gardens. The house is very near to nature and there’s a lot of space. When I saw these houses, I thought they’d be a great place for my kids to run around and play,’ he said. The rents can be surprisingly afford-able as well, with Mr Wong noting that leases on black and white homes ‘in this neighbourhood range from $6,000 to $7,000 a month; it’s very attractive. Normal landed homes of a similar size can cost up to $20,000 a month’. The SLA said rents depend on location and prevailing market conditions, but bargains can be had by those eyeing less centrally located properties.

Last month, a black and white bungalow in Seletar with a land area of 2,260 sq ft was leased for $3,571, or $1.58 per square foot (psf) per month. A normal semi-detached 3,200 sq ft home in the same area is offered for a rent of $7,500, or $2.34 psf per month. But people expecting to snag a black and white in more central areas like Nassim Road or Orange Grove Road should be prepared to pay a premium.
A two-storey example at 10A Goodwood Hill near Orchard Road has a guide rent of $20,000 a month, which is at the higher end of the price spectrum. Tenders for that house ended yesterday and it is likely the final rent will be even higher. A recently leased black-and-white in Winchester Road in the Alexandra neighbourhood had a $14,000 guide rent but attracted a top offer of $18,500 a month.
 
The homes are characterised by their black and white finishings, spacious grounds and colonial ambience. They were built by the British from the late 19th century to before World War II, to house military officers, High Court judges and other members of the colonial society’s great and good.
Black-and-white properties, which can be found in areas like Bukit Timah, Alexandra Park, Orange Grove Road and Seletar Road, are regularly made available for rent, with details listed on the State Property Information Online website at www.spio.sla.gov.sg

Fewer PRs buying Landed Homes

The number of permanent residents (PRs) buying landed homes in Singapore fell in 2011, as tough measures discouraged them from entering that segment of the real estate market.

According to latest figures released by DTZ Research, PRs acquired 109 landed homes in 2011, down 53.6 percent from the 235 homes purchased in 2010. This means that PRs only contributed 3.4 percent of total transactions in the landed housing market last year, compared to the 5.4 percent share in the preceding year.

It is now harder for PRs to acquire landed property in Singapore, as strict criteria under the Residential Property Act prevents them from acquiring such a property type if they already own a condo unit. The government tightened the rules last year and at the time, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that the number of approved applications was expected to decline by more than half.

Meanwhile, many experts believe the PR share in the landed housing market is being hit by two forces – the tougher criteria for obtaining approvals and the government’s tighter immigration policy.

Chua Chor Hoon, Research Head at DTZ Asia Pacific, said that while tougher criteria cuts down the number of PR buyers, the number of PRs in the country also fell by 1.7 percent year-on-year, or around 9,000 as of June last year. This came on the back of lengthened residency requirements for PRs and stricter eligibility requirements for obtaining homes.

William Wong, Managing Director of RealStar Premier Group, noted that the number of PRs viewing landed homes dropped by more than 50 percent, possibly due to their awareness of the tighter regulations.

“While PRs used to get approval for landed property of 13,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft in the past, they are being advised to buy smaller homes of about 10,000 sq ft now,” he said.

Sentosa Cove bungalow goes for record S$39m

 A sea-fronting bungalow in Sentosa Cove (pictured) has smashed the price record, having been sold for S$39 million, the highest absolute price for a bungalow in the area.

The new record beats the previous high of S$36 million for a Paradise Island bungalow back in 2010. That price translated to S$2,403 psf on a 14,983 sq ft land area, according to a report by The Business Times.

Comparatively, the latest deal for the property at Cove Drive is S$2,448 psf, based on its 15,929 sq ft land area. Sentosa Cove residential properties have a 99-year leasehold tenure.

The completed bungalow, which includes five bedrooms, an entertainment room and a spacious living area, was sold by a Singaporean to an Indian buyer, with Newsman Realty representing the seller.

Sentosa Cove is the only area in Singapore which allows non-PR foreigners to acquire a landed home, subject to approval from the Land Dealings Approval Unit (LDAU).

Meanwhile, on mainland Singapore, another high price is said to have been set at a Good Class Bungalow Area (GCBA) involving a vacant plot at Jervois Hill. The agreed price for the 15,120 sq ft freehold site is said to be S$31 million which works out to about S$2,050 psf, a new record for the area.

The buyer is apparently applying to become a Singapore citizen.

Since the Chinese New Year period, property hunters have been returning to the bungalow market after initially stagnating when the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) was introduced in early December.

Banks must provide Borrowers with Mortgage Fact Sheets

 Home buyers will need to do more active checking before signing off on their loans, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) now requiring banks to provide prospective borrowers with a fact sheet during credit facility discussions.

The fact sheet aims to help potential borrowers get the basic information regarding mortgages, such as the repayment schedule and loan quantum.

The sheet will include notes informing the borrower that the bank reserves the right to charge for extra payments if the value of the property drops. Customers will also be informed that monthly repayments could rise if interest rates climb.

For example, the monthly repayment on a 20-year, S$1 million mortgage may rise by around S$1,500 if the interest rate edges up from two to five percent.

Banks are also mandated to provide fact sheets whenever there are changes to the proposed facility’s key features. This can be in printed, written or any electronic form, with the bank keeping a copy of it.

Moreover, the bank is required to obtain a written self-declaration from the borrower, which states that he has received the fact sheet prior to signing the mortgage agreement.

Consultants feel that the latest safeguards will also protect the interests of banks.

Meanwhile, Lui Su Kian, Head of Deposits and Secured Lending at DBS Bank, said that “mortgages are a long-term commitment... and customers should be aware of how the loan type will fit into their lifestyle and how interest rates are determined, as this will have a direct impact on their monthly budget.”

Foreigners 'own 30% of Thai land'

Thailand’s Auditor-General Siracha Charoenpanij revealed yesterday that 30 percent of land in the kingdom (pictured) is owned by foreigners.

Speaking at a seminar on disguised legal transactions and foreigners’ land ownership in Thailand held by the Senate committee on economic, commercial and industrial affairs in parliament, he expressed concern that more needed to be done to prevent foreigners from using nominees to own land.

The law in Thailand prevents a foreign entity from holding more than 49 percent of any land. However, since 2002 a foreigner is allowed to purchase a maximum of one rai (1,500 sq m) of land in Thailand for residential purposes if they bring at least US$1 million (S$1.26 million) into the country.

Siracha said, “Right now more than one third of land in Thailand is owned by foreigners,” adding that according to research most of the land in foreigners’ hands is in coastal resort areas.

According to a report in The Nation, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) lecturer Piyanuch Potawanich suggested the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015 would lead to more foreigners using nominees to own Thai land, especially Singaporeans, who the report said were smart, had money and needed to invest for profit. She urged the introduction of laws to punish nominees and deport any foreigners who break them.

Several industry watchers have already ridiculed the claim that 30 percent of Thailand’s land is owned by foreigners.

Andrew Batt, Regional Group Editor for PropertyGuru, said; “It’s simply unbelievable to suggest that one third of land in the country is owned by foreigners. Thailand is a huge country, and the widespread use of legal loopholes to circumvent the country’s land laws just isn’t happening.”

Batt added that with the news yesterday that Indonesia is mulling a relaxation in its foreign property ownership laws, Thailand should perhaps be doing more to make ownership easier rather that making it more unattractive.

Developers' bids for sites indicate Falling Home Prices

With concerns over a possible drop in private home prices of up to eight percent this year, many developers are becoming more cautious on how much they are willing to pay for private home sites.

Deciding on the prices to offer for a plot on sale, developers need to take into account the possibly lower home prices into their sums.

According to a BNP Paribas report, which analysed about 100 government land sale bids from 2007 to last month, developers are lowering their bids on land sites because of the uncertainty on whether prices will hold up by the time they would have to sell the project.

When bidding for a site, developers consider the break-even figure – meaning how much they will pay for the project, taking into account the costs of building it as well as other finance, administration and marketing costs, plus a little extra in terms of profits.

The report revealed that beginning in mid-2011, the difference between developers’ expected break-even price and existing selling prices widened to 19.8 percent, way above the mean of 12.1 percent.

The 12.1 percent mean represents the profit margin which developers have achieved on average. The eight-percentage point difference likely reflects developers’ efforts to guard against possible increases in selling prices.

Chong Kang Ho, an analyst at BNP Paribas, noted that a similar pattern was observed in Q2 2008 before home prices tanked and when margin buffers widened in the same manner.