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23 April 2010

Release of 1st quarter 2010 real estate statistics

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released today the real estate statistics for the 1st Quarter 2010.

SUMMARY

Prices of private residential, office, shop and industrial properties increased by 5.6%, 1.8%, 1.8% and 1.5% respectively in the 1st Quarter 2010.

Rentals of private residential properties, office and industrial properties increased by 4.7%, 0.4% and 1.7% respectively, while those of shop properties decreased by 0.1% in the 1st Quarter 2010.

As at 1st Quarter 2010, there were 63,581 private residential units in the pipeline, comprising supply from projects already under construction and those that had been granted planning approval but not yet constructed. Of these, 34,233 units were still unsold. This number is equivalent to about 3 years of supply based on average take-up1 of about 11,300 units over the last 3 years. For the office sector, there was a pipeline supply of about 1.02 million sq m Gross Floor Area (GFA) of office space from various Government and private land sources. Of these, about 42,717 private residential units and about 931,000 sq m GFA of office space were expected to be completed between 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013. This is based on developers’ declarations. The actual completion schedule may change from quarter to quarter as developers adjust their development plans or construction schedule according to market conditions.

PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

Prices

Overall prices of private residential properties increased by 5.6% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 7.4% increase in the previous quarter (see Annexes A-1, A-6 & A-7).

Prices of non-landed properties increased by 4.9% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 7.2% increase in the previous quarter. Prices of apartments increased by 3.6%, while prices of condominiums increased by 5.7%.

Prices of non-landed properties in Core Central Region2(CCR) increased by 4.4% in 1st Quarter 2010, and prices of non-landed properties in Rest of Central Region3 (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) increased by 7.9% and 4.3% respectively (see Annex A-2).

Prices of landed properties increased by 8.3% in 1st Quarter 2010, the same rate as in the previous quarter. Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses increased by 9.6%, 7.5% and 7.4% respectively in 1st Quarter 2010.

The prices of private residential properties are not uniform and vary from project to project. Home-buyers can view the data on individual uncompleted private residential projects at the following url: http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateWeb/price.jsp. The database also provides information on projects with units still available for sale.

Besides the data on the sale of uncompleted units direct from developers, home-buyers can also access information on all private residential property transactions on URA’s website at the following url: http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateWeb/transaction.jsp. This database, which is based on caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), contains comprehensive information on the prices and floor areas of the units.

Rentals

Rentals of private residential properties4 increased by 4.7% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 0.6% increase in the previous quarter (see Annex A-3).

Rentals of non-landed properties in CCR, RCR and OCR increased by 5.3%, 4.0% and 4.8% respectively in 1st Quarter 2010 (see Annexes A-3 & A-4).

In addition, URA also released data on the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile rentals for individual private residential projects for 1st Quarter 20105. The data on the rentals of individual private residential projects are available on URA’s website at the following url: http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateWeb/rental.jsp.

Supply in the Pipeline

As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there was a total supply of 63,581 uncompleted units of private housing from projects in the pipeline6 (see Annex E-1). Of these, 34,233 units were still unsold. These comprised 3,307 units that had been launched for sale by developers and 9,741 units which had the pre-requisite conditions for sale and could be launched for sale immediately. The remaining 21,185 units with planning approvals did not have the pre-requisite conditions for sale7 (see Annex B-1). Details of the number of unsold private residential units with planning approvals in the 3 market segments are given in Annex B-2.

Of the 63,581 units, 42,717 units were expected to be completed between the 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013, of which 31,435 units were already under construction8 . Developers had obtained planning approvals9 for projects making up the remaining 11,282 units (see Annex E-2).

URA also released detailed data on supply in the pipeline by market segment, development status and expected year of completion at the following url: http://www.ura.gov.sg/real_estate/pipeline_supply. This is to enable the public to have a more comprehensive picture of supply coming on-stream over the next few years in the private housing market. Of the 63,581 uncompleted units of private housing from projects in the pipeline, 22,564 units, 19,206 units and 21,811 units were in CCR, RCR and OCR respectively.

In addition to the supply in the pipeline above, the Government had in Nov 2009 reinstated the Confirmed List and made available adequate sites in the Reserve List for the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme in the 1st Half of 2010. The Government placed sites that can potentially yield 2,925 private residential units on the Confirmed List as well as 7,625 private residential units on the Reserve List. Collectively, the GLS Programme can potentially yield 10,550 private residential units, including 2,445 Executive Condominium units. These sites are located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) or in locations in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) where more affordable private housing is expected to be built.

To date, the Government has sold 4 sites, which can potentially yield about 1,700 units, via the Confirmed List in the 1st Half of 2010. Another 8 sites, which can potentially yield about 3,300 units, have been sold from the Reserve List or are in the process of being tendered out after having been triggered from the Reserve List.

Launches and Take-up

A total of 4,372 uncompleted private residential units were launched for sale by developers in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with 2,227 units in 4th Quarter 2009. Of the 4,372 uncompleted units launched in the quarter, 1,988 units were in CCR, 748 units were in RCR, and 1,636 units were in OCR (see Annex C-1). Major residential projects launched in the quarter included The Estuary at Yishun Avenue 1/Yishun Avenue 2 (608 units), The Vision at West Coast Crescent (295 units), Altez at Enggor Street (203 units of a total of 280 units), The Shore Residences at Amber Road (202 units of a total 408 units) and 76 Shenton at Shenton Way (202 units).

In 1st Quarter 2010, 4,351 uncompleted private residential units were sold by developers, compared with 1,841 units in 4th Quarter 2009. Of the 4,351 uncompleted units sold in the quarter, 1,914 units were in CCR, 719 units were in RCR, and 1,718 units were in OCR (see Annex C-2). Developers also sold 29 completed private residential units in 1st Quarter 2010.

Sub-sales

The total number of sub-sales was 806 in 1st Quarter 2010, compared to 771 sub-sales in the previous quarter. In percentage terms, sub-sales accounted for 8.5% of all sale transactions in 1st Quarter 2010, compared to 11.6% in 4th Quarter 2009. The number of sub-sales in CCR in 1st Quarter 2010 accounted for 10.1% of the property sale transactions in this area in the quarter, compared to 15.4% in the previous quarter. The percentage of sub-sales in 1st Quarter 2010 for RCR, at 11.3%, was higher than the 10.1% in the previous quarter. In OCR, the percentage of sub-sales in 1st Quarter 2010 was 5.9% which was lower than the 10.1% in the previous quarter (see Annex D).

Stock and Vacancy

A total of 1,407 private residential units were completed (granted TOP) in 1st Quarter 2010. Major residential projects completed in the quarter were The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove at Ocean Drive (264 units), The Regency at Tiong Bahru at Chay Yan Street (158 units) and Fontaine Parry at Poh Huat Road (125 units).

The vacancy rate of completed private residential units decreased from 5.0% as at the end of 4th Quarter 2009 to 4.6% as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010 (see Annex E-1).

Executive Condominiums

As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there were no Executive Condominium (EC) units in the pipeline10. However, two EC sites were recently sold in March 2010. Another two EC sites were successfully triggered from the Reserve List and the tender for these sites will close in the next 2 months. Together, these four sites can potentially yield 1,985 new EC units11.

The total stock of completed EC units remained at 10,430 units as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010. As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, the vacancy rate remained at 0.6%, same as at the end of the previous quarter (see Annex E-1).

OFFICE SPACE

Rentals

The rentals for office space in Singapore increased marginally in 1st Quarter 2010. Overall rentals for office space, based on leases which had commenced, increased by 0.4% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the decrease of 3.3% in 4th Quarter 2009 (see Annex A-3).

The median rental for “Category 1”12 office space, based on leases which had commenced, was S$8.25 per square foot per month (psf pm) in 1st Quarter 2010, lower than the median rental of S$8.76 psf pm in 4th Quarter 2009. In comparison, the median rental for “Category 2”13 office space was S$4.71 psf pm in 1st Quarter 2010, higher than the median rental of S$4.69 psf pm in 4th Quarter 2009 (see Annex A-5) As “Category 2” office space accounts for about 80% of all office space in Singapore, the rental for such space is more reflective of the typical rental paid by office tenants in Singapore. These statistics were compiled based on IRAS’ records of rental contracts in Singapore where the leases had commenced in 1st Quarter 2010.

The median rentals for “Category 1” and “Category 2” office space based on rental contracts signed in 1st Quarter 2010 were S$8.23 and S$4.67 psf pm respectively (see Annex A-5). These statistics were compiled based on IRAS’ records of rental contracts which were signed in the reference quarter, regardless of whether or not the leases commenced in the reference quarter14.

Prices

Prices of office space increased by 1.8% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 1.0% increase in the previous quarter (see Annex A-1).

Supply in the Pipeline

As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there was a total supply of about 1.02 million sq m GFA of office space in the pipeline. Of the total pipeline supply of office space, about 931,000 sq m were expected to be completed between the 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013. More detailed data on pipeline supply of office space by development status and expected year of completion are at Annex E-1 and E-2.

Apart from office space, as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there was a total supply of about 365,000 sq m of business park space from projects in the pipeline 15 from Government and private land sources which were expected to be completed between the 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013. Business park space primarily caters to non-pollutive industries and businesses that engage in high-technology, research and development (R&D), high value-added and knowledge-intensive activities. However, some of the business park space could be used for selected office uses such as backroom operations of companies.

Stock and Vacancy

The amount of occupied office space increased by 22,000 sq m (nett) in 1st Quarter 2010, as compared to the increase of 28,000 sq m in the previous quarter. A total of 62,800 sq m of office space were completed (granted TOP) in 1st Quarter 2010. This included office space from the Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 at Marina Boulevard (58,600 sq m).

The island-wide vacancy rate of office space was 12.5% as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, higher than the 12.1% as at the end of 4th Quarter 2009. The vacancy rate for “Category 1” office space decreased to 10.5% as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, from 12.3% as at the end of 4th Quarter 200916. The vacancy rate for “Category 2” office space as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010 was 12.9%, compared to 12.0% as at the end of 4th Quarter 2009 (see Annex A-5).

SHOP SPACE

Rentals

The overall rentals for shop space in Singapore, based on leases which had commenced, decreased by 0.1% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 1.4% decrease in the 4th Quarter 2009 (see Annex A-3). The median rental for shop space in the Orchard Planning Area (Orchard), Rest of City Area (RCA) and Outside City Area (OCA) also decreased slightly to S$10.14, S$6.24 and S$5.43 psf pm respectively in 1st Quarter 2010 (see Annex A-5). These statistics were compiled based on IRAS’ records of rental contracts in Singapore where the leases commenced in 1st Quarter 2010.

The median rentals for shop space in Orchard, RCA and OCA based on all rental contracts signed in 1st Quarter 2010, regardless of whether or not the leases commenced in the quarter, were S$10.12, S$6.46 and S$5.43 psf pm respectively (see Annex A-5).

Prices

Prices of shop space increased by 1.8% in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the increase of 0.6% in the previous quarter (see Annex A-1).

Supply in the Pipeline

As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there was a total supply of 428,000 sq m GFA of shop space from projects in the pipeline , from Government and private land sources. Of the total pipeline supply of shop space, about 361,000 sq m were expected to be completed between the 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013. More detailed data on pipeline supply of shop space by development status and expected year of completion are at Annex E-1 and E-2.

Stock and Vacancy

The amount of occupied shop space increased by 3,000 sq m (nett) in 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 32,000 sq m increase in 4th Quarter 2009. A total of 5,500 sq m of shop space were completed (granted TOP) in 1st Quarter 2010. This included shop space from the partially completed Marina Bay Link Mall at Marina Boulevard (2,300 sq m) and the newly completed SCAPE at Orchard Link (1,500 sq m).

The island-wide vacancy rate of shop space was 5.8% as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, compared to the 5.7% vacancy rate as at the end of 4th Quarter 2009. The vacancy rates for shop space in Orchard, RCA and OCA as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010 were 6.6%, 7.6% and 4.9% respectively. In comparison, the vacancy rates for shop space in Orchard, RCA and OCA as at the end of 4th Quarter 2009 were 5.8%, 7.3% and 5.1% respectively (see Annex A-5).

INDUSTRIAL SPACE

Prices and Rentals

Prices of multiple-user factory space increased by 1.5% in 1st Quarter 2010, unchanged from the previous quarter (see Annex A-1). Rentals of multiple-user factory space increased by 0.8%, compared with the increase of 0.4% in the previous quarter (see Annex A-3).

Supply in the Pipeline

As at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, there was a total supply of 2.46 million sq m GFA of factory space from projects in the pipeline , from Government and private land sources. Of the total pipeline supply of factory space, about 2.37 million sq m were expected to be completed between the 2nd Quarter 2010 and 2013. More detailed data on pipeline supply of factory space by development status and expected year of completion are at Annex E-1 and E-2.

Stock and Vacancy

The amount of occupied factory space increased by 231,000 sq m (nett) in 1st Quarter 2010, lower than the increase of 265,000 sq m (nett) in 4th Quarter 2009. A total of 173,600 sq m of factory space were completed (granted TOP) in 1st Quarter 2010.

The vacancy rate of factory space was 7.7% as at the end of 1st Quarter 2010, compared with the 8.1% as at the end of the previous quarter.

URA’s REAL ESTATE INFORMATION SERVICE

More detailed information on the price and rental indices, supply in the pipeline, stock and vacancy position of the various property sectors can be found in the Real Estate Information System (REALIS), an online database of URA.

Subscribers of REALIS can obtain the information from the system after 12.30 pm today. More information on REALIS can be found at http://spring.ura.gov.sg/lad/ore/login/index.cfm. You can also contact the REALIS hotline at 6329 3456.

 

  1. Take-up refers to the number of private residential units, including Executive Condominium units, sold by developers.
  2. Core Central Region comprises postal districts 9, 10, 11, Downtown Core Planning Area and Sentosa. A map of Central Region showing the Core Central Region (CCR) and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) is available at:  http://spring.ura.gov.sg/lad/ore/login/map_ccr.pdf
  3. Rest of Central Region comprises of the area within Central Region that is outside postal districts 9, 10, 11, Downtown Core Planning Area and Sentosa. A map of Central Region showing the Core Central Region (CCR) and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) is available at:  http://spring.ura.gov.sg/lad/ore/login/map_ccr.pdf
  4. URA’s rental data for private residential properties are compiled based on IRAS’ records of rental contracts for such properties where leases commenced in the reference quarter.
  5. The rental data released are for private residential projects where there were at least 10 rental transactions in the reference quarter.
  6. Refers to new development and redevelopment projects with planning approvals (i.e. Provisional Permission, Written Permission). A Written Permission (WP) is a final approval, as compared with a Provisional Permission (PP), granted under the Planning Act for a proposed development.
  7. Refers to uncompleted private residential developments without pre-requisites for sale but with Written Permission or Planning Permission granted. The sale licences could be obtained within 5 working days and building plan approvals could be obtained within 7 working days from the date of application for cases where clearances from various technical agencies are obtained and relevant documents are in order during formal submissions.
  8. The expected completion dates of private residential projects in the pipeline are provided by the developers of these projects, and not estimated by URA.
  9. Planning approvals refer to either Provisional Permission (PP) or Written Permission (WP). A Written Permission (WP) is a final approval, as compared with a Provisional Permission (PP), granted under the Planning Act for a proposed development.
  10. Refers to new development and redevelopment projects with planning approvals (i.e. Provisional Permission, Written Permission). A Written Permission (WP) is a final approval, as compared with a Provisional Permission (PP), granted under the Planning Act for a proposed development.
  11. Statistics on pipeline supply of EC units will be updated subsequently as and when the developers obtain the planning approvals for these EC projects.
  12. Refers to office space in buildings located in core business areas in Downtown Core and Orchard Planning Area which are relatively modern or recently refurbished, command relatively high rentals and have large floor plate size and gross floor area. A map of Central Region showing the locations of Downtown Core and Orchard Planning Areas is available in URA’s website at: http://spring.ura.gov.sg/lad/ore/login/map_central_region.pdf. The basket of Category 1 office buildings was reviewed in 4Q09 to ensure that it remains relevant and in line with market changes.  
  13. Refers to the remaining office space in Singapore which are not included in “Category 1”.
  14. Tenancy agreements for office space are usually signed up to 3 months before lease commencement. The methodology and sample size may differ from those used by some property consultants.  For example, URA only uses actual contracted rentals in the computation of the statistics, whereas some property consultants use estimates of achievable rents in addition to actual contracted rentals in the computation of their statistics.  
  15. Refers to new development and redevelopment projects with planning approvals (i.e. Provisional Permission, Written Permission). A Written Permission (WP) is a final approval, as compared with a Provisional Permission (PP), granted under the Planning Act for a proposed development.


Summary of Key Information for 1st Quarter 2010

Annex Title
Annex A-1 Comparison of Property Price Index for 4th Quarter 2009 and 1st Quarter 2010
Annex A-2 Price Indices of Non-Landed Properties by Locality and Completion Status.
Annex A-3 Comparison of Rental Index for 4th Quarter 2009 and 1st Quarter 2010
Annex A-4 Rental Indices of Non-Landed Properties by Locality
Annex A-5 Median Rentals and Vacancy of Office and Shop Space
Annex A-6 Chart of Property Price Index by Type of Property
Annex A-7 Chart of Residential Property Price Index by Type
Annex B-1 Number of Unsold Private Residential Units from Projects with Planning Approvals
Annex B-2 Number of Unsold Private Residential Units from Projects with Planning Approvals by Market Segment
Annex C-1 Number of Uncompleted Private Residential Units Launched in the Quarter by Market Segment
Annex C-2 Number of Private Residential Units Sold in the Quarter by Market Segment
Annex D Number of New Sale, Sub-Sale and Resale Transactions for Private Residential Units by Market Segment
Annex E-1 Stock & Vacancy and Supply in the Pipeline as at End of 1st Quarter 2010
Annex E-2 Supply in the Pipeline by Development Status and Expected Year of Completion as at End of 1st Quarter 2010
Annex F-1 Number of Executive Condominium Units Launched and Sold in the Quarter
Annex F-2 Sale Position of Executive Condominium Units with Pre-Requisites for Sale as at End of Quarter