At MortgageWise, we try to provide our property investor clients with a snapshot of the performance of Singapore residential property market regularly through our own basket of condos which will provide supplementary insights in a more meaningful and personal manner than just a broad-based index from URA. Properties are not created equal and some will rise or fall more than the rest.

The condos selected in the basket are deemed iconic enough to be representative of prices in a particular precinct that is smaller than a whole central region or outside central region as defined by URA.  For areas outside central region we also tend to pick condos either right at or nearest MRT stations as these tend to be well sought after by investors.  Our basket would allow those looking to buy condo Singapore to see the actual variation in prices over time for a particular group of condos that are fairly well-known in Singapore.  However our illustration is nothing more than simple averages of all transactions done over 6-month periods and in cases where there are less than 5 transactions (marked with an asterisk) do take the reading with a pinch of salt.  We also highlight the highest psf achieved in the period.

So now let us take a look at our basket of condos and their performance in the 2^ndhalf period of 2016.  The double-digit percentage change in psf prices are highlighted for you in blue (rise) and red (fall).

Based on our basket it does seem prices are still falling but by a smaller margin in general across the board which is in line wih URA index.  In fact we see some rebound in average psf transacted at selected condos most noticeably Marina Bay Suites and Soleil.  Ardmore Park, still regarded as the benchmark for luxury condo in Singapore with big land and sizeable units, also rebounded by 3.1%.  There are generally more buyers in luxury ssector in 2016 helped by Indonesians snapping up real estate before a tax indemnity deadline.

Condos that tend to “out-perform or under-perform” in sale psf prices are captured in our tracking of highest psf clocked in the period.  Do take note for out-perform these tend to be the 1-room or smaller units in condos where there are various sizes and for under-perform these tend to be units with huge private excess space (PES) like penthouses or patio units.  With this in mind, one stand-out condo is once again Ardmore Park registering a 12.7% increase with highest psf transacted at $3,321 psf.  Marina Bay Suites has only 1 single transaction which render the reading inconclusive.  At the lower end of the scale you see continued weakness in the prices of Sentosa Cove condos with The Oceanfront registering a 10% decline in terms of highest recorded sale price.

In the mass market segment, it is hard for us to draw conclusions due to our small sample size.  We do note across the board the average done prices are still falling, not surprising with the huge supply overhang we read about so often.  Bedok Residences, a condo that is situated right at MRT/Mall, recorded the biggest fall of 10% in average psf sale prices.  We expect mass market condo prices to face significant pressure from new launches and sellers eager to offload due to falling rental yields and high vacancy rates.

At MortgageWise.sg, we seek to provide thought leadership in the area of mortgage planning in Singapore, taking deep dive into developments and news on mortgages & helping clients track interest rate movements.  We do not just go for one-time business with clients but rather choose to build long trusting relationships by giving truly independent advice to the extent of losing the deal.  We strive to become the first-choice mortgage partner for homeowners and the creditable distributor of mortgage products for banks and financial institutions in Singapore.