Issue 237

Copyright 2011-2014 www.Propwise.sg. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS

FROM THE

EDITOR

p2

The Beginners Guide to Property Fengshui

p6

Singapore Property News This Week

p10

Resale Property Transactions

Welcome to the 237th edition of the

Singapore Property Weekly.

Hope you like it!

Mr. Propwise

(November 18 November 24 )

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 237

The Beginners Guide to Property Fengshui

By Property Soul (guest contributor)

Do you believe in fengshui? I am a big fan of

it. Dont get me wrong. I am not being
superstitious. Fengshui is very scientific.
There is nothing speculative or supernatural
about it. Property fengshui is about
maintaining the harmony between man and
nature for the sake of good health and good
fortune.
Good fengshui depends very much on the
external environment, especially the four
basic elements of wind, sunlight, mountains
and rivers.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 237

You can judge the fengshui of a place based
on its location, direction, ventilation, sunlight,
etc. Fengshui is all about harnessing Sheng
Qi () and avoiding Sha Qi ().
Should you buy or consult a fengshui
master first?
Many people hire fengshui masters to see
their new home after they have bought the
place, when they should do it the other way
round. There are two reasons behind this.
First, if you have already made the purchase,
it is too late to tell you the truth even if the
fengshui of the place is bad. And because
you are a customer of the fengshui master, to
be courteous, problem areas are only
mentioned subtly in order not to make you
lose face or upset you too much. Afterall,
there is not much you can do now.
Second, most fengshui masters like to advise
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their clients on renovation and decoration. But

in reality, the outside environment is much
more important than the interior decoration. If
the external fengshui is bad, there is only so
much that the interior fengshui can do. And
you cant make good use of the Qi if it doesnt
exist in the first place. There is an interesting
analogy from a famous fengshui master: You
cant do hairstyling if you dont have any hair
in the first place.
What are the consequences of buying a
good or bad fengshui property?
Why am I so particular about buying a unit
with good fengshui?
Because I care about the well-being of my
family and I have to ensure there are no bad
elements in our home.
Because I have pride and I know people
visiting my place will be full of praise.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 237

Because I can get a good tenant in a soft
rental market when competing with other
landlords.
Because I can market it at a premium price
when I sell my unit.
Because I know how badly things can turn out
if I buy the wrong unit out of ignorance.
I have personally stepped into hundreds of
resale units while doing flat viewing. You cant
imagine the bad units people can buy. The
location, direction, facing, floor and layout can
all be wrong.
There are so many silly mistakes that the
owners could have avoided if they bothered
to do their homework and to think twice
before they bought.
The sad thing is: These owners have spent
so much money buying the unit. But their
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family have to endure the nuisance or

undesirable consequences.
Some common examples of bad fengshui
The definition and criteria of a good unit may
be subjective. However, people tend to agree
what defines a bad one an obstructed view,
a bad facing, lack of privacy, too much void
area, too much noise or dust, a bad or odd
layout, etc.
Last month I went to view a condominium
project that just obtained its TOP. Half of the
units had a fantastic unblocked seaview. The
units facing the sea were asking for a
premium price.
However, when you open the double glazed
windows in the balcony, you are immediately
turned off by the noise coming from the heavy
traffic of the highway.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 237

Unless the windows are closed all the time, I
can only imagine how the residents are
disturbed by the Noise Sha (), causing
troubles like restless days, hot tempers,
sleepless nights and poor health.
I used to own a unit in a condominium with
blocks that were much higher in height than
the surrounding projects. It had an unblocked
view. I thought it was bright and windy with
very good fengshui.
But the problem was that it faced strong
winds from all directions. Very often the wind
was so strong that the doors kept slamming if
they were not closed properly. If the wind is
too strong, all Qi will be dispersed and good
fortune cannot be kept. The situation is
similar to the only house built on top of a hill.

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This problem in fengshui is called Wind Sha (

).
There are also other Sha Qi (bad fenghsui)
that should best be avoided. For instance, the
Heavens Kill Sha (), Scissors Sha (
), Wall Blade Sha (), Flame Sha (
), Reflection Sha () and Roof
Ridge Sha ().
All these Sha Qi can be easily identified if
home buyers have the knowledge and are
observant. Afterall, many principles of
fengshui are just common sense. However,
common sense is not common.
By guest contributor Property Soul, a
successful property investor, blogger, and
author of the No B.S. Guide to Property
Investment.

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

Singapore Property This Week

Residential

Prices of shoebox units fall by 3.1%

Strong interest for Poiz Residences at

Potong Pasir

According to NUS flash estimates for the

Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI),
small units have led price falls for completed
apartments and condos year to date and on a
year-on-year basis. Island-wide, prices of
shoebox units had fallen 3.1% from
December last year to October this year. On
the other hand, the prices of condo units fell
2.3% and 2.1% respectively in the Central
and Non-Central regions. This excludes small
units. The overall SRPI had fallen by 2.2%
year to date, according to the Business
Times. Year-on-year, the October flash
estimates showed that there was a 4.6% drop
for the small unit sub-index.

According to the Business Times, about 75%

of the units released for sale at Poiz
Residences have been sold. Located at
Potong Pasir, the development consists of a
total of 731 units. Last weekend, 350 units
were released at an average price of $1,380
psf. The project is part of a mixed-use
development
that
includes
a
retail
component. It has three distinct zones,
namely the hotel-like Suites, Urban units
for price-sensitive young professionals and
Habitat units for families.
(Source: Business Times)
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

This was higher than the 4.4% fall and 2.7%
drop recorded in the Central and Non-Central
region respectively. According to Alan Cheong
from Savills Singapore, small units suffered
the largest price cut due to a more severe
rental erosion in small units compared to
other apartments.

(Source: Business Times)

Interest
market

falls

for

Singapore

property

Since 2011, interest in the Singaporean

property market has been slipping. According
to the Business Times, Singapores real
estate investment prospect ranking has fallen
from first place in 2011 and 2012, to 3rd in
2013, seventh in 2014 and 9th in 2015. A
study by PwC and Urban Land Institute
showed that in 2016, Singapore is expected
to fall to the 11th place, while Tokyo, Sydney
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and Melbourne are expected to be the top

three
contenders.
Nonetheless,
Colin
Galloway, principal author of the Emerging
Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2016 report
said that counter-cyclical global investment
funds may be interested in Singapores highend residential assets as they may find this
as a good entry point.
(Source: Business Times)
Nov's HDB resale prices up by 0.4%
month-on-month
According to the Business Times, HDB resale
prices had increased by 0.4% month-onmonth in November this year. Market experts
believe this increase in price is led by the
resale of four- and five- room flats. Despite
the month-on-month increase in price, HDB
resale prices are still 1.9% lower than in
November last year.
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

Eugene Lim from ERA Realty believe that this
increase in resale prices is due to seasonal
fluctuations. According to SRX Property,
resale volumes had fallen by 16% from 1745
units in October to 1467 units in November
this year. Ong Kah Seng from R'ST Research
added that more transactions could have
been made in November as sellers and
buyers would want to close the deal before
the holiday season.
(The Business Times)

No surprises at H1 2016 state land sales

Market experts are not expecting major
surprises for the government land sales
(GLS) programme for the first half of 2016.
Market experts believe that for the private
housing segment, the government will factor
in the current market conditions, such as the
increased supply of private homes and rising
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vacancies. Chua Yang Liang from JLL said

that following the introduction of the total debt
servicing ratio framework in 2013, the
government has been cutting land supply for
private homes in the confirmed list for GLS.
Chua believes that the downward trend is
expected to continue for the upcoming H1
sales. Desmond Sim from CBRE agreed as
market conditions have not changed since H2
this year. However, Ong Kah Seng from R'ST
Research said that there should be an
increase in EC land supply as developers are
expected to cut prices to $750-780 psf in H2
from $800 psf in H1 this year. As such, Ong
believes that ECs will remain a popular
among buyers and sales is expected to
increase. In the non-residential segment,
market experts predict that office spaces will
still be supplied through the reserve list due to
the expected glut in office spaces from 2016
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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

to 2018 due to an increase in office space
completions.
(The Business Times)
Commercial
Office rents in Marina Bay drop by 19%
over last 3 quarters
The rental gap between Raffles Place and
Marina Bay is narrowing as Grade A office
rents in Marina Bay fell 19% in the first three
quarters of this year to $10.70 psf per month,
while office rents in Raffles Place had only
fallen by 0.7% to $10.31 psf per month.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, higher
occupancies as well as a lack of Grade A
office supply within Raffles Place had resulted
in a minimal fall in rents. In Q3, office
occupancy rate in Raffles Place stood at
97.1%, which was an increase from the

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96.5% in Q2. In November, the occupancy

rates rose to 97.2%. Alice Tan from Knight
Frank said that demand for office spaces in
Singapore had been affected by slowing
economic growth. Also, an expected increase
in supply of office spaces have also
contributed to the shrinking office market.

(Source: Business Times)

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

Non-Landed Residential Resale Property Transactions for the Week of Nov 10 Nov 17

Postal
District
1
1
3
3
4
5
7
8
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
11
11

Project Name
THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY
PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX
THE ANCHORAGE
THE ANCHORAGE
HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS
BLUE HORIZON
TEXTILE CENTRE
CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES
OUE TWIN PEAKS
SCOTTS SQUARE
SCOTTS SQUARE
SKYPARK
SKYPARK
BISHOPSGATE RESIDENCES
THE TOMLINSON
GOODWOOD RESIDENCE
STEVENS SUITES
THREE THREE ROBIN
BELMOND GREEN
BELMOND GREEN
ORCHARD BEL AIR
PARK INFINIA AT WEE NAM
PAVILION 11

Back to Contents

Area
(sqft)
861
409
1,733
1,507
3,907
926
1,001
570
1,055
624
624
2,648
700
2,917
2,347
2,454
1,163
1,636
1,335
958
3,229
1,001
958

Transacted
Price ($)
1,590,000
518,000
2,110,000
1,825,000
4,100,000
1,000,000
898,000
968,000
3,268,000
1,850,000
1,800,000
4,500,000
1,000,000
9,917,800
5,280,000
5,500,000
1,993,000
2,800,000
2,260,000
1,620,000
4,534,000
1,850,000
1,602,888

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,846
99
1,266
99
1,218
FH
1,211
FH
1,049
99
1,080
99
897
99
1,697
FH
3,098
99
2,963
FH
2,883
FH
1,699
FH
1,429
FH
3,400
FH
2,250
FH
2,241
FH
1,714
FH
1,711
FH
1,693
FH
1,691
FH
1,404
99
1,848
FH
1,673
FH

Postal
District
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
13
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
17
17
17
18
18

Project Name
SHELFORD SUITES
ROCHELLE AT NEWTON
MANDALE HEIGHTS
HILLCREST ARCADIA
ONE ST MICHAEL'S
ECOVILLE
TWIN HEIGHTS
ONE LEICESTER
SIMS RESIDENCES
AALTO
THE SHORE RESIDENCES
PEBBLE BAY
FORTUNE JADE
PARK EAST
EASTVILLE APARTMENTS
THE GERANIUM
VILLA MARINA
COSTA DEL SOL
AVILA GARDENS
CASA PASIR RIS
AZALEA PARK CONDOMINIUM
THE TROPICA
LIVIA

Area
(sqft)
1,270
1,776
764
1,711
1,249
1,184
1,421
1,152
1,432
1,550
872
2,336
1,098
2,024
1,001
1,216
1,087
1,475
1,755
1,216
1,507
990
1,927

Transacted
Price ($)
1,850,000
2,288,888
970,000
1,680,000
1,618,000
`
1,470,000
1,360,000
1,210,000
2,730,000
1,385,000
2,830,000
1,250,000
2,170,000
998,000
1,120,000
975,000
1,780,000
1,350,000
915,000
1,100,000
810,000
1,570,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
1,457
FH
1,289
99
1,269
FH
982
99
1,296
FH
1,098
FH
1,035
FH
1,181
FH
845
99
1,761
FH
1,589 103
1,212
99
1,139
FH
1,072
FH
997
FH
921
FH
897
99
1,207
99
769
FH
752
946
730
999
818
99
815
99

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SINGAPORE PROPERTY WEEKLY Issue 236

Postal
District
18
18
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
22
22
23
23
25
25
26
27

Project Name
MELVILLE PARK
WATERVIEW
SUITES @ PAYA LEBAR
THE CHUAN
SUNGLADE
A TREASURE TROVE
OASIS GARDEN
SKY HABITAT
THE GARDENS AT BISHAN
FLAME TREE PARK
THOMSON VIEW CONDOMINIUM
THOMSON VIEW CONDOMINIUM
BRADDELL VIEW
THOMSON PLAZA
CASPIAN
CASPIAN
TREE HOUSE
PHOENIX HEIGHTS
ROSEWOOD
WOODGROVE CONDOMINIUM
CASTLE GREEN
ORCHID PARK CONDOMINIUM

Area
(sqft)
1,475
3,584
366
1,281
1,044
1,044
1,238
1,970
883
1,830
1,313
2,024
1,798
3,541
463
893
1,152
980
1,421
1,615
1,593
1,141

Transacted
Price ($)
985,000
2,110,000
550,000
1,720,000
1,138,000
1,120,000
1,300,000
3,144,600
910,000
1,800,000
1,180,888
1,580,000
1,340,000
2,000,000
590,000
1,038,000
1,200,000
690,000
1,070,000
1,135,000
1,180,000
768,000

Price
Tenure
($ psf)
668
99
589
99
1,503
FH
1,343 999
1,090
99
1,073
99
1,050
FH
1,596
99
1,031
99
984
FH
899
99
781
99
745
99
565
99
1,275
99
1,162
99
1,042
99
704
99
753
99
703
99
741
99
673
99

NOTE: This data only covers non-landed residential resale property

transactions with caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority.
Typically, caveats are lodged at least 2-3 weeks after a purchaser
signs an OTP, hence the lagged nature of the data.

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