Singapore: According to data from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday (October 22), resale transactions in the public housing market in the third quarter of this year increased by 19.4% over the previous quarter.
Between July and September, 8,433 HDB resale transactions were recorded, which was higher than the 7,063 applications in the second quarter.
Resale prices also increased in the third quarter, up 2.9% from the second quarter. This is slightly higher than the 2.7% flash memory estimate issued by the HDB earlier this month.
According to data from the Housing Authority, the resale price index, which provides information on overall price changes in the resale public housing market, rose from 146.4 to 150.6.
This is higher than the previous peak of 149.4 recorded in the second quarter of 2013.
Ms. Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analysis at OrangeTee & Tie, said that the public housing sector has been “hot”.
“Last quarter, outstanding sales drove the price of resale apartments to record highs. As demand exceeds supply in many areas, house prices are pushing new boundaries,” she added.
“In addition, due to the delay in the construction of new BTO condominiums, economic recovery, low mortgage interest rates and demand for new buyers have supported the market boom.”
In terms of apartment types, four-bedroom apartments are the most popular, with 3,593 resale applications for this category in the third quarter. This was followed by 2,268 applications for five-bedroom units and 1,831 transactions for three-bedroom units.
In the leasing market, HDB approved 10,417 applications for rental apartments in the third quarter, a decrease of 5.1% from the 10,979 applications in the second quarter.
As of the end of the third quarter, a total of 57,321 HDB flats were rented out, a decrease of 0.8% from 57,755 in the previous quarter.
“As Singapore reopens its borders and establishes more vaccinated tourist routes, we may expect more Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners to return. Many companies may also increase recruitment of foreign nationals, which will stimulate leases. Demand,” Ms. Sun said.
In November, HDB will provide about 4,400 build-to-order (BTO) units in Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Jurong West, Kallang Whampoa and Terengganu. These projects are under review, and more details will be announced when they are ready.
The HDB stated that it is expected to launch about 17,000 BTO units this year, which is higher than the 14,600 and 16,800 units launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Including about 5,300 units of sales balance unit activities and public reservations, a total of 22,300 units will be provided this year.
“The HDB will continue to increase the supply of units to a higher level and launch more than 17,000 units in 2022 to meet strong demand,” it said.
This includes approximately 2,000 to 3,000 BTO units in Geylang, Denga and Yishun in February. The Housing and Development Board said that the supply is subject to review and more details will be determined closer to the launch date.
Looking ahead, Ms. Sun said that “strong buyer demand and still lagging supply” is expected to keep prices rising, although the pace will slow next year.
“As Singapore develops an epidemic roadmap to transition the country to the new normal, the restrictions on COVID-19 may be further lifted in the coming months. Relaxing viewing restrictions may release more pent-up demand from buyers who have been waiting. Check the actual unit before confirming the purchase,” she added.
Singapore: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday (October 22) that Australia is in the “final stage” of negotiations with Singapore to establish a new travel arrangement between the two countries, which may be in ” “Established next week or so.”
According to the “Sydney Morning Herald” report, the focus of the talks is to allow vaccinated students and business travelers to benefit from this arrangement first, and then open it to tourists.
According to the report, the travel bubble will depend on the quarantine arrangements of each state, but New South Wales and Victoria have cancelled mandatory hotel quarantine for international travelers who have been vaccinated since November 1.
“The first step (is) to bring the Australians home,” Mr Morrison said at a press conference on Friday.
He said that then the country will welcome students holding student visas, business travelers, skilled immigrants and international tourists in turn.
Mr Morrison added that Australia may welcome international tourists “before the end of the year”, but the country will not rush to reopen, and said the goal is “safe opening so that we can remain safe and open”.
After Mr. Morrison announced that he was “very happy”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement on Facebook.
“Singapore and Australia have strong economic and investment ties, as well as friendly non-governmental ties.
He said: “As we move towards the future of the new crown epidemic, we look forward to restoring close ties between the two countries.”
In March of this year, Singapore confirmed that it is negotiating with Australia on a possible travel bubble.
Singapore Airlines increases flights to Sydney Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced on Friday that it will increase flights to Sydney from December 1. Flights between Singapore and Sydney will operate daily.
Flight SQ231 will depart from Changi Airport at 12.45 am local time and arrive in Sydney at 11.50 am local time. The return flight SQ222 will depart Sydney at 4.10 pm and arrive at Changi Airport at 9.20 pm.
Singapore Airlines said it has implemented “industry-leading health and safety measures”, including providing each customer with a wide range of cabin cleaning and personal care packages.
The airline added that the aircraft is also equipped with an advanced HEPA filter system that “replaces all cabin air every three minutes.”
Except during meals, all passengers and crew members must also wear masks during the flight.
In another media release, Qantas stated that it will restart flights between Singapore and Sydney on November 23, four weeks ahead of schedule.
The flight initially runs three days a week, and there will be daily flights from December 18th.
Jetstar will fly to Singapore from Melbourne and Darwin on December 16.
Without government waivers, Australians have been unable to travel internationally for more than 18 months. After Canberra imposed strict restrictions on the number of people entering to slow the spread of COVID-19, thousands of citizens and permanent residents were unable to return.
Singapore: Private residential prices in Singapore rose 1.1% in the third quarter, slightly higher than the preliminary estimate released earlier this month.
According to the real estate statistics released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (October 22), the private residential property price index rose from 163.5 points in the second quarter to 165.3 points in the third quarter.
Landed housing prices rose by 2.6% between July and September, after falling by 0.3% in the previous quarter.
The price of non-landed properties rose 0.7%, lower than the 1.1% increase in the previous quarter.
Mr. Lam Chern Woon, Edmund Tie’s head of research and consulting, pointed out that overall private real estate prices have risen for the sixth consecutive quarter.
He said that most of the price increase during the pandemic can be attributed to the land market, with “new economic wealth and other booming industries” driving demand.
“We have also observed that due to capital improvement or reconstruction before the sale, the price of landed houses has risen sharply,” he said.
Resale Demand In the third quarter, there were 9,083 private residential property transactions in Singapore, of which resale houses accounted for 5,362.
Ms. Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analysis at OrangeTee & Tie, pointed out that this was the highest quarterly resale volume since the third quarter of 2009, when 5,809 such units changed hands.
“Demand in both the primary and secondary markets is increasing,” Ms. Sun said.
She said that due to increased demand for resale properties and rising prices of new homes, the number of resale transactions this year may increase from 10,729 units last year to around 19,500 to 20,500 units.
Ms. Sun said that this is also due to more and more HDB upgraders turning to the suburban resale market because of affordability and reduced supply of new homes.
In terms of new home sales, Ms. Sun pointed out that this year’s transaction volume may reach an eight-year high of approximately 12,000 to 12,500 transactions, compared with the previous high of 14,948 units in 2013.
She said: “Unless there are unforeseen circumstances, the overall price may rise by 6% to 7% this year, which is higher than 2.2% in 2020 and 2.7% in 2019.”
Overall, developers launched 2,149 unfinished private residences (excluding executive condominiums) in the third quarter, compared with 2,356 during the July-September period. They sold 3,550 units in the third quarter, compared with 2,966 units in the previous quarter.
In the area of executive apartments, developers launched 496 units in the third quarter, up from 413 units in the previous quarter. They sold 717 units, compared with 495 units in the July-September quarter.
Rental Rent growth slowed in the third quarter of this year, rising 1.8%, lower than the 2.9% increase in the previous quarter.
This was driven by the landed property sector, with rents rising by 4.7% in the third quarter and 1.4% in the first quarter.
The rent of non-landed residential properties slowed to 0.7% from 3.1% in the previous quarter.
“As Singapore steps up its efforts to reopen its borders in an all-round way, the leasing market is expected to benefit when recruitment in the aviation, convention and exhibition, hotel and tourism industries increase,” Ms. Sun said.
“In addition, when more Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreign nationals return, and the company increases its recruitment of foreign nationals, rental demand may improve.”
Supply In The Pipeline
As of the end of the third quarter, a total of 47,715 unfinished private residential units and 4,718 EC units were under planning approval.
Among them, as of the end of September, 17,140 private residences and 1,581 EC units were unsold.
“The real estate market will end this year with a higher profile. As the global economy is expected to improve next year, market sentiment may improve further,” Ms. Sun said.
“The expansion of Singapore’s border reopening may stimulate employment growth and further boost the economy,” she said.
Singapore: Since the beginning of October, 15 food and beverage stores have been ordered to close, and 9 other establishments have been fined for violating COVID-19 regulations.
The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment (MSE) stated in a press release on Friday (October 22) that in addition to the enforcement actions taken by the National Environment Agency (NEA) at hawker centers, enforcement actions have been taken against these outlets.
The ministry stated that a Katong canteen on Mountbatten Road failed to carry out inspections to ensure that only people who passed the vaccination could enter or stay in its premises to eat food or drinks.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) ordered the Katong Canteen to be closed for 10 days from October 15th to 24th.
Cleared vaccination status refers to individuals who have been fully vaccinated, anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 and provided a valid pre-event testing (PET) exemption notice, or has a valid PET negative result in the past 24 hours People.
MSE said the agency has checked more than 1,000 sites and more than 3,700 individuals for compliance with differentiated vaccination measures.
The ministry stated: “Strict enforcement actions will be taken against operators and individuals who fail to comply with safety management measures (including wearing masks correctly).”
It added that enforcement actions include prosecuting and revoking licenses for food, public entertainment and alcohol.
MSE also stated that the agency will continue to strengthen inspections of restaurants and nightlife venues to ensure strict compliance with differentiated vaccination measures and safety management measures.
Repeat offender, De Boss House, ordered to close for 20 days. (Photo: URA)
Repeated offense among those ordered to close Another 14 outlets were ordered to be closed for at least 10 days due to violations, such as allowing music to be played in their premises, failing to ensure compliance with the number of permitted groups, and failing to ensure a safe distance of at least 1m between groups.
MSE stated that two branches, Kei Hachi on Keong Saik Road and KPO on Killiney Road, were ordered to close for 10 days because they allowed “verbal advice,” including singing and toasting.
The URA ordered De Boss House on Joo Chiat Road and Pink Whale on Circular Road to close for 20 days from October 15 to November 3.
MSE said that the beverages of Wanjin Restaurant on Serangoon Central Avenue were also ordered to be closed for 20 days because of failure to ensure multiple violations such as maintaining a safe distance of at least 1 million between customer groups.
MSE stated that Shi Hao Mala on Geylang Road was fined S$1,000 by the Land Authority of Singapore and ordered to close for 10 days.
The store allows a buffet line, but fails to ensure that the group of diners does not exceed the maximum allowed group size and that there is at least 1m between customer groups.
MSE stated that it has not yet ensured that proper procedures and controls are in place to facilitate contact tracing of people entering the premises.
The outlets ordered to be closed are:
Katong Eating House at Mountbatten Road
Canton Paradise at NEX
De Boss House at Joo Chiat Road
Drinks at Wan Jin Eating House at Serangoon Central Drive
Fluff Stack at Tampines Central
Kei Hachi at Keong Saik Road
KPO at Killiney Road
Mahota Kitchen at Tampines Central
Malaysia Boleh at Simei Street
Mama Chin at Circular Road
Pink Whale at Circular Road
Shi Hao Mala at Geylang Road
Tai Fu Lou at New Bridge Road
The Luxe Bistro at Upper Weld Road
Wan Chai Hong Kong Tea Room at IMM Building
Mama Chin allowed intermingling between different groups of customers. (Photo: URA)
Mama Chin also failed to ensure safe distancing of at least 1m between seated customers. (Photo: URA)
More outlets, individuals fined Eight restaurants were fined S$1,000 for violations, including failure to ensure contact tracing of all individuals entering the premises.
An exit in North Mizon on Xiamen Street allows “oral advice” in the form of singing in its premises.
Yellow Goldenland, another agency of Peninsula Plaza, was fined S$2,000 for failing to ensure a safe distance of at least 1 million between customer groups.
A total of 24 people were fined for violating the regulations.
The fined outlets are:
Concorde Hotel & Mall Orchard Road
Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall at Orchard Road
Delifrance at Tampines One
Flippers at Ngee Ann City
Kopitiam at Bukit Panjang Plaza
North Miznon at Amoy Street
Texas Chicken at Vivo City
Toast Box at Ang Mo Kio Hub
Ya Kun Kaya & Toast at JCUBE
Yellow Goldenland at Peninsula Plaza
Fluff Stack was ordered to close for 10 days. (Photo: Enterprise Singapore)Mahota Kitchen was ordered to close for 10 days. (Photo: Enterprise Singapore)
Other COVID-19 measures in Little India MSE stated that as Deepavali is approaching, more tourists are expected, and Little India will take additional safety measures.
“Relevant government agencies will also strengthen law enforcement in Little India before Deepavali celebrations,” MSE said in its media release.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Monday that these measures include blocking a popular crosswalk at the junction of Campbell Lane and Serangoon Road on certain days and ensuring that businesses in the area do not extend their goods onto the sidewalk.
The MSE urged the public to “take socially responsible behaviors” to protect their own health and the health of others, adding that those who feel unwell or sick should seek medical treatment and stay at home.
It added: “Tourists are reminded to stay vigilant, follow safety management measures, and visit Little India during off-peak hours as much as possible.”
Singapore: In response to a report calling for better employment support for PME, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) stated on Friday (October 22) that the government is considering further improving Singapore’s employment pass framework.
The report issued by the Professionals, Managers and Executives (PME) Working Group on Thursday made nine recommendations to improve the employment and employability of local PMEs.
These include introducing income support for unemployed PMEs, and distinguishing the admission of foreign workers by occupation, and giving less access to occupations with “strategic interests” in order to increase the proportion of local PMEs.
The National Trade Union Union (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF) reports also recommend strengthening enforcement of wrongful companies that take unfair practices, and strengthening support for PME to promote their career development or help those who are unemployed Turn to “meaningful employment.”
The government stated that it will consider these recommendations as it conducts ongoing reviews of workforce policies, workplace equity frameworks, and employment support initiatives.
“We have been exploring further improvements to the Employment Pass framework to achieve our goal of building a strong Singapore core supplemented by a diversified foreign workforce,” said the Ministry of Manpower.
“The recommendations of the working group will be considered and more details will be announced in due course.”
The Ministry stated that in terms of workplace fairness, the Tripartite Commission on Workplace Fairness has assessed that legislation is the next step, and it will study the recommendations made by the PME working group when designing the legal framework.
The Ministry of Manpower added that the government will consider the recommendations of the working group when reviewing support measures for local workers.
“Helping local people to gain opportunities has always been the government’s top priority, especially considering the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and labor market. The National Employment Council is the first to work nationwide to integrate jobs and skills opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Combined.”
