Real estate agents said more owners are looking to cash in on their homes near the Circle Line train network, even as the property market powers on.
They said there has been a 10 to 20 per cent rise in interest in selling those properties since the 11 new Circle Line stations opened on April 17.
The Circle Line network moves over 200,000 commuters a day.
Market watchers said it’s also moving properties near the 11 newly opened train stations.
For instance, Dennis Wee Properties has seen sales interest increase 20 per cent over the past two weeks.
Chris Koh, director, Dennis Wee Properties, said: “There were some owners that we spoke to who said that we should wait for the lines to be opened and then put my property up for sale and they have been asking now since the line has been up five to 10 per cent more than what they used to go.”
Steven Ming, director, Investment Sales & Prestige Homes, Savills, said: “With rising cost of car ownership here in Singapore, we can expect a growing appreciation amongst home buyers for properties located close to such transport nodes or good network and they may well be willing to pay as much as maybe 20 per cent more.”
At a recent industry event, some developers said they were concerned that the expanded rail network could drive up land costs.
Under the Government Land Sales programme for January to June, 10 out of 26 sites are close to train stations.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority told Channel NewsAsia that it makes sense to release land around train stations for development.
As this will encourage more people to live there and benefit from the increased connectivity.
But industry watchers said developers shouldn’t worry because homes near transport network will command a premium and raise margins and home prices may continue to climb albeit more slowly.
With the property market picking up and more construction projects in the pipeline, industry watchers expect building cost to continue to rise. So far, they said construction cost has risen by about 20 per cent since the recession last year.
Observers said fanciful apartments with special features like jacuzzis and better finishes have also pushed construction cost up.
Source: Channel News Asia, 3 May 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment