En bloc sales in Singapore cool after July property curbs
Singapore residential-property investment sales have fallen after the latest round of housing curbs put the brakes on en bloc redevelopment deals. Just two redevelopment sales worth S$353 million were completed in the third quarter, down from S$3.8 billion of transactions the previous quarter, according to data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield. That pushed total real estate investment sales down 42 per cent to S$6.5 billion last quarter. "The collective sales market was decimated after the recent cooling measures," said Christine Li, head of research for Singapore at Cushman & Wakefield. Private home prices rose at the slowest pace in five quarters after the additional curbs were imposed. The government took steps in July to cool the property market after a steep rise in prices in the first six months of this year. The rebound in prices after a four-year slide had stoked aggressive land bids from developers, leading to an explosion of en bloc sales - where a group of owners band together to sell entire apartment buildings. Under the new rules, the government raised its additional buyer's stamp duty to 30 per cent for developers, making it more expensive for them to redevelop older properties.
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