| | | |  | | | Gardens by the Bay | | | | | | | SINGAPORE : After the en bloc frenzy in the first half of the year, some market players say the run-up in prices could cause developers to take a pause.
But they also note that there are pockets of opportunity, especially in the suburban areas.
En bloc sales this year are set to outpace those of 2005.
Total transactions hit S$4 billion in the first six months - that is more than half of the total for last year.
And owners selling out of their properties now command about a 70 percent premium over prevailing market values compared to only 20 percent last year.
But some developers say it could be time for a breather.
Vito Koh, Group GM, United Industrial Corp, said: "Right now the market as it is, the prices have come to a point where there is resistance from the developers. Price-wise, it is overdone. The better ones have been taken up, so in fact there are a lot of sites in the high-end areas that have not been taken up so there is resistance unless the price is right or it is absolutely an extremely good site. Otherwise, there will be resistance."
Developers could also be less aggressive, given that they have had fill of freehold land sites.
Some developers say that most property companies, especially the bigger ones, have enough freehold landbank for the next three years.
For example, City Developments and United Industrial Corporation had invested more than S$500 million in en bloc sites so far this year.
But still, the attention could shift from the high-end to the popular suburban areas like District 15.
Vito Koh said: "If the market continues, the next phase of en bloc could be secondary prime. Because after the prime has peaked, the market will flow down to the secondary prime area. Also those, if the prices are reasonable, I think developers will still have plans to take them. In fact, in those areas, we are still talking about average 20-30 percent below the peak."
Prices of high-end properties have risen by some 30-50 percent above the 1996 peak. - CNA/ch
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