A “strange phenomenon” has occurred in the housing market, in which home upgraders dominated the market, while foreign buying and speculative investment remains suppressed, reported the Straits Times.
The phenomenon comes as upgraders pushed prices in new townships and traditional areas nearer to those in the fringe area around Orchard Road, said Cheng Wai Keung, chairman and managing director of Wing Tai Holdings.
Prices within the fringe area or Rest of Central Region, on the other hand, have not witnessed the same increase due to the absence of speculative and foreign investment, he noted.
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With the recovery looking like a two-speed one, Cheng revealed that he remains uncertain of the market outlook.
“This is a very different and difficult period in my 40 years in the property market. It has stabilised but you are not sure if it will continue to be like that,” he said during the group’s results briefing.
“But that does not mean that we do not look at property that will give us value.”
Wing Tai and Keppel Land submitted the highest bid of S$446.3 million for a land parcel at Serangoon North Avenue 1 last month.
Wing Tai saw its fourth quarter net profit soar 406 percent year-on-year to S$9.5 million.
For the 12 months to 30 June, net profit jumped 184 percent to S$20.1 million, while revenue dropped 52 percent to S$263.2 million.
Full-year earnings per share increased from 0.91 Singapore cents to 2.59 cents and net asset value per share rose to S$4.07 as at 30 June.
With this, the company declared a first and final dividend of three Singapore cents per share as well as a special dividend of three cents per share – similar to last year.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
