Wing Tai launched Ascentia Sky despite the income tax amendments for property gains

Impact of the income tax amendments for property gains still uncertain. It is still early days to determine the impact on the mkt and expect further clarification from the govt in the coming weeks. Wing Tai's upcoming launch of Ascentia Sky (map below) is proceed as planned.

Sales volumes to remain firm; luxury demand recovering but still weak. CBRE expects >10,000 units of new home sales for 2009 (vs the 4,264 units sold in 2008) with firm buying interest for mass to mid-tier projects supported by upgrader and pent-up demand. Nonetheless, appetite for luxury projects priced >S$2,000psf remains weak with relatively low foreign investor participation. Wing Tai has seen interest pick up in its high-end project Belle Vue with around 70 units sold (40% of total) at avg price of S$1,800psf (>80% local buyers). The Ardmore sites will likely be launched no sooner than 2010.

Rental market still stable; en bloc market to remain quiet. There is an ongoing shift in the composition of the expatriate community with the outflow of banking & finance-related expats partially offset by growth in expatriates from the O&G and petrochemical industries. This has helped stabilize the rental mkt and the panel does not foresee significant decline in rents when physical supply returns to the market.


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