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Hong Kong Celebrities buying in Singapore

Hong Kong movie superstar Jackie Chan and his good friend singer/song writer Wakin Chau have again picked up a few apartments - this time in Overseas Union Enterprise's Twin Peaks condo at Leonie Hill Road.

Residents of Twin Peaks, at the corner of Grange and Leonie Hill roads, will have the option of engaging hospitality and housekeeping services from the Mandarin Orchard Singapore, which is also part of the OUE group.   Business  Times understands that the units bought by Mr Chan and Mr Chau will have views of Grange Road/ Orchard Road.

In March last year, the duo picked up four apartments in the freehold Centennia Suites at Kim Seng Road worth over $10 million. In that deal, Mr Chan acquired three units - two, three and four bedders making up an entire floor - while Mr Chau purchased a three bedder.

The average price in the project then was reported at about $2,000-2,100 psf.   Centennia Suites is being developed by a privately held entity of Lippo Group. The Indonesian group also controls OUE, which is listed in Singapore.

Mr Chan also bought the former Jinriksha Station at 1 Neil Road in late 2007 for $11 million.

Twin Peaks comprises two identical 35-storey towers with a total of 462 units, offering a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments. OUE began selling units in the project in July last year and to date more than 50 units have been sold. The highest price achieved in the development is $3,170 psf.  

The project is on a 99-year lease and average price in the project was $2,850  per sq ft. and will be completed around early  2014.    -- 2011  June 15  BUSINESS TIMES   

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Hong Kong movie superstar Jackie Chan and his good friend singer/songwriter Emil Chau, who were in Singapore in March 2010 for Thong Chai Charity Night, and picked up some properties in Singapore.

The duo bought four apartments at Lippo Group’s freehold Centennia Suites worth over $10 million.

CENTENNIA SUITES Location: 100 Kim Seng Road (District 9) Tenure: Freehold Expected Completion: Dec 2015 Total Units: 97 Unit Types: 2 bedroom ~ 1238 sqft 3 bedroom ~ 1755 – 1819 sq ft 4 bedroom ~ 2217 – 2303 sq ft Penthouse ~ 3315 – 4004 sq ft

The four units are on the mid- to high floors of the 36-storey condominium project, which is being built on the former Kim Seng Plaza site, opposite Great World City and facing the Singapore River.

Mr Chan is said to have picked up three units – two, three, and four-bedroom apartments – making up an entire floor.

Mr Chau, who is now known as Wakin, purchased a three-bedder. The two men visited the Centennia Suites showflat on Friday last week.

The 97-unit District 9 development, which is expected to be completed in 2013, is now almost half sold.

The average price is about $2,000-2,100 per square foot. The range of prices achieved is $1,900 psf to nearly $2,200 psf. Lippo began selling the project last month.

Mr Chan is no stranger to the Singapore property market. In late 2007, he bought the former Jinriksha Station at Neil Road for $11 million.

Lippo and Mr Chan have also had business dealings before. Mr Chan used to own a unit at Grangeford Apartments, which was sold through an en bloc sale to Lippo’s listed arm Overseas Union Enterprise a few years ago.

Mr Chau was born in Hong Kong but lives and works in Taiwan. The singer has a loyal fan base in Singapore. He has also acted in a few of Mr Chan’s films, such as Mr Nice Guy and Gorgeous.

Last year, international action star Jet Li bought a Good Class Bungalow at Binjai Rise for $19.8 million. The property has a freehold land area of about 22,700 sq ft.   - 2010 March 25     BUSINESS TIMES

As a result, Guess Who is Looking for Sites? 
Note: Justin Chiu at Cheung Kong is ex Ming Pao so he knows those stars!

Cheung Kong on lookout for land sites

Hong Kong developer Cheung Kong Holdings is on the lookout for more residential and commercial sites to buy in Singapore, says executive director Justin Chiu.

'We are looking at a few pieces of land,' said Mr Chiu. 'The whole market (in Singapore) is moving. I am optimistic about the future.'

Although land prices are high, Cheung Kong will 'keep looking for new land' as it is an 'investment in (Singapore's) future', he said. He expects private home prices here to continue climbing over the next few years.

The group, which is controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, launched its 99-year-leasehold The Vision condo in the West Coast area earlier this month. It has since sold 210 of the 295 homes at the project at benchmark prices for the area.

Cheung Kong now has one yet to be launched residential project, at Upper Thomson Road, in its portfolio.

It also has a one-third stake in the upmarket Marina Bay Suites, which is part of the Marina Bay Financial Centre complex.   During phase one, 90 units released for sale at the 221-unit condominium were snapped up at $2,200 to $2,500 per square feet (psf). Phase two is slated to be launched this year.

The official public launch of The Vision takes place this Friday, after most of the units were through private previews. Discounts of 2-3 per cent were given during these previews, said Mr Chiu. From Friday, the discount will no longer be available.

Two- to four-bedroom units, which make up the bulk of the project, are selling for $1,000-1,200 psf, while most of the 14 strata terrace units have been sold for $3-3.2 million apiece.

Up next is the 99-year leasehold condo plot in Upper Thomson Road. Cheung Kong won the plum site in November 2009 with a top bid of about $251 million, which works out to $533 psf of potential gross floor area - above most expectations. Mr Chiu said then that the breakeven cost for the project would be about $850 to $900 psf.

Yesterday, he said that Cheung Kong will make the best use of the site's location opposite Singapore Island Country Club's Island Golf Course. Planning permission is yet to be received, but Mr Chiu said that the units will definitely be large.   - 2010 March 24  BUSINESS TIMES

NATHAN SUITES (District 9)

Developers  continue to roll out new residential projects. TID Pte Ltd – a joint venture between Hong Leong Group Singapore and Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan – is expected to preview the 65-unit Nathan Suites at Nathan Road, opposite the Malaysian High Commission, within the next two weeks.

The 24-storey freehold development is expected to be priced at about $2,100 per square foot on average. The units, which comprise two, three and four-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses, range from about 915 sq ft to 4,800 sq ft.    2010 March 23    BUSINESS TIMES

Location: Nathan Road (District 9)
Tenure: Freehold
Total Units: 65
Unit Types:
2 bedroom ~ approx 900 sqft
3 bedroom ~ approx 1400 – 1800 sq ft
4 bedroom ~ approx 2000 sq ft
Penthouse ~ approx 4800 sq ft

Located at Nathan Road, near the exclusive neighbourhood of Bishopgate, Nathan Suites comprises of only 65 exclusive units ranging from 2 to 4 bedroom apartments.

24 storeys high with landscape deck, basement carparks, swimming pool and communal facilities.

Designed by internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Jun Mitsui & Associates, Nathan Suites is located just within walking distance to the Good Class Bungalow Zone of Bishopgate.

All Units are efficiently designed and are skilfully orientated to overlook the verdant greenery of Bishopgate.   Each apartment will also be fitted with luxury brand names such as Poggenpohl, Gaggenau, Laufen, etc, and are laid with the finest quality imported marble pieces that are 600mm by 900mm sizes, which is very rare in the market.

With first-quarter home sales rocketing to a higher-than-expected 4,446 units, property experts say that the strong sales momentum will probably spill over into the second quarter as developers plan more sizeable launches.

In fact, at least 12 developments have been identified by property consultants as possible launches this quarter.

These include Far East Organization’s 361-unit Waterfront Gold at Bedok Reservoir Road, Wing Tai Holdings’ 43-unit Le Nouvel Ardmore at Ardmore Park and KSH Holdings’ 250-unit Cityscape@ Farrer Park.

The strong economic recovery and better employment prospects will continue to sustain demand, Knight Frank manager of consultancy and research Ong Kah Seng said.

This is especially so after the latest government announcement of stellar first-quarter 13.1 per cent growth for the economy year-on-year and its upward revision of full-year gross domestic product growth to 7 per cent to 9 per cent from the previous 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent, further contributing to positive market sentiments.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) residential executive director Joseph Tan added that with the coming months seeing more sizeable project launches in varying locations, there will be enough choices to continue drawing the interest of potential buyers.

Sales in the first quarter were dominated by units in the core central region, where prime and higher-end properties such as those in Cairnhill and Holland Road, or Sentosa, are located. They made up 44 per cent of total sales, according to CBRE.

The second quarter is also likely to see similar posh launches following a laggard performance of high-end residential properties in the past two years, experts say.

‘The launch and sales activity outside the central region (OCR) was buoyant in 2009 and a number of mass-market projects were launched last year. Hence fewer sites will be launched in the OCR area,’ Mr Ong said.

However, buyers can still expect to see mid-tier and mass-market launches this quarter, such as The Minton in Hougang Street 11 and UOL Group’s Terrene condominium.

CBRE’s Mr Tan noted that more than 500 units of UOL Group’s 616-unit Waterbank at Dakota had been sold in the two weeks since its preview early this month.

Ms Christine Sun, Savills Singapore’s senior manager of research and consultancy, pointed out that buying interest had remained strong despite recent anti-speculation measures.

‘The residential market is likely to perform as well moving forward, especially over the next few months as developers push out new launches to ride on the current sentiment and buyers race to lock in the lower borrowing rates ahead of the expected interest rate revision by the second half of this year,’ she added.

Home sales of 4,446 units in the first quarter were more than double the 1,860 units sold in the previous quarter and 67 per cent more than sales in the same period last year.

If the pace continues throughout the year, total sales of new homes could be comparable to last year’s volume of 14,688 units, property experts say.

Home hunters, however, will be pleased to note that with the Government’s close monitoring, most experts do not expect prices to spiral upwards rapidly.

Although Knight Frank’s Mr Ong expects to see high-end residential properties receiving strong buying interest and enjoying a higher price increase, any rise is likely to be ‘incremental and sustainable’.

He said: ‘The overall interest for high-end residential properties will be underpinned by sound economic fundamentals and buyers who carefully evaluated the investment potential of high-end residential properties.

‘The integrated resorts can enhance the international exposure and familiarity of Singapore, and provide further opportunities for owners and sellers of high-end residential properties.’

Savills’ Ms Sun said prices are likely to see moderate rises only.

She expects a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in the high-end market and a 5 per cent to 10 per cent increase in prices for the mid-tier and mass markets after their strong run last year.   --  Source: Sunday Times, 25 Apr 2010

• Private Home Sales Down 19%-on month to 1,196 units in February

Upscale releases kick up average home transaction to $1.78m

As developers released more upmarket projects, the average transaction value of private homes sold in the primary market in the first two months of this year rose to $1.78 million per unit, a study by CB Richard Ellis shows.

This is 37 per cent higher than the $1.3 million average price of homes sold by developers for the whole of last year.

But the figure for January and February 2010 is still shy of the $1.97 million average price in the bull year of 2007, according to CBRE's analysis of URA Realis caveats data on March 5.

Reflecting the pattern of developers migrating to releasing higher-end projects towards the end of last year - after kicking off the year with mass-market launches - the priciest home in absolute dollar terms sold in the primary market since January 2007 was transacted in November last year - a $33.41 million junior penthouse at Far East Organization's Boulevard Vue project. The price of the 8,051 sq ft unit works out to $4,150 psf. The unit, which occupies the 30th and 31st levels of the 33-storey block, is believed to have been bought by Nippecraft non-executive chairwoman Linda Wijaya Limantara and her family. Nippecraft is part of the Asia Pulp & Paper group.

The unit's absolute price surpassed that of the most expensive unit transacted in the primary market in 2007, when a 19th floor unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill sold for $31.4 million in July that year. That price equated to $5,100 psf.

As for last year, another high-priced primary market deal was a bungalow at Kasara The Lake, located at Ocean Drive in Sentosa Cove, which fetched almost $14.43 million.

In January this year, the most expensive unit transacted in the primary market was a fourth-floor condo unit at Marina Collection on Sentosa Cove, at $10.3 million (or about $2,200 psf). February's priciest sale was a 16th floor unit at Urban Suites in the Cairnhill area - $10.43 million or $2,213 psf.

CBRE executive director Li Hiaw Ho reckons it is likely that the average dollar value of primary market transactions for the whole of this year will generally be above last year's figure as more high-end projects are slated for launch this year.

Agreeing, Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng reckons bigger units may gain appeal again as developers roll out high-end projects this year, a trend seen during the 2007 bull market.

'However, a lot will depend on how rentals fare for large units,' he said.

High-end projects primed for release this year include Seascape and The Residences at W, both at Sentosa Cove, phase 2 of Marina Bay Suites and a project at 76 Shenton Way in the downtown area, says CBRE. In the Orchard Road area, Ardmore III and projects on the sites of the former Anderson 18, Parisian, Grangeford and Beverly Mai are among expected launches.

Mr Tan also points to 'the other end of the spectrum - shoebox units could be launched, which could drag down slightly the average absolute price per unit' this year. However, their impact will not be significant as the number of such units, compared with total units launched by developers, is likely to be relatively small, he believes.

The lowest absolute price for a unit sold by a developer in the first two months of this year was $437,880 for a fourth-floor apartment at Suites @ Kovan in Upper Serangoon Road. The price for the 366 sq ft unit works out to $1,196 psf.

For the whole of last year, the smallest primary market deal was $305,860, involving a 441 sq ft unit on the second storey of Ventura View at Rambutan Road, off Still Road. It was sold in August last year.

Mr Li offers another reason that the average value of homes sold by developers this year is likely to surpass last year's figure - more 99-year leasehold projects on recently sold Government Land Sale sites will be launched at higher prices because of their higher land costs and location attributes such as proximity to MRT stations.

CBRE's study also shows that on a monthly basis, the highest average price in dollar terms achieved by developers since January 2007 was in March 2008, at $3.87 million. The lowest monthly figure was $761,082, in February last year. That was around the time that developers began testing the market with mass-market launches at attractive prices, after emerging from the darkest days of the global financial crisis.

By December last year, the average transaction price had risen to $2.16 million. It eased to $1.65 million in January this year before rising again to $2.08 million last month. However, the latest numbers may change as more caveats are lodged, analysts say.   - 2010 March 10   BUSINESS TIMES

Prices of new luxury homes surge

Launch of prices of new luxury residential projects in Singapore rose about 20-25 per cent last year and could appreciate a further 10-15 per cent this year, says CB Richard Ellis.

Rentals of completed luxury homes, which slid 10.5 per cent in 2009, could increase 5-10 per cent this year, according to the property consulting group.

Already, in the first two months of this year, prices have been climbing steadily, CBRE said, citing sales of 88 units at Urban Suites at $2,500 psf on average and about 35 units at The Laurels at $2,500-2,900 psf, although the latter features smaller units. Both projects are in the Cairnhill area.

Other luxury projects that will be marketed in the first half of 2010 include Ardmore 3, Nassim 8 and those on the sites of Grangeford and Parisian, CBRE said.

The Singapore residential property launch meanwhile continues to teem with activity in various market segments.

At Meyer Road, Hong Leong Holdings is releasing this week close to 60 upper-floor units at Aalto, a 27-storey freehold condo with a total of 196 units. Prices will start from $2,000 psf.

'Absolute pricing ranges from $3.1 million for a 1,442 sq ft three-bedder on the 18th floor to $5.3 million for a 24th level four-bedroom apartment of 1,959 sq ft,' the company said in a statement yesterday. A handful of lower-floor units are also available, from $1,500 psf.

The project was first launched in early 2008 and as at end-January this year, 118 units had been sold. Aalto comprises three and four bedroom apartments and penthouses. It is expected to receive Temporary Occupation Permit in September this year.

Hiap Hoe is also doing an official launch of its 200-unit Waterscape At Cavenagh this week. So far, it has sold 96 units. The average selling price is about $1,880 psf. The seven-storey freehold condo comprises one-to-four-bedroom apartments, and penthouses.

Later this month, Hong Leong Group could release a 202-unit project on the former Ong Building site at 76 Shenton Way. TID Pte Ltd - a joint venture between Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan - is also expected to preview in a few weeks Nathan Suites, a 24-storey project at Nathan Road, opposite the Malaysian High Commission. The project's 65 units comprise two, three and four-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses.

CBRE, in its release on the luxury residential market, said that recent sales activities point to the start of a revival in this market segment. 'It is likely that this interest in luxury homes is sustainable given the low interest rates and improving economic environment,' the firm's executive director, Li Hiaw Ho, said.

However, he predicts that 'we are unlikely to see runaway prices the way we did in 2007 as homebuyers will be less impulsive and more discerning following the latest government measures' to cool the market.

Back then, average launch prices of new luxe projects jumped from $1,800-2,600 psf in 2006 to $2,000-4,000 psf in 2007.

Overseas buyers returned at upmarket property launches in Singapore in Q4, as seen at Marina Bay Suites, Urban Suites, and Kasara the Lake, a plush villa development at Sentosa Cove. This bodes well for the market segment.

Elsewhere in Asia, prices of luxury homes in the secondary market edged up in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong by 6-10 per cent in Q4 2009 over the preceding quarter while remaining largely stable in other markets.

Singapore saw a 2.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter gain in average prime residential price in the secondary market to $2,260 psf in the fourth quarter. Despite strong sales, leasing demand for luxury homes remained rather fragile in some cities, with Beijing, Guangzhou, KL and Ho Chi Minh City posting a modest rental drop in Q4.

Leasing markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok began to gradually recover, with rents for luxury homes rising by increments ranging from one per cent in Bangkok to 6 per cent in Hong Kong.

Looking ahead, CBRE forecasts that end-users and investors may adopt a more cautious approach in the next couple of months following the introduction of measures that tighten lending for property in certain markets.   -    2010 March 4     BUSINESS TIMES

Seller's stamp duty and tighter loan limits reintroduced in bid to discourage speculation

It was announced that a seller's stamp duty (SSD) will be levied on those who buy a residential property from today and sell it within a year. This is aimed at curbing short-term speculation. Also, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit on housing loans will be lowered from 90 per cent to 80 per cent.

The SSD applies to all residential properties and residential lands, except for HDB flats. The date of purchase for the purpose of computing the one-year holding period shall be the option exercise date. This raises the possibility that some speculators who have been granted options to purchase residential properties recently but have yet to exercise them may allow their options to lapse - and lose typically 1.25 per cent of the purchase price - rather than face the rule change.

'True-blue speculators or flippers may fall out and return their options to developers,' said a market watcher. 'But specuvestors with the means of raising funding to make progress payments and who see prospects beyond a one-year horizon will likely continue with the purchase,' he added.

Currently, stamp duty is levied only for the purchase of property, not its sale. SSD will be applied at the same rate as the buyer's stamp duty - one per cent for the first $180,000 of the consideration, 2 per cent for the next $180,000 and 3 per cent for the balance.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore released an e-tax guide, listing more details including exceptions on the payment of SSD - for instance housing developers when they sell residential properties within a year of purchase, or for an estate of a deceased person when interest in residential property is passed to the beneficiary.

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) said: 'The introduction of the SSD should not impact adversely activities in the property market. The reduced mortgage cap is also unlikely to have significant impact on genuine buyers and investors. Lending institutions have already been more prudent especially in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.'

The lower LTV ratio on housing loans applies to home buyers granted options to purchase from today and covers all housing loans given by financial institutions for private homes, executive condos, HUDC flats and HDB flats. However, loans granted by the Housing Board for HDB flats will still have a 90 per cent cap as such flats are already subject to other criteria to prevent speculation and encourage financial prudence, the government said.  -2010  February 20    BUSINESS TIMES

• Stamp duty & Loan-to-Value rules

2010: The year of luxury homes

Data from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows that of the 7,975 landed and non-landed homes that are likely to be launched in 2010, more than 40 per cent of them are in Singapore's core central region (CCR), which includes the prime Districts 9 and 10, the financial district and Sentosa Cove.

A total of 3,469 homes will be in the CCR. Another 3,071 units are in the outside central region, which is a proxy for suburban mass-market locations. The remaining 1,435 homes are in the mid-tier rest of central region.

In contrast, most private home launches in 2009 were in the mass market.

Another analyst commented 'The growing acceptance of Singapore as a choice destination to live and work will fuel prices further because property prices in Singapore are still significantly lower than those of key gateway cites of Monaco, London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Moscow.'

There is also a lot of speculation on the ground about how developers will replenish their landbanks once they start selling luxury and high-end homes once again. In 2006 and 2007, a scramble for prime residential sites led to a booming collective sales market. - 2010 January 14  BUSINESS TIMES

Data from Savills Singapore shows that the prices of high-end homes on the mainland in Districts 1, 9, 10 and 11 (which include Shenton Way, Orchard, Holland, Newton and Bukit Timah) have been climbing since Q2 2009.

The average unit price of high-end homes fell from $1,621 per square foot (psf) in Q2 2008 to $1,174 in Q1 2009, the property firm said. But prices have since rebounded and the average unit price of high-end homes was $1,543 psf in Q4 2009.

Goldman Sachs yesterday raised its forecasts for high-end property prices, and now expects high-end prices to rise 10-15 per cent. The bank's research shows that by segments, luxury home prices are 19 per cent below their 2007 peak, while prime and mass-market home prices are respectively 8 per cent and 4 per cent lower than their previous peaks.

'We expect the high-end to lead for the better part of 2010; there is still positive carry in rental yields, as rents hold steady even as consensus braces for a 10 per cent decline,' said analysts Paul Lian and Rishab Bengani. And as the volume of total home sales falls, the high-end and luxury markets are expected to make up a larger piece of the pie.

On a yearly basis, 2009 saw the second highest number of new private home sold. Developers sold around 14,500 new homes last year - second only to the record take-up of 14,811 units in 2007.

But in spite of the high volume of new sales last year, caveats lodged show that the total value of the homes sold is only around 60 per cent of that in 2007. The lower quantum was attributed to the dominance of mass-market and mid-tier homes that were sold in 2009, compared to 2007 when high-end homes stole the limelight.

This is expected to change in 2010. Analysts reckon that the take-up in 2010 will moderate to 8,000-10,000 units. But the activity is expected to move into the high-end and luxury segments. Mr Ng estimates that the volume of high-end and luxury home sales could climb by 50 per cent.

The year began well last week, with property giant CapitaLand reporting that it has sold 60 apartments in the 165-unit Urban Suites condominium in the Cairnhill area, at prices ranging from $2,400 to $2,700 psf.

FAST FACTS:

Urban Suites in Cairnhill

CapitaLand has sold 60 apartments in the 165-unit Urban Suites condominium in the Cairnhill area, at prices ranging from $2,400 to $2,700 psf. CapitaLand started preview sales in Singapore for phase one of Urban Suites - on the former Char Yong Gardens site in Hullet Road - just before Christmas. Sixty units were released in phase one and sold to buyers prepared to purchase more than one. CapitaLand, which is developing the project with Wachovia Development Corporation, plans to launch the second phase, comprising about 50 units, in Jakarta during mid-January 2010. At Urban Suites, about two-thirds of the buyers are foreigners from countries including China, Australia and Canada. Most buyers bought two units, CapitaLand said. It gave a one per cent discount to buyers who picked up more than one unit. Buyers have a choice of two, three and four-bedroom apartments as well as duplex and triplex penthouses. The units range from 1,044 sq ft to 4,715 sq ft. Analysts say CapitaLand can be expected to raise prices for subsequent phases.

In line with the rising interest in luxury homes, sales of good class bungalows (GCBs) also picked up in 2009.

According to CB Richard Ellis, the average price on a psf basis reached a high of $826 last year, up from $820 in 2008 and $681 in 2007.

And transaction volumes have also started picking up.

Data from Savills Singapore shows that 74 GCBs worth a total of $1.3 billion changed hands in 2009. This was a up from 43 GCBs and $745.7 million in 2008.

Most of the transactions last year took place in the second half of the year - 35 GCBs were sold in Q3 and another 15 were sold in Q4 2009.

'A lot of people jumped into the GCB bandwagon from April last year,' said Savills Singapore's director of investment sales and prestige homes Steven Ming. 'People sidelined themselves from the GCB market in 2008 in anticipation of a further slowdown in the economy. So there was a backlog of demand.'

Sales were also boosted by a low interest rate environment.

For 2010, Mr Ming expects a slight drop in the number of GCB transactions, and estimates that 60-80 bungalows will be sold: 'We are expecting volumes to slow in 2010 because those investors who wanted to buy in the last two years would have bought last year.'

As for prices, no big surges are expected either, with Mr Ming predicting at most a 5-10 per cent climb for the GCB market in 2010.  - 2010 January 14  BUSINESS TIMES

Singapore's Top Developers 

Leong Group, Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint have been the most active companies on the local property scene this year, making their mark in the number and value of homes sold.

Together, the three developers are likely to have raked in more than $6 billion from selling more than 5,000 private homes - mostly from mass-market and mid-tier sites.

The data comes from a quick poll of several developers. To highlight, not all figures are exact - there is double-counting of sales in some cases because of joint venture projects.

Nevertheless, Hong Leong, Far East and Frasers Centrepoint emerged clear leaders. As at Tuesday this week, entities linked to Hong Leong - City Developments (CDL), Hong Leong Holdings and TID - had sold 2,122 units, valued at $2.39 billion.

CDL alone moved 1,500 homes worth $1.86 billion, from launches including The Arte, Livia and Hundred Trees. Hong Leong Holdings sold 325 units, while TID sold 297. Sales from a joint venture project The Gale are included in figures for both CDL and Hong Leong Holdings.

Far East commanded a sizeable share of the market with 1,932 homes sold, valued at more than $2.34 billion. The developer launched 11 projects this year, and the five that brought in the highest revenue are Mi Casa, Vista Residences, Cyan, Waterfront Waves and Silversea.

But included in figures from Far East are sales from tie-ups with Orchard Parade Holdings and Wing Tai (111 units from Floridian) and with Frasers Centrepoint (225 units from Waterfront Key and 222 units from Waterfront Waves).

Frasers Centrepoint itself has also been a big winner, moving 1,852 units worth $2.17 billion. These came from projects such as Martin Place Residences, Caspian, 8@Woodleigh and Woodsville 28.

Figures from Frasers Centrepoint also take into account sales from Waterfront Key and Waterfront Waves.

Coming behind Hong Leong, Far East and Frasers Centrepoint is UOL, which sold a respectable 1,009 homes for $1.2 billion, from Breeze by the East, Meadows@Peirce, Nassim Park Residences and Double Bay Residences.

CapitaLand sold 535 homes in Singapore valued at close to $1 billion. Keppel Land sold close to 380 homes, also for close to $1 billion.   - 2009 December 18  BUSINESS TIMES

Luxury apartment sector feels the rush

Luxury apartment deals picked up in the second and third quarters of this year as a more cheerful mood spread to the upper realms of the private residential market.

CBRE studied caveats data for condo and apartment deals in the Core Central Region, which includes the prime districts 9, 10 and 11; the financial district; and the HarbourFront and Sentosa Cove locations. The transactions include both primary and secondary market transactions but exclude collective sales.

 Developers report a pick-up in sales of luxury apartments to both Singaporeans and foreigners.

Wheelock Properties (Singapore) CEO David Lawrence says: 'A lot of foreigners talk to us about buying quality property assets in Singapore. They include high-net-worth (HNW) Indians and Chinese who are thinking of becoming Singapore permanent residents and wish to move their families here.'

Savills Singapore managing director also says the Republic has been a beneficiary of wealthy Asians from places like China, Malaysia and India coming out again to buy luxury properties with renewed confidence upon sensing that the worst is over in the overall global economy.

'A lot of them see Singapore as a safe place to park their family and money,' he added.

The thinking in property circles is that foreign buying will strengthen further when Singapore's two integrated resorts (IRs) open next year. And this should translate to stronger demand for luxury apartments.

CBRE's data showed that about 86 per cent or 268 of the 312 units sold at above $4 million in the first nine months of 2009 were in the 'above $4 million to $7 million range'.

They included developer sales in projects like Volari at Balmoral Road, Residences@Killiney, One Devonshire, Latitude at Jalan Mutiara, Madison Residences in Bukit Timah, and The Orchard Residences. This segment saw the biggest recovery in transaction volume over full-year 2008.

A total of 35 caveats were lodged for properties that cost between $7 million and $9 million in the first nine months of this year. The transactions, which were mostly in Q3, include The Hamilton Scotts and The Orchard Residences in the primary market (developer sales), and Ardmore Park, St Regis Residences and Scotts Highpark in the secondary market.

There was a caveat lodged for a unit at Nassim Park Residences that cost nearly $13.3 million in July and two in August (at about $9.6 million and $9.8 million), based on URA Realis caveats data as at Oct 12.

However, Business Times understands that since then, two more units were sold in the development in September, followed by a further two so far this month.

The four units were sold at prices ranging from $9.6 million to $14 million, or from about $2,850 per square foot to $3,480 psf.

Business Times understands there have been close to a dozen transactions at Nassim Park Residences since mid-year. However, buyers of some units have yet to lodge caveats.  - 2009 October 15     BUSINESS TIMES

High-end properties feel the buzz too
Prices breach $3,000 psf, speculators on the prowl; analysts advise restraint

The high-end property market is starting to soak up the sunshine again.

Developers of some luxury residential projects have reported a slight pick-up in sales since May. The Orchard Residences, The Hamilton Scotts and Boulevard Vue have seen units sold at above $2,500 psf; in the case of The Orchard Residences, there have been a few units transacted at more than $3,000 psf.

In the secondary market, a unit at Ardmore Park is said to have changed hands for around $2,500 psf recently.

Prices have also breached the $2,000 psf mark again for The Sail @ Marina Bay, where transacted prices are said to have appreciated by $100 psf a week in the past three weeks.

The speculators are back, too. 'We hear of people trading options again in some secondary market projects like The Sail and Rivergate. That is, someone buys a unit and before the two-week option exercise period is over, sells it to another person,' a market watcher said.

In the primary market, five units have been sold at The Orchard Residences in the past few weeks. A spokeswoman for Orchard Turn Developments, which is building the 99-year leasehold condo, confirmed this when contacted by BT. 'We've recently sold units at prices ranging from $2,700 psf for a 10th floor unit to $3,300 psf for an apartment on level 33. We've seen interest from both locals and foreigners at prices similar to what we sold when we first began to sell around March/April 2007,' she said.

A stone's throw away at Cuscaden Walk, Far East Organization sold an apartment last month at Boulevard Vue for $2,600 psf or nearly $12 million. The eighth-floor unit was acquired by a Singapore permanent resident on normal progress payment scheme. Far East's chief operating officer of property sales Chia Boon Kuah told BT the unit would have been priced around $3,800 psf in first-half last year when the group first started selling the posh 33-storey freehold project.

Added Mr Chia: 'We're seeing more inquiries across the full range of our products, including landed homes, over the past few weeks. In terms of volume of transactions, we're now seeing 3-5 times the level in the December/January period. So in a typical week - without new launches - we're now selling about 40 units compared with 10 in December/January,' he added.

This weekend, Far East is launching its ad campaign for Miro, comprising freehold loft units at Lincoln Road. Prices range from $1,400 to $1,600 psf. The group has also been selling Dalla Vale, a freehold cluster semi-detached and bungalow project at Springleaf Avenue priced from $650 psf.

At Scotts Road, Hayden Properties this week sold a 2,756 sq ft apartment at Hamilton Scotts for $2,600 psf or about $7 million to a Singaporean buyer on normal progress payment terms. The price is about 20 per cent lower than the $3,200 psf the unit would have cost in August last year, when Hayden sold the initial five units in the project, says the company's director Leny Suparman.

'We started getting more inquiries from April and therefore we were more inclined to revise our prices. Buyers have become more confident about the market lately because of the stockmarket rally and positive news from all fronts. People don't want to miss out on good opportunities,' she added.

In the secondary market too, a couple of two-bedroom units at The Sail @ Marina Bay were transacted recently at above $2,000 psf. A bay-facing unit above the 50th level fetched $2,400 psf while another unit slightly above the 15th level sold for $2,200 psf. Also, a one-bedder on the 20th floor changed hands at $1,700 psf.

Knight Frank director Nicholas Mak pointed out that the last time the market saw transactions above $3,000 psf was late last year. 'Across Asia, the stockmarket rally has improved investors' confidence and this has spilled over to the property market. However, there are factors that could potentially cut away the legs of this rally. Falling rents is one of them.'

DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah noted that the latest price gains come after substantial declines. By Q1 this year, luxury home prices had fallen about 30-40 per cent from the 2007 peak levels.

'Many perceive the worst is over and the downside risk is manageable. There's also been a subtle change in attitude towards real estate. People now realise that property is more lasting. At least you can live in it, hold it out for the long term and pass it to your children; it won't vanish, unlike some financial products,' Mrs Ong said.

'However, we would rather the market exercise some restraint. At the end of the day, any sustainable recovery will have to be supported by fundamentals. The leasing market is still going through a challenging period. Given the recession, can we support such a sharp V-shaped recovery in property prices?' she asked.    - 2009 June 12    BUSINESS TIMES

The sharp slide in high-end residential property prices is beginning to show up on the radars of serious investors.

From their peaks in the second half of 2007 to the first quarter this year, transacted prices of luxury condos in the prime Orchard Road belt have fallen by about 40 per cent.

This is the steepest islandwide decline in condo prices and the potential buying opportunities that this is opening up are not lost on investors keen on buying multiple units.

Credo Real Estate's analysis of URA Realis' caveats shows the average price transacted at St Regis Residences has fallen 38 per cent from $3,411 per square foot in H2 2007 to $2,099 psf in Q1 this year.

At Ardmore II, the average transacted price has slipped 43 per cent, from $3,073 psf in H2 2007 to $1,761 psf in Q1 2009.

Over the same period, Cairnhill Crest's average price declined 36 per cent to $1,430 psf in Q1 2009.

'The projects we selected were those that we believed stood as good proxies for their respective locations, and ideally have some history (that is, not launched recently),' said Credo's managing director Karam- jit Singh.

'Transaction volumes were thin in Q1 this year; there were only three luxury projects in the Orchard Road belt with at least two transactions each in the first three months of this year. It's not an ideal situation, where we would want to pick from a larger basket of transactions. But this study still serves to point towards where the market has been heading,' he said.

Credo's analysis also showed that, on average, condo prices in Sentosa Cove in Q1 2009 were about 30 per cent below H2 2007. In the city centre, the average price decline in the same period ranged from 22 per cent (for Icon) to 34 per cent (for The Sail @ Marina Bay).

In what Credo dubs the 'mid-prime segment' - covering River Valley, Bukit Timah, Novena/Thomson and Katong - it said average price declines generally ranged from about 20 to 30 per cent. Suburban condo prices generally fell less than 10 per cent.

'The analysis shows the greater price volatility in the prime districts, which also presents opportunity for greater upside when recovery sets in, compared with suburban condo prices, which tend to move in a more subdued fashion,' said Mr Singh.

The bigger price drops in the Orchard area have led to a narrowing price gap between the high-end and low-end segments. 'At some point, not too far from now, buyers will start upgrading from one tier to the upper tier,' Mr Singh reckons.

'What the price convergence illustrates is the buying potential of prime properties. It will pay - whether at this point in time or not very far off from now - to bet on prime,' he added.

The price declines have surfaced on the radars of potential investors - individuals, families and some property funds - who are studying top-notch prime- district projects, with a medium-term investment horizon. 'Some have capacity to take about 10 units, some 20 units. Some have budgets of more than $100 million,' according to Mr Singh.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Jeremy Lake said high-net-worth individuals here as well as in a three-hour flight radius from Singapore are among the key players actively looking for property investments here. 'Some are keen on investing in offices; some in residential - most would go for the high-end, where prices have corrected the most,' he added.

Mr Singh said acquisitions would be funded largely with equity. 'Right now, they're monitoring the big picture - homing in on a good time to make a swoop, which projects, at which prices,' he added.

Mr Lake adds: 'Some investors are willing to commit sooner rather than later, compared with a few months ago when everybody wanted to wait and found pricing to be unattractive. Now, some investors think pricing is good enough to go.'

Market watchers say the likelihood of deals being struck will also depend on the threshold of sellers, who could include individuals who are stretched from holding multiple condo units as well as developers of projects with low-cost land or who just want to clear unsold units.

DTZ senior director Shaun Poh says some private bankers are trying to arrange consortiums for high-net-worth clients and are sourcing for property investments of about $20-50 million per consortium. 'Their main target would be high-end condos; some may also be interested in commercial properties. The banks will also provide financing for the acquisition.The mandate given to these private bankers is to look for opportunities priced 20-30 per cent below current values,' he said.

However, Mr Singh's advice is: 'It's close enough to the bottom that it makes sense to buy at this stage, rather than buy when it has turned the corner - by which time the number of competing buyers will be greater.'  - 2009 April 09   BUSINESS TIMES

• Luxury's continued decline
• Shophouses
• Rental Market

Many high-end condos unsold

Fifty-five per cent of about 2,200 units in luxury projects launched by developers between 2006 and 2008 remained unsold in November 2008, according to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

And the property consultancy firm is tipping a 10-15 per cent fall this year in the price of luxury apartments/condos, which slid to about $2,000 to $2,400 psf of strata area in Q4 last year from $2,000-3,300 psf a year earlier.

The figures refer to existing luxury developments such as Ardmore Park, Four Seasons Park and Grange Residences.

As for new luxury condos/apartments, the average launch price fell to $2,000 to $2,600 psf in Q4 2008 from $2,000 to $4,000 psf in Q4 2007, says CBRE.

Caveats for only 1,096 luxury apartments/condos in prime districts 9 and 10 were lodged in 2008 based on filings by Jan 7, 2009 - a mere 19 per cent and 32 per cent of sales in 2007 and 2006 respectively.

The number of apartments sold for more than $10 million dropped to 82 last year from 143 in 2007. Still, the 2008 figure was above the 22 units sold in 2006.

Most luxury projects launched in 2006 and early 2007 are fully sold, such as Ardmore II and Tate Residences.

But several projects, particularly those released during or after second-half 2007, remain on the market. 'By then, news of the sub-prime crisis had caused the market to pull the brakes,' CBRE said.

In the landed housing segment, the firm predicts a drop of about 10 per cent this year in the price of Good Class Bungalows (GCBs).

Last year, the average price of GCBs rose 20.7 per cent to a record $822 per sq ft (psf) of land area.

'GCB prices recorded very strong growth in 2006-7,' said CBRE director (luxury homes) Douglas Wong. 'This upswing in prices spilled over into the first half of last year. Right up to July 2008, average GCB prices continued to raise the benchmark.

'Also, the capacity of owners to hold prices added to the resilience in this segment in the second half of 2008.'

The highest psf price in a GCB transaction last year was $1,303 for a property in Leedon Road with only 21,097 sq ft of land. In absolute price terms, it fetched $27.5 million.

The all-time record price for a GCB in Singapore is $1,899 psf, set in October 2007 when 32H Nassim Road was sold for $25.5 million.

While the average price of GCBs rose last year, the number and value of transactions fell.

Forty-nine GCBs changed hands for a total of $785 million in 2008, down from 87 worth $1.15 billion in 2007 and 119 worth $1.23 billion in 2006.

CBRE said: 'Going forward, we expect the activity in the luxury residential market to be lukewarm, similar to the pace in H2 2008. Hence, the number of GCBs and luxury apartments transacted will be small.' - 2009 January 9  BUSINESS TIMES

Property subsales - who wins and who loses 
For those who sold in the first seven months of this year, close to 97% came out ahead

Sentiment in the Singapore property market is now far from bullish, but data shows that nearly 97 per cent of those who have sold private apartments and condos in the subsale market in the first seven months of this year have made profits.

Only 3 per cent incurred losses, an analysis of caveats by Savills Singapore shows.

For those who turned a profit, the average gain per unit came to $417,563 or 36.5 per cent. Generally, the longer the holding period, the bigger the gain.

Subsale deals are seen as a proxy for the level of speculative activity in the market. On average, those who had bought their units in 2004 and sold them in the subsale market this year made the biggest gain, averaging nearly $692,000, or an 84 per cent profit. They are followed by those who had picked up units in 2005, who recorded an average gain of about $645,200 or 62 per cent from selling their homes in the subsale market this year.

In absolute dollar terms, the smallest average gain of around $175,600 was by those who bought their units this year, reflecting a holding period of just a few months.

The profit or loss in the calculation is the difference between sale and purchase prices and does not take into account stamp duty and other expenses.

'The fact is that longer holding periods allow for larger gains, shorter holding periods for smaller gains. This is consistent with the fact that real estate is a long-term investment. Investors with short exit time frames should look for alternative instruments,' said Savills Singapore's director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong.

Savills' analysis was based on 1,040 caveats for subsale transactions from Jan 1 to July 31 this year captured by Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system as at Aug 19. Of these, 821 had previous caveat records dating back to 2003 and Savills compared the latest subsale price of each unit with the earlier price paid by the seller to work out the profit or loss.

Citylights, Varsity Park Condo and The Sail @ Marina Bay had the most subsales in the first seven months of this year - 63, 47 and 45 respectively. The Sea View and City Square Residences had 30-plus subsales each. Park Infinia at Wee Nam, The Calrose, Icon and The Raintree each had 20-odd subsales.

Subsales, often seen as a gauge of speculative activity, refer to secondary market deals in projects that have yet to receive their Certificates of Statutory Completion. This may be anywhere from three to 12 months after the project receives its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).

Market watchers note that many of the projects topping the subsale chart this year had either received TOP or are close to receiving TOP. Some of the units that changed hands in the subsale market could have been purchased on deferred payment schemes from developers in the past. Typically, such schemes run out when the projects get their TOP and that is when buyers have to pay the chunk of the purchase price to developers.

The deferred payment scheme was scrapped in October last year to discourage speculative buying.

Of the 25 loss cases for subsale deals done this year, sellers of about half the units had themselves bought theirs in the subsale market, while the other half had made direct purchases from developers. For instance, the four units sold in the subsale market at a loss this year at City Square Residences had all been picked up in the subsale market last year.Looking ahead, Savills' Mr Ku expects subsales to maintain at current levels, that is, about 150 units a month. Those who want to sell now will have to expect lower profits, he said.

'Whether in good or bad times, there will still be subsale losses from people being forced to make untimely sales due to corporate liquidation, bankruptcy, divorce,' Mr Ku added.

In cases where investors are sitting on potential losses, Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore's head of residential, Jacqueline Wong, said: 'My advice to my clients, who are usually foreigners, have bought in prime districts and are well off, would be, 'If you can, hang on. It will be just a temporary paper loss. Singapore has a lot of things going for it in the mid term'.'

Another seasoned property consultant said: 'A lot will depend on your entry price vis-a-vis other owners, especially in a big development. If a lot of them bought at say $1,000 psf from the developer and you got your unit later for $1,800 psf in the subsale market from an earlier buyer, you're in a disadvantageous position. If the market dives, the earlier buyers could offload their units at much lower prices than your cost price.

'On the other hand, everybody may be in the same boat. Say, if you've bought into a small project of 30 units and everyone's bought at about the same price, and if there's not much competition from surrounding projects, chances of prices going down substantially may be lower because everyone's locked in at the same threshold.'  - 2008 August 26    BUSINESS TIMES

Developers ponder tricky math before new launches 
Apart from pricing, a host of factors are critical in their launch decision

The recent spurt of purchases at projects like Nassim Park Residences, Dakota Residences and Clover By The Park, has got many industry players preparing for possible launches to ride the current buying wave.

The decision on whether to launch a project now is a tricky one. A host of factors have to be weighed - not just pricing, location and the product, but assessing the depth of demand in the particular neighbourhood or micro-market where a condo is located, how many projects have been launched in the area over the past few years, and even the buyer profile in earlier projects.

The ability to price projects attractively - from 7 to 25 per cent lower than market expectations 12 months ago - has been a critical factor in drawing buyers at recent launches.

An increasingly important factor is the prices at which earlier projects in the area had been sold in the past couple of years. Given the run-up in prices, some buyers in earlier projects may unload their units at prices below what the developer of the latest project in the area may be gunning for.

In fact, in at least one project in the Newton area, the developer is said to have started facing competition from earlier buyers in the same condo seeking to unload their units.

Keppel Land is still marketing the remaining units at Park Infinia at Wee Nam and its asking price is understood to be $1,400 to $1,800 psf. Earlier buyers in the same project are offering their units just a tad lower. KepLand first released the project in 2005 at prices well below $1,000 psf on average. So when the project received Temporary Occupation Permit a few months ago, earlier buyers were in a position to undercut the current price and still reap a nice profit.

So studying the extent of competition from secondary market deals is a vital part of the homework developers and agents have to do before deciding on any launch. 'Supposing you're a developer and your upcoming condo launch will be the fourth project to have been released in a particular location in the past two years and buyers in the earlier projects bought their units for, say, $800 psf average and your breakeven cost is around $900 psf, you could be in a difficult position if you need to launch today,' a seasoned industry player says.

'If a substantial number of buyers in the earlier projects bought for investment rather than owner occupation, they may consider leasing the units when the project is completed - and rental yields could be pretty attractive today based on the investors' purchase price - or they may decide to cash in their units for a profit. That could spell competition for the developer launching a new project in the area,' he added.

Frasers Centrepoint Homes chief operating officer Cheang Kok Kheong says: 'The supply-demand pattern in the particular micro-market must be suitable for the project a developer is targeting to launch.'

'There may be pent-up demand in a location that has not seen any new projects launched in the past few years,' he adds.

A case in point would be Sim Lian's Clover by The Park condo in the popular Bishan area, near Catholic High School, which has sold over 200 units since it was released on June 25 at an average price of $750 psf. By some agents' reckoning, a project like that could have been priced at $800-850 psf on average about 12 months ago.

While many in the industry have lauded Clover's 'success', Credit Suisse's property analyst Tricia Song finds the response wanting. 'Given that the pricing is relatively attractive for a popular suburb that has not seen any new projects in years, we think the take-up is disappointing and is reflective of the cautious sentiment even among upgraders,' she said in a June 30 research note. 'If we exclude the 100 units that were sold during a private preview (on June 25) take-up has visibly slowed...'

Perhaps this reflects a smaller demand pool these days, in the absence of speculators and fewer foreign buyers.

As Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng says: 'I think everybody's very cautious about whether they should or should not launch - and at what price levels. You don't want to start something that will run out of steam because it's priced too high or the demand pool just isn't big enough.'

DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah notes that the recent home-buying spurt was created by developers releasing new projects in attractive locations at lower prices than initially expected. 'However, once a developer has started selling a project at a certain price, it becomes trickier to reduce the price as this then creates a problem of dealing with earlier buyers who paid the higher price.' The stakes are indeed high for developers to get the timing and price right for their launch.  - 2008 July 7   THE BUSINESS TIMES

Singapore's property boom cooling: analysts

Singapore's booming residential property sector is finally showing signs of cooling but projects including two casino developments should underpin long-term prices, analysts say.

The market was described by real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle as the world's hottest in 2007, when the city-state's property prices surged 31 percent overall.

But this year the sector has not escaped wider concerns over a US-led global economic slowdown and inflationary pressures.

Private home prices rose 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the slowest increase in four years, the government's preliminary figures showed last week.

The second-quarter rise was also much slower than the 3.7 percent increase recorded in the previous three months but prospective buyers waiting for huge bargains may be disappointed.

Property analysts say prices are likely to fall further in the third quarter but experts rule out massive declines because of the multiplier effect from two multi-billion-dollar gaming resorts now under construction.

Housing demand is expected to pick up when the first of the two casinos opens next year, employing thousands, said Chua Yang Liang, head of Southeast Asia research with Jones Lang LaSalle.

Some of the workforce for the resorts will likely come from foreign countries, creating possible demand for housing, he said.

"To staff these people, you need housing so there will be a potential effect," Chua told AFP.

Foreigners currently make up more than 20 percent of Singapore's 4.6 million population.

The Marina Bay Financial Centre, a new financial district under construction which will also feature luxury apartments, should also underpin the market in the longer term, analysts said.

Tan Huey Ying, director for research with Colliers International real estate consultants, said prices are not about to spiral downwards even though second quarter figures indicate the residential property market may have peaked.

"Singapore's positive mid-term prospects on the back of the completion of the two integrated resorts and the Marina Bay Financial Centre will help to prop prices up," said Tan.

Values may hold, or decline by no more than three percent, in the third quarter but overall for 2008 home prices could still rise four to eight percent, said Tan.

Analysts from DTZ real estate consultancy said buyers are still interested in project launches.

"Some residential projects are enjoying sell-out status while others are being well received," said Margaret Thean, DTZ's executive director for residential.

Government approval for the two gaming resorts in 2005 was one of the major factors behind the revival of Singapore's property market, which had been stuck in a rut stemming from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Efforts to woo wealthy foreigners to take up residence in Singapore, along with an all-out bid to attract skilled foreign migrants, also drove the property market revival, analysts said.

The rebound left many expatriates struggling to cope with soaring rents which in some cases doubled over the past year. - 2008 July 6     Yahoo!

Mass market stays buoyant as buyers find price is right

Flash estimates for property price indices are in with numbers suggesting that price-sensitive buyers are bargain hunting or scaling down their expectations altogether.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released estimates for the Q2 2008 price index for private residential property yesterday with prices rising just 0.4 per cent - a mere crawl compared to the 3.7 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

While this represents the slowest growth in four years, Jones Lang LaSalle's local director and head of research (South East Asia) Chua Yang Liang also notes that it is the, 'steepest' quarterly rate of change since Q3 2000.

Much of the activity was in the mid and mass-market as reflected by URA's index for three geographical regions. Prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by just 0.2 per cent in Core Central Region (CCR) and 0.7 per cent in Rest of Central Region (RCR), but climbed a more robust 1.3 per cent in Outside Central Region (OCR).

Dr Chua added that demand remained favourable in the OCR supported by average nominal wage increases in the Q1 2008 and 'dislodged residents of collective sale sites'.

Also robust was the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) resale market with estimates for the quarter revealing that the HDB Resale Price Index increased by 4.4 per cent over the previous quarter, and higher than the 3.7 per cent increase in Q1 2008.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak said that the mass market is 'influenced' by HDB's resale market and added that, 'the resale market has been steady'.

Indeed, while HDB resale volume did fall to 6,360 units in Q1 2008, a 6 per cent drop compared to Q4 2007, it actually increased by one per cent on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.

By comparison, secondary market private property transactions of 2,304 units in Q1 2008 was a fall of about 40 per cent, quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) and a fall of 57 per cent, y-o-y, while primary market transactions of about 762 units was a fall of about 48 per cent in Q1 2008 q-o-q, and a fall of 84 per cent y-o-y.

ERA Realty Network assistant vice-president Eugene Lim also believes that a buoyant HDB resale market could boost HDB upgrader sentiment, but he pointed out that the strength of the HDB resale market can be attributed to 'upgraders, downgraders and permanent residents'. On the last group, Mr Lim estimates that based on in-house data, permanent residents account for about 20 per cent of the buyers in the HDB resale market.

And attention is likely to continue to be diverted away from high-end products.

'The market is not short of buyers and many astute investors have been shopping around, looking to scoop up value buys,' added Mr Lim.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho noted that in the private property market, most of the transactions were mid and mass-market projects with the majority of transactions in the $750-$1,000 psf price bracket.

As such, Mr Li expects sales volume of new launches to rise to between 1,200-1,400 units in Q2 2008, compared to just 762 units in Q1 2008.

Property consultants have so far been careful to not use the 'F' word to describe home prices. Most believe prices have 'plateaued' or 'softened', but not 'fallen'.

Colliers International director (research and advisory) Tay Huey Ying even believes that home prices have, 'remained stubbornly resilient to the extent that they continue to post a y-o-y increase of 20.4 per cent'.

Ms Tay also added that for the first six months of the year, home prices rose by 4.2 per cent. '(Developer's) current pricing strategy can be described as competitive, that is either similar to current market prices or marginally lower than competitors,' she added.

Ms Tay believes that home prices will continue to resist 'downward pressure' and expects prices to hold steady or decline marginally by not more than 3 per cent in Q3 2008.

Saying that mass-market prices have generally not been 'chased up' or preyed upon by the 'speculative element', Ms Tay believes this sector could be the best performing for the rest of the year.

This however needs to be put in context.

Knight Frank's Mr Mak does point out that prime property prices have increased by 52.4 per cent over the last two years. 'On this basis, it is not surprising that this market segment will lead the slowdown in price growth,' he added.   0 2008 July 2   THE BUSINESS TIMES

Central, prime condo take-up rates outpace other areas  

Softening condo and private apartment prices in the first six months of this year in the prime and central districts - the latter of which covers the financial district, Harbourfront area and Sentosa Cove - have been accompanied by a push in demand in these locations.

This, according to a study by Jones Lang LaSalle, has been reflected in the higher primary market take-up rates for properties in these locations.

'This suggests the presence of a strong latent market where potential buyers are waiting at the sidelines, eagerly buying up properties when the price is right,' Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research (Southeast Asia) Chua Yang Liang says.

JLL measured the take-up rate as the ratio of the number of non-landed private homes sold by developers to such homes launched by developers. It then compared these take-up rates against the average resale prices in four locations on the island - prime (districts 9, 10 and 11), central (districts 1-4), east coast (15 and 16) and mass market (all other districts).

The prime and central districts achieved relatively higher take-up rates of 87 per cent and 250 per cent respectively during H1 2008 compared with take-up rates of 67 per cent for east coast and 66 per cent for mass-market during the same period.

The prime and central districts also saw weaker price movement. The average resale price for prime districts in H1 2008 was 12 per cent higher than in H1 2007 but down 3 per cent from the figure for full-year 2007. In the central districts, the H1 2008 average resale price represented an improvement of 9 per cent year-on-year but was flat against the full-year 2007 figure.

In the east coast, the H1 2008 average resale price raced 20 per cent ahead against a year ago while mass-market locations topped the chart with a 25 per cent year-on-year price gain.

'The conservative attitude of buyers coupled with cautious outlook by developers will continue to moderate market performance in terms of take-up rates. Buyers are generally sensitive and cautious about prices.

'Developers are more likely to discount prices to maintain the demand, either through direct discounts of between 5 and 10 per cent on selling prices as we're already seeing, or absorption of other costs like stamp duty and furnishing vouchers,' Dr Chua reckons.

JLL's study also showed that amidst the overall quieter market the number of non-landed private homes bought by those living in HDB flats as well as those with private addresses fell in the first five months of this year.

However, there was an increase in HDB upgraders' share of total non-landed private homes bought (in both primary and secondary markets) during the first five months of this year in all locations.

This was the case even in the prime districts, where buyers with HDB addresses made up 16 per cent share of total private apartments/condos bought in January to May 2008. This was higher than a 10 per cent share for the whole of last year in this location.

Most of the HDB upgraders who bought a prime district property in the first five months of 2008 picked up a unit in District 9, mainly at new project launches like Wilkie 80 and Mount Sophia Suites, according to JLL.

HDB upgraders accounted for 33 per cent of non-landed homes sold in the east coast in the first five months of 2008, up significantly from a 21 per cent share in full-year 2007.

In the mass-market districts - the traditional haunt of upgraders buying private property - their share was 39 per cent in Jan-May 2008, up from 32 per cent in 2007. In the central districts, the upgrader share edged up from 16 per cent last year to 19 per cent in the first five months.

'Although prices in 2007 have moved past the average-income buyers' affordability, the current softer prices as well as stronger economic performance in 2007 have provided the impetus for many HDB upgraders in all locations,' Dr Chua notes.

'As HDB resale flat prices are likely to remain strong given limited supply, upgraders who benefit from the gain in the resale market are likely to enter into the private market. We reckon the percentage of upgraders is likely to grow by year-end if developers and sellers keep prices at realistic levels,' he added.     - 2008 July 1    THE BUSINESS TIMES

• Freehold condo's in high demand

Apartments above $10m still shine in dull market 
In the landed sector, demand for GCBs remains strong

The high-end residential sector has been largely subdued in 2008, but at least 50 luxury apartments costing above $10 million each have been sold so far this year. And the tally for the full year, according to property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), is expected to come in at about 70 to 100 units.

The prices of condos and private apartments in the Core Central Region (CCR) will inch downwards and are unlikely to touch their recent peaks for almost the next four years, a model developed by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) shows. The extent of the fall will depend on how slowly the Singapore economy grows, but C&W expects these median prices to drop between 8 per cent and 17 per cent from their peak of Q1 2008, before recovering by some time in 2012.

This will be lower than the 139 such units sold for the whole of 2007, but still significantly higher than the 2006 full-year figure of 23 units, CBRE's research shows.

Putting things in perspective, CBRE Singapore's managing director Pauline Goh says: 'One point to note is that luxury home prices in 2006 were lower than in 2007. Hence, fewer units would have touched the $10 million mark back in 2006. There was also a smaller supply of upscale developments with big units back then compared with 2007 and H1 2008.'

The 50-odd luxury apartments costing above $10 million each sold so far this year are the tally at June 17 and include not just units sold at Nassim Park Residences, which was previewed in May, but also a unit each transacted at Cliveden at Grange, The Tomlinson, The Grange and The Orange Grove condos.

BT understands that the highest-priced transaction so far this year is a $19.7 million ground-floor unit sold at Nassim Park Residences.

In the landed sector, a total of 23 Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) have changed hands so far this year for a total of $380 million.

'We're quite confident that at least 50 to 60 GCBs will be sold for the whole of 2008. Demand will continue to be strong from Singaporeans as well as PRs, but deals are limited by availability of GCB stock,' Ms Goh predicts.

Last year, a total of 87 GCB deals totalling $1.15 billion were sealed, against the record 119 transactions worth $1.23 billion in 2006.

As for the outlook for luxury apartment sales, Ms Goh says: 'Singapore has a lot going for it; the government has put in so much effort to build Singapore into a global city. We'll have the integrated resorts, special events like Youth Olympic Games and F1 night race. Singapore is on the radar screens of a lot of international investors. However, the flow of bad news from the US has to stabilise before confidence returns.

'On the other hand, as Nassim Park Residences shows, if the product is right, there can be very, very strong demand. The project is in a very niche location; arguably the best luxury location in Singapore.'

Market watchers say the volume of transactions for apartments costing more than $10 million for the rest of 2008 will depend partly on when developers release new prime-district condos and their strategy on the mix of unit sizes.

Developers have tended to veer towards bigger units in the past couple of years but some analysts say some developers are now considering changing tack for upcoming projects. These developers are wondering whether it will make more sense now to have a higher proportion of smaller units - given weaker sentiment.

'The idea is to make the absolute price quantums smaller, say $3-5 million per apartment, which will mean a bigger pool of buyers, compared with having a lot of biggish units in a project costing, say, above $10 million,' an analyst says.   - 2008 June 19    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Even so, it argues that now may be a good time to look at buying into new developments, as the developers are unlikely to slash prices dramatically. Instead, a gentler decline is on the cards.

The trigger for this is 'there's still a lot of private housing supply', says C&W's head of forecasting Lee Chong Yong, who developed the model.

Mr Lee points to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's projections that about 8,000 non-landed private homes will be completed this year, followed by another 12,000 units next year, around 16,000 in 2010, and some 20,000 in 2011, before the supply eases to around 8,000 units again in 2012.

'Some of these units have not been launched yet. As time goes on, the unsold or yet-to-be-sold stock will keep creeping up, until 2011. The extent to which there will be downward price pressure from this will depend on the pace of economic growth. The stronger the economic growth, the faster the supply can be absorbed,' Mr Lee says.

Assuming Singapore's GDP grows at a rate of 4 per cent a year between 2008 and 2012, the median per square foot (psf) price for non-landed private homes in CCR - which includes the prime districts 9, 10 and 11, Downtown Core location and Sentosa Cove - will fall a total of 17 per cent between the Q1 2008 high and Q1 2012.

Based on a higher 5 per cent GDP growth rate, the price decline will be a lower 12 per cent over the same period.

If GDP grows at 6 per cent, the median price will decline 8 per cent between early 2008 and Q3 2009 before recovering back to the Q1 2008 high by end-2012.

C&W also tracked developers' sales in 255 new condo projects across Singapore and constructed an islandwide non-landed private residential new sales price index, which showed a 2.2 per cent decline between the peak in December last year and May this year.

'From the start of the credit crunch in August 2007 through to May 2008, developers of only 10 per cent of the 255 new condo projects tracked have cut their prices by more than a fifth,' C&W said.

C&W argues that 'compared to the 1997-1998 Asian crisis, today's falling prices are at present moderate without any signs of panic from the developers'. During the Asian crisis, most developers cut prices by at least 20 per cent while some reduced asking prices by up to 40 per cent in 12 months, it said.

The property consultancy group says 'now would be a good time to consider buying into new developments'. It also notes that expats living in Districts 9, 10 and 11 have seen a doubling of rents over the past two years, while sale prices of many condos are starting to see a slow price decline. 'For expats expecting to stay in Singapore, it would be a good time to consider buying (a condo) to take advantage of this short-term dip in the market,' C&W's head of residential Connie Looi says.

But JPMorgan analyst Christopher Gee gave a different view, saying that compelling values were needed to get buyers back to the market. 'The fear of making a purchase now, only to have prices fall later, is what's holding buyers back at this stage. Developers too don't want to sell too cheap; if prices recover, then they would have missed out on making bigger profits.'

One property market watcher said that tempting buyers back would require mass-market condos to be launched at $600-$650 psf on average, compared with a price of $700-$800 psf last year.

In the mid-range category, a freehold condo in the Balestier area for instance would today need to be priced at $900-plus psf, instead of the $1,000-plus psf they're still being marketed at, based on last year's pricing. For freehold projects in the prime districts 9,10 and 11, what would lure buyers back today would be an average price of no more than $3,000 psf, instead of $3,500-$4,000 psf last year, another industry observer said.

Giving his take, an experienced property industry player said: 'How Singapore home prices will pan out will depend on both internal and external factors. Residential property prices have fallen in many markets across the globe, such as the US, Europe, UK, Australia, Vietnam and China. If we want to be in line with the rest of the world, we'll also see some slide.'   - 2008 June 14   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

S'pore luxury homes ninth most expensive globally 

Luxury homes in Singapore are the second most expensive in Asia and the ninth most expensive in the world.

According to a report by Citi and Knight Frank, luxury home prices here are now US$2,423 per sq ft.

The only place in Asia where they are more expensive is Hong Kong, where they cost US$4,507 psf. Even Tokyo is cheaper than Singapore, coming in third most expensive at US$2,334.

Worldwide, London is the most expensive, followed by Monaco and St Jean Cap Ferrat (France) at US$6,191, US$5,888 and US$5,853 psf respectively.

The global luxury home market is supported by jet-setting high net-worth individuals who think nothing of owning homes on every continent.

As an example, the report describes a Brazilian/Russian family that owns apartments in New York, Geneva, Ibiza and, until recently, Singapore.

The family reportedly spends equal periods at each property, with business and social ties meaning they find it possible to change location for long or short periods with ease.

'In many ways, none of their properties is regarded as either a primary or secondary residence,' the report says. 'In fact, they feel equally at home in all of them.'

The report ranks high net-worth individuals in four categories - those with US$1 million to US$10 million; US$10 million to US$100 million; US$100 million to US$1 billion; and more than US$1 billion.

It found that 15.7 per cent of entry-level high net-worth individuals own four or more homes. In the second, third and fourth (the richest) categories, the respective percentages increased to 23.3, 31.5 and 60 per cent.

Importantly, the report found that in both developed and emerging economies, uncertain economic and political conditions did not affect the growth in numbers of high net-worth individuals, with the growth of their wealth, 'similarly undimmed throughout 2007'.

Citing data from Scorpio Partnership, the report says the most significant growth in 2007 was in the US, where the number grew almost 120,000 to 3.1 million. China had the second-largest increase, with the figure rising almost 46,000 to 373,000 - almost as many as Germany.

'Despite the credit crunch, extraordinary wealth creation has continued across the global oil and commodity sectors,' the report says.

An example of the strength of the global luxury home market is that in London the number of £pounds;10 million-plus sales in Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Belgravia rose 190 per cent in the six months to January 2008 from the same period a year earlier.

In the US, where prices fell 4.5 per cent over the past year and 4.2 per cent in New York generally, prices for prime Manhattan properties rose 25 per cent.

Knight Frank's head of residential research Liam Bailey said: 'Prime locations have held their own. London, New York, Shanghai and others are proving that almost any residential market tied to the global economy maintains confidence among purchasers.'   - 2008 May 21   ASIA ONE

Prime properties in for 5% fall in '08: UBS
Bank expects modest 0-5% growth in mass and mid-tier segments

Analysts from Swiss bank UBS believe Singapore's property market will 'remain intact', but they are nonetheless projecting a drop of 5 per cent in prime property prices for the year.

In the more affordable mass and mid-tier segments, where prices increased at a slower pace, UBS expects a modest growth of between 0-5 per cent in prices this year.

In its report on the Singapore property market, UBS says that in light of the uncertainty over the global economic outlook, buyers are likely to defer purchases of new property for at least six months. UBS said that demand 'is highly dependent on the market's outlook for the next three or four years, when the projects are completed'.

It added that with supply of new homes on the rise, there could be pressure on developers to reduce launch prices to 'stimulate demand' - and some developers may start cutting prices as early as the second quarter of this year.

While the larger developers are expected to have more holding power, smaller ones could feel the strain of holding costs sooner. UBS estimates that of the units to be launched between this year and 2010, around 9 per cent are held by small, unlisted developers. Still, it said that there is little evidence to suggest that the market will be affected if small developers 'capitulate and cut prices aggressively when holding costs build up'.

In its report on the current property market conditions, UBS made comparisons with the previous property slump of 1998. 'Markets appear to be pricing a 70 per cent fall in Singapore residential prices, similar to 1998,' it noted.

But UBS said: 'We think the residential market in 2008 will not replicate the 1998 scenario where launch prices fell by 50 per cent in a year, and stock prices fell by 75 per cent.'

It added that expected GDP growth of 3.5 per cent should keep population inflow positive, which combined with negative real interest rates and low unemployment should underpin resale prices.

'Even if job growth were to halve in 2008 to 90,000-100,000, this could still mean housing demand for at least around 15,000-18,000 units, assuming half the newly- weds (23,000 per annum) want to move out, and around 6,000 new households - of new permanent residents and expatriates - relocate to Singapore,' UBS added. It pointed out that the figure is much higher than the expected number of home completions - 8,700 in 2008 and 16,000 in 2009.

As such UBS believes that current share prices for listed property developers have been 'over-corrected'.

'Allgreen's price ($1.17 per share currently) attributes no value to its residential (portfolio), while City Development's price ($12 per share currently) implies a 70 per cent writedown in unsold land,' said UBS.

UBS said that it has adjusted the revalued net asset value and earnings per share for Allgreen, City Developments, CapitaLand and Keppel Land, and given current price levels 'we have retained our Buy ratings on all these developers'.  - 2008 February 5    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   

Market conditions delay Marina Bay Suites launch

The launch of Marina Bay Suites has been postponed, with 'market conditions' cited as the cause by Keppel Land group chief executive Kevin Wong.

The news comes as a surprise as the consortium developing it - Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchinson Whampoa and Hongkong Land, had earlier said that the launch would be around end-January, before the Chinese New Year.

The consortium also said then that over 600 potential buyers, half of them foreigners, had registered their interest in buying into the 221-unit luxury development, priced at around $3,000 psf.

However, at a press conference to announce the company's full-year financial results yesterday, Mr Wong said that the launch would now be after the Chinese New Year - within the first quarter of 2008. He also said that units would be 'progressively released in tandem with market conditions'.

Keppel Land's other launches, including the next phase of Reflections at Keppel Bay, The Tresor and Madison Residences, will all be staggered to follow the launch of Marina Bay Suites to ensure that they do not coincide.

For Reflections at Keppel Bay, which has 400 units remaining, Mr Wong said that its launch would be around mid-2008.

Adopting the cautiously optimistic tone already shared by other developers, he said: 'If everything picks up in the second half of the year, then we will be back in business.'

His announcement follows Wing Tai deputy chairman Edmund Cheng's comment on Monday that it would monitor global markets 'to see how things pan out before we launch anything'. Wing Tai projects that have yet to be launched include Belle Vue Residences and L'Viv.

Earlier this month, City Developments also said that depending on construction schedules, and if the opportunity arose, it could consider short-term leases for Lucky Tower, which it acquired through a collective sale in May 2006.

Keppel Land's Mr Wong does expect prices in the high-end sector to be affected if a recession takes hold of the United States economy. 'But we expect mid to mass-market prices to go up steadily,' he added.

Mr Wong, who said that Keppel Land saw a default rate of about 5 per cent on its projects during the last property slump in the mid-1990s, added: 'There will be some (if there is a recession in 2008) but the percentage will be fairly low.'

Commenting on the postponement of the Marina Bay Suites launch, Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak said that 'developers are all watching each other now, but someone has to take the plunge first to test the water'.

'Because of the thin volume at the moment, the market is looking for direction. But we must bear in mind that the volume and price increases in 2007 was out of the ordinary.'

Mr Mak also highlighted that developments with licences to sell will increase as the year progresses. 'If developers wait for prices to go up, everybody could be launching at the same time.'   - 2008 January 30  SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Property sales set for big drop in Q4
Early numbers show Q4 private property deals at $2.9b, nowhere near Q3's $15.6b

Weakening market sentiment could have a bigger impact on property sales if early numbers for the Q4 2007 transactions are anything to go by.

In a preliminary analysis of caveats lodged by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ), the value of all private property transactions for Q4 to date is about $2.9 billion.

This figure does not represent the full fourth quarter. There is also a time lag between a transaction and the lodgement of a caveat. Still, doubling or even tripling this figure will not bring it close to Q3's figure of $15.6 billion and Q2's record breaking figure of $24.2 billion.

DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah also pointed out that apart from the continuing effects of the US sub-prime crisis, the property market was also jolted by the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme in October. 'It made people understand that there were risks involved,' she added.

Signs of poorer market conditions were already apparent in the third quarter. In DTZ's analysis for Q3, transactions for all private homes fell 36 per cent to 8,416 units. But this was attributed to seasonal market activity marked by the Hungry Ghost Month, as well as the reduced number of developer launches.

Mrs Ong believes that fewer launches in Q4 could be the culprit if sales do fall.

According to its report, the number of developer sales in Q3 reflected a 41 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) drop to just 1,956 transactions with developers apparently monitoring the market for possible sub-prime impact.

Now, well into the fourth quarter, new launches still appear to be on hold. Mrs Ong believes that there are 'genuine buyers' in the market but developers could nevertheless be choosing to take their time to decide on pricing, or, launch developments in phases to test the market.

But she said that there is no evidence that developers or sellers are prepared to accept lower prices. 'Prices are still inching up even though the activity level has dropped,' she added.

Mrs Ong said that the recent strong performance of the private residential market has allowed many developers to accumulate financial reserves and most are not in need of immediate revenue. 'Developers don't feel the need to launch immediately. They can still launch next year, while some may even be considering waiting until the opening of the integrated resorts creates more buzz,' she added.

The number of transactions in Q3 was bolstered by the high number of deals in the secondary market which saw 6,434 homes change hands. This represents a q-o-q drop of 34 per cent, but the decrease is of a lesser magnitude compared with that of developer sales.

And although collective sales slowed in Q3, DTZ says apartments in the secondary market in the prime districts continued to perform, largely due to price increases.

The number of secondary market apartments sold in Q3 fell 33 per cent q-o-q to about 5,300 units with foreigners accounting for 1,590 or 30 per cent of these transactions. DTZ noted that this was among the highest since 1995. The strength of the secondary market was partly due to the buoyant leasing market which also encouraged foreigners to buy homes ready for immediate occupancy.

Bucking the downward trend of all category of buyers were corporate or institutional buyers.

In Q3, transactions attributed to companies actually rose by 11 per cent with 958 homes changing hands. DTZ said this was the largest number of units purchased in a quarter.

Apart from the reported acquisition of a block at Costa Del Sol by the Ong Beng Seng family, DTZ highlighted the sale of 49 out of 58 units in Duchess Crest, registered as company transactions. DTZ executive director (residential) Margaret Thean added that unlike the bulk sale at Costa Del Sol, the Duchess Crest transactions were not done by a single company either.

She added: 'This reflects that foreign investors and property funds still have confidence in the Singapore market.' Ms Thean also said: 'With the sub-prime crisis in the US, some of these funds may also be increasingly looking outside the US to invest.'  - 2008 December 3    THE BUSINESS TIMES

A sprinkling of new benchmark home prices

Several new units sold by developers set record prices in various parts of Singapore last month, despite the overall lacklustre market, latest figures show.

Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday show that just 529 homes were sold in September, down from 1,731 in August and 1,381 in July.

However, despite the low volume, several of the units sold set new benchmarks in various parts of Singapore - including Sentosa Cove, science hub one-north and Boon Lay - analysts said.

They indicated that the high prices fetched, although only in some cases, show there is a strong, 'genuine' demand for new homes, despite September's low take-up of new homes.

'Even though the market is quiet, you still see these kinds of prices, which means that there are many serious buyers out there,' said Savills Singapore's director of marketing and business development, Ku Swee Yong.

A unit in Ho Bee's Turquoise at Sentosa Cove was sold for $2,772 per square foot (psf), which analysts said is likely to be a new benchmark for Sentosa.

And over in the Newton area, a unit in Three Buckley went for $2,888 psf, a record for the area. In fact, all 11 units were sold at a median price of $2,853 psf, which is itself a new benchmark for the location, said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research.

New benchmarks were also set in the suburbs.

In the west, a unit at United Engineers' The Rochester went for $1,577 psf, a new record for the one-north vicinity. And near Upper Bukit Timah, a unit in Far East Organization's Gardenvista on Dunearn Road sold for $1,449 psf. Mr Ku said that both prices were new highs in their respective areas.

Elsewhere, a unit in The Beacon Edge at Tembeling Road was sold at $1,327 psf while a unit of Vetro at Mar Thoma Road was sold for $1,044 psf. Both were new levels achieved at their respective locations, CBRE said.

But perhaps most unexpectedly, a unit in Far East Organization's The Lakeshore in Boon Lay Way went for $1,080 psf - taking most property analysts by surprise, as the project in the far western part of Singapore has been on the market for more than two years.   - 2007 October 16    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

$5,600 psf for penthouse new high in property price here 
53rd-storey Orchard Residences unit fetches over $28m

A new  record property price for Singapore has been set, even though fewer sales are being made in high-end residential projects since the time of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Orchard Residences: About 73 per cent of the total 175 units in the condo are said to have been sold

CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties are said to have sold earlier this week a penthouse on the 53rd storey of The Orchard Residences for about $5,600 per square foot (psf), or over $28 million. This surpasses the previous benchmark of $5,500 psf set in August when a 54th storey penthouse fetched about $27.8 million.

This means that all four penthouses in the 99-year leasehold development are now sold.

The developers are said to have sold about 73 per cent of the total 175 units in the condo. The buyer of the final penthouse sold this week is believed to be a foreigner. The 5,048 sq ft unit has five bedrooms, a study and a family room.

A stone's throw away, Wheelock Properties (Singapore) is said to have sold more than 30 apartments at its freehold Scotts Square since the official launch of the project on Sept 28.

The developer is said to have largely maintained its average price at around the $4,000 psf mark from its preview in July, when it sold about half of the project's 338 apartments.

Over in Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee has sold 38 of the 50 units it has released so far in its 91-unit condo, Turquoise, since late September. The units have been sold at prices ranging from nearly $2,500 psf to $2,770 psf.

The average price is about $2,600 psf, Ho Bee Investment executive director Ong Chong Hua said when contacted by BT yesterday. Buyers of the 38 units - which include four penthouses - were an equal mix of foreigners and Singaporeans, he said.

Apartments at the 99-year leasehold Turquoise typically cost around $5.3 million for a three-bedroom unit, $6.4 million for a four-bedder and around $9.3 million for a penthouse.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director (residential) Margaret Thean acknowledges that buyers, both local and foreign, have been more cautious after the stock market setback at the time of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

'But we still see activity going on. For the high-end projects, we've not noticed any withdrawal of liquidity. The only difference is that prospective buyers are more cautious, doing more calculations and being more selective in their choice of investment before making a commitment,' she said.

Market watchers also say that the recovery in the stock market in recent weeks has led to a return of confidence in the property market, as seen in a pick-up in subsales activity lately.

Over in the Seletar Hills area, Tong Eng Brothers unit Fairview Developments is launching two landed developments. One is the freehold 8 @ Stratton, comprising eight cluster semi-detached houses priced at $1.98 million to $2.2 million.

The houses have built-up areas ranging from 3,595 sq ft to 3,649 sq ft and strata areas of 4,930 sq ft to 5,145 sq ft. The second project is Nim Green, a collection of just three terrace houses - a corner unit with an asking price of $2.5 million and two intermediate units with a price tag of about $2 million.    - 2007 October 12   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

The price of luxury
Flush with cash, the high-end residential market is flourishing

Strong corporate profits and a global commodities boom in 2006 helped grow fortunes and sparked a surge in demand for trophy homes.

Riding high: Hayden Properties' latest development at 37 Scotts Road features a glass car elevator so owners can park and show off their rides from their living roo

A survey by Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch shows the number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) worldwide increased 8.3 per cent in 2006 to 9.5 million, with Singapore reported to have the fastest-growing number - up 21.2 per cent to 67,000.    With this rising affluence, it is not surprising that high-end homes are being snapped up as soon as they go on the market, as they are just another example of luxury goods in hot demand.

Prices of high-end apartments continue to rise steadily, with new launches commanding increasingly higher rates in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11. The average price of high-end residential property rose 9.1 per cent to $1,960 per sq ft from the last quarter, while the average price for super-luxury residential homes was even higher at $2,990 psf. The number of homes costing more than $5 million increased almost 54 per cent last year to 650. Foreign purchases at the top end of the market are also increasing.

'Singapore is increasingly acknowledged as a safe haven for investments, backed by a strong Singapore dollar and an attractive tax regime,' says Galen Tan, a managing director of EFG Private Bank. 'An increasing number of high net worth clients have included Singapore as a part of their multi-generation wealth succession planning and are attracted to the conducive environment for retirement.'

Foreign purchases stand at 60 per cent of transactions above $5 million, compared with 39 per cent in 2006 and 14 per cent in 2005 ( See Table 1). Looking at the top 10 transactions over the last five or six years in terms of price, the past two years have seen significant increases - from about $2,050 psf in 2000 to $3,090 in 2006 and $4,078 in first-half 2007. The number of units sold above $4,000 psf in July this year soared more than 350 per cent to a record 72, compared with just 16 in June.

Escalating prices of super-luxury apartments have not put buyers off. In fact, most such developments - like The Marq at Paterson Hill, Parkview eclat, Scotts Square and The Boulevard Residences - have reported good sales, with foreigners buying off the plan without even viewing show flats. At the high end of the market, we are dealing with excess wealth, not merely income. Hence, some of the factors that influence the rest of the market do not come into play in this segment.

High-end apartments indisputably cost more nowadays, but what do you get for your $5 million? Is there really much difference between, say, a $1 million apartment, a $5 million and a $10 million model? Besides the current property boom which has pushed up land prices, there is another reason for the soaring prices of top-notch apartments. Developers are loading them with more luxurious features to justify higher pricing. We note that apartments above the $5 million mark boast dramatic additions, such as top-of-the-line fixtures and finishes, sophisticated amenities and sprawling living areas that normal apartments do not have. Parkview eclat, for example, offers superior finishes and state-of-the-art appliances such as mirror televisions, spas and custom showers to create a hideaway for hard-working owners to take a break from their hectic lifestyles.

Hayden Properties' latest development at 37 Scotts Road has taken opulence to an even higher level. It features a glass car elevator so owners can park their exotic wheels near their entrance. Assuming the development costs $3,000 per sq ft, it will cost as much as $600,000 for the parking space. Aside from providing additional functionality, such features imply a certain social status for owners. Large living areas and bedrooms are other common characteristics of luxury apartments. Hence, units that come with separate guest suites, spacious home entertainment rooms, wine cellars and open spaces, which were rare in the past for high-end apartments, are offered more commonly now.

The Marq at Paterson Hill and Cliveden at Grange offer the spaciousness of a bungalow in a luxury condominium setting. The love of space is reflected in the increasing number of large units sold. From January to July 2007, 1,250 units bigger than 2,500 sq ft were sold - 75 per cent more than in the same period last year. (See Table 3)

In terms of amenities, we have also seen vast improvements. Developers are increasingly aware that people are not buying a mere home but a lifestyle. In the past year, some developers have come up with creative ideas to provide a more attractive living experience for purchasers.

St Regis Residences and Beaufort on Nassim are tying up with hotel operators to provide hotel-style services. And Hilltops by SC Global promises a resort-style environment. We expect this trend of joint ventures between developers and prestigious hotel brands to continue.

Another distinguishing feature of luxury apartment buildings is the level of security. Developers are expected to place more emphasis on this as personal privacy and safety are big concerns. High-tech equipment such as fingerprint recognition and even eye scanners are being installed to identify residents and visitors. Cameras are mounted in every corner, panic buttons are wired to the bedside and a security guard placed outside each apartment to provide 24-hour surveillance.

The list continues, with buildings designed with infrared sensors that will sound alarms to warn security guards if moving objects are detected. Other security measures such as bullet-proof windows, a separate route and lifts for evacuation, a safe room that is bullet-resistant and wired with a phone line, back-up generators and keyless entry systems could be seen in future projects.

Compared with prices of high-end property elsewhere, Singapore has room for growth. In London, the average price for top-end apartments stands around $8,900 psf. In Monaco, the price of a luxury condominium averages $5,000 psf, while in New York it is about $4,500 psf. Apartments at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, average around $3,400 psf, while in Hong Kong, prices of luxurious apartments average $3,100 psf, though those in the super-luxury category have now topped $7,800 psf.

Despite recent turmoil in global financial markets, the mid to long-term outlook for the Singapore economy remains positive, with the government upgrading GDP growth from 5-7 per cent to 7-8 per cent this year. The narrowing of the revised forecast to just a single percentage point range - from the usual two-point range - shows the government's confidence. Furthermore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has increased the long-term GDP growth target by one percentage point to 4-6 per cent per annum.

Going forward, we expect the property market to remain optimistic, with high-end prices likely to increase another 20-30 per cent a year until 2010, mainly due to the quality of projects and increasing land prices.

Land prices are likely to rise at a slower pace after strong growth in 2006. The increase in apartment prices is likely to be attributed to the fancy items and amenities that developers include. Furniture from the exclusive Lamborghini or Armani/Casa lines, Hasten Vividus beds that cost almost $120,000 apiece and high-end entertainment systems are just a few of the new frills that will allow developers to market the project as unique, so as to command a premium. -  2007 September 27  SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Subsales picking up after lull as sellers temper their demands

After a lull of about six weeks, activity seems to be picking up in the subsale market on the back of the stock market rally and more reasonable demands from sellers.

'It's not as good as before sub-prime but much better than during the subprime, from mid-July to mid-August,' said CB Richard Ellis executive director (residential) Joseph Tan.

'There have been definitely more inquiries and there's been more response to ads. Whether this will lead to more subsale volume is hard to say,' he added.

Jerrytan Residential Pte Ltd executive director Jason Tan too has seen a 'mild pick-up' in subsales of condos in Districts 9 and 10 in the past couple of weeks or so ever since the stock markets in the US and Singapore started rising again.

ERA Realty Network divisional director Andrew Soh too has seen more subsale deals in the last two to three weeks in the Sentosa Cove and Marina Bay locations. A unit at Oceanfront condo at Sentosa Cove was sold for $2,550 per square foot in the subsale market two weeks ago, reaping the seller a handsome profit of over $2 million as he had purchased the unit (also in the subsale market) in September last year for $1,750 psf.

Jerrytan Residential's Mr Tan says: 'Sellers are lowering their expectations after the reality check provided by the sub-prime stock market crash. But they're still making healthy profits as they may have bought the units a little while ago.'

For instance, the owner of a unit at The Grange recently sold his 2,300 sq ft apartment in the subsale market for about $2,500 psf or a total of about $5.76 million, against his original purchase price of about $1,450 psf from the developer around July 2005. His net profit after factoring in agents' fees, stamp duty and legal fees would be around $2.2 million.

In some instances, the spur to sell in the subsale market and take a profit now is that the projects may be receiving Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) within the next year and those who bought their units on deferred payment schemes from the developer, paying only 20 per cent of the purchase price so far, will soon have to pay up another 65 per cent of their purchase price.

'Our advice to these investors is that if there is a good margin from their investment, they could lock in their profit now. They can always reinvest in another property,' Mr Jason Tan says.

'Buyers picking up units through the subsale market are also starting to feel more confident again, after the stock market's recovery. They're prepared to hold the properties as a mid- to long-term investment but are also eyeing the possibility of selling much sooner, when the projects receive TOP. The outlook is still good, as there will be limited supply of completed brand-new developments in Districts 9 and 10 over the next six to 12 months,' he added.

However, ERA's Mr Soh sounds more cautious. 'Supply in the subsale market is more than demand. I may be wrong but I think the high-end residential property clock is at 9 o'clock. My advice is to take a profit now and not be too greedy. Supply in the subsale market is greater than demand. It's tough to find buyers in the subsale market now, unless you go overseas.'

Colliers International's analysis of caveats captured by the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system shows that the months of May, June and July saw the most subsale activity in the first eight months of 2007, with more than 600 such deals in each of these three months.

The Sail @ Marina Bay, Citylights, Icon and The Lakeshore, were the most widely traded projects in the subsale market in the May-July period with 151, 93, 90 and 68 transactions respectively.

However, subsales fell drastically by more than 50 per cent to just 299 transactions in August. 'Usually, caveats are lodged upon the option being exercised, so a slowdown in subsales from mid-July would only be reflected in the caveats about two weeks later, starting August,' says the firm's director of research and consultancy Tay Huey Ying.

She forecasts that subsale activity will stage a rebound. - 2007 October 9     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

SNAPSHOT 2007 September

SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   2007 September 18

More properties sold for $4,000 psf in July

Developers managed to sell 72 homes for more than $4,000 per square foot last month - four-and-a-half times the 16 homes they sold at this price in June, latest figures show.

According to Knight Frank's analysis of official data released yesterday, the big jump came as a result of the launch of Scotts Square by Wheelock Properties (Singapore).

Sixty-four of the total 150 units in the project sold by the developer in July were in the above $4,000 to $4,500 psf price band, while the other 86 units were sold in the above $3,500 to $4,000 psf range.

The median price for the 150 units sold at Scotts Square was $3,959 psf, with the lowest price being $3,638 psf and the highest $4,428 psf, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) data on the number of homes in uncompleted projects launched and sold by developers in July.

Other projects that saw primary market sales at above $4,000 psf last month include The Orchard Residences, The Marq On Paterson Hill and Cliveden at Grange.

'These were the same developments that contributed to the number of units that were sold above $4,000 psf in June,' Knight Frank said.

The median price for the 25 units sold by City Developments for Cliveden in July was $3,729 psf, with the range of prices being $3,265 psf to $4,162 psf.

SC Global sold two units at The Marq in July, at $4,908 psf and $4,978 psf.

The Orchard Residences saw six primary market transactions last month at prices ranging from $2,808 psf to $4,577 psf, with a median price of $4,047 psf.

Soon Su Lin, chief executive of Orchard Turn Developments, the project's developer, confirmed that the company has sold a penthouse for $5,500 psf - a new record for a condo in Singapore - but that the transaction was registered only in early August.

Examples of projects with primary market transactions at median prices above $3,000 psf in July include The Lumos at Leonie Hill, Parkview Eclat at Grange Road and Paterson Suites at Paterson Road/Lengkok Angsa.

The URA data also showed there were some projects with transactions at much lower prices in other segments of the real estate market.

GuocoLand sold 19 units at The Quartz in Buangkok at a median price of $648 psf, with the actual prices ranging from $554 to $749 psf.

Five homes at Suffolk Premier were sold at $481 to $753 psf and six units at La Casa in Woodlands fetched $506-561 psf. Far East Organization sold 13 units at The Lakeshore near Boon Lay MRT Station at $684-866 psf.

Brisbane Development sold six cluster landed homes at the freehold Illoura project at Old Holland Road at $970 to $1,175 psf while Clydesbuilt Capital found buyers for two freehold strata-titled detached homes at Lornie 18 at $1,150 psf each.

Grensburg Investment sold 65 units at Fontaine Parry at Poh Huat Road at $591-994 psf.

United Engineers sold 365 homes at The Rochester in the one-north precinct at $905 to $1,680 psf.

CapitaLand sold 55 units at The Seafront On Meyer at $1,364-$2,182 psf. Knight Frank's analysis shows that developers sold a total of 1,378 uncompleted homes in July, up nearly 20 per cent from the figure for June.

The total number of uncompleted homes launched in July increased 15.7 per cent to 1,315 units over the same period. - by Kalopana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES  16 August 2007

Prime-central districts price gap narrows
Price-spread shrinks to 1% in 2005-06 from 7% in 2004

The gap between the average selling prices for private apartments and condos achieved by developers in the traditional prime districts compared with emerging central districts narrowed to just one per cent in 2005 and 2006, the latest analysis of caveats by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung shows.

The price-spread between the two areas was 7 per cent in 2004. In that year, lifestyle projects like The Sail @ Marina Bay in the Central Business District and The Berth by The Cove at Sentosa Cove were introduced, boasting waterfront housing.

Central districts cover districts 1 to 4 and include the CBD, the HarbourFront area and Sentosa Cove. The established prime districts are 9, 10 and 11.

The gap was at its widest in 2002 at 29 per cent. The price convergence between the two areas in the past couple of years reflects the steady increase in prices of lifestyle projects with waterfront housing themes in the central districts.

DTZ said: 'With most of these new exclusive projects being 99-year leasehold, compared with still predominantly freehold homes in the traditional prime districts, the price convergence reflects the dwindling importance of tenure but a growing preference for unique lifestyle concepts.'

The property firm's executive director, Ong Choon Fah, said that projects in the central districts could overtake 99-year projects in the prime districts on a selective basis.

'There's potential for this in the Marina Bay area because it offers the whole live, work, play concept in a waterfront setting that will also have gardens, a museum, and the Marina Bay Sands with one million sq ft of retail space.'

DTZ's analysis of caveats captured by the URA Realis system also shows that while 2,063 apartments/condos sold by developers in the prime districts last year was almost unchanged from 2005's figure of 2,061 units, the number of non-landed homes sold in the central districts rose 9 per cent last year to 884, the highest since 1996.

The increase was on the back of several lifestyle projects launched in the popular Marina Bay and Sentosa Cove waterfront locations.

The concept of inner-city living in the traditional CBD received a boost last year, with the launch of The Clift and Lumiere, which further buoyed developer sales in the central districts.

While primary market sales of non-landed homes in the prime districts were flat last year, it was a different story in the secondary market, where strong collective sales activity drove up the number of prime district non-landed homes sold by 88 per cent to 3,603.

This is an all-time high and surpassed the last peak of 1999 by 34 per cent, a result which was helped by prime-district en bloc sales.

DTZ estimates that about 2,310 non-landed homes changed hands through en bloc sales in the prime districts last year.

'However, taking into account developments which were collectively sold towards end-2006 and which will be recorded in 2007, as well as some transactions where caveats have not been lodged, less than half of the prime apartments transacted in the secondary market are estimated to have been sold individually,' the firm said.

The secondary market in prime districts was also boosted by price gains in prestigious developments like Ardmore Park.

DTZ predicts that momentum in the prime districts will strengthen - particularly in the primary market as developers launch new projects on en bloc sites.

'Together with strategic projects like The Orchard Residences and Scotts Square, average selling prices in prime districts will continue to rise,' it said.

The secondary market in prime districts will also benefit from further price recovery and steady rental increases, which should fuel investor interest.   - 29 March 2007    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Foreigners make up 30% of non-landed subsale buyers
The 325 units they bought in 2006 is 2.5 times that for 2005

Foreigners including permanent residents bought 325 private apartments/condos on the subsale market last year, a sharp rise from the 131 units they bought in 2005.

The 325 subsale units foreigners bought last year gave them a 30 per cent share of the 1,075 non-landed homes purchased in the subsale market in 2006. This is higher than a 25 per cent share in the preceding year and the highest level since 1995, according to the latest analysis of caveats by property consultancy DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

Property market watchers say the knowledge that there's a big enough pool of foreign buyers willing to pick up a home in the subsale market is a key factor fuelling the confidence of property speculators.

DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah sees the rising prominence of foreign buyers in the subsale market as a reflection of Singapore's rise as a global city. 'Singapore has so much to offer as a package that foreigners still see good value from buying units in highly sought-after projects on the subsale market - even if prices are higher than developers' launch prices for the projects,' she said. 'And these foreigners seem to be buying for investment (rental income) or for their own use - not to flip.'

Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow said: 'If a foreigner wants a certain development and it's sold out, he may have no choice but to buy it in the subsale market. Most of these foreigners are probably looking to stay in the unit.'

Another seasoned agent reckons that speculators - that is, those who aim to sell units in the subsale market shortly after buying them - are predominantly Singaporeans, although there are some foreigners including PRs as well. 'You have to be based here, or have a very good network in Singapore, to make sure you don't miss out on the previews,' he said.

Subsales refer to secondary market deals (that is, properties not bought directly from developers) in projects that have yet to receive Certificate of Statutory Completion.

The certificate is typically issued about a year after a project receives Temporary Occupation Permit. Sub-sales are often seen as an indication of the level of speculative activity in the property market.

DTZ's analysis was based on caveats data captured by Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system, which allows an analysis of nationalities of buyers in the subsale market, but not of the sellers, many of whom will be speculators. Foreigners' 30 per cent share last year among those who bought units in the subsale market is the highest since 1995. In that year, foreign buyers accounted for 32 per cent, or 961 of the total 3,033 condos/apartments purchased in the subsale market.

Although the number of subsale apartments/condos bought by Singaporeans also increased from 391 in 2005 to 686 last year, their percentage share has declined from 74 per cent to 64 per cent over the same period, reflecting the growing foreigner share.

Indonesians were the biggest group of foreigners who bought non-landed private homes in the subsale market in 2006, followed by Malaysians. Others included UK nationals, Indians, mainland Chinese, Koreans and US citizens.

The Sail @ Marina Bay drew the most foreign buyers in the subsale market last year (41 units). Others include The Coast and Oceanfront (both on Sentosa Cove), The Imperial and Botanic on Lloyd.

While there was a spike in the number of subsale private apartments/condos bought by foreigners last year, the 325 units they picked up in the subsale market formed only 7 per cent of the total 4,739 apartments/condos bought by foreigners last year.

This is an increase from a 4 per cent share in the previous year, but in line with the overall 6 per cent share of subsale deals for overall condo/apartment transactions covering all nationalities in Singapore last year. The number of subsales for condos/apartments in Singapore in Q4 last year was 533, an 85% jump from the preceding quarter and more than double the 208 subsale caveats for non-landed private homes lodged in Q4 2005.  - by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   21 March 2007

Luxury project launches leave some unhappy
Agents showing up with blank cheques

The strong buying at recent luxury property launches may have been welcomed by developers, but some would-be buyers and agents are unhappy at being left out in the cold.

Strong interest: A crowd of about 200 buyers and agents turned up at One Shenton on the first day of its soft launch

They complain that the principle of first-come first-served was thrown out the window at some hot launches.

There was also ambiguity over the so-called 'VIP' list for sought-after projects like Marina Bay Residences, City Developments' One Shenton and BS Capital's Lumiere.

The agents told BT that being on the list was crucial to secure a choice unit, as all the three developments were launched to private invitees first.

They said that at certain launches, priority was given to agents holding the greatest number of cheques. For example, an agent with 10 blank cheques from prospective buyers would be allowed into the showflat to book units before an agent with one or two cheques - regardless of who got there first. Agents collected blank cheques ahead of launches so they could book units quickly for clients once they were let into the showflats.

City Developments told BT it strove to ensure fairness and order at the launch of One Shenton. 'Under overwhelming and unrelenting crowd conditions, we did our best to maintain crowd control in an orderly fashion and we will continue to make improvements to best serve the needs of our customers,' a spokeswoman said.

The way some launches were handled also came under fire.

BT understands that in one extreme case, a potential buyer who failed to clinch two units at Marina Bay Residences during the launch in December last year has sent lawyer's letters to developer BFC Development - a consortium comprising Cheung Kong Holdings, Hong Kong Land and Keppel Land - and marketing agent CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

The thwarted buyer alleges that the CBRE associate agent marketing the project asked for a commission in return for securing two units. Industry practice - aimed at preventing conflict of interest - is that agents only receive commission from sellers.

Asked about the alleged incident, a CBRE spokesman said: 'There was a lot of activity at the Marina Bay Residences sales office during the launch, and in the process, a prospective buyer mistakenly thought she was entitled to buy two units. 'Subsequently, we received a complaint from her stating that the two units were not sold to her because she was unwilling to pay our agents any commission. We have responded to her, stating that her complaint is without basis.'

On the flip side of the buyer's claim, market watchers say some overeager buyers at some projects were willing to pay agents to get units.

In the CBRE case, all units in the 428-unit 99-year leasehold project were snapped up while the disgruntled buyer was negotiating with an agent.

Market watchers say that with the luxury property segment so buoyant, further charges of unfairness could arise as the atmosphere is like that at the Great Singapore Sale where everyone is out to get the best bargain. -  by Uma Shankara    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   January 30, 2007

Buyers of luxury projects slow to lodge caveats

Analysts cite speculators looking to resell units quickly, new deferred payment scheme

2007:  Buyers of luxury apartments launched of late are not rushing to stake legal claim on the properties by lodging caveats on them, official data shows.

Figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Realis website shows that in some instances, fewer than a quarter of the units sold have seen caveats lodged on them even a few months after the launch.

Industry players attribute this to a variety of reasons, including speculators looking to sell their properties quickly, the newly introduced deferred payment scheme, and good buyer-developer relationships.

At Marina Bay Residences, for example, just 75 caveats for new sales had been filed as of Jan 31, although the 428-unit development was fully sold by mid-December last year. The project is by a consortium comprising Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hongkong Land.

Similarly, only 66 new sale caveats have been lodged for the 111 apartments sold in Wheelock Properties' Ardmore II. The project has 118 units.

Other recently launched developments where the number of new sale caveats lodged falls short of the number of units sold include City Developments' St Regis Residences (87 new sale caveats lodged for around 128 units sold) and Tribeca By The Waterfront (29 caveats for more than 112 units sold) and Ho Bee's The Coast at Sentosa Cove (98 caveats for more than 240 units), among others.

Lawyers BT spoke to said that while lodging a caveat when acquiring a new property is not mandated by law, new owners are usually advised to do so to stake their claims on their properties.

One reason for this new trend could be due to buyers looking to resell their apartments soon after buying them.

'Nowadays, there are a number of people who don't lodge caveats when they buy,' said DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ong Choon Fah. 'We suspect the caveats are popping up in the subsale market instead.'

URA classifies caveats for new projects as either those for new sales or those for subsales.

Mrs Ong said she first started noticing the trend about 1-2 years ago. While historically, for every development, there have always been some buyers who choose not to lodge caveats, the proportion has increased over the past couple of years, she says.

Another reason is the deferred payment schemes offered by developers, which means there is no immediate need to get financing.

Deferred payment schemes have been a popular option for property buyers, accounting for more than 90 per cent of transactions in recent new Marina Bay and downtown projects, according to Citigroup.

Such arrangements also favour buyers looking to resell their properties on the subsale market.

'The deferred scheme may be encouraging the entry of speculators and fuelling stronger price increases in the primary residential market,' said Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin. 'Sub-sale transactions have quadrupled from two years ago. Median prices of uncompleted projects have risen by about 20 per cent from their recent lows, double that of the 10 per cent for completed projects.'

The scheme allows buyers to fork out only a 10 per cent or 20 per cent downpayment on a property, with the rest due upon completion - sometimes as much as three years later. Buyers need not worry about further payments during the construction phase and the ample period of three years also allows the buyer time to resell the property for a profit.

Buyers could also simply be letting the task of lodging caveats slide, since they are secure in the knowledge that big-name developers are not likely to sell the same unit twice, said Norman Ho, senior real estate partner with law firm Rodyk & Davidson. This is especially likely, he said, considering the volume and speed of recent high-end property launches.

'They (buyers of new properties) are buying directly from the developers, so they are very, very safe - the developer is not going to sell the same property twice,' said Mr Ho.

Despite this, lawyers will always advise clients to file caveats just to cover all bases.

More caveats for newly launched upmarket developments are likely to be filed in the coming weeks. Mr Ho explained that in every transaction, there is a time lag of about five weeks between the time the option-to-purchase is granted by the developer and the time the sale-and-purchase agreement is signed by both parties. The sale-and-purchase agreement is needed before a caveat can be filed.

However, with the high levels of resale and subsale activity on the market now - aided in part by the deferred payment scheme - the proportion of new sale caveats lodged is unlikely to climb by too much, market watchers said.   - by Uma Shankari    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   February 5, 2007 

• Single Family Residences
• Resales Market
• Singapore residential rentals

HPL, foreign fund set to buy Horizon Towers for $500m
If deal goes ahead, it will be the biggest en bloc sale yet in dollar terms

A partnership involving Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) and a foreign property fund is said to have conditionally agreed to buy Horizon Towers at Leonie Hill for $500 million, say sources.

Horizon Towers: The site can be redeveloped into a condo with about 375 units averaging 1,800 sq ft each

If the deal proceeds, it will mark the biggest collective sale yet, in dollar terms.

The price reflects a unit land price of about $810 to $820 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $45 million to $50 million lease upgrading premium to top up the 204,742 sq ft site's lease to 99 years from a remaining term of about 71 years.

No development charge is payable.

The site can be redeveloped into a new condo with a plot ratio of 3.2828. This means the site can be redeveloped into a condo with a gross floor area of more than 670,000 sq ft - sufficient for about 375 units averaging 1,800 sq ft.

The break-even cost for a new upmarket condo project on the site could be about $1,350 psf, some market watchers reckon. The tender for the site closed in August last year without takers at the $500 million reserve price set by owners. However, around the turn of the year, HPL is said to have sprung into action with an offer. The sprawling leasehold property, set on elevated ground near Grange Road, is currently home to 199 apartments and 11 penthouses in two towers.

Market watchers say HPL has been stirring from a long slumber of late.

In April last year, HPL bought Beverly Mai on Tomlinson Road through a $238 million collective sale, working out to $1,184 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated development charge of $16.8 million. And just last week, it bought out its partners in the Forum building on Orchard Road, setting the scene for a redevelopment of the property as well as HPL's adjoining properties, including the Hilton hotel.

In March last year, HPL attracted a new major shareholder when Wheelock Properties (Singapore) bought a 21 per cent stake from GuocoLand.

Market watchers say they would not be the least bit surprised if Wheelock were to team up with HPL for some of the latter's property development ventures, given the chemistry between the chiefs of the two companies - David Lawrence and Ong Beng Seng. -  SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   February 2007

Home prices rise 10%, sharpest since '99

2007:  The latest flash estimate shows that housing prices were 10 per cent higher in the final quarter of 2006 than a year before - the biggest year-on-year rise since 1999.

Yesterday's figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority were also 3.7 per cent up on the previous quarter, again the highest quarterly increase since 1999. And most analysts believe that when the URA releases the full official figures for last quarter they could be even higher than yesterday's preliminary ones.

Colliers International director (Research & Consultancy) Tay Huey Ying notes that the flash estimates take into account caveats lodged in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, supplemented by information on new units booked, so figures for 'hot projects' like Grand Duchess, The Ford @ Holland and Marina Bay Residences are probably not reflected.

'The final figure for Q4 to be released in about four weeks' time is likely to be closer to 4 per cent,' she said.

The buoyant price index is largely attributed to the high-end segment of the property market. Colliers' figures show that in Q4 2006, the price of luxury residential apartments increased by 9.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q). For the whole year, luxury prices increased by 35 per cent.

Yet, prices are expected to moderate this year. 'With the awards of the two integrated resorts having successfully taken place in 2006, the market is expected to be more subdued - although still active - in 2007 unless there are more surprise economy-boosting announcements by the government,' said Ms Tay.

The flash estimates are still open to interpretation though.Noting that the 10 per cent annual increase in the index is 'reminiscent' of earlier boom times, Knight Frank director (research & consultancy) Nicholas Mak says it could indicate the beginning of another 'bull run'.

'It is reminiscent of the recovery in 1999 but it appears to be more gradual and sustainable,' he added. The property boom of those times proved to be short-lived.

Still, Mr Mak qualifies that the 'characteristics' of the recovery in 1999 were quite different as that one was a 'bottom up' recovery. 'Now, we see the high-end influencing the mid-tier segment,' he said.

The mass market could take longer to recover. The Housing and Development Board also released flash estimates for its resale flats price index and it increased by just 0.9 per cent q-o-q.

The HDB resale price index can indicate the optimism of the mass market as those who resell HDB flats might upgrade to their first private property.

Mr Mak notes that performance in the mass market, with new launches like The Centris, was 'patchy'. 'We will need to see two more quarters of sustained HDB growth first,' he added.

ERA Singapore vice-president Eugene Lim does reveal, however, that there has been a significant increase in the number of people upgrading within HDB property, suggesting that for those in that income bracket, things are looking up.

According to the property firm's sales data, representing about 40 per cent of the HDB's resale market, transactions for larger five-room flats now account for 23 per cent of its total market transactions, while executive flats make up about 8 per cent.

This is up from 18 per cent and 5 per cent a year ago. Transactions for resale four-room flats fell from 41 per cent a year ago to 38 per cent today, while the proportion of resale three-room flats transacted went down from 33 per cent a year ago to 31 per cent.

Mr Lim believes that buyers of larger flats represent a new 'sandwich class' of price sensitive buyers, and it is hard to say whether their increased activity will eventually spill over to the mass market.

Mr Lim maintains that the latest flash estimate reflects that prices are still 'stabilising' and that any increase in HDB prices in 2007 will be between one and 2 per cent.

Launches of upcoming mass market developments will determine whether there will be a broad-based recovery. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ong Choon Fah for one believes that these launches 'will stimulate demand'.

'There is latent demand there,' she said, maintaining that the previous drop in Q3 2006 in the resale price index was 'insignificant'. She did add that there is a 'need to match prices'.

Demand in 2007 is more likely to come from those who make gains from offering their properties for collective en bloc sale.

'The en bloc deals are going to push up the prices of those projects that are complete and unsold,' said Savills Singapore director (marketing & business development) Ku Swee Yong.

Perhaps most bullish of the analysts, Mr Ku even believes the property price index will end 2007 at around 155 points, up 19.2 per cent. -  by Arthur Sim and Uma Shankari    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     4 January 2007

•  Urban Redevelopment Authority's press release

Mass Market

Jones Lang LaSalle sees further rise of 2-3% for next quarter

Resale values for non-landed private homes in the mass market have risen about 9.5 per cent this quarter over the preceding three months to average $460 per square foot, according to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

The property firm expects a further quarter-on-quarter rise of about 2-3 per cent for the next quarter.

The 9.5 per cent gain for the first three months of the year is the highest quarterly increase since 2000, leading JLL to declare that it beats the peak of Q1 2000 by 0.2 per cent. JLL's database goes back to only Q1 2000.

But while previous recoveries in the mass-market were driven bottom up, that is by HDB upgraders, the current pick-up seems to be filtering down from the prime market, according to JLL head of research Chua Yang Liang.

Giving a more detailed analysis of the buyer profile for mass-market private apartments and condos, JLL said the ratio of buyers with HDB addresses to buyers who are already living in private homes has declined from a peak of 6.1 in Q2 2002, when there was a widely anticipated announcement on caps on the use of CPF funds for housing, to 0.8 in Q4 2006. JLL estimates that the figure could decline further this quarter.

Dr Chua attributes the decline in the ratio largely to private home owners relocating to mass-market locations from their prime district homes that have been sold through collective sales. In comparison, during the mid-1990s property boom, the highest ratio of HDB-to-private upgraders was the 3.3 recorded in Q4 1998.

JLL defines mass-market locations as areas outside the traditional prime districts 9, 10 and 11, the emerging central districts of 1 to 4 (covering the CBD and Sentosa Cove) and districts 15 and 16 (east coast).

Another factor that has been boosting the proportion of existing private home dwellers who have been buying mass-market condos/apartments is the growing pool of permanent residents, JLL reckons.

The firm also said that a total of 102 subsale deals were lodged for non-landed private homes in the mass market in Q4 2006, up 168 per cent from the preceding three months and passing the previous peak in Q4 2005 by some 29.1 per cent.

'As a percentage of total transactions, however, this level remains at a relatively healthy range of 4.3 per cent, compared with 39 per cent in Q2 1995 when the level of speculation was the highest,' JLL said. Projects that had subsale transactions included The Centris, City Square Residences, The Lakeshore, Southbank and Varsity Park.

The firm also noted that mass-market projects launched by developers such as The Centris, Yew Tee Residences and ClementiWoods have attracted a strong following of local buyers.

The level of speculative buying in the mass market this quarter is likely to match or marginally exceed the 4.5 per cent level, it said.   - by Kalpana Rashiwala   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   22 March 2007

Condo resale prices a far cry from old highs

2007:  While prices of new high-end developments have veered off the charts, prices of residential properties in the secondary market tell a different story.

Sampling residential developments launched just before the two peaks in Q2 1996 and Q2 2000, an analysis of caveats by Savills Singapore for BT shows prices for most developments have not recovered peak levels - and some are still 40 per cent below launch prices.

Savills Singapore director (marketing & business development) Ku Swee Yong says developments which showed the greatest price increases in 2006 were mainly well located projects in prime districts.

'For these properties in District 9, 10, and 11, prices might have gone up by anywhere from 10 per cent for older properties to 50 per cent for newer properties with good leasing potential,' he says.

Of the 20 projects sampled, only four showed capital appreciation above launch prices, and most of these were in the prime districts. As such, Mr Ku believes there could still be good buys, especially in light of the increasing prices as reflected in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's quarterly property price index which rose 10 per cent in 2006.

'If you do your homework well, there are a lot of gems out there,' he says.

The brief list of developments that maintained or appreciated in value - Ardmore Park, Scotts 28, Cuscaden Residences and St Martin Residence - is predictable, as these were some of the more high-profile launches at the time.

Interestingly, equally famous Nassim Jade is still 23 per cent below launch price, debunking the myth that any property in Districts 9, 10, and 11 should do well.

'The worst-hit properties were generally those that were not able to generate good rental rates,' says Mr Ku, citing poor facilities and location as main drawbacks. 'These developments might have a small pool, not many common facilities, or they could be in a good district but actually located too close to a commercial or retail area, which means traffic in adjoining roads.'

Overall, projects that show good capital appreciation are those where 'the lease rates are good for the long term'.

Projects that did well were also those that probably had a certain cache or 'branding' with foreign buyers. Actual numbers of foreigners who bought into the likes of Ardmore Park and Scotts 28 are not known, but Mr Ku believes it could reflect a similar 30-40 per cent of foreign buyers who bought new high-end developments in general.

Based on returns alone, a development like Aspen Heights should have appreciated in value - but it is still about 30 per cent below its launch price.

Aspen Heights is a telling example of disparity in prices because it is in River Valley Road, where rental returns could be as high as 7 per cent and monthly rents around $4.50 psf. Yet in Q4 2006, its median resale price was $875 psf.

Mr Ku points out that directly opposite Aspen Heights, a new project, The Imperial, is being sold for around $1,400 psf. 'Aspen Heights is a bit old but it does seem to be undervalued,' he says.

Maplewoods, which has ample common facilities, is also 25 per cent below its launch price. In Q4 2006 the median resale price was $665 psf, while next door, a new project, The Nexus, is selling for around $820 psf. The rental yield for Maplewoods is thought to be a respectable 5 per cent.

Mr Ku does not have a definitive explanation for such price disparities, except that buyers may simply prefer brand new homes. 'The perception could be that a new development would be easier to rent out, hence, making it a better investment,' he surmises. 'Sometimes, it is also just a matter of how well older developments are maintained.'

Mr Ku believes another concern about buying an older unit is that an en bloc sale may leave a new owner out in the cold financially.

Still, in the right frame of mind, this could be a worthwhile venture. As he calculates: 'If you can get a 7 per cent rental yield you can recover your capital outlay in about 16 years. If the project goes en bloc after that, everything is pure profit.'

Buyers have to be clear about their buying strategy, he says. 'I think not many people are clear if they are making a long-term or short-term investment.'

At Ardmore Park, for instance, Mr Ku estimates that based on current prices, rental yields are a low 3 per cent. But because it is Ardmore Park, a property will sell much faster.   - SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   January 12, 2007

Only 3 condo projects top $2,000 psf
Most homes sold in past year stay below mark: study

Much is being made of the stellar prices of high-end condominiums, but the sparkle could be just an illusion.

Over $2,000 psf: The Ladyhill ($2,086 psf), above, The Boulevard Residences ($2,199.6 psf) and Cairnhill Crest ($2,002.4 psf)

An analysis of prices of high-end residential developments over the past 12 months by Knight Frank reveals that only three registered prices have crossed $2,000 per square foot (psf).

These were The Boulevard Residences ($2,199.6) and The Ladyhill ($2,086), both by SC Global, and Cairnhill Crest by Cheung Kong Holdings ($2,002.4).

Other developments in the same vicinity like Grange Residences (Wheelock Properties), The Arc at Draycott (BS Capital) and The Light @ Cairnhill (Wing Tai Holdings) reached highs of between $1,669.7 and $1,996.4.

Although prices have been rising steadily, a big increase of about 20 per cent or $2,600 psf has recently been projected for a new development - St Regis Residences by City Developments Ltd (CDL).

If the projection is accurate, it would confirm the assertion of Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak that: 'One project cannot pull up the prices of the whole market, but the whole market can push up the price of that one project.'

Some high-end developments - like CDL's The Sail @ Marina Bay or Centrepoint Properties' The Azure - have done well recently, but as Mr Mak notes, 'the number of buyers in this segment falls exponentially as the price goes up', perhaps explaining why there is still ample supply of apartments available.

Of course, some developers like SC Global are not in a hurry to sell off their units, preferring instead to wait for their asking price to be met. At the Boulevard Residences, launched in 2003, there are still about 10 units out of a total of 46 available.

The property market, especially the high-end segment which started to recover last year, seems to be sorting out its pricing. But this may take some time.

'As this is a rising market, developers have not launched all the units in their development. They are reserving some to be launched at higher prices at the right time. In fact, for most of the smaller developments, all units launched have been fully taken up,' says Tay Huey Ying, associate director (research and consultancy) at Colliers International.

Colin Tan, head of research at Chesterton International, expects CDL to push up the price of St Regis Residences to the upper limit as 'CDL will probably not be too troubled if sales are not as fast because they will want to maintain the right type of buyer too'.

Wheelock Properties' Ardmore Park holds the record for the highest-priced condominium - $2,400 psf in the mid 1990s. It is the closest equivalent to St Regis Residences in terms of prestige, and Mr Tan remembers that when Ardmore Park was launched in 1996, sales were initially slow because of the high prices and the government's anti-speculation measures. Foreign buyers and investors did eventually bite.

Recalling the heydays, Mr Tan says: 'They had four property marketing consultants working on the launch to drive up interest.'

Interest for St Regis Residences is similarly building up. CDL group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong revealed that its current waiting list of potential buyers outweighs the 173 units available, with many buyers expressing interest in purchasing more than one unit.

Under $2,000 psf:  Grange Residences (above), The Arc at Draycott and The Light @ Cairnhill have reached highs of between $1,669.7 and $1,996.4

Wallace Chu, head of research at Savills Singapore, expects at least half the buyers of St Regis Residences to be foreigners. 'Already, at least 50 per cent of the buyers at Cairnhill Crest are foreigners.'

Looking at comparable high-end developments like The Arch in Hong Kong and The Knightsbridge in London, which are priced at about $5,600 psf and $4,400 psf respectively, Mr Chu points out that even though high-end property is expensive here, 'it is still comparatively cheaper than similar developments overseas'.

Property prices are a 'reflection of what the market can support', said Mr Chu, adding that The Boulevard Residences has already set the benchmark price of $2,199.6. Interestingly, this was set by a foreign buyer and Mr Chu says: 'It is unavoidable that a foreigner will set the future benchmark price as well.'

The impact of very high prices for the very high-end developments may, however, have little impact on the property market in general, simply because they are priced out of the reach of most Singaporeans, and are meant for the more voracious global investor known as 'high net worth individuals'.

'Depending on market response to St Regis Residences, more of such developments could mushroom and become part of the global property market scene where demand is largely from foreigners,' says Jones Lang LaSalle head of research (South Asia) Chua Yang Liang.

That Singapore could have a tier of property on a par with other global cities is exciting, but do not expect this segment to proliferate. 'Not all developers have the capacity or even the desire to jump on this bandwagon. Given the limited supply, the impact on the local market is probably negligible,' Dr Chua said.  - by Arthur Sim    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    3 April 2006

Official flash estimates released yesterday showed that the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) price index for private homes rose 1.3 per cent in Q4 over the preceding quarter and 3.8 per cent for the whole of last year.

In the public housing market, the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) resale flat price index rose 0.2 per cent in Q4. This reverses two quarters of declines which began in Q2 last year following the introduction of measures to counter cash-back deals.

Giving his take on the quick turnaround in HDB resale flat prices, ERA Real Estate's assistant vice-president Eugene Lim said: 'Buyers are feeling more confident because of Singapore's sustained economic recovery and improving employment situation. But at the same time, there's ample supply of HDB flats - both in the resale market and from HDB's efforts to clear its own stockpile of unsold new units. So that has checked the increase in resale flat prices.'

Looking ahead, he believes this supply factor will ensure price increases of resale HDB flats will be marginal this year, after the 4.9 per cent drop for the whole of last year based on official flash estimates released yesterday.

On a more positive note reflecting growing confidence in the sector, Mr Lim notes that there has been more buzz in the market segment for bigger, five-room HDB flats, which accounted for about 24 per cent of all resale deals in the second half of last year. This is against an 18 per cent share in the past, according to ERA's estimates.

That should be good news for the lower tier of the private housing market. Those who sell their five-room HDB flats in the resale market tend to upgrade to mass-market private housing projects, leading a 'bottom-up' recovery in Singapore's property market as seen in the past.

However, this time around, the pick-up in demand in the private residential sector which began last year has largely been confined to the luxury sector - as the excitement created by the integrated resorts once again drew the attention of well-heeled foreigners to Singapore's property market.

But home prices here have not appreciated much, unlike in the rest of the region, making Singapore an attractive investment destination.

Now, property developers and consultants are hoping that the recovery will trickle down from the high end to the other sectors, including mass-market private homes catering to HDB upgraders. There are some factors that could complicate such a process, however.

From Jan 1 this year, the salary ceiling for Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions has been lowered from $5,000 to $4,500. And the cap on the CPF withdrawal limit for buying private homes and HDB flats financed with bank loans has been cut again, from 138 per cent of property value to 132 per cent. And then, of course, mortgage rates have risen sharply from about 1-2 per cent to 2.5-3.5 per cent over the past year.

However, property consultants like Knight Frank managing director believe that despite these factors, the recovery in the high-end market will trickle all the way down to the mass market on the back of improving salaries and bonuses and continued growth in the Singapore economy.

Agreeing, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung's executive director says: 'For the mass market, developers will inch prices up, they won't jack up prices straight away. They'll test the waters.' But she adds that developers have been buying land recently - for both mass market and upmarket residential sites - based on future price increases.

That gives a strong hint on developers' pricing inclinations, say market watchers.

Property consultants expect the top end to continue leading price increases this year. Knight Frank's Mr Tan is predicting a 5 per cent price gain on average this year, led by a 10-15 per cent price increase for luxury homes.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Soon Su Lin predicts an even bigger 20 per cent rise in luxury homes, after last year's 15 per cent increase.

On average, though, she reckons the increase in private home prices as captured in the official URA's price index for private homes could come in at around 5-6 per cent. Ms Soon forecasts developers will sell 8,000-9,000 new private homes in all this year, similar to her estimate of 8,500-9,000 units last year.

As for the HDB resale market, ERA's Mr Lim expects the number of resale applications this year to maintain at last year's figure, which he estimates at 31,000-32,000. URA and HDB will release more details later this month.   - by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     4 January 2006

Chinese a force in S'pore home buys

Conversion of old CBD offices catching on
Up to 20 buildings could be turned into apartments

Up to 20 ageing office blocks in the Central Business District could be redeveloped into apartments over the next 10 years as owners seek to unlock value in the face of competition from upcoming office projects in the New Downtown and tap the current popularity of homes in the CBD.

The office buildings are located in such places as Cecil and McCallum streets, Robinson Road and Shenton Way - between the two MRT stations in the financial district at Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar.

BT understands that the owners of 1 Shenton Way and Asia Chambers recently obtained provisional permission for redevelopment into apartments, with commercial use on the ground floor. This comes after Far East Organization obtained approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority to do the same for its NatWest Centre in McCallum Street.

URA told BT recently that over the past six months it has received three other outline applications seeking permission to convert CBD blocks to residential use. 'We are still processing the applications,' a URA spokeswoman said without elaborating.

Sources see SingTel's ageing office building at 71 Robinson Road as a hot candidate. The ground floor of the seven-storey building, on the corner of Robinson Road and McCallum Street, houses the Robinson Post Office. The site is 24,531 sq ft with a remaining lease of just 46 years, which presumably would be topped up to a fresh 99-year term before redevelopment in exchange for a payment to the state.

Property consultants say other older office buildings that could be viable for residential development include Bangkok Bank Building which is next to NatWest Centre; Shenton House and the UIC Building along Shenton Way; and HMC Building, Marina House and Anson Centre in the Mistri/Parsi road area.

According to Credo Real Estate executive director Melvin Poh: 'The best candidates are older office buildings, the shorter blocks that have not maximised their development potential allowed under the current Master Plan.

'And they would be mostly located between the two MRT stations - Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar. Because the location is not so attractive, they may not have been able to hold major tenants over the years in the face of new competition. So their owners have not been able to command high rents and don't have much incentive to spruce up the office blocks. This in turn causes the buildings' rental values to drop further in a vicious cycle.'

Agreeing, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung director (investment sales) Tang Wei Leng said the office glut has put even greater pressure on rents and capital values of older office blocks in non-prime locations.

'If these properties remain undeveloped, their owners will find it increasingly difficult to find tenants due to competition from newer developments, especially in the New Downtown,' she said.

'Instead, if they choose to redevelop their properties to residential projects, it would allow them to cash in on the current popularity of CBD homes.'

Evidence of the latter trend includes last year's hot-selling launch of The Sail @ Marina Bay.

City Developments received provisional permission last month to redevelop 1 Shenton Way - formerly known as Robina House - into a 394-unit residential project with two towers of 41 and 31 storeys. There will be retail on the ground floor. And the project, on a 36,500 sq ft site, will have a swimming pool and other facilities, BT understands.

When contacted, a CityDev spokeswoman said plans are still at a 'very preliminary stage'.

'Our priority is our existing commercial tenants at 1 Shenton Way,' she said.

CityDev is expected to get the site's lease - about 63 years remains - topped up to a fresh 99-year term closer to the time it begins redevelopment.

Asia Chambers: Provisional permission obtained to redevelop the building into a 20-storey tower with 140 apartments

BT understands that the Asia Life group recently received provisional permission to redevelop Asia Chambers into a 20-storey tower with 140 apartments and a five-storey podium carpark with commercial use on the ground floor.

Asia Chambers is diagonally opposite to NatWest Centre, which is owned by Far East Organization which earlier received approval for a 43-storey apartment project, again with retail use on the ground floor.

Property consultants believe URA's provisional permission for residential projects at Asia Chambers and 1 Shenton Way supports an 11.2 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - for the project, which is the maximum allowed for the sites based on commercial zoning under Master Plan 2003.   - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES       20 September 2005

Condo prices in prime districts edge up

Prices of centrally located condos continued to edge up in the second quarter, on the back of an increase in primary market launches and sales, latest figures by Knight Frank show.

The firm said that based on caveats lodged in April and May, the median prices of condos in the central region rose to $641 psf, a 0.6 per cent increase from the $637 psf in Q1.

'Our research also showed that the price range of condos in the prime districts 9, 10 and 11 has increased from $750 to $1,400 psf in Q1 to $750 to $1,600 psf in Q2,' it said in a report issued yesterday. The bulk of the increase was concentrated at the higher end of the price range, driven by resilient demand for luxury homes.

On the increase in median prices in the central region, the firm reckoned it was due to caveats lodged for projects like City Square Residences, The Sail @ Marina Bay and 8 @ Mt Sophia.

Knight Frank also estimated that developers will sell about 1,700 to 1,900 private homes this quarter, or a 36 to 52 per cent increase from the 1,250 units sold in Q1.

The improvement in primary market sales will be on the back of an increase in the number of new homes launched by developers, which Knight Frank sees rising from 1,366 units in Q1 to about 1,800 to 1,900 units in Q2.

Both launches and sales this quarter continued to be concentrated in the central region - as in Q1, Knight Frank said.

Looking ahead, the firm expects the market to be active in the second half as it anticipates healthy response to launches in the next three to six months. 'Higher end apartments and condos will continue to account for the likely increase in prices,' it said. Some relaunches of existing projects are also expected in the second half.

Wheelock Properties this week soft launched two blocks of The Sea View condo built on the site of the former Sea View Hotel in Katong at an average $750 psf. It has released 189 units so far out of the total 546 units in the freehold project.

Other major launches expected later this year are the Hong Leong Group's The St Regis Residences at Cuscaden/Tomlinson roads, Centrepoint's condo at Sentosa Cove and Ho Bee's bungalows on Coral Island, Sentosa Cove.

Knight Frank estimated that in the secondary or resale market, a total of 1,500 to 1,700 private homes will change hands this quarter, an improvement from the 1,274 units in the first three months of the year.

In the leasing market, the rental range of non-landed homes in the prime districts has risen from $2.20-$3.90 psf a month in Q1 to $2.20-$4.15 psf this quarter.

Over the next three to six months, activity in the leasing market is likely to grow at a slower rate, being held back by the weaker forecast of economic growth. 'Thus rental growth is likely to slow down accordingly,' Knight Frank said. -  by  Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES      25 June 2005

Residential property sector stable in 1st qtr
Some 800 housing units sold, mostly in prime districts 9,10,11

The residential property market remained stable throughout the first quarter of the year, with an estimated 800 units sold. Most of these were in the prime districts of 9, 10, and 11. In the first three months, some 660 new private residential units were launched for sale, much fewer than the 2,220 released in the previous quarter.

The Cosmopolitan: Much of the action was from a few big launches, like this one by Wheelock Properties

According to head of research (South Asia) at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), much of the action was generated by a few major launches, including The Cosmopolitan by Wheelock Properties, Parc Emily by City Developments and TID, and 8 @ Mount Sophia by Centrepoint Homes.

She estimates that the three developments have sold about 50 per cent of their first phases, or about 130 units. Analysis for the first quarter figures shows overseas buyers making their presence felt. The head of research said: 'Foreign buyers viewed prime residential properties as being undervalued.'

She noted that unlike places like Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia, Singapore's property market has been slow to rebound from the Asian financial crisis. 'The markets in every other city have moved since 1998,' she said.

In the top end of the prime districts, JLL's head of research  estimated that as much as 50 per cent of the new units had been taken up by foreigners. She did qualify that this did not necessarily represent a large number of homes. For instance, the top performing developments of Parc Emily, 8 @ Mount Sophia and The Cosmopolitan make up a total of about 250 units launched (in the first phase).

Indeed, the lack of big property launches in the first quarter of the year led to the drop in unit sales as compared with the first quarter 2004 when 1,216 changed hands. A comparison with the final quarter of last year - where sales reached 1,774 - shows an even steeper drop in sales.

The JLL analyst said there were many small 'niche' developers launching projects of about 25 to 50 homes in the more suburban districts. These included Novelty Land's Platinum Edge (Potong Pasir) and Fragrance Land's The Elegance @ Changi (East Coast). Both are said to be 50 per cent sold.

In the last week, another two small developments, Duchess Manor (District 10) and Bluwaters (Pasir Ris) were launched.

Market watchers, however, say it was a quiet week. Most big developers are holding off major launches and are focussing on moving existing stock.

Far East Organization is reported to have sold 12 units from its developments, Lakeshore, Hillview Regency, Blue Horizon and Water Place.

On average, the prices of private residential properties island-wide have remained stable in the first part of the year. The average prices of apartments and condominiums were unchanged from the previous quarter and remained at $680 per square foot (psf) in the prime districts and $435 outside these areas. For landed properties island wide, prices were stable at $395 psf.

The rise in interest rates on housing loans probably hit buying sentiment in general, but Ms Feng believes the effect on the private residential market in the prime districts is expected to be limited.

The rate rises may, however, affect buyers in the suburban private residential market. According to the JLL Affordability Index, housing affordability is very sensitive to interest rate adjustments, with an increase of 50 basis points (half a percentage point) in home loan rates estimated to be equivalent to a rise of up to 7 per cent in home prices.

Ms Feng does not expect any drastic adjustments to interest rates over the next few months. This will be encouraging for both buyers and sellers as the second quarter usually sees an increase in property launches to tie in with boosted buyer sentiment in conjunction with announcements of bonuses and pay increments. 'In Singapore, it's more about confidence', she said.  - by Arthur Sim     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   23 March 2005

Developers see encouraging sales after festive season

Developers were encouraged by the response to property releases over the weekend - which marked the onset of the selling seasons after Chinese New Year.

Centrepoint Properties sold close to 20 units at its 8 @ Mount Sophia condo at an average of just over $700 psf during a 'pre-soft launch' that began on Friday.

The project, with a 103-year leasehold tenure, is coming up on a site that Centrepoint bought from the Methodist Church in Singapore.

Far East Organization sold five units over the weekend at its Lakeshore condo near Boon Lay MRT station. It relaunched its marketing programme for the 99-year project. To date, it has sold 320 units of the 518 units it has released so far in the development. In total, the Lakeshore condo has 848 units.

In all, Far East sold 21 homes over the weekend (including the five units at Lakeshore). 'There are more visitors now who're seriously looking to buy an apartment compared with before Chinese New Year,' said Far East spokesman Chia Boon Pin.

Far East said that besides Lakeshore, other projects that sold well include Gardenvista and Hillview Regency.

Opening doors: Both Cheung Kong Holdings and Far East Organization sold five units each of Costa Del Sol on Bayshore Road and Lakeshore (above) respectively over the weekend

Hongkong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings sold another five units at Costa Del Sol on Bayshore Road. This brings total sales in the latest release to 15 units. Cheung Kong had released 100 units at the 99-year leasehold 906-unit condo at an average of $650 psf. There are close to 600 unsold units at the completed development.

Meanwhile City Developments and TID are understood to have sold more than 10 units at its freehold Parc Emily. The 295-unit development at Mount Emily Park was released at an average $750 psf. It is expected to be 'officially launched' this weekend. The marketing programme for Parc Emily has started with the developers holding a 'Where is Emily?' contest which has since ended.

Now that the Chinese New Year is over, developers are gearing up to release their projects. Coming up this weekend is City Developments and Trade Industrial Development's Parc Emily, while Hongkong tycoon Li Ka-Shing is slashing prices at the mega Costa del Sol development on Bayshore Road.

Boutique developers like Novelty Land are also homing in on the action. Novelty Land will launch the freehold, 51-unit Platinum Edge near Potong Pasir MRT station this weekend at an average $650 per square foot together with a deferred payment scheme.

Balestier Realty, formed by the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, will release its 50-unit, freehold Scenic Heights off Balestier Road at an average $550 psf.

Platinum Edge and Scenic Heights are marketed by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

Meanwhile, Costa Del Sol will be re-launched at prices ranging from $640 psf to over $700 psf for 100 units. Prices for the subsequent phases are expected to increase by between one and 3 per cent, the developer said.

The 906-unit Costa del Sol was first released at an average $765 psf in May 2000 and still has a large number of unsold units.

This weekend, CityDev and its partner TID are expected to soft launch 'not more than 100 units' at the 295-unit Parc Emily. Its developers have been running a contest - 'Where is Emily?' - to generate interest in the freehold Mount Emily project.

Centrepoint is also expected to release its 8@Mount Sophia soon. The 103-year leasehold development will have a total of 313 units and sell at an average price of just above $700 psf.

'We can expect either soft or preview launches for Parc Emily, Centrepoint's Mount Sophia and CityDev's Kitchener Road site,' said CB Richard Ellis director Joseph Tan.

'Although it's expected that developers will push out projects, it's unlikely that we'll see a flurry of launches coming on stream. Developers will launch more selectively.

'It's quite fair to expect small unit size apartments in well located projects to come on stream given that there was good reaction to The Sail towards the end of last year.'

CityDev and AIG's The Sail@Marina Bay was the top seller last year.

Far East Organization is also re-launching its 99-year leasehold Lakeshore at Boon Lay. Buyers who book a unit on Feb 26 and 27 will get a spa voucher.

Far East is also planning a release of La Casa, its executive condominium in Woodlands.

Property agents say a launch or re-launch of Wing Tai's Kovan Melody, MCL Land's Mera Prime, Hong Leong Holding's Watermark at River Valley, Rivergate by CapitaLand and Cosmopolitan on the former Times House site by Wheelock Properties is on the cards.

Centrepoint is also expected to release its 72-unit freehold development, The Spectrum, at Pasir Panjang.

'The overall market has been fairly tentative but buying has been quite active from foreigners, namely, from Hongkong,' said Michael Ng, managing director at Savills Singapore.

'We've brought (CapitaLand's) CityLights to Hongkong and sold about 20 units there and sold another 16 units of Chip Eng Seng's ShanghaiOne.' - by Andrea Tan    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    24 Feb 2005 

Landed homes worth billions change hands

The desire to own a landed home has fuelled several billion dollars of transactions in the past 18 months. And deals have got bigger in the past six months.

Sales of landed homes worth more than $5 million were especially strong in the first six months, with 37 transactions versus 25 in the same period last year, according to SISV realink.

In the final two months of last year alone, 25 landed homes in the $5 million or more bracket changed hands - most likely Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) sitting on at least 15,000 square feet of land.

Property consultants say landed home sales have been fuelled by a robust economic recovery, most evident to business people, and low prices not seen for a long time. For instance, a unit at Glencaird Residences was put up for auction in July last year for about $8 million, a steal given that developer Marco Polo initially sold it for about $14 million in 1997.

'People who can afford the Good Class Bungalows are the top businessman who own factories. They are the first-liners, probably the first to feel it from strong orders,' said Credo Real Estate executive director Melvin Poh.

In the $2.5-5 million price bracket, there were 69 landed home sales in the first six months of this year versus 57 in first-half 2003.

SISV realink tracks caveats lodged when option money has been paid - a sort of pre-contract that commits the seller, though the buyer can walk away by forfeiting the option money.

Overall sales of landed homes - dominated by cheaper properties below $1.5 million - totalled 701 units in the first six months of this year, down from 816 a year earlier.

Especially robust were sales in the first four months across all price ranges, so it's not surprising that the taxman collected more stamp duty this year. Total landed home sales in January to April came to 517, up from 452 in the same period last year. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said stamp duty collected was $314 million, or 44 per cent higher than in the first four months of last year.

Looking at the past 18 months, there were 107 sales in the $5 million or more bracket, or 4 per cent of the overall 2,397 sales.

Of the total sales, more than two-thirds were at more than $1 million, and if an average per home of $2.5 million is taken, the transactions would be worth at least $4 billion.

Many of the 107 sales in the $5 million or more bracket were done at more than $10 million.

As reported earlier, the single most expensive landed property sale this year was in April, when almost $40 million was paid for a freehold site at 14 Gallop Road. This topped another mega-deal in August last year, when $25.5 million was paid for a Nassim Road site.

Other - slightly more down-to-earth - deals included $16.2 million for 15 Bin Tong Park and $11.8 million for 26 Third Avenue, both in November 2003.

For the rest of this year, it's uncertain whether sales will continue to be strong, given June's performance of only 54 deals against 176 a year back.

Mr Poh's take is that with the economy growing so strongly, demand won't drop, especially given the 'scarcity' value.

'Demand from developers is (also) very strong, even for a small landed house, as long as there's development potential - it'll fly off the shelf,' he said.

It seems that if developers can build as few as two landed homes, they will snap up any suitable site that is offered.

'What's been transacting are the older homes, either from those moving to even bigger properties, or those downgrading,' said Mr Poh.

According to the caveats lodged, landed property changed hands all over the island. Commanding the highest prices were properties clustered in Dalvey Road and Nassim Road, Bin Tong Park and Swiss Club Road. Ridout Road, Caldecott Hill, Fifth Avenue, Third Avenue and Ford Avenue are other areas where landed homes can't be had for less than $5 million.

Sales under $5 million are more spread out, such as in Kew Drive, Greenbank Park, Siglap Rise, Faber Park, Jalan Berjaya, Shelford Road, Namly View, Eden Grove, Mountbatten Road and Merryn Road.  - By Siow Li Sen   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    23 July 2004

S'pore's Q2 home prices up

Prices of private residential units rose 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the first gain in seven quarters, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday

The URA's home price index rose to 112.5 in the second quarter from 112.4 in the first, boosted by strong economic growth.

'At the end of the second quarter, the number of private residential units under construction was 25,568, about 5.6 per cent lower than as at the end of the previous quarter,' the URA said in its press release.

It also revealed that the number of uncompleted homes for sale decreased 2.4 per cent to 24,927 units.

Prices of landed properties went up 0.4 per cent but those of non-landed properties remained unchanged in the second quarter.

The office market also showed its first rise since 2000, with the URA's index of office space prices rising 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, after falling 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, as vacancy rates fell 0.4 percentage point to 17.4 per cent. - 23 July 2004     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

99-year private home supply down sharp 40%
Yet-to-be-sold units on GLS sites fell from 10,600 at end-2001 to 6,500 now

The stock of yet-to-be-sold 99-year private homes on sites sold by the state has fallen by more than 40 per cent - a shrinkage that is expected to have a strong bearing on the government's decision whether to resume sales of residential land in the confirmed list next year.

According to latest figures from CB Richard Ellis, the number of such homes has fallen from 10,600 units as at end-2001 to 6,140 as at June this year.

The current stock is a few hundred units more, at about 6,500, the firm estimated in a study released exclusively to BT. This number takes into account developers' home sales since the second quarter and two recent state tenders at Jellicoe Road and Kovan Road, the latter of which closed yesterday.

'Assuming demand in the property market recovers next year, and there is an average annual demand of 4,500 new 99-year private homes, as seen over the past eight years, this supply can be easily absorbed by the market over the next 18 to 24 months,' says CBRE executive director Soon Su Lin.

The figures cover projects in the entire spectrum of the development pipeline, including those that have yet to be released for sale, and projects with the necessary approvals for sale as well as those without. Typically, it takes about nine to 12 months to get a project to be launch-ready from the time a site has been awarded by the state.

CBRE estimated that of the total 3,650 private homes that developers sold in the first three quarters of this year, about 55 per cent, or 2,000 units, are 99-year leasehold units.

The latest stock of 99-year private homes on sites sold under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme - such projects typically cater to upgrader demand - are relatively healthy.

'We do not have an excessive supply situation. We may have a problem with demand this year because of the Sars outbreak and the CPF changes but this setback is likely to be temporary,' says Ms Soon.

The numbers also put the focus back on whether the government should resume land sales in its confirmed list next year. Ms Soon, for one, argues that the government can continue releasing land only through the reserve list, but offer a wider choice of attractive sites.

Consultants say the GLS programme's reserve list is now left with just one choice housing site, at Serangoon Central.

Argues Ms Soon: 'If there is a good site, it will be sold anyway. It does not matter whether you offer it through the confirmed or reserve lists. The reserve list is a more efficient system of selling sites than for the state to put every site available up for tender without knowing the actual interest level among developers for that particular site.'

However, some market watchers fear that while the argument is sound in theory, it may take a while for reserve-list sites to come on the market. And if the much-talked-about economic recovery finally materialises next year and upgrader demand - now dented by recent CPF changes - revives, prices could rocket.

This was what happened in 1999, when the official private home price index shot up 34 per cent from the Q4 1998 Asian financial crisis trough.

In response to the crisis, the government halted land sales in late 1997, resuming them only in 2000. At that time, however, there was no reserve-list system, which was introduced later in June 2001 to fine-tune land supply.

And following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the US, the government followed up by suspending land sales in the confirmed list in late 2001, but it continues to offer sites through the reserve list.

Sites on the confirmed list are put up for tender according to a fixed schedule. But a site in the reserve list is released for tender only if the state receives an application from at least one developer undertaking to bid for the site at a minimum price acceptable to the state.

Last year, developers bought six such reserve sites which will yield about 2,600 homes, CBRE estimated. Including the Kovan tender that closed yesterday, three 99-year private residential sites have been released so far this year and these can be developed into about 1,400 units.

While the stock of 99-year private homes which have yet to be sold in projects on sites sold under the GLS programme has fallen markedly since end-2001, the stock of 99-year private homes in projects on private sites - such as the developments on the former Keppel Harbour site - has remained relatively unchanged. The figure as at June this year was 4,059 units, against 4,539 units as at end-2001.    - By Rashwana Kalpana      SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     21 Oct 2003

Pent-Up Demand Spurs Singapore Home Sales

The lethargic residential-property sector is showing signs of life, with investors flocking back to the market, but that doesn't mean prices in the city-state will be rising anytime soon.

With the passing of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the Iraq war, pent-up demand is spurring sales after months of weakness. But prices are likely to remain depressed, analysts and market professionals say, as the Singapore economy crawls toward recovery.

We are not going to see price appreciation for at least another 12 months," says Winston Liew, property analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. That is partly because property prices are linked to the economy's performance, and are especially sensitive to wages. And, Mr. Liew says, pay levels aren't expected to rise for at least another year.

Singapore's gross domestic product shrank 4.3% in the second quarter, the first contraction in five quarters. The government expects full-year growth of a half percent to 2.5%.

Singapore's property market and economy have been sluggish since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, unable to manage a sustained recovery. There have been spurts of strong buying amid a flurry of property offerings this year, but prices have remained soft. "The recovery's in its infancy, so it is really just a volume recovery," Mr. Liew says.

There were more than 1,800 private-residential units offered in the second quarter, an improvement from the 637 units put up for sale in the quarter earlier. Of that, more than 800 units had been sold by mid-June, compared with 397 units in the first quarter.

There is room for optimism after 13 quarters of weakening prices, says Tang Wei Leng, associate director at property consultancy DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. However, she cautioned that while prices may strengthen in the second half, any rise would be marginal and the sector could slump again if the Singapore economy fails to signal a sustained recovery.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, private-home prices edged down 0.4% in the second quarter from the first quarter, an improvement from a 0.9% decline in the first quarter.

Despite weak prices, Singapore's property developers have continued to churn out developments, with many getting the attention of young Singaporeans seeking a centrally located up-market residence.

City Developments Ltd. launched The Pier at Robertson in mid-April, with 60% of the 100 units offered in phase one sold in three weeks. The developer also began the second phase of its Savannah Park Condominium in the second quarter, and expects to offer two more residential developments in the second half, Monterey Park on Singapore's West Coast and Emery Point in Tanjong Katong in the East.

Keppel Land Ltd. inaugurated a luxury development, The Linc, last month, and this month it kicked off the final phase of 98 units at Freesia Woods.

CapitaLand Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest publicly traded property company, will offer a 187-unit development shortly, according to Colin Wong, vice president of marketing and sales. He says the company expects to introduce two smaller projects this year, a 66-unit development and a 43-unit property.   -   Leigh Murray     Dow Jones Newswire     21 July 2003

Over 150 new homes to be released
Far East, UOL and Singapore Land involved in this weekend's launches

Developers will release over 150 new homes tomorrow as they jump to take advantage of the sales momentum built up in recent weeks.

Room with a view: units at Singapore Land's Stevens Loft, located at Stevens Drive, have been priced from $630,000 to just below $1 million.

Far East Organization's 100-unit phase one launch of its 318-home Gardenvista project will account for the bulk of latest offerings. 

Others include United Overseas Land's first-phase launch of the 92-unit Novena Suites, Singapore Land's 28-unit Stevens Loft and Fragrance Properties' 25-unit East Shine.   These will comprise a mix of small- and larger-sized homes, instead of just the small-sized homes seen in recent weekend releases. 

The average price at the 99-year leasehold Gardenvista - located on the former Yeo Hiap Seng factory in Bukit Timah - comes to $620 per sq ft. This is $30 psf lower than its Tanjong Pagar project of similar tenure, Icon, which has been selling well since it was made available over the last two weekends. Gardenvista is about a five minutes' drive to Clementi MRT station.   Novena Suites, which has sold 20 units in a prior release, will be priced from $830 psf onwards. Units at Stevens Loft - measuring 690-1,250 sq ft - have been priced at a range of $630,000 to just below $1 million. The 570-2,100 sq ft apartments at East Shine, at Lorong Melayu, will start from around $570 psf. All three projects are on freehold tenures.  
 
Incentives ranging from absorption of stamp duty as well as deferred payment have been thrown in by the developers. Echoing the sentiment of developers, Leong Horn Kee, chief operating officer of Far East Organization's ventures and industrial business group, said: 'We believe the time (to launch) is right now.  - SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Asking prices of prime resale properties resilient

Asking  prices of resale private properties in prime districts in Singapore have stayed surprisingly resilient despite the Sars epidemic and the Gulf war, classified advertisements in The Straits Times show.

Asking prices have varied only slightly last month compared with March 2002 for properties in the prime districts 9 and 10.

For instance, the asking price of a 2,885 sq ft apartment in Ardmore Park was between $4 million and $4.6 million ($1,386 per sq ft to $1,594 psf) in March 2002. Sellers are now expecting $3.8 million to $4.4 million ($1,317-$1,525 psf) for an apartment of the same size.

According to data from the REALink 21 caveats database, there were no caveats lodged so far this year for Ardmore Park. Twenty-six caveats were lodged in 2002 with the latest in end-November for a 2,885 sq ft unit costing $4.55 million . There were no caveats lodged in March 2002.

At Four Seasons Park, a 2,874 sq ft apartment had asking prices of $4.3 million or $1,496 psf to $4.8 million ($1,686 psf) a year ago, compared with $4 million or $1,392 psf to $4.8 million or $1,670 psf last month.

There were no caveats lodged this year for the luxury condo project. The last caveat was lodged in August for a 2,874 sq ft unit which changed hands at $4.125 million or $1,435 psf.

An apartment at Astrid Meadows was asking from $755 to $807 psf in March 2002, but sellers now expect $762 to $857 psf. Likewise, there were no transactions for Astrid Meadows this year. The last deal in November was for a 2,744 sq ft unit at $2 million or $729 psf.

Clearly, asking prices based on classified ads in The Straits Times do not give a complete picture. Many advertisers do not state their asking prices, and prices of properties in any particular development vary depending on the floor level and the apartment's exposure. Also, some sellers may have spent a considerable amount on improvements and may have higher expectations of how much their apartments can fetch.

Still, asking prices do give a sense of market sentiment at a particular point.

'I don't think the two events (Sars and war in Iraq) affect the market,' a property analyst told BT. 'I've not noticed any panic selling.'

Comparing the behaviour of sellers with how they reacted during the 1991 Gulf War, he said: 'There was a negative impact on property prices (in 1991) but that recovered quite quickly.'

Investment analyst Winston Liew from Daiwa Institute of Research agreed. 'Sars and the Iraq war really have nothing to do with the fundamental residential market. Theoretically, housing needs will not change just because of the wars. There may be a short-term effect if people avoid show flats because of Sars but in the long term, life still goes on.'

Property analyst Tay Kah Poh from Knight Frank, however, believes that the two wars 'will cast a long shadow on the market'.

'I will not isolate the war itself as a problem but it will dampen enthusiasm,' he added. 'People do not know what the scenario will be and its impact on the economy, so they will hold back. Now with Sars, everything seems secondary. The housing market is sensitive to sentiment.'

Some analysts argue that the impact on prices is not obvious now because both crises are only in their early stages.

'We'll feel the effects gradually,' Mr Tay said although he doubts there will be any sharp collapse.

Analysts and agents, however, warn that while Sars and the Iraq war may not affect prices immediately, they could have a negative impact on the broader economy which could eventually feed back to property prices.

One thing both sides agree on is that property prices have been trending downwards for some time now.

Pointing to the latest URA flash estimate of a 0.7 per cent decline in private residential property prices, they conclude that this is a result of the economic uncertainty that Singapore and the whole region have been facing, even before talk of war in Iraq and the outbreak of Sars.

Said Mr Liew of Daiwa: 'Prices have been falling since the second quarter of 2000. The top end of the market is dominated by overseas buyers, but regional uncertainties affected regional buyers' sentiment.'

Mr Tay from Knight Frank also felt that the economy played a big part in sliding prices. 'Falling prices are mainly because of the economy, and will be compounded by the Iraq war and Sars.'

He said that because the need for housing is not a very sharp need, people hold back from buying in uncertain economic times.  - By  Staphnie Yap    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     10 Apr 2003

Prices in central area most resilient since Q2 2000

Private home prices in the north-eastern and eastern parts of Singapore have led falls since the market peaked two and a half years ago, according to a BT analysis of fourth quarter data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Prices in the central part of the island have been affected least by the slide in prices between Q2 2000 - the recent peak of the residential property market - and Q4 last year.

Another interesting trend gleaned from URA's figures was that prices of uncompleted apartments and condos have fallen more than completed ones during this period.

An analysis of URA's data shows that private condo prices eased 23.3 per cent in the north-east between Q2 2000 and Q4 last year, followed by falls of 23 and 15.3 per cent respectively in the east and central regions.

Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses too have fallen the most in the north-east - by 26.2, 18.0 and 19.7 per cent respectively.

In most cases, the eastern region recorded the second biggest falls, except for terrace homes, where the west was in second spot.

In the case of apartments, those in the eastern stretch of Singapore saw the biggest price slide of 24.6 per cent, followed by a 22.6 per cent fall in the central area.

Property consultants attribute the bigger falls in the north-east and east to several factors. For one, much of the supply of new homes in the past two and a half years has been in these areas. Examples in the north-east include Sun Glade, Rivervale Crest and Rio Vista. In the east, new projects include Changi Rise, Savannah Park, Edelweiss Park and Heliconia.

'Because there have been lots of transactions in these two regions, naturally they will reflect market conditions the most,' said DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ho Tian Lam.

Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow said another possible reason for prices falling most in the two regions could be that projects there are chiefly 99-year leasehold and cater to upgrader demand. Typically, upgrader projects are more price-sensitive than developments in the central area, which tend to be freehold and are typically upmarket or at least mid-price, Mr Ow noted.

'If a developer has to clear stock, he knows he would be more successful in drawing buyers if he were to cut prices for upgrader projects by, say, 10 per cent than if he were to do the same 10 per cent cut for an upmarket project in the central location - as the absolute sum involved in buying an upmarket home will still be huge,' he explained.

BT's analysis of URA data by completion status of properties revealed that between Q2 2000 and Q4 last year, prices of apartments in unfinished projects dropped 27.3 per cent, against a lower slide of 17.3 per cent for completed apartments.

For condos too, the price drop for uncompleted units (19.1 per cent) was higher than that for completed ones (16.7 per cent).

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung CEO Ho Tian Lam said projects sold off-plan by developers, which are typically under construction, take the greatest hit in any price rise or fall.

'Furthermore, if there is any speculative element in the market, it tends to be attracted more to uncompleted projects as it is easier on the pocket since buyers of such properties only have to make progress payments spread over a two to three-year period.

'And when property owners believe prices are headed down, they will be more inclined to let go a property which they bought for speculation rather than one that they are living in,' he suggested.    - by  Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    30 Jan 2003 

Looking ahead into the new year, property analysts expect any recovery in the residential property market to come only in the second half-year.

But with the final report of the Economic Review Committee on the reshaping of the economy due to be released next month, some analysts are also not ruling out the possibility of favourable recommendations swinging home-buying sentiment by the first quarter.

Private home transaction volumes this year, too, are not expected to match last year's figures, which had been 'exceptional' in a year gripped by economic uncertainty. Price movements are expected to be slight in the next six months.

About 9,500 new private homes are estimated to have been sold last year, comparable to the 9,565 sold during the peak in 1996.

This has been attributed mainly to two factors, each of which fell rather neatly into a half year: pent-up demand at the beginning of the year, and the changes in Central Provident Fund regulations in July.

Under the latter, private home buyers are allowed to use their CPF savings to pay for half the mandatory 20 per cent downpayment on a home. Previously, all the downpayment had to be in cash.

Almost 90 per cent of new home sales in 2002 were done in the first three quarters.

CapitaLand's research and corporate development senior vice-president Steven Choo said: 'The market will do best when buyers' confidence returns while prices and valuation are still playing catch up. This scenario can play out rather quickly if optimistic projection of a relatively short Iraqi conflict holds.'

'Meanwhile, let's hope we will all have some Valentine's day presents in February,' he said in a reference to the final ERC recommendations due next month.

'It won't be a full bed of roses necessarily, but there may be enough sweet smell of reassurance to spur business and consumer confidence,' he said, adding that things will be clearer in H2.

Peter Ow, Knight Frank's executive director, said that any government decision on the ERC recommendations will have to be one that improves the economic situation, hence improving sentiment.

Key property-related recommendations, he noted, such as the CPF changes, as well as public home sub-letting rules, have already been made.

'Things are uncertain in the first half and we may have a possible boom in H2 if the war (in Iraq) ends, though any price changes will be marginal this year as there is enough supply to contain price movements,' Mr Ow said.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Soon Su Lin estimates that residential demand this year could range between 6,000 and 7,000 units.

This, consultants noted, comes despite the government's recent decision to extend the suspension of its sale of sites from the confirmed list.

The state - which is the biggest supplier of land in Singapore - has said that it will continue to make available 99-year leasehold sites for sale through the reserve list. Under this system, a site will be released for tender only if there is at least one bidder undertaking to offer a minimum price which is acceptable to the state.

The reserve list for H1 2003 comprises 16 sites which have a potential to yield 3,345 homes. Centrepoint's chief executive Jeffrey Heng, while unable to put a finger on any long-term market movement, believes there is adequate volume to go around.

'The impetus will be in the upgraders' market,' he said.

Consultants say at least eleven 99-year projects, totalling 3,861 units, could be launched this year. These comprise three from Far East Organization, two each from Allgreen Properties, Centrepoint Properties and NTUC Choice Homes, and one each from Sim Lian and Wing Tai.

Nomura Singapore's senior analyst Matthias Chan told BT that while geo-political and economic doubts linger, it is also important to see that the stage is set for buying private homes when these uncertainties dissipate.

Nomura's figures show that a typical couple aged 35-45 has enough in their CPF ordinary accounts to fund the 10 per cent downpayment of a current, average 99-year leasehold private home. There are 354,000 such couples, according to Nomura.

In addition, the average cash profit from selling a Housing and Development Board flat between 1991 and 1997, after the five-year occupation period, has also been estimated at 11 per cent of the value of a typical low-end condo unit.

According to Mr Chan, this means that there are upgraders out there who can afford to pay the 20 per cent downpayment for a home.

'Once the uncertainties are gone, price should move into positive territory,' he added.

Flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday showed that private home prices slipped 1.8 per cent last year, against an 11.7 per cent slide in 2001. Prices declined marginally by 0.3 per cent between the third and fourth quarters. Actual numbers will be released at the end of this month.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry's advanced estimates for the economy, also released on Thursday, showed that gross domestic product grew 2.2 per cent in 2002 from the previous year.

GDP rose 0.1 per cent in Q4 from the previous quarter, avoiding a second consecutive contraction which would have meant a technical recession.  -  By Vince Chong   Singapore Business Times    4 Jan 2003

Oasis Garden up for en bloc sale
The freehold Oasis Garden is being marketed as the second collective sale site this year. The development, in Bunga Rampai Place, has a price tag of $48-$52 million. This works out to $296-$321 psf of potential gross floor area including a development charge of $292,000. At that price, break-even is estimated at $550-$570 psf.

Property watchers say a more reasonable price in the current market is $40.7-$45.6 million or $250-$280 psf per plot ratio. This would result in a break-even price of about $510 psf.

Last week, the 41,694 sq ft Woodleigh Grove site was the first collective sale site to roll out this year. It is expected to fetch about $32-$35 million or $280-$300 psf ppr inclusive of a development charge estimated at $100,000.

Oasis Garden can be redeveloped as a 130-140 condominium project with potential gross floor area of 162,770 sq ft, or 2.1 times the land area. The site is near the proposed Upper Paya Lebar and Bartley MRT stations.    - Singapore Business Times       23 Jan 2003 

Project: The Palladium
Developer: Pacific Rover Private
The Palladium lies on the East Coast Expressway, 15 minutes from the city and Changi International Airport. The development is near Parkway Parade Shopping Centre and is close to several good schools. Units range from 872 square feet to 2,142 square feet. Some of the units have roof gardens and private enclosed spaces. The average price of a unit is S$740 ($403) per square foot, and completion is scheduled for June 2003.

Project: Aquarius By The Park
Developer: First Capital Corporation Group
This complex near Singapore's East Coast Park and the Bedok Reservoir lies two kilometres from the Tampines underground MRT station, and is expected to be completed in June 2002. It consists of 10 blocks with a total of 720 units, including 40 maisonette penthouses. Two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 893 square feet up to 1,539 square feet are selling from S$515,000 to S$635,000.

Project: Alessandrea
Developer: Poh Lian Realty
Alessandrea is a19-storey development that will have 105 e-enabled apartments. Fifty-seven of the units in Phase One are now ready for sale. Each apartment has an Intelligent Home System, which allows residents to control appliances with a phone call. Each bedroom is pre-wired with its own Local Area Network, Singapore Cable Vision and Internet broadband access. Most of the units are between 1,001 square feet and 1,098 square feet.

Project: St. Martin Residence
Developer: Habitat Properties
Located in St. Martin's Drive near the Orchard Road shopping district, the development offers three low-rise condominium blocks with a total of 82 units, ranging in size from 549-2,982 square feet. Apartments for sale start from S$966,000 ($528,000), but they are also available for lease at S$10,000-12,000 per month for top-floor flats with rooftop gardens, or ground-floor units with patios.

Project: Sanctuary Green
Developer: First Capital Corporation Group
A 522-unit resort-style development near East Coast Park with swimming pools, children's area, tennis courts, barbecue, gym and clubhouse, which should be completed by December 2004. A three-bedroom apartment of 1,119-1,765 square feet facing Marina Bay costs S$800,000. Units range in size from 775 square feet for a two-bedroom unit to 3,918 square feet for the largest penthouse.

Project: The Abode at Devonshire
Developer: TTH Development Pte. Ltd.
A 15-storey development with luxury condominiums near Orchard Road, scheduled for completion at the end of next year. There are 26 units, including two-bedroom apartments of 1,012 square feet, three-bedroom apartments of 1,119 square feet and penthouses of 2,500 square feet. Condos cost around $1,288 per square foot and come with pool, children's playground, gym and barbecue pit.

Project: Fortville
Developer: Fort Rhu Investment
Fortville is a low-density condominium on the scenic East Coast with 49 fully- furnished apartments for lease. There are two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 796 square feet (71.64 square metres) to 1,549 square feet with rents from S$2,500 ($1,374) per month all the way up to S$4,500. Facilities include a swimming pool, gym, children's playground, barbecue area and business centre.

Project: The Montana
Developer: Koh Brothers 
This 12-storey condominium lies off River Valley Road, near the Orchard Road shopping district. It has 108 units for sale, including two-bedroom units of 947 square feet, three-bedroom units of 1,302 square feet, and penthouses of 2,637 square feet. The average price is S$1,000 per square foot. Amenities include high-speed Internet access, swimming pool, gym, barbecue area and playground. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Project: SunGlade
Developer: CapitaLand
This 14-storey condominium complex is situated in a residential suburb to the northeast, close to a planned subway station, which is scheduled to open in 2003. Its 248 units include two- and three-bedroom units and penthouses. The price is S$540 per square foot. Amenities include a clubhouse with a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, tennis court, children's playground, and barbecue area. Completion is scheduled for next year.

(SINGAPORE) Developers are likely to sell an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 new private homes next year, up from this year's figure of about 5,000, said Wing Tai's property director Loh Soo Eng.

He noted that although property prices follow very closely economic growth - which is forecast to be zero next year - next year's take-up will improve because of pent-up demand.

Property prices and demand will also take the cue from the stock market, he added.

Mr Loh, who highlighted he was not speaking in his capacity as president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore when fielding reporters' questions at a preview of The Serenade@Holland condominium, noted that the 'average take-up over the past 10 years is between 6,000 and 8,000 units a year'. Last year's figure was 5,400 units.

'This year is probably about 5,000. We're lagging behind the average, so there will be pent-up demand.'

Asked why buyers would need to rush in if prices are expected to stay flat next year, he said: 'In the past two months, when the market was very quiet, you find a buyer has so many choices, so many places, then you all report this project is taken up 90 per cent, that project is almost sold out which means the buyer has less choice.

'Last time I can pick and choose, I can take my time. I can look at this project three times and look at that project four times before I make my decision.

'But if now, all these projects that are launched are taken up, then you do not have that much of a luxury now to go around and wait. You don't have that many choices anymore. The unit you like may be taken up,' he said.

However, a seasoned property analyst with a foreign stockbroking house pointed out the overhang of 25,300 unsold private homes with sales licences as at end-September, based on official numbers.

'Nonetheless, the choice of supply will slowly start to dry up as the government has halted land sales (for the confirmed list) and on the public side, the Housing & Development Board has drastically cut down its new flats construction programme,' he added.  - Singapore Business Times

PROJECT LAUNCHES

Capitaland will release its Farrer Road freehold condominium, The Levelz, at an average of $788 per square foot this weekend or a five per cent cut since August. Its earlier resolve not to chop prices of its residential projects has caved in. Last month, it released its 99-year leasehold Tanamera Crest at $445 psf or 21 per cent lower than the average price when it was first launched in February. CapitaLand said the 126-unit project is about 25 per cent sold. The Levelz was released in August at $830 psf on average. The largest listed property group wrote down the value of the Farrer Road site to $58 million or $411 psf of potential gross floor in August. CapitaLand had marked down the value of its residential land parcels on average by 20 per cent from levels in 2000.

Meanwhile, Keppel Land said it would relaunch its freehold Butterworth 8 condominium next month. To speculation that the price will be substantially rolled back from its earlier average of $810 psf, a KepLand spokesman said: ''We will firm up the pricing at the time of the launch.'' The 216-unit project in Tanjong Katong was first released earlier this year, but sales were reportedly dismal with only two units sold. KepLand has written down the value of the 108,000 sq ft plot to $337 psf of potential built-up area or 28 per cent lower than the price (inclusive of development charge) it had paid for it.

Wing Tai Holdings which has been quiet most of the year will release its 99-year leasehold condominium at Mount Sinai in December 2001. In a statement, it said The Serenade@Holland will offer ''luxury living at extremely affordable price levels''. Wing Tai acquired the 69,200 sq ft Mount Sinai site earlier this year for $39.1 million or $260 psf of potential gross floor area. The site can be developed into about 100 units. Analysts said then that the Mount Sinai site works out to a breakeven of about $530-$580 psf.   - Singapore Business Times

Singapore Business Times     19 Sept 2002

Singapore Straits Times  15 July 2002

The three biggest property groups here - Far East Organization, Hong Leong Group and CapitaLand - accounted for 35 per cent of the stock of yet-to-be-sold private homes on the island as at end-June this year, according to BT's analysis of official data.

They held a total of 6,115 out of the 17,293 unsold private homes here, covering launched units as well as unlaunched units that have secured necessary approvals for sale.

Interestingly, of the three, CapitaLand had the smallest share of unsold homes, at only 493 units. In contrast, Far East and Hong Leong held much bigger stocks - 3,370 and 2,252 units respectively.

Some analysts suggested one factor for the gap could be CapitaLand's strategy last year of making heavy provisions of about $500 million for landbank and residential projects.

Accounting-wise, this enabled the government-linked company to reduce breakeven costs of its projects and enabled it to slash prices to move units - as it did for Tanamera Crest in December - or to launch fresh projects at aggressively low prices.

An example would be The Shelford condo which it launched in May this year at an average price of $750 per square foot, or about 18 per cent lower than rival Tuan Sing's Adam Park next door.

However, Far East and Hong Leong (which includes listed City Developments), controlled by the Ng and Kwek families respectively, have taken a different tack.

They were loath to engage in price wars which would chalk up losses for the businesses in which they have big personal stakes, noted industry observers. Cutting prices also disenchants earlier buyers.

Or as CityDev executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng put it in the group's latest annual report: 'This practice (of not engaging in a price war) creates goodwill with our buyers and at the same time will not unnecessarily destroy shareholder value.'

A property consultant suggested another reason CapitaLand has a lower stock of unsold units could simply be that Far East and Hong Leong have traditionally been bigger residential property players.

Another GLC, Keppel Land, outranked CapitaLand in the league of developers with the most unsold homes.

KepLand had 1,514 unsold units as at end-June, followed by the Kuok Group (including listed Allgreen) with 1,210 units and Quek Leng Chan's First Capital Corp (993 units).

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Singapore unit, Property Enterprises Development or PED, also featured in the list with 874 units, followed by Wing Tai, with more than 700 unsold units.

While the other developers' stock of unsold homes was spread over at least five projects to as many as 27 projects in the case of Far East, PED's yet-to-be-sold homes were in just two projects - the 906-unit Costa del Sol condo at Bayshore Road, which has sold only 280 units as at June 30, and the yet-to-be-launched freehold Cairnhill Crest, a 248-unit condo being built on the former Cairnhill Court site.

Both projects have high breakeven costs - estimated at $800 psf for the 99-year leasehold Costa del Sol and at about $1,400 psf for Cairnhill Crest - as their sites were bought at toppish prices in early 1997 and 2000 respectively.

BT's analysis, based on information released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) recently, covers unsold units in projects on the market as well as projects that have yet to be launched but which have secured approvals for sale.

One seasoned property consultant said: 'Sometimes, the main reason a project with approvals for sale is not launched is the high price its developer paid for the land.

'As a result, the project's breakeven cost or the developer's asking price is much higher than what home buyers are prepared to pay currently.

'Even if a developer has had to make provisions and write down the value of his site, which reduces his breakeven cost on paper, he would be naturally reluctant to sell below his actual original cost as that would crystallise the loss for him.'

BT used URA data for yet to be sold private homes in uncompleted projects with necessary approvals for sale.

URA also releases information on unsold private homes in completed projects but which have yet to be delicensed under the Housing Developer (Control & Licensing) Act.

To be delicensed, a residential project must obtain a Certificate of Statutory Completion and titles must be issued to individual buyers. This typically takes about six months after receiving TOP.

The private housing projects with the most unsold or yet to be sold units as at end-June were: KepLand's Caribbean at Keppel Bay (664 unsold units), PED's Costa del Sol (626 units) and Hong Leong Group's yet to be launched 648-unit Savannah Park Condominium at Upper Changi Road East.  -   by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Condo comes with free weekly maid service
MCL Land to release Robertson 100 this weekend

In a novel attempt to stand out from the crowd, MCL Land is packaging a year's free maid service for buyers of its Robertson 100 freehold condo, which it is releasing at an average price of $890 per sq ft.

The project - next to the Trademart building at River Valley Road - is open for preview, and bookings will be accepted from this weekend.

'All our units are relatively small and the buyers are likely to be young couples or families,' said MCL Land general manager (business development and marketing) Vito Koh. 'After slogging hard at work every day they won't want to have to worry about cleaning their apartments, or their privacy being intruded by having a live-in maid.

The service should also help owners lease out their units, he added. MCL Land has signed a contract with a cleaning company to provide once-a-week maid service for all the apartments. The maid will spend about three hours cleaning each apartment, doing the beds and ironing clothes, Mr Koh said.

MCL Land is also giving buyers a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer. After the first year of free service, home owners can sign a contract directly with the cleaning company if they want the maid service to continue.

On the weekend of May 18-19, CapitaLand is expected to release The Shelford, a 215-unit freehold condo at Shelford Road, while a stone's throw away, Tuan Sing will push out the final 50 units of its 118-unit Adam Park. Tuan Sing has sold 67 units since the project was released late last year. It was priced initially at an average price of $880 psf before being raised to $910 psf. Tuan Sing is likely to keep the price at $910 psf for the latest release but plans to introduce deferred payment.

Expected to be released within the next couple of months is Allgreen's Kerisdale, a 99-year leasehold condo at Beatty Road with 481 units. It is expected to be priced below $500 psf on average.

MCL Land is offering Robertson 100 buyers deferred payment. After a 10 per cent initial cash downpayment, the rest of the payments kick in after about a year, when the 10-storey project is slated for completion.

Unit sizes at the 186-unit freehold development range from 678 sq ft for a one-bedroom apartment to 1,561 sq ft for a three-bedroom unit. Prices range from $650,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $1.15 million for a three-bedroom apartment, after a 10 per cent discount. Early birds will receive an additional $8,000 discount.    -  Kalpana Rashiwala   Singapore Business Times   9 May 2002

Home prices rise 10%, sharpest since '99

The latest flash estimate shows that housing prices were 10 per cent higher in the final quarter of 2006 than a year before - the biggest year-on-year rise since 1999.

Yesterday's figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority were also 3.7 per cent up on the previous quarter, again the highest quarterly increase since 1999. And most analysts believe that when the URA releases the full official figures for last quarter they could be even higher than yesterday's preliminary ones.

Colliers International director (Research & Consultancy) Tay Huey Ying notes that the flash estimates take into account caveats lodged in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, supplemented by information on new units booked, so figures for 'hot projects' like Grand Duchess, The Ford @ Holland and Marina Bay Residences are probably not reflected.

'The final figure for Q4 to be released in about four weeks' time is likely to be closer to 4 per cent,' she said.

The buoyant price index is largely attributed to the high-end segment of the property market. Colliers' figures show that in Q4 2006, the price of luxury residential apartments increased by 9.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q). For the whole year, luxury prices increased by 35 per cent.

Yet, prices are expected to moderate this year. 'With the awards of the two integrated resorts having successfully taken place in 2006, the market is expected to be more subdued - although still active - in 2007 unless there are more surprise economy-boosting announcements by the government,' said Ms Tay.

The flash estimates are still open to interpretation though.Noting that the 10 per cent annual increase in the index is 'reminiscent' of earlier boom times, Knight Frank director (research & consultancy) Nicholas Mak says it could indicate the beginning of another 'bull run'.

'It is reminiscent of the recovery in 1999 but it appears to be more gradual and sustainable,' he added. The property boom of those times proved to be short-lived.

Still, Mr Mak qualifies that the 'characteristics' of the recovery in 1999 were quite different as that one was a 'bottom up' recovery. 'Now, we see the high-end influencing the mid-tier segment,' he said.

The mass market could take longer to recover. The Housing and Development Board also released flash estimates for its resale flats price index and it increased by just 0.9 per cent q-o-q.

The HDB resale price index can indicate the optimism of the mass market as those who resell HDB flats might upgrade to their first private property.

Mr Mak notes that performance in the mass market, with new launches like The Centris, was 'patchy'. 'We will need to see two more quarters of sustained HDB growth first,' he added.

ERA Singapore vice-president Eugene Lim does reveal, however, that there has been a significant increase in the number of people upgrading within HDB property, suggesting that for those in that income bracket, things are looking up.

According to the property firm's sales data, representing about 40 per cent of the HDB's resale market, transactions for larger five-room flats now account for 23 per cent of its total market transactions, while executive flats make up about 8 per cent.

This is up from 18 per cent and 5 per cent a year ago. Transactions for resale four-room flats fell from 41 per cent a year ago to 38 per cent today, while the proportion of resale three-room flats transacted went down from 33 per cent a year ago to 31 per cent.

Mr Lim believes that buyers of larger flats represent a new 'sandwich class' of price sensitive buyers, and it is hard to say whether their increased activity will eventually spill over to the mass market.

Mr Lim maintains that the latest flash estimate reflects that prices are still 'stabilising' and that any increase in HDB prices in 2007 will be between one and 2 per cent.

Launches of upcoming mass market developments will determine whether there will be a broad-based recovery. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ong Choon Fah for one believes that these launches 'will stimulate demand'.

'There is latent demand there,' she said, maintaining that the previous drop in Q3 2006 in the resale price index was 'insignificant'. She did add that there is a 'need to match prices'.

Demand in 2007 is more likely to come from those who make gains from offering their properties for collective en bloc sale.

'The en bloc deals are going to push up the prices of those projects that are complete and unsold,' said Savills Singapore director (marketing & business development) Ku Swee Yong.

Perhaps most bullish of the analysts, Mr Ku even believes the property price index will end 2007 at around 155 points, up 19.2 per cent. -  by Arthur Sim and Uma Shankari    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     4 January 2007

>>  Click here for Urban Redevelopment Authority's press release

Only 3 condo projects top $2,000 psf
Most homes sold in past year stay below mark: study

Much is being made of the stellar prices of high-end condominiums, but the sparkle could be just an illusion.

Over $2,000 psf: The Ladyhill ($2,086 psf), above, The Boulevard Residences ($2,199.6 psf) and Cairnhill Crest ($2,002.4 psf)

An analysis of prices of high-end residential developments over the past 12 months by Knight Frank reveals that only three registered prices have crossed $2,000 per square foot (psf).

These were The Boulevard Residences ($2,199.6) and The Ladyhill ($2,086), both by SC Global, and Cairnhill Crest by Cheung Kong Holdings ($2,002.4).

Other developments in the same vicinity like Grange Residences (Wheelock Properties), The Arc at Draycott (BS Capital) and The Light @ Cairnhill (Wing Tai Holdings) reached highs of between $1,669.7 and $1,996.4.

Although prices have been rising steadily, a big increase of about 20 per cent or $2,600 psf has recently been projected for a new development - St Regis Residences by City Developments Ltd (CDL).

If the projection is accurate, it would confirm the assertion of Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak that: 'One project cannot pull up the prices of the whole market, but the whole market can push up the price of that one project.'

Some high-end developments - like CDL's The Sail @ Marina Bay or Centrepoint Properties' The Azure - have done well recently, but as Mr Mak notes, 'the number of buyers in this segment falls exponentially as the price goes up', perhaps explaining why there is still ample supply of apartments available.

Of course, some developers like SC Global are not in a hurry to sell off their units, preferring instead to wait for their asking price to be met. At the Boulevard Residences, launched in 2003, there are still about 10 units out of a total of 46 available.

The property market, especially the high-end segment which started to recover last year, seems to be sorting out its pricing. But this may take some time.

'As this is a rising market, developers have not launched all the units in their development. They are reserving some to be launched at higher prices at the right time. In fact, for most of the smaller developments, all units launched have been fully taken up,' says Tay Huey Ying, associate director (research and consultancy) at Colliers International.

Colin Tan, head of research at Chesterton International, expects CDL to push up the price of St Regis Residences to the upper limit as 'CDL will probably not be too troubled if sales are not as fast because they will want to maintain the right type of buyer too'.

Wheelock Properties' Ardmore Park holds the record for the highest-priced condominium - $2,400 psf in the mid 1990s. It is the closest equivalent to St Regis Residences in terms of prestige, and Mr Tan remembers that when Ardmore Park was launched in 1996, sales were initially slow because of the high prices and the government's anti-speculation measures. Foreign buyers and investors did eventually bite.

Recalling the heydays, Mr Tan says: 'They had four property marketing consultants working on the launch to drive up interest.'

Interest for St Regis Residences is similarly building up. CDL group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong revealed that its current waiting list of potential buyers outweighs the 173 units available, with many buyers expressing interest in purchasing more than one unit.

Under $2,000 psf:  Grange Residences (above), The Arc at Draycott and The Light @ Cairnhill have reached highs of between $1,669.7 and $1,996.4

Wallace Chu, head of research at Savills Singapore, expects at least half the buyers of St Regis Residences to be foreigners. 'Already, at least 50 per cent of the buyers at Cairnhill Crest are foreigners.'

Looking at comparable high-end developments like The Arch in Hong Kong and The Knightsbridge in London, which are priced at about $5,600 psf and $4,400 psf respectively, Mr Chu points out that even though high-end property is expensive here, 'it is still comparatively cheaper than similar developments overseas'.

Property prices are a 'reflection of what the market can support', said Mr Chu, adding that The Boulevard Residences has already set the benchmark price of $2,199.6. Interestingly, this was set by a foreign buyer and Mr Chu says: 'It is unavoidable that a foreigner will set the future benchmark price as well.'

The impact of very high prices for the very high-end developments may, however, have little impact on the property market in general, simply because they are priced out of the reach of most Singaporeans, and are meant for the more voracious global investor known as 'high net worth individuals'.

'Depending on market response to St Regis Residences, more of such developments could mushroom and become part of the global property market scene where demand is largely from foreigners,' says Jones Lang LaSalle head of research (South Asia) Chua Yang Liang.

That Singapore could have a tier of property on a par with other global cities is exciting, but do not expect this segment to proliferate. 'Not all developers have the capacity or even the desire to jump on this bandwagon. Given the limited supply, the impact on the local market is probably negligible,' Dr Chua said.  - by Arthur Sim    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    3 April 2006

Official flash estimates released yesterday showed that the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) price index for private homes rose 1.3 per cent in Q4 over the preceding quarter and 3.8 per cent for the whole of last year.

In the public housing market, the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) resale flat price index rose 0.2 per cent in Q4. This reverses two quarters of declines which began in Q2 last year following the introduction of measures to counter cash-back deals.

Giving his take on the quick turnaround in HDB resale flat prices, ERA Real Estate's assistant vice-president Eugene Lim said: 'Buyers are feeling more confident because of Singapore's sustained economic recovery and improving employment situation. But at the same time, there's ample supply of HDB flats - both in the resale market and from HDB's efforts to clear its own stockpile of unsold new units. So that has checked the increase in resale flat prices.'

Looking ahead, he believes this supply factor will ensure price increases of resale HDB flats will be marginal this year, after the 4.9 per cent drop for the whole of last year based on official flash estimates released yesterday.

On a more positive note reflecting growing confidence in the sector, Mr Lim notes that there has been more buzz in the market segment for bigger, five-room HDB flats, which accounted for about 24 per cent of all resale deals in the second half of last year. This is against an 18 per cent share in the past, according to ERA's estimates.

That should be good news for the lower tier of the private housing market. Those who sell their five-room HDB flats in the resale market tend to upgrade to mass-market private housing projects, leading a 'bottom-up' recovery in Singapore's property market as seen in the past.

However, this time around, the pick-up in demand in the private residential sector which began last year has largely been confined to the luxury sector - as the excitement created by the integrated resorts once again drew the attention of well-heeled foreigners to Singapore's property market.

But home prices here have not appreciated much, unlike in the rest of the region, making Singapore an attractive investment destination.

Now, property developers and consultants are hoping that the recovery will trickle down from the high end to the other sectors, including mass-market private homes catering to HDB upgraders. There are some factors that could complicate such a process, however.

From Jan 1 this year, the salary ceiling for Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions has been lowered from $5,000 to $4,500. And the cap on the CPF withdrawal limit for buying private homes and HDB flats financed with bank loans has been cut again, from 138 per cent of property value to 132 per cent. And then, of course, mortgage rates have risen sharply from about 1-2 per cent to 2.5-3.5 per cent over the past year.

However, property consultants like Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng believe that despite these factors, the recovery in the high-end market will trickle all the way down to the mass market on the back of improving salaries and bonuses and continued growth in the Singapore economy.

Agreeing, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung's executive director Ong Choon Fah says: 'For the mass market, developers will inch prices up, they won't jack up prices straight away. They'll test the waters.' But she adds that developers have been buying land recently - for both mass market and upmarket residential sites - based on future price increases.

That gives a strong hint on developers' pricing inclinations, say market watchers.

Property consultants expect the top end to continue leading price increases this year. Knight Frank's Mr Tan is predicting a 5 per cent price gain on average this year, led by a 10-15 per cent price increase for luxury homes.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Soon Su Lin predicts an even bigger 20 per cent rise in luxury homes, after last year's 15 per cent increase.

On average, though, she reckons the increase in private home prices as captured in the official URA's price index for private homes could come in at around 5-6 per cent. Ms Soon forecasts developers will sell 8,000-9,000 new private homes in all this year, similar to her estimate of 8,500-9,000 units last year.

As for the HDB resale market, ERA's Mr Lim expects the number of resale applications this year to maintain at last year's figure, which he estimates at 31,000-32,000. URA and HDB will release more details later this month.   - by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     4 January 2006

Chinese a force in S'pore home buys

They're third biggest group of foreign buyers in Q3

Mainland Chinese nationals are emerging as major foreign buyers of private homes in Singapore, after Indonesians and Malaysians, says a report by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

Using caveat data supplied by the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis system, DTZ said mainland Chinese bought 48 private homes in Q3, or 10.6 per cent of the 451 residential units purchased by foreigners during the quarter.

'Increasingly, many Chinese are doing business here,' said DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah. 'And there have been quite a number of new listings by China companies on the Singapore Exchange in recent months. They're keen on fanning out their investments overseas. The Chinese who are buying properties here are discerning, well travelled and experienced.'

A director of another property consultancy firm said the mainland Chinese who're picking up Singapore residential properties are mostly 'investors, buying multiple units, ranging anywhere from two to a dozen'.

This is unlike the typical Indonesian or Malaysian, who buys properties here 'usually with other intentions besides pure investment, like for their own occupation - whether immediately or in the future', he added.

'On the other hand, the Chinese investing in Singapore's real estate market generally have a shorter-term horizon. Their aim is speculation, or trading in the properties with the hope of exiting at a profit.

'Many of them have made gains from investing in their property market at home or in Hong Kong, and think Singapore looks undervalued.'

Industry sources told BT that over the past six months or so, small groups of potential investors from China have been visiting showflats here for half a day or so, turning up most recently at The Sail @ Marina Bay.

'It's like a study tour for them. They visit the showflats, ask questions about the projects, payment schemes, and you can sense they are keen on investing - even if not now, in the near future,' said a source.

The 48 caveats lodged by mainland Chinese in the third quarter is an increase from 38 in the preceding quarter - despite a near 10 per cent drop in overall caveats lodged by foreign buyers to 451 in Q3, from 499 in Q2.

The mainland Chinese share of caveats lodged by foreigners for private homes in Singapore has hovered between 7.3 per cent and 10.6 per cent for the past five quarters.

While that still trails the 25 to 34.5 per cent share by Indonesians and 24.8 to 38.4 per cent share by Malaysians, DTZ's Mrs Ong reckons it's possible for the Chinese share to grow as Singapore developers tap the vast potential of the newly-rich, high net worth investors in the world's most populous country.

While foreign exchange controls in China make it more difficult for Chinese nationals to buy property here, it's easier for those who already have businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong or elsewhere to channel funds into a property investment in Singapore, says an agent.

DTZ's report shows that on the whole, foreigners accounted for 18 per cent of the total 2,550 caveats for private homes lodged in Q3 - in line with their market share for the preceding four quarters.

Singaporeans continued to account for the bulk of caveats, with a 77 per cent share in Q3, while companies made up for the remaining 5 per cent of caveats.

Foreigners continued to focus mostly on the prime districts 9, 10 and 11, which accounted for 188 or 42 per cent of total foreign caveats lodged between July and September this year. 'Projects well received by foreigners include Belmond Green (12 caveats), Grange Residences (10 caveats) and The Marbella (three caveats),' said DTZ.  - by Kalpana Rashiwala      SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES      23 Nov 2005

Conversion of old CBD offices catching on
Up to 20 buildings could be turned into apartments

Up to 20 ageing office blocks in the Central Business District could be redeveloped into apartments over the next 10 years as owners seek to unlock value in the face of competition from upcoming office projects in the New Downtown and tap the current popularity of homes in the CBD.

The office buildings are located in such places as Cecil and McCallum streets, Robinson Road and Shenton Way - between the two MRT stations in the financial district at Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar.

BT understands that the owners of 1 Shenton Way and Asia Chambers recently obtained provisional permission for redevelopment into apartments, with commercial use on the ground floor. This comes after Far East Organization obtained approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority to do the same for its NatWest Centre in McCallum Street.

URA told BT recently that over the past six months it has received three other outline applications seeking permission to convert CBD blocks to residential use. 'We are still processing the applications,' a URA spokeswoman said without elaborating.

Sources see SingTel's ageing office building at 71 Robinson Road as a hot candidate. The ground floor of the seven-storey building, on the corner of Robinson Road and McCallum Street, houses the Robinson Post Office. The site is 24,531 sq ft with a remaining lease of just 46 years, which presumably would be topped up to a fresh 99-year term before redevelopment in exchange for a payment to the state.

Property consultants say other older office buildings that could be viable for residential development include Bangkok Bank Building which is next to NatWest Centre; Shenton House and the UIC Building along Shenton Way; and HMC Building, Marina House and Anson Centre in the Mistri/Parsi road area.

According to Credo Real Estate executive director Melvin Poh: 'The best candidates are older office buildings, the shorter blocks that have not maximised their development potential allowed under the current Master Plan.

'And they would be mostly located between the two MRT stations - Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar. Because the location is not so attractive, they may not have been able to hold major tenants over the years in the face of new competition. So their owners have not been able to command high rents and don't have much incentive to spruce up the office blocks. This in turn causes the buildings' rental values to drop further in a vicious cycle.'

Agreeing, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung director (investment sales) Tang Wei Leng said the office glut has put even greater pressure on rents and capital values of older office blocks in non-prime locations.

'If these properties remain undeveloped, their owners will find it increasingly difficult to find tenants due to competition from newer developments, especially in the New Downtown,' she said.

'Instead, if they choose to redevelop their properties to residential projects, it would allow them to cash in on the current popularity of CBD homes.'

Evidence of the latter trend includes last year's hot-selling launch of The Sail @ Marina Bay.

City Developments received provisional permission last month to redevelop 1 Shenton Way - formerly known as Robina House - into a 394-unit residential project with two towers of 41 and 31 storeys. There will be retail on the ground floor. And the project, on a 36,500 sq ft site, will have a swimming pool and other facilities, BT understands.

When contacted, a CityDev spokeswoman said plans are still at a 'very preliminary stage'.

'Our priority is our existing commercial tenants at 1 Shenton Way,' she said.

CityDev is expected to get the site's lease - about 63 years remains - topped up to a fresh 99-year term closer to the time it begins redevelopment.

Asia Chambers: Provisional permission obtained to redevelop the building into a 20-storey tower with 140 apartments

BT understands that the Asia Life group recently received provisional permission to redevelop Asia Chambers into a 20-storey tower with 140 apartments and a five-storey podium carpark with commercial use on the ground floor.

Asia Chambers is diagonally opposite to NatWest Centre, which is owned by Far East Organization which earlier received approval for a 43-storey apartment project, again with retail use on the ground floor.

Property consultants believe URA's provisional permission for residential projects at Asia Chambers and 1 Shenton Way supports an 11.2 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - for the project, which is the maximum allowed for the sites based on commercial zoning under Master Plan 2003.   - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES       20 September 2005

Condo prices in prime districts edge up

Prices of centrally located condos continued to edge up in the second quarter, on the back of an increase in primary market launches and sales, latest figures by Knight Frank show.

The firm said that based on caveats lodged in April and May, the median prices of condos in the central region rose to $641 psf, a 0.6 per cent increase from the $637 psf in Q1.

'Our research also showed that the price range of condos in the prime districts 9, 10 and 11 has increased from $750 to $1,400 psf in Q1 to $750 to $1,600 psf in Q2,' it said in a report issued yesterday. The bulk of the increase was concentrated at the higher end of the price range, driven by resilient demand for luxury homes.

On the increase in median prices in the central region, the firm reckoned it was due to caveats lodged for projects like City Square Residences, The Sail @ Marina Bay and 8 @ Mt Sophia.

Knight Frank also estimated that developers will sell about 1,700 to 1,900 private homes this quarter, or a 36 to 52 per cent increase from the 1,250 units sold in Q1.

The improvement in primary market sales will be on the back of an increase in the number of new homes launched by developers, which Knight Frank sees rising from 1,366 units in Q1 to about 1,800 to 1,900 units in Q2.

Both launches and sales this quarter continued to be concentrated in the central region - as in Q1, Knight Frank said.

Looking ahead, the firm expects the market to be active in the second half as it anticipates healthy response to launches in the next three to six months. 'Higher end apartments and condos will continue to account for the likely increase in prices,' it said. Some relaunches of existing projects are also expected in the second half.

Wheelock Properties this week soft launched two blocks of The Sea View condo built on the site of the former Sea View Hotel in Katong at an average $750 psf. It has released 189 units so far out of the total 546 units in the freehold project.

Other major launches expected later this year are the Hong Leong Group's The St Regis Residences at Cuscaden/Tomlinson roads, Centrepoint's condo at Sentosa Cove and Ho Bee's bungalows on Coral Island, Sentosa Cove.

Knight Frank estimated that in the secondary or resale market, a total of 1,500 to 1,700 private homes will change hands this quarter, an improvement from the 1,274 units in the first three months of the year.

In the leasing market, the rental range of non-landed homes in the prime districts has risen from $2.20-$3.90 psf a month in Q1 to $2.20-$4.15 psf this quarter.

Over the next three to six months, activity in the leasing market is likely to grow at a slower rate, being held back by the weaker forecast of economic growth. 'Thus rental growth is likely to slow down accordingly,' Knight Frank said. -  by  Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES      25 June 2005

Residential property sector stable in 1st qtr
Some 800 housing units sold, mostly in prime districts 9,10,11

The residential property market remained stable throughout the first quarter of the year, with an estimated 800 units sold. Most of these were in the prime districts of 9, 10, and 11. In the first three months, some 660 new private residential units were launched for sale, much fewer than the 2,220 released in the previous quarter.

The Cosmopolitan: Much of the action was from a few big launches, like this one by Wheelock Properties

According to Feng Zhi Wei, head of research (South Asia) at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), much of the action was generated by a few major launches, including The Cosmopolitan by Wheelock Properties, Parc Emily by City Developments and TID, and 8 @ Mount Sophia by Centrepoint Homes.

Ms Feng estimates that the three developments have sold about 50 per cent of their first phases, or about 130 units. Analysis for the first quarter figures shows overseas buyers making their presence felt. Ms Feng said: 'Foreign buyers viewed prime residential properties as being undervalued.'

She noted that unlike places like Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia, Singapore's property market has been slow to rebound from the Asian financial crisis. 'The markets in every other city have moved since 1998,' she said.

In the top end of the prime districts, Ms Feng estimated that as much as 50 per cent of the new units had been taken up by foreigners. She did qualify that this did not necessarily represent a large number of homes. For instance, the top performing developments of Parc Emily, 8 @ Mount Sophia and The Cosmopolitan make up a total of about 250 units launched (in the first phase).

Indeed, the lack of big property launches in the first quarter of the year led to the drop in unit sales as compared with the first quarter 2004 when 1,216 changed hands. A comparison with the final quarter of last year - where sales reached 1,774 - shows an even steeper drop in sales.

The JLL analyst said there were many small 'niche' developers launching projects of about 25 to 50 homes in the more suburban districts. These included Novelty Land's Platinum Edge (Potong Pasir) and Fragrance Land's The Elegance @ Changi (East Coast). Both are said to be 50 per cent sold.

In the last week, another two small developments, Duchess Manor (District 10) and Bluwaters (Pasir Ris) were launched.

Market watchers, however, say it was a quiet week. Most big developers are holding off major launches and are focussing on moving existing stock.

Far East Organization is reported to have sold 12 units from its developments, Lakeshore, Hillview Regency, Blue Horizon and Water Place.

On average, the prices of private residential properties island-wide have remained stable in the first part of the year. The average prices of apartments and condominiums were unchanged from the previous quarter and remained at $680 per square foot (psf) in the prime districts and $435 outside these areas. For landed properties island wide, prices were stable at $395 psf.

The rise in interest rates on housing loans probably hit buying sentiment in general, but Ms Feng believes the effect on the private residential market in the prime districts is expected to be limited.

The rate rises may, however, affect buyers in the suburban private residential market. According to the JLL Affordability Index, housing affordability is very sensitive to interest rate adjustments, with an increase of 50 basis points (half a percentage point) in home loan rates estimated to be equivalent to a rise of up to 7 per cent in home prices.

Ms Feng does not expect any drastic adjustments to interest rates over the next few months. This will be encouraging for both buyers and sellers as the second quarter usually sees an increase in property launches to tie in with boosted buyer sentiment in conjunction with announcements of bonuses and pay increments. 'In Singapore, it's more about confidence', she said.  - by Arthur Sim     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   23 March 2005

Developers see encouraging sales after festive season
Developers were encouraged by the response to property releases over the weekend - which marked the onset of the selling seasons after Chinese New Year.

Centrepoint Properties sold close to 20 units at its 8 @ Mount Sophia condo at an average of just over $700 psf during a 'pre-soft launch' that began on Friday.

The project, with a 103-year leasehold tenure, is coming up on a site that Centrepoint bought from the Methodist Church in Singapore.

Far East Organization sold five units over the weekend at its Lakeshore condo near Boon Lay MRT station. It relaunched its marketing programme for the 99-year project. To date, it has sold 320 units of the 518 units it has released so far in the development. In total, the Lakeshore condo has 848 units.

In all, Far East sold 21 homes over the weekend (including the five units at Lakeshore). 'There are more visitors now who're seriously looking to buy an apartment compared with before Chinese New Year,' said Far East spokesman Chia Boon Pin.

Far East said that besides Lakeshore, other projects that sold well include Gardenvista and Hillview Regency.

Opening doors: Both Cheung Kong Holdings and Far East Organization sold five units each of Costa Del Sol on Bayshore Road and Lakeshore (above) respectively over the weekend

Hongkong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings sold another five units at Costa Del Sol on Bayshore Road. This brings total sales in the latest release to 15 units. Cheung Kong had released 100 units at the 99-year leasehold 906-unit condo at an average of $650 psf. There are close to 600 unsold units at the completed development.

Meanwhile City Developments and TID are understood to have sold more than 10 units at its freehold Parc Emily. The 295-unit development at Mount Emily Park was released at an average $750 psf. It is expected to be 'officially launched' this weekend. The marketing programme for Parc Emily has started with the developers holding a 'Where is Emily?' contest which has since ended.

Over in the Potong Pasir area for the freehold 51-unit Platinum Edge, marketing agent DTZ Debenham Tie Leung said it has sold a total of six units to date with several more under negotiations since it was launched over the weekend. Novelty Land released the project at an average $650 psf.  - by Andrea Tan      SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    1 March 2005

Developers get set to launch slew of new projects
Now that the Chinese New Year is over, developers are gearing up to release their projects. Coming up this weekend is City Developments and Trade Industrial Development's Parc Emily, while Hongkong tycoon Li Ka-Shing is slashing prices at the mega Costa del Sol development on Bayshore Road.

Boutique developers like Novelty Land are also homing in on the action. Novelty Land will launch the freehold, 51-unit Platinum Edge near Potong Pasir MRT station this weekend at an average $650 per square foot together with a deferred payment scheme.

Balestier Realty, formed by the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, will release its 50-unit, freehold Scenic Heights off Balestier Road at an average $550 psf.

Platinum Edge and Scenic Heights are marketed by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

Meanwhile, Costa Del Sol will be re-launched at prices ranging from $640 psf to over $700 psf for 100 units. Prices for the subsequent phases are expected to increase by between one and 3 per cent, the developer said.

The 906-unit Costa del Sol was first released at an average $765 psf in May 2000 and still has a large number of unsold units.

This weekend, CityDev and its partner TID are expected to soft launch 'not more than 100 units' at the 295-unit Parc Emily. Its developers have been running a contest - 'Where is Emily?' - to generate interest in the freehold Mount Emily project.

Centrepoint is also expected to release its 8@Mount Sophia soon. The 103-year leasehold development will have a total of 313 units and sell at an average price of just above $700 psf.

'We can expect either soft or preview launches for Parc Emily, Centrepoint's Mount Sophia and CityDev's Kitchener Road site,' said CB Richard Ellis director Joseph Tan.

'Although it's expected that developers will push out projects, it's unlikely that we'll see a flurry of launches coming on stream. Developers will launch more selectively.

'It's quite fair to expect small unit size apartments in well located projects to come on stream given that there was good reaction to The Sail towards the end of last year.'

CityDev and AIG's The Sail@Marina Bay was the top seller last year.

Far East Organization is also re-launching its 99-year leasehold Lakeshore at Boon Lay. Buyers who book a unit on Feb 26 and 27 will get a spa voucher.

Far East is also planning a release of La Casa, its executive condominium in Woodlands.

Property agents say a launch or re-launch of Wing Tai's Kovan Melody, MCL Land's Mera Prime, Hong Leong Holding's Watermark at River Valley, Rivergate by CapitaLand and Cosmopolitan on the former Times House site by Wheelock Properties is on the cards.

Centrepoint is also expected to release its 72-unit freehold development, The Spectrum, at Pasir Panjang.

'The overall market has been fairly tentative but buying has been quite active from foreigners, namely, from Hongkong,' said Michael Ng, managing director at Savills Singapore.

'We've brought (CapitaLand's) CityLights to Hongkong and sold about 20 units there and sold another 16 units of Chip Eng Seng's ShanghaiOne.' - by Andrea Tan    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    24 Feb 2005 

Landed homes worth billions change hands
The desire to own a landed home has fuelled several billion dollars of transactions in the past 18 months. And deals have got bigger in the past six months.
 
Sales of landed homes worth more than $5 million were especially strong in the first six months, with 37 transactions versus 25 in the same period last year, according to SISV realink.

In the final two months of last year alone, 25 landed homes in the $5 million or more bracket changed hands - most likely Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) sitting on at least 15,000 square feet of land.

Property consultants say landed home sales have been fuelled by a robust economic recovery, most evident to business people, and low prices not seen for a long time. For instance, a unit at Glencaird Residences was put up for auction in July last year for about $8 million, a steal given that developer Marco Polo initially sold it for about $14 million in 1997.

'People who can afford the Good Class Bungalows are the top businessman who own factories. They are the first-liners, probably the first to feel it from strong orders,' said Credo Real Estate executive director Melvin Poh.

In the $2.5-5 million price bracket, there were 69 landed home sales in the first six months of this year versus 57 in first-half 2003.

SISV realink tracks caveats lodged when option money has been paid - a sort of pre-contract that commits the seller, though the buyer can walk away by forfeiting the option money.

Overall sales of landed homes - dominated by cheaper properties below $1.5 million - totalled 701 units in the first six months of this year, down from 816 a year earlier.

Especially robust were sales in the first four months across all price ranges, so it's not surprising that the taxman collected more stamp duty this year. Total landed home sales in January to April came to 517, up from 452 in the same period last year. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said stamp duty collected was $314 million, or 44 per cent higher than in the first four months of last year.

Looking at the past 18 months, there were 107 sales in the $5 million or more bracket, or 4 per cent of the overall 2,397 sales.

Of the total sales, more than two-thirds were at more than $1 million, and if an average per home of $2.5 million is taken, the transactions would be worth at least $4 billion.

Many of the 107 sales in the $5 million or more bracket were done at more than $10 million.

As reported earlier, the single most expensive landed property sale this year was in April, when almost $40 million was paid for a freehold site at 14 Gallop Road. This topped another mega-deal in August last year, when $25.5 million was paid for a Nassim Road site.

Other - slightly more down-to-earth - deals included $16.2 million for 15 Bin Tong Park and $11.8 million for 26 Third Avenue, both in November 2003.

For the rest of this year, it's uncertain whether sales will continue to be strong, given June's performance of only 54 deals against 176 a year back.

Mr Poh's take is that with the economy growing so strongly, demand won't drop, especially given the 'scarcity' value.

'Demand from developers is (also) very strong, even for a small landed house, as long as there's development potential - it'll fly off the shelf,' he said.

It seems that if developers can build as few as two landed homes, they will snap up any suitable site that is offered.

'What's been transacting are the older homes, either from those moving to even bigger properties, or those downgrading,' said Mr Poh.

According to the caveats lodged, landed property changed hands all over the island. Commanding the highest prices were properties clustered in Dalvey Road and Nassim Road, Bin Tong Park and Swiss Club Road. Ridout Road, Caldecott Hill, Fifth Avenue, Third Avenue and Ford Avenue are other areas where landed homes can't be had for less than $5 million.

Sales under $5 million are more spread out, such as in Kew Drive, Greenbank Park, Siglap Rise, Faber Park, Jalan Berjaya, Shelford Road, Namly View, Eden Grove, Mountbatten Road and Merryn Road.  - By Siow Li Sen   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    23 July 2004

S'pore's Q2 home prices up
Prices of private residential units rose 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the first gain in seven quarters, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday

The URA's home price index rose to 112.5 in the second quarter from 112.4 in the first, boosted by strong economic growth.

'At the end of the second quarter, the number of private residential units under construction was 25,568, about 5.6 per cent lower than as at the end of the previous quarter,' the URA said in its press release.

It also revealed that the number of uncompleted homes for sale decreased 2.4 per cent to 24,927 units.

Prices of landed properties went up 0.4 per cent but those of non-landed properties remained unchanged in the second quarter.

The office market also showed its first rise since 2000, with the URA's index of office space prices rising 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, after falling 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, as vacancy rates fell 0.4 percentage point to 17.4 per cent. - 23 July 2004     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES  2004

99-year private home supply down sharp 40%
Yet-to-be-sold units on GLS sites fell from 10,600 at end-2001 to 6,500 now

The stock of yet-to-be-sold 99-year private homes on sites sold by the state has fallen by more than 40 per cent - a shrinkage that is expected to have a strong bearing on the government's decision whether to resume sales of residential land in the confirmed list next year.

According to latest figures from CB Richard Ellis, the number of such homes has fallen from 10,600 units as at end-2001 to 6,140 as at June this year.

The current stock is a few hundred units more, at about 6,500, the firm estimated in a study released exclusively to BT. This number takes into account developers' home sales since the second quarter and two recent state tenders at Jellicoe Road and Kovan Road, the latter of which closed yesterday.

'Assuming demand in the property market recovers next year, and there is an average annual demand of 4,500 new 99-year private homes, as seen over the past eight years, this supply can be easily absorbed by the market over the next 18 to 24 months,' says CBRE executive director Soon Su Lin.

The figures cover projects in the entire spectrum of the development pipeline, including those that have yet to be released for sale, and projects with the necessary approvals for sale as well as those without. Typically, it takes about nine to 12 months to get a project to be launch-ready from the time a site has been awarded by the state.

CBRE estimated that of the total 3,650 private homes that developers sold in the first three quarters of this year, about 55 per cent, or 2,000 units, are 99-year leasehold units.

The latest stock of 99-year private homes on sites sold under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme - such projects typically cater to upgrader demand - are relatively healthy.

'We do not have an excessive supply situation. We may have a problem with demand this year because of the Sars outbreak and the CPF changes but this setback is likely to be temporary,' says Ms Soon.

The numbers also put the focus back on whether the government should resume land sales in its confirmed list next year. Ms Soon, for one, argues that the government can continue releasing land only through the reserve list, but offer a wider choice of attractive sites.

Consultants say the GLS programme's reserve list is now left with just one choice housing site, at Serangoon Central.

Argues Ms Soon: 'If there is a good site, it will be sold anyway. It does not matter whether you offer it through the confirmed or reserve lists. The reserve list is a more efficient system of selling sites than for the state to put every site available up for tender without knowing the actual interest level among developers for that particular site.'

However, some market watchers fear that while the argument is sound in theory, it may take a while for reserve-list sites to come on the market. And if the much-talked-about economic recovery finally materialises next year and upgrader demand - now dented by recent CPF changes - revives, prices could rocket.

This was what happened in 1999, when the official private home price index shot up 34 per cent from the Q4 1998 Asian financial crisis trough.

In response to the crisis, the government halted land sales in late 1997, resuming them only in 2000. At that time, however, there was no reserve-list system, which was introduced later in June 2001 to fine-tune land supply.

And following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the US, the government followed up by suspending land sales in the confirmed list in late 2001, but it continues to offer sites through the reserve list.

Sites on the confirmed list are put up for tender according to a fixed schedule. But a site in the reserve list is released for tender only if the state receives an application from at least one developer undertaking to bid for the site at a minimum price acceptable to the state.

Last year, developers bought six such reserve sites which will yield about 2,600 homes, CBRE estimated. Including the Kovan tender that closed yesterday, three 99-year private residential sites have been released so far this year and these can be developed into about 1,400 units.

While the stock of 99-year private homes which have yet to be sold in projects on sites sold under the GLS programme has fallen markedly since end-2001, the stock of 99-year private homes in projects on private sites - such as the developments on the former Keppel Harbour site - has remained relatively unchanged. The figure as at June this year was 4,059 units, against 4,539 units as at end-2001.    - By Rashwana Kalpana      SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     21 Oct 2003

Pent-Up Demand Spurs
Singapore Home Sales

The lethargic residential-property sector is showing signs of life, with investors flocking back to the market, but that doesn't mean prices in the city-state will be rising anytime soon.

With the passing of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the Iraq war, pent-up demand is spurring sales after months of weakness. But prices are likely to remain depressed, analysts and market professionals say, as the Singapore economy crawls toward recovery.

We are not going to see price appreciation for at least another 12 months," says Winston Liew, property analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. That is partly because property prices are linked to the economy's performance, and are especially sensitive to wages. And, Mr. Liew says, pay levels aren't expected to rise for at least another year.

Singapore's gross domestic product shrank 4.3% in the second quarter, the first contraction in five quarters. The government expects full-year growth of a half percent to 2.5%.

Singapore's property market and economy have been sluggish since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, unable to manage a sustained recovery. There have been spurts of strong buying amid a flurry of property offerings this year, but prices have remained soft. "The recovery's in its infancy, so it is really just a volume recovery," Mr. Liew says.

There were more than 1,800 private-residential units offered in the second quarter, an improvement from the 637 units put up for sale in the quarter earlier. Of that, more than 800 units had been sold by mid-June, compared with 397 units in the first quarter.

There is room for optimism after 13 quarters of weakening prices, says Tang Wei Leng, associate director at property consultancy DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. However, she cautioned that while prices may strengthen in the second half, any rise would be marginal and the sector could slump again if the Singapore economy fails to signal a sustained recovery.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, private-home prices edged down 0.4% in the second quarter from the first quarter, an improvement from a 0.9% decline in the first quarter.

Despite weak prices, Singapore's property developers have continued to churn out developments, with many getting the attention of young Singaporeans seeking a centrally located up-market residence.

City Developments Ltd. launched The Pier at Robertson in mid-April, with 60% of the 100 units offered in phase one sold in three weeks. The developer also began the second phase of its Savannah Park Condominium in the second quarter, and expects to offer two more residential developments in the second half, Monterey Park on Singapore's West Coast and Emery Point in Tanjong Katong in the East.

Keppel Land Ltd. inaugurated a luxury development, The Linc, last month, and this month it kicked off the final phase of 98 units at Freesia Woods.

CapitaLand Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest publicly traded property company, will offer a 187-unit development shortly, according to Colin Wong, vice president of marketing and sales. He says the company expects to introduce two smaller projects this year, a 66-unit development and a 43-unit property.   -   Leigh Murray     Dow Jones Newswire     21 July 2003

Over 150 new homes to be released
Far East, UOL and Singapore Land involved in this weekend's launches

Developers will release over 150 new homes tomorrow as they jump to take advantage of the sales momentum built up in recent weeks.

Room with a view: units at Singapore Land's Stevens Loft, located at Stevens Drive, have been priced from $630,000 to just below $1 million.

Far East Organization's 100-unit phase one launch of its 318-home Gardenvista project will account for the bulk of latest offerings. 

Others include United Overseas Land's first-phase launch of the 92-unit Novena Suites, Singapore Land's 28-unit Stevens Loft and Fragrance Properties' 25-unit East Shine.   These will comprise a mix of small- and larger-sized homes, instead of just the small-sized homes seen in recent weekend releases. 

The average price at the 99-year leasehold Gardenvista - located on the former Yeo Hiap Seng factory in Bukit Timah - comes to $620 per sq ft. This is $30 psf lower than its Tanjong Pagar project of similar tenure, Icon, which has been selling well since it was made available over the last two weekends. Gardenvista is about a five minutes' drive to Clementi MRT station.   Novena Suites, which has sold 20 units in a prior release, will be priced from $830 psf onwards. Units at Stevens Loft - measuring 690-1,250 sq ft - have been priced at a range of $630,000 to just below $1 million. The 570-2,100 sq ft apartments at East Shine, at Lorong Melayu, will start from around $570 psf. All three projects are on freehold tenures.  
 
Incentives ranging from absorption of stamp duty as well as deferred payment have been thrown in by the developers. Echoing the sentiment of developers, Leong Horn Kee, chief operating officer of Far East Organization's ventures and industrial business group, said: 'We believe the time (to launch) is right now. The healthy take-ups at our other projects in the last few weeks are an indication that

Asking prices of prime resale properties resilient

Asking  prices of resale private properties in prime districts in Singapore have stayed surprisingly resilient despite the Sars epidemic and the Gulf war, classified advertisements in The Straits Times show.

Asking prices have varied only slightly last month compared with March 2002 for properties in the prime districts 9 and 10.

For instance, the asking price of a 2,885 sq ft apartment in Ardmore Park was between $4 million and $4.6 million ($1,386 per sq ft to $1,594 psf) in March 2002. Sellers are now expecting $3.8 million to $4.4 million ($1,317-$1,525 psf) for an apartment of the same size.

According to data from the REALink 21 caveats database, there were no caveats lodged so far this year for Ardmore Park. Twenty-six caveats were lodged in 2002 with the latest in end-November for a 2,885 sq ft unit costing $4.55 million . There were no caveats lodged in March 2002.

At Four Seasons Park, a 2,874 sq ft apartment had asking prices of $4.3 million or $1,496 psf to $4.8 million ($1,686 psf) a year ago, compared with $4 million or $1,392 psf to $4.8 million or $1,670 psf last month.

There were no caveats lodged this year for the luxury condo project. The last caveat was lodged in August for a 2,874 sq ft unit which changed hands at $4.125 million or $1,435 psf.

An apartment at Astrid Meadows was asking from $755 to $807 psf in March 2002, but sellers now expect $762 to $857 psf. Likewise, there were no transactions for Astrid Meadows this year. The last deal in November was for a 2,744 sq ft unit at $2 million or $729 psf.

Clearly, asking prices based on classified ads in The Straits Times do not give a complete picture. Many advertisers do not state their asking prices, and prices of properties in any particular development vary depending on the floor level and the apartment's exposure. Also, some sellers may have spent a considerable amount on improvements and may have higher expectations of how much their apartments can fetch.

Still, asking prices do give a sense of market sentiment at a particular point.

'I don't think the two events (Sars and war in Iraq) affect the market,' a property analyst told BT. 'I've not noticed any panic selling.'

Comparing the behaviour of sellers with how they reacted during the 1991 Gulf War, he said: 'There was a negative impact on property prices (in 1991) but that recovered quite quickly.'

Investment analyst Winston Liew from Daiwa Institute of Research agreed. 'Sars and the Iraq war really have nothing to do with the fundamental residential market. Theoretically, housing needs will not change just because of the wars. There may be a short-term effect if people avoid show flats because of Sars but in the long term, life still goes on.'

Property analyst Tay Kah Poh from Knight Frank, however, believes that the two wars 'will cast a long shadow on the market'.

'I will not isolate the war itself as a problem but it will dampen enthusiasm,' he added. 'People do not know what the scenario will be and its impact on the economy, so they will hold back. Now with Sars, everything seems secondary. The housing market is sensitive to sentiment.'

Some analysts argue that the impact on prices is not obvious now because both crises are only in their early stages.

'We'll feel the effects gradually,' Mr Tay said although he doubts there will be any sharp collapse.

Analysts and agents, however, warn that while Sars and the Iraq war may not affect prices immediately, they could have a negative impact on the broader economy which could eventually feed back to property prices.

One thing both sides agree on is that property prices have been trending downwards for some time now.

Pointing to the latest URA flash estimate of a 0.7 per cent decline in private residential property prices, they conclude that this is a result of the economic uncertainty that Singapore and the whole region have been facing, even before talk of war in Iraq and the outbreak of Sars.

Said Mr Liew of Daiwa: 'Prices have been falling since the second quarter of 2000. The top end of the market is dominated by overseas buyers, but regional uncertainties affected regional buyers' sentiment.'

Mr Tay from Knight Frank also felt that the economy played a big part in sliding prices. 'Falling prices are mainly because of the economy, and will be compounded by the Iraq war and Sars.'

He said that because the need for housing is not a very sharp need, people hold back from buying in uncertain economic times.  - By  Staphnie Yap    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     10 Apr 2003

Prices in central area most resilient since Q2 2000

Private home prices in the north-eastern and eastern parts of Singapore have led falls since the market peaked two and a half years ago, according to a BT analysis of fourth quarter data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Prices in the central part of the island have been affected least by the slide in prices between Q2 2000 - the recent peak of the residential property market - and Q4 last year.

Another interesting trend gleaned from URA's figures was that prices of uncompleted apartments and condos have fallen more than completed ones during this period.

An analysis of URA's data shows that private condo prices eased 23.3 per cent in the north-east between Q2 2000 and Q4 last year, followed by falls of 23 and 15.3 per cent respectively in the east and central regions.

Prices of detached, semi-detached and terrace houses too have fallen the most in the north-east - by 26.2, 18.0 and 19.7 per cent respectively.

In most cases, the eastern region recorded the second biggest falls, except for terrace homes, where the west was in second spot.

In the case of apartments, those in the eastern stretch of Singapore saw the biggest price slide of 24.6 per cent, followed by a 22.6 per cent fall in the central area.

Property consultants attribute the bigger falls in the north-east and east to several factors. For one, much of the supply of new homes in the past two and a half years has been in these areas. Examples in the north-east include Sun Glade, Rivervale Crest and Rio Vista. In the east, new projects include Changi Rise, Savannah Park, Edelweiss Park and Heliconia.

'Because there have been lots of transactions in these two regions, naturally they will reflect market conditions the most,' said DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ho Tian Lam.

Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow said another possible reason for prices falling most in the two regions could be that projects there are chiefly 99-year leasehold and cater to upgrader demand. Typically, upgrader projects are more price-sensitive than developments in the central area, which tend to be freehold and are typically upmarket or at least mid-price, Mr Ow noted.

'If a developer has to clear stock, he knows he would be more successful in drawing buyers if he were to cut prices for upgrader projects by, say, 10 per cent than if he were to do the same 10 per cent cut for an upmarket project in the central location - as the absolute sum involved in buying an upmarket home will still be huge,' he explained.

BT's analysis of URA data by completion status of properties revealed that between Q2 2000 and Q4 last year, prices of apartments in unfinished projects dropped 27.3 per cent, against a lower slide of 17.3 per cent for completed apartments.

For condos too, the price drop for uncompleted units (19.1 per cent) was higher than that for completed ones (16.7 per cent).

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung CEO Ho Tian Lam said projects sold off-plan by developers, which are typically under construction, take the greatest hit in any price rise or fall.

'Furthermore, if there is any speculative element in the market, it tends to be attracted more to uncompleted projects as it is easier on the pocket since buyers of such properties only have to make progress payments spread over a two to three-year period.

'And when property owners believe prices are headed down, they will be more inclined to let go a property which they bought for speculation rather than one that they are living in,' he suggested.    - by  Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    30 Jan 2003 

Looking ahead into the new year, property analysts expect any recovery in the residential property market to come only in the second half-year.

But with the final report of the Economic Review Committee on the reshaping of the economy due to be released next month, some analysts are also not ruling out the possibility of favourable recommendations swinging home-buying sentiment by the first quarter.

Private home transaction volumes this year, too, are not expected to match last year's figures, which had been 'exceptional' in a year gripped by economic uncertainty. Price movements are expected to be slight in the next six months.

About 9,500 new private homes are estimated to have been sold last year, comparable to the 9,565 sold during the peak in 1996.

This has been attributed mainly to two factors, each of which fell rather neatly into a half year: pent-up demand at the beginning of the year, and the changes in Central Provident Fund regulations in July.

Under the latter, private home buyers are allowed to use their CPF savings to pay for half the mandatory 20 per cent downpayment on a home. Previously, all the downpayment had to be in cash.

Almost 90 per cent of new home sales in 2002 were done in the first three quarters.

CapitaLand's research and corporate development senior vice-president Steven Choo said: 'The market will do best when buyers' confidence returns while prices and valuation are still playing catch up. This scenario can play out rather quickly if optimistic projection of a relatively short Iraqi conflict holds.'

'Meanwhile, let's hope we will all have some Valentine's day presents in February,' he said in a reference to the final ERC recommendations due next month.

'It won't be a full bed of roses necessarily, but there may be enough sweet smell of reassurance to spur business and consumer confidence,' he said, adding that things will be clearer in H2.

Peter Ow, Knight Frank's executive director, said that any government decision on the ERC recommendations will have to be one that improves the economic situation, hence improving sentiment.

Key property-related recommendations, he noted, such as the CPF changes, as well as public home sub-letting rules, have already been made.

'Things are uncertain in the first half and we may have a possible boom in H2 if the war (in Iraq) ends, though any price changes will be marginal this year as there is enough supply to contain price movements,' Mr Ow said.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Soon Su Lin estimates that residential demand this year could range between 6,000 and 7,000 units.

This, consultants noted, comes despite the government's recent decision to extend the suspension of its sale of sites from the confirmed list.

The state - which is the biggest supplier of land in Singapore - has said that it will continue to make available 99-year leasehold sites for sale through the reserve list. Under this system, a site will be released for tender only if there is at least one bidder undertaking to offer a minimum price which is acceptable to the state.

The reserve list for H1 2003 comprises 16 sites which have a potential to yield 3,345 homes. Centrepoint's chief executive Jeffrey Heng, while unable to put a finger on any long-term market movement, believes there is adequate volume to go around.

'The impetus will be in the upgraders' market,' he said.

Consultants say at least eleven 99-year projects, totalling 3,861 units, could be launched this year. These comprise three from Far East Organization, two each from Allgreen Properties, Centrepoint Properties and NTUC Choice Homes, and one each from Sim Lian and Wing Tai.

Nomura Singapore's senior analyst Matthias Chan told BT that while geo-political and economic doubts linger, it is also important to see that the stage is set for buying private homes when these uncertainties dissipate.

Nomura's figures show that a typical couple aged 35-45 has enough in their CPF ordinary accounts to fund the 10 per cent downpayment of a current, average 99-year leasehold private home. There are 354,000 such couples, according to Nomura.

In addition, the average cash profit from selling a Housing and Development Board flat between 1991 and 1997, after the five-year occupation period, has also been estimated at 11 per cent of the value of a typical low-end condo unit.

According to Mr Chan, this means that there are upgraders out there who can afford to pay the 20 per cent downpayment for a home.

'Once the uncertainties are gone, price should move into positive territory,' he added.

Flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday showed that private home prices slipped 1.8 per cent last year, against an 11.7 per cent slide in 2001. Prices declined marginally by 0.3 per cent between the third and fourth quarters. Actual numbers will be released at the end of this month.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry's advanced estimates for the economy, also released on Thursday, showed that gross domestic product grew 2.2 per cent in 2002 from the previous year.

GDP rose 0.1 per cent in Q4 from the previous quarter, avoiding a second consecutive contraction which would have meant a technical recession.  -  By Vince Chong   Singapore Business Times    4 Jan 2003

Oasis Garden up for en bloc sale
The freehold Oasis Garden is being marketed as the second collective sale site this year. The development, in Bunga Rampai Place, has a price tag of $48-$52 million. This works out to $296-$321 psf of potential gross floor area including a development charge of $292,000. At that price, break-even is estimated at $550-$570 psf.

Property watchers say a more reasonable price in the current market is $40.7-$45.6 million or $250-$280 psf per plot ratio. This would result in a break-even price of about $510 psf.

Last week, the 41,694 sq ft Woodleigh Grove site was the first collective sale site to roll out this year. It is expected to fetch about $32-$35 million or $280-$300 psf ppr inclusive of a development charge estimated at $100,000.

Oasis Garden can be redeveloped as a 130-140 condominium project with potential gross floor area of 162,770 sq ft, or 2.1 times the land area. The site is near the proposed Upper Paya Lebar and Bartley MRT stations.    - Singapore Business Times       23 Jan 2003 

Project: The Palladium
Developer: Pacific Rover Private
The Palladium lies on the East Coast Expressway, 15 minutes from the city and Changi International Airport. The development is near Parkway Parade Shopping Centre and is close to several good schools. Units range from 872 square feet to 2,142 square feet. Some of the units have roof gardens and private enclosed spaces. The average price of a unit is S$740 ($403) per square foot, and completion is scheduled for June 2003.

Project: Aquarius By The Park
Developer: First Capital Corporation Group
This complex near Singapore's East Coast Park and the Bedok Reservoir lies two kilometres from the Tampines underground MRT station, and is expected to be completed in June 2002. It consists of 10 blocks with a total of 720 units, including 40 maisonette penthouses. Two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 893 square feet up to 1,539 square feet are selling from S$515,000 to S$635,000.

Project: Alessandrea
Developer: Poh Lian Realty
Alessandrea is a19-storey development that will have 105 e-enabled apartments. Fifty-seven of the units in Phase One are now ready for sale. Each apartment has an Intelligent Home System, which allows residents to control appliances with a phone call. Each bedroom is pre-wired with its own Local Area Network, Singapore Cable Vision and Internet broadband access. Most of the units are between 1,001 square feet and 1,098 square feet.

Project: St. Martin Residence
Developer: Habitat Properties
Located in St. Martin's Drive near the Orchard Road shopping district, the development offers three low-rise condominium blocks with a total of 82 units, ranging in size from 549-2,982 square feet. Apartments for sale start from S$966,000 ($528,000), but they are also available for lease at S$10,000-12,000 per month for top-floor flats with rooftop gardens, or ground-floor units with patios.

Project: Sanctuary Green
Developer: First Capital Corporation Group
A 522-unit resort-style development near East Coast Park with swimming pools, children's area, tennis courts, barbecue, gym and clubhouse, which should be completed by December 2004. A three-bedroom apartment of 1,119-1,765 square feet facing Marina Bay costs S$800,000. Units range in size from 775 square feet for a two-bedroom unit to 3,918 square feet for the largest penthouse.

Project: The Abode at Devonshire
Developer: TTH Development Pte. Ltd.
A 15-storey development with luxury condominiums near Orchard Road, scheduled for completion at the end of next year. There are 26 units, including two-bedroom apartments of 1,012 square feet, three-bedroom apartments of 1,119 square feet and penthouses of 2,500 square feet. Condos cost around $1,288 per square foot and come with pool, children's playground, gym and barbecue pit.

Project: Fortville
Developer: Fort Rhu Investment
Fortville is a low-density condominium on the scenic East Coast with 49 fully- furnished apartments for lease. There are two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 796 square feet (71.64 square metres) to 1,549 square feet with rents from S$2,500 ($1,374) per month all the way up to S$4,500. Facilities include a swimming pool, gym, children's playground, barbecue area and business centre.

Project: The Montana
Developer: Koh Brothers 
This 12-storey condominium lies off River Valley Road, near the Orchard Road shopping district. It has 108 units for sale, including two-bedroom units of 947 square feet, three-bedroom units of 1,302 square feet, and penthouses of 2,637 square feet. The average price is S$1,000 per square foot. Amenities include high-speed Internet access, swimming pool, gym, barbecue area and playground. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Project: SunGlade
Developer: CapitaLand
This 14-storey condominium complex is situated in a residential suburb to the northeast, close to a planned subway station, which is scheduled to open in 2003. Its 248 units include two- and three-bedroom units and penthouses. The price is S$540 per square foot. Amenities include a clubhouse with a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, tennis court, children's playground, and barbecue area. Completion is scheduled for next year.

(SINGAPORE) Developers are likely to sell an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 new private homes next year, up from this year's figure of about 5,000, said Wing Tai's property director Loh Soo Eng.

He noted that although property prices follow very closely economic growth - which is forecast to be zero next year - next year's take-up will improve because of pent-up demand.

Property prices and demand will also take the cue from the stock market, he added.

Mr Loh, who highlighted he was not speaking in his capacity as president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore when fielding reporters' questions at a preview of The Serenade@Holland condominium, noted that the 'average take-up over the past 10 years is between 6,000 and 8,000 units a year'. Last year's figure was 5,400 units.

'This year is probably about 5,000. We're lagging behind the average, so there will be pent-up demand.'

Asked why buyers would need to rush in if prices are expected to stay flat next year, he said: 'In the past two months, when the market was very quiet, you find a buyer has so many choices, so many places, then you all report this project is taken up 90 per cent, that project is almost sold out which means the buyer has less choice.

'Last time I can pick and choose, I can take my time. I can look at this project three times and look at that project four times before I make my decision.

'But if now, all these projects that are launched are taken up, then you do not have that much of a luxury now to go around and wait. You don't have that many choices anymore. The unit you like may be taken up,' he said.

However, a seasoned property analyst with a foreign stockbroking house pointed out the overhang of 25,300 unsold private homes with sales licences as at end-September, based on official numbers.

'Nonetheless, the choice of supply will slowly start to dry up as the government has halted land sales (for the confirmed list) and on the public side, the Housing & Development Board has drastically cut down its new flats construction programme,' he added.  Singapore Business Times

PROJECT LAUNCHES

Capitaland will release its Farrer Road freehold condominium, The Levelz, at an average of $788 per square foot this weekend or a five per cent cut since August. Its earlier resolve not to chop prices of its residential projects has caved in. Last month, it released its 99-year leasehold Tanamera Crest at $445 psf or 21 per cent lower than the average price when it was first launched in February. CapitaLand said the 126-unit project is about 25 per cent sold. The Levelz was released in August at $830 psf on average. The largest listed property group wrote down the value of the Farrer Road site to $58 million or $411 psf of potential gross floor in August. CapitaLand had marked down the value of its residential land parcels on average by 20 per cent from levels in 2000.

Meanwhile, Keppel Land said it would relaunch its freehold Butterworth 8 condominium next month. To speculation that the price will be substantially rolled back from its earlier average of $810 psf, a KepLand spokesman said: ''We will firm up the pricing at the time of the launch.'' The 216-unit project in Tanjong Katong was first released earlier this year, but sales were reportedly dismal with only two units sold. KepLand has written down the value of the 108,000 sq ft plot to $337 psf of potential built-up area or 28 per cent lower than the price (inclusive of development charge) it had paid for it.

Wing Tai Holdings which has been quiet most of the year will release its 99-year leasehold condominium at Mount Sinai in December 2001. In a statement, it said The Serenade@Holland will offer ''luxury living at extremely affordable price levels''. Wing Tai acquired the 69,200 sq ft Mount Sinai site earlier this year for $39.1 million or $260 psf of potential gross floor area. The site can be developed into about 100 units. Analysts said then that the Mount Sinai site works out to a breakeven of about $530-$580 psf.   - Singapore Business Times

Singapore Business Times     19 Sept 2002

Singapore Straits Times  15 July 2002

The three biggest property groups here - Far East Organization, Hong Leong Group and CapitaLand - accounted for 35 per cent of the stock of yet-to-be-sold private homes on the island as at end-June this year, according to BT's analysis of official data.

They held a total of 6,115 out of the 17,293 unsold private homes here, covering launched units as well as unlaunched units that have secured necessary approvals for sale.

Interestingly, of the three, CapitaLand had the smallest share of unsold homes, at only 493 units. In contrast, Far East and Hong Leong held much bigger stocks - 3,370 and 2,252 units respectively.

Some analysts suggested one factor for the gap could be CapitaLand's strategy last year of making heavy provisions of about $500 million for landbank and residential projects.

Accounting-wise, this enabled the government-linked company to reduce breakeven costs of its projects and enabled it to slash prices to move units - as it did for Tanamera Crest in December - or to launch fresh projects at aggressively low prices.

An example would be The Shelford condo which it launched in May this year at an average price of $750 per square foot, or about 18 per cent lower than rival Tuan Sing's Adam Park next door.

However, Far East and Hong Leong (which includes listed City Developments), controlled by the Ng and Kwek families respectively, have taken a different tack.

They were loath to engage in price wars which would chalk up losses for the businesses in which they have big personal stakes, noted industry observers. Cutting prices also disenchants earlier buyers.

Or as CityDev executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng put it in the group's latest annual report: 'This practice (of not engaging in a price war) creates goodwill with our buyers and at the same time will not unnecessarily destroy shareholder value.'

A property consultant suggested another reason CapitaLand has a lower stock of unsold units could simply be that Far East and Hong Leong have traditionally been bigger residential property players.

Another GLC, Keppel Land, outranked CapitaLand in the league of developers with the most unsold homes.

KepLand had 1,514 unsold units as at end-June, followed by the Kuok Group (including listed Allgreen) with 1,210 units and Quek Leng Chan's First Capital Corp (993 units).

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Singapore unit, Property Enterprises Development or PED, also featured in the list with 874 units, followed by Wing Tai, with more than 700 unsold units.

While the other developers' stock of unsold homes was spread over at least five projects to as many as 27 projects in the case of Far East, PED's yet-to-be-sold homes were in just two projects - the 906-unit Costa del Sol condo at Bayshore Road, which has sold only 280 units as at June 30, and the yet-to-be-launched freehold Cairnhill Crest, a 248-unit condo being built on the former Cairnhill Court site.

Both projects have high breakeven costs - estimated at $800 psf for the 99-year leasehold Costa del Sol and at about $1,400 psf for Cairnhill Crest - as their sites were bought at toppish prices in early 1997 and 2000 respectively.

BT's analysis, based on information released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) recently, covers unsold units in projects on the market as well as projects that have yet to be launched but which have secured approvals for sale.

One seasoned property consultant said: 'Sometimes, the main reason a project with approvals for sale is not launched is the high price its developer paid for the land.

'As a result, the project's breakeven cost or the developer's asking price is much higher than what home buyers are prepared to pay currently.

'Even if a developer has had to make provisions and write down the value of his site, which reduces his breakeven cost on paper, he would be naturally reluctant to sell below his actual original cost as that would crystallise the loss for him.'

BT used URA data for yet to be sold private homes in uncompleted projects with necessary approvals for sale.

URA also releases information on unsold private homes in completed projects but which have yet to be delicensed under the Housing Developer (Control & Licensing) Act.

To be delicensed, a residential project must obtain a Certificate of Statutory Completion and titles must be issued to individual buyers. This typically takes about six months after receiving TOP.

The private housing projects with the most unsold or yet to be sold units as at end-June were: KepLand's Caribbean at Keppel Bay (664 unsold units), PED's Costa del Sol (626 units) and Hong Leong Group's yet to be launched 648-unit Savannah Park Condominium at Upper Changi Road East.  -   by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Condo comes with free weekly maid service
MCL Land to release Robertson 100 this weekend

In a novel attempt to stand out from the crowd, MCL Land is packaging a year's free maid service for buyers of its Robertson 100 freehold condo, which it is releasing at an average price of $890 per sq ft.

The project - next to the Trademart building at River Valley Road - is open for preview, and bookings will be accepted from this weekend.

'All our units are relatively small and the buyers are likely to be young couples or families,' said MCL Land general manager (business development and marketing) Vito Koh. 'After slogging hard at work every day they won't want to have to worry about cleaning their apartments, or their privacy being intruded by having a live-in maid.

The service should also help owners lease out their units, he added. MCL Land has signed a contract with a cleaning company to provide once-a-week maid service for all the apartments. The maid will spend about three hours cleaning each apartment, doing the beds and ironing clothes, Mr Koh said.

MCL Land is also giving buyers a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer. After the first year of free service, home owners can sign a contract directly with the cleaning company if they want the maid service to continue.

On the weekend of May 18-19, CapitaLand is expected to release The Shelford, a 215-unit freehold condo at Shelford Road, while a stone's throw away, Tuan Sing will push out the final 50 units of its 118-unit Adam Park. Tuan Sing has sold 67 units since the project was released late last year. It was priced initially at an average price of $880 psf before being raised to $910 psf. Tuan Sing is likely to keep the price at $910 psf for the latest release but plans to introduce deferred payment.

Expected to be released within the next couple of months is Allgreen's Kerisdale, a 99-year leasehold condo at Beatty Road with 481 units. It is expected to be priced below $500 psf on average.

MCL Land is offering Robertson 100 buyers deferred payment. After a 10 per cent initial cash downpayment, the rest of the payments kick in after about a year, when the 10-storey project is slated for completion.

Unit sizes at the 186-unit freehold development range from 678 sq ft for a one-bedroom apartment to 1,561 sq ft for a three-bedroom unit. Prices range from $650,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $1.15 million for a three-bedroom apartment, after a 10 per cent discount. Early birds will receive an additional $8,000 discount.    -  Kalpana Rashiwala   Singapore Business Times   9 May 2002

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