Sales of Oxley Biz Hub at VIP Preview

150units out of 200 were snapped up at a medium price of $677psf. Most buyers were said to be mainly locals. One bought 8units. As of apr 28, total 60% of 364 units launched were sold. Some buyers are young enterpreneuers were attracted by the "hip, young, vibrant ambience."

Developer is confident that the proj w sell well as oxley bizhub commands premium rentals when completed.

A recent land sales at ubi road 1, developer paid $542psf for the B1 60yrs landsite. Launchg price w be no less than $850psf.

Source: the edge

Why Hougang flats' value is lower

Homes in Hougang cost less than similar ones in neighbouring areas because they belong to an opposition ward, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night. 'If you have the wrong government, your property prices go right down,' he warned. Mr Lee was speaking to reporters after visiting Tampines, where he was showing his support to the People's Action Party (PAP) team in that GRC. Housing has emerged as a hot-button issue in this election, with opposition parties taking the Government to task over escalating costs and offering alternative housing proposals such as reducing new flat prices by paying less for state land, or pegging the price of new HDB flats to median household incomes. Though prices of HDB flats have risen over the past few years, the Government has said that new HDB flats remain affordable, with most buyers needing to come up with little or no cash to pay for their homes. The strategy of having people own their own homes was born in the 1960s, said MM Lee, when the Government saw home rentals going up in tandem with wages in places such as South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.


- The Straits Time, A8

Latest property measures more effective: NUS study

(SINGAPORE) A study by NUS's Institute of Real Estate Studies suggests the two latest rounds of property cooling measures on Aug 30 last year and Jan 13 this year may have been more effective in taming prices of completed non-landed private homes than the earlier two series of tightening measures in September 2009 and February 2010.

NUS' overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) has inched up about 0.19 per cent on average per month since the January measures were introduced. It also increased only about 0.12 per cent on average per month from the time the end-August 2010 measures were introduced till December last year.
In contrast, the September 2009 and February 2010 cooling measures were followed by average monthly increases in the SRPI of 1.13 per cent and 1.23 per cent respectively.
The index covers only completed non-landed private homes.

Average monthly sales volumes of non-landed private homes - covering transactions in both the primary and secondary markets but excluding executive condos (which are a hybrid of public and private housing) - have shrunk to 1,391 after the latest Jan 13 cooling measures (based on URA Realis caveats data up to April 21).
The monthly sales volume following last August's tightening package was 2,490 units, while the figure after the February 2010 cooling measures was 2,907.

'We're now seeing the cumulative effect of continuing tightening measures implemented since September 2009,' said an analyst.

Associate Professor Lum Sau Kim of NUS's Institute of Real Estate Studies and Department of Real Estate said: 'The policy interventions sought to tighten leverage and dampen speculative build-up in the housing market.'

'Other than the February 2010 measures, the rate of price appreciation for non-landed private homes and sales volumes have declined following each policy date. However, these declines have been temporary and suggest that other drivers of home price and transaction activity may have overwhelmed the macro-prudential measures,' she added.

Market watchers recapitulated some of the factors that continue to fuel interest in Singapore's property market despite steps by the authorities to try to dampen the market: high liquidity, diversion of hot money from overseas markets like China and Hong Kong to Singapore's real estate market, the low interest rate environment and the appeal of property as a hedge against inflation.

DTZ's head of consulting & research (SE Asia) Ong Choon Fah said: 'Usually there will be a knee- jerk reaction every time there is a policy as market participants start to evaluate the likely impact. They want to wait for a while to see what happens and if nothing much happens, they start to enter the market again.'

Mrs Ong also recalled that the government began implementing the cooling measures in a very calibrated way starting with increasing land supply. 'But when these didn't seem to produce the desired result, they started to address the demand side as well and that's when we began seeing a more significant impact on the market.

'And as we start to see all the supply materialising both in terms of marketing of new projects and physical completion of projects launched earlier, reality will hit home. A lot of people bought properties for investment and will need to find somebody to lease them or sell them to.'

NUS's latest flash estimates for its March 2011 SRPI also showed that prices of completed apartments and condos fared better in suburban locations than in the poshest areas.

The SRPI sub-index for the Central Region, which covers districts 1-4 and 9-11, dipped 1.9 per cent month-on-month in March, according to NUS's flash estimates. This sub-index has appreciated 2.6 per cent since the end of last year and 8.6 per cent year on year.

In contrast, the sub-index for the Non-Central region, where suburban mass-market condos are located, appreciated 1.7 per cent month on month in March. The flash estimate for March was up 3.8 per cent year to date and 14.4 per cent year on year.

As a result, the overall SRPI rose 0.1 per cent month on month in March; the March flash estimate reflection price gains of 3.3 per cent year to date and 11.9 per cent year on year.

Meanwhile, Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization have sold 336 of the 500 units released at their Eight Courtyards condo in Yishun since they began previewing the project on April 15. The average price is $795 per square foot. The 99-year leasehold project has 654 apartments.

Source: Business Times Singapore

Private home prices climb 2.2% in Q1

Prices of Singapore’s private residential properties rose 2.2 percent in the first quarter, down from 2.7 percent in the previous quarter, reflecting the accumulated effects of the cooling measures implemented by the government.

“The cooling measures announced by the Government were meant to encourage financial prudence and stamp out short-term speculative investing which would have unsustainably inflated private property prices,” said Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex.

Prices of landed properties increased 3.9 percent in Q1 compared to 5.5 percent in the previous quarter, while prices of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses rose 4.1 percent, 2.8 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.

According to commercial property services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), developers sold a total of 3,595 new homes in Q1, reflecting an increase for the fifth consecutive quarter since the beginning of 2010.

“The last time the market saw a similar phenomena was the four quarters from Q4 2006 to Q3 2007, with a total volume of 17,773 units sold,” it said.

“However, the momentum of sales in the secondary market has slowed down, as evidenced by a 24.6 percent fall in resale transactions to 3,191 units and a 25.5 percent fall in sub-sales volume to 550 units. The sales volume in Q1 2011 represents genuine demand from occupiers and investors.”

Meanwhile, prices of non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR), Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region rose 1.1 percent, 3.1 percent and 2.0 percent respectively.

Mr. Ismail said “investors are also shying away from the CCR and looking to the OCR and RCR for their property investments, probably to reduce the loan quantum for their property investment.”

While the overall number of transactions islandwide dropped 20.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to 7,336 due to the continued rise in prices, the decline in the number of transactions for the mass market may have been attributed to the increase in psf prices.

Mr. Ismail noted that many potential buyers may have been put off by some of the high prices of mass market projects of late, a few of which breached the S$1,000 psf mark.

CBRE also said that with the growth forecast of between 4.0 and 6.0 percent for the economy remaining on track and the concurrent effectiveness of the property measures, “we expect the take-up of new homes in the second quarter to be around 3,000-3,500 units and home prices to remain at current levels.”

Resale flat prices increase, but COV premiums drop 9% in Q1

SINGAPORE: The price of resale flats went up in the first quarter of 2011, but Cash-Over-Valuation premiums fell to S$21,000 - a 9 per cent drop from the previous quarter, according to data from the HDB.

Observers attribute the lower COV premiums to the government's cooling measures which took effect in the first quarter of this year.

Going forward, analysts have mixed views on the outlook for COV premiums.

"Currently the COVs have come to a point where it is not going any much lower. Based on our PropNex data, the COV for the month of April has already gone up to a median at S$23,000, which is where we were starting prior to the first quarter," said PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail.

For the first quarter of 2011, the price of resale flats rose 1.6 per cent.

The increase is at a slower pace than the 2.5 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, median sublet rents in Q1 remained relatively stable with increases from 1-room and 5-room flats and decreases from 2-room flats.

Subletting transactions rose by 8 per cent to 6,365 cases.

The total number of HDB flats approved for subletting rose to about 36,400 units in Q1, compared to about 35,000 units in the previous quarter.

Some analysts believe COV premiums will likely continue to fall as a result of new supply coming on stream.

Separately, HDB said it will launch another 3,185 flats in Hougang, Sembawang, Sengkang and Punggol for sale under the April 2011 Build-to-Order BTO exercise.

This will bring the total supply of new BTO flats this year to 22,000, compared to the 16,000 BTO flats that were offered last year.

"I think the fact that there's going to be 22,000 new HDB dwellings up in the marketplace, and the government's ramping up in terms of its development machinery to develop more HDB properties...will mean vendors cannot hold on to their COV asking prices," said Mr Donald Han, vice chairman of Cushman and Wakefield.

In addition to the BTO flats, units under the Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) and the Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme will be offered as well.

An EC site at Punggol with an estimated yield of 700 units, and two DBSS sites at Sengkang and Bendemeer Road with a potential yield of about 1,500 units, will be released for tender in May and June 2011 respectively.

Despite the supply of new flats, Mr Han believes there could be a one to two per cent uptake in HDB resale prices in the next one or two quarters.

Mr Ismail also thinks the resale prices will trend up, as new supply of BTO flats are not a perfect substitute for the resale units.

- CNA/cc

Rolls-Royce of bungalows hits a road-bump as sales slump in Q1

SALES of Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) - the creme de la creme of the landed housing market on mainland Singapore - eased in the first quarter of this year, as the January property cooling measures hit even some of the well-heeled buyers in this property segment.

CB Richard Ellis' analysis of caveats information reveals 16 deals totalling about $338 million in Q1 2011 - down from 30 sales amounting to $623 million in Q4 last year, and 31 transactions worth $516 million in Q1 2010.

Still, the average per square foot price on land area in Q1 2011 showed no sign of weakening. It has instead crept up 3.4 per cent from $1,218 psf in Q4 last year to $1,260 psf.

Year on year, the latest Q1 average price of GCBs transacted jumped nearly 33 per cent.

The GCB transactions in Q1 work out to about 13 per cent of the record 121 deals for the whole of 2010. Their value of $338.5 million is 15 per cent of the $2.27 billion of GCBs that changed hands last year, which was also a fresh high.

Commenting on the latest drop in sales in upscale bungalows, CBRE director (luxury homes) Douglas Wong said: 'The seller's stamp duty rates announced in January for those who buy properties and sell them within four years have had an impact on short-term traders in the GCB market. So the volume of sales has dipped as there is less speculative activity, leaving owner-occupiers and long-term investors as the main players.'

Those who buy a private residential property from Jan 14 and sell it within a year, will be slapped with a seller's stamp duty of 16 per cent of the sale price of the property. The seller's stamp duty rates are 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent if the property is disposed of in the second, third and fourth year respectively of purchase.

Mr Wong suggested that some GCB buyers who have to borrow may also be affected by the lower loan-to-value (LTV) cap of 60 per cent for those with existing housing loans. 'However, there are still many high networth individuals who can make an all-cash purchase or need to gear just slightly,' he said. The lower LTV doesn't bother them.

Explaining why average per square foot prices have held firm despite lower transaction volumes in Q1, Mr Wong said: 'Sellers are not in a hurry to offload their GCBs as most of them have holding power.

Another reason why they have less incentive to sell now, particularly if they intend to buy a replacement GCB later, is that the new purchase will be subject to the Jan 13 cooling measures. Hence, the effective pool of GCBs for sale is becoming even more limited.

'As a result, potential GCB buyers have even less choice - and those wishing to acquire a property for their own occupation or long-term investment may choose to pay a higher price.'

GCB deals in March this year include a $38.8 million transaction (about $1,618 psf on land area of 23,982 sq ft) at Tanglin Hill and a property at Cornwall Gardens which fetched $23.5 million or $1,496 psf on land area of 15,705 sq ft.

The buyer of the Tanglin Hill property is believed to be Luo Qian Qian, a non-executive director of Nasdaq-listed, Shanghai-based Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited. According to Shanda's 2009 annual report, Ms Luo is married to Shanda chairman and chief executive officer Chen Tianqiao. She is understood to be a Singapore citizen.

The Cornwall Gardens bungalow is said to have been bought by Dorothy Ng, daughter of the late property tycoon Ng Teng Fong. She is understood to have purchased the property jointly with her son.

Newsman Realty managing director KH Tan predicts that while the number of GCB transactions for the whole of 2011 is likely to ease from last year's high, GCB prices are likely to increase by 10-15 per cent for the whole of this year.
'Sellers' price expectations are higher - and there is less GCB stock available for sale, while the ultra-rich shopping for GCBs are still flush with a lot of money,' he said.

Among those actively looking for GCBs now are 'local Singaporeans, new Singapore citizens, particularly those hailing from China and Indonesia, as well as some Singaporeans based in Hong Kong who are now returning home'.


Source: Singapore Business Times 

Luxury home buyers are coming back

Sales of luxury homes in Singapore have remained low due to the economic crisis in the US and Europe, though buyers are slowly returning, according to a top executive of Heeton Holdings.

Danny Low, Chief Operating Officer of Heeton, said the low luxury home sales in the country can also be attributed to the increasing number of locations competing for high-end buyers.

Mr. Low was speaking during the soft launch of The Boutiq, a high-end residential project located on the former Mitre Hotel site.

Since the development was launched for sale, almost half of its buyers were foreigners, particularly Malaysians. Units at the project, which was jointly developed by KSH Holdings and TEE International, were priced at S$2,350 psf.

However, average prices of units at later phases will be much higher, as the 10 percent discount off the list price will be reduced, said Mr. Low.

75% of The Boutiq units sold at soft launch

HEETON Holdings, KSH Holdings and TEE International have sold 39 apartments at their high-end Killiney Road residential project, The Boutiq, at an average price of $2,350 per square foot (psf).

The companies said yesterday that 75 per cent of the 52 units released in the first phase of sales have been sold in a soft launch. The freehold District 9 project near Somerset MRT station has 130 units in all.

Heeton chief operating officer Danny Low said that the developers are now giving buyers a discount of about 10 per cent off the list price. Prices will go up when subsequent phases are launched as the discount is scaled back and more choice units are released.

'With its prime location, five-star hotel facilities such as porte-cochere (coach gate), concierge, welcome lounge, and well-designed lifestyle spaces, The Boutiq will be a compelling proposition for young professionals and cosmopolitan globe-trotters - anyone who appreciates the finest things in life,' said Mr Low.

The architectural design of The Boutiq draws inspiration from chic boutique hotels around the world. The project's architect is Broadway Malyan Asia.

Units in The Boutiq range from 506 sq ft to 2,853 sq ft in size. The bulk of the units are one and two-bedroom apartments.

Heeton, KSH and TEE hold stakes of 45 per cent, 35 per cent and 20 per cent respectively in the development project. The three partners bought the site of the former Mitre Hotel in 2009 for $121-122 million - or almost $1,100 psf of potential gross floor area including a development charge.

At Heeton's other high-end project, iLiv@ Grange, none of the 30 units on offer have been sold even though the project was unveiled in June last year. Units at the Grange Road condominium are expected to sell for above $3,000 psf.

Heeton began construction of the project last year. It will step up marketing efforts in the second half of 2011 once a new showflat is ready, Mr Low said.

The company also hopes to resume selling units in The Lumos in the second half of the year once the project is completed.

Sales of units in the Leonie Hill project have been put off since early 2008 as Heeton and its partner Koh Brothers waited for the luxury property market to recover. As at end-March 2011, 19 out of the project's 53 units have been sold.

Source: Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.

8 Courtyards 72% sold, more launches to follow

8 Coutyards @ Yishun, a joint venture (JV) project between Far East Organization (FEO) and Frasers Centrepoint, sold 202 of the 280 units (approximately 72%) released during its preview, with an average price of S$795 psf.

The development comprises two retail shops and 654 residentialunits spread across 12 towers, which are between 14 and 15 storeys high.

8 Courtyards, which is expected to be officially launched on April 22, is an affordable low-quantum project with an average selling price of S$800 psf.

Nelson Tan, property specialist at Dennis Wee Group (DWG), said the project’s unique selling point is its location at Yishun Ave, which is a “quiet, green setting in the northern part of Singapore”.

During the project’s preview over the weekend, Frasers Centrepoint noted that 63 percent of the buyers wereHDB upgraders. Among the most popular were two-, three- and four-bedroom units, with the one-bedroom units fully sold.

Meanwhile, Fission Capital’s Centra Heights at the Central Business District (CBD) was launched today, while 10 Shelford at Shelford Road will hold its preview on 22 April before its official launch on 29 April.

According to experts, these new projects are expected to benefit from the still favourable market, which has prompted many property launches since late 2010.

“Demand and sentiment are good. That’s why developers are snapping up land and developing quickly,” said Mark Lim at DWG. “I believe sales momentum (for new-launch condominiums) will pickup gradually, as long as there are no new major policy changes.”

Mr. Adrian Lim of Huttons Real Estate Group noted that Centra Heights offers a good rental yields, as its average selling price starts at S$500,000.

“Centra Heights is the next better alternative for expats who can't afford higher rentals in CBD areas.”

10 Shelford, on the other hand, comprises five-storey flats that offer excellent capital and superb rental yield. It is an exclusive freehold condo located in prime central District 11, said Candice Loh, Marketing Manager atHuttons Asia.

In addition, the upcoming Payar Lebar Central will lead to further capital appreciation and higher rental yields in the near future.

“With all the financial institutions and companies shifting here in future, you will definitely see an influx of foreigners and expats and an increase in rentals and prices of properties here,” said Mr. Lim.

Furthermore, Pinnacle Development is expected to launch Water Edge in Geylang on 25 April, while Oxley Rising’s Oxley BizHub at Ubi has been scheduled to launch on 26 April.

- Source from PropertyGuru

Singapore returns to most expensive office list

Singapore has resumed its place in the top ten most expensive office locations in the world according to a report published by Colliers International this week.
Singapore is ranked in ninth place now, up from 15th place just six months ago – a clear indication if one was needed that commercial property prices are continuing to rise in the city state.

The Global Office Real Estate Review noted that Grade A office rents in the Singapore’s central business district continued to trend upwards, with rental growth momentum picking up pace and recording a 16.8 per cent second half from the previous six month period. Singapore registered an occupancy cost of S$7.91 per square foot per month at the end of last year for Grade A CBD office space.
Hong Kong, London’s West End, Tokyo, Paris, London’s City Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, London’s Southbank and Geneva complete the ranking of the 10 most expensive office locations in the world.

Hoh Chi Minh City in Vietnam is the only other South East Asian city to appear in the top 20 – coming in as the 20th most expensive office location in the world.

Singapore home sales rise after fouth months of decline

Sales of private residential properties in Singapore increased during March, the first rise after four consecutive months of decline.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) reported sales of 1,386 private homes were sold last month, up 25 per cent month-on-month from the 1,105 units sold during February. Including Executive Condominiums total sales were recorded at 1,543 units.

The suburban region recorded most sales at 631 units sold,while the Central region saw the least at 263 units sold. H2O Residences in Sengkang was the most popular development in March, with 255 units, and the highest price was achieved by a unit at Scotts Square in the city region which sold for S$4,334 (US$3,480) per sq ft.

The cheapest price recorded by the URA was for an Executive Condo units at The Canopy which sold for S$530 (US$425) per sq ft.

Joseph Tan, Executive Director of Residential at CB Richard Ellis, said: “New home sales in March numbered 1,386 units, signalling a pick-up in activity compared to the 1,105 and 1,210 units sold in February and January respectively.

“In total, 3,701 new homes were sold in the first quarter of 2011. However, this is 12 per cent lower than the 4,241 new homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010. The lower volume could be attributed to speculators being weeded out by the cooling measures. The current volume represents genuine demand from occupiers and investors.”

Tay Huey Ying, Consultant of Research and Advisory at Colliers, noted that developers are expected to continue pushing out their projects in April 2011 to ride on the current buying momentum. She said it is also to their advantage to push out their projects now, rather than later – in view of the global uncertainties surrounding the political unrests in the Middle East/North Africa and the crisis in Japan, as well as risks of further Government cooling measures.

“While buyers may become more selective and price sensitive, affordably-priced projects with good attributes are still expected to enjoy healthy sales, it said. As such, both developers’ launch and sales volume are expected to stay at above the 1,000-unit level in April 2011 and could possibly challenge March 2011’s level,” said Ms. Tay.

S$977b recorded in Q1 property investment sales

Singapore’s property investment sales in the first quarter amassed S$977 billion, with the residential sector contributing a total of S$970 billion, according to Colliers International.

The commercial brokerage firm said this represents 37.8 percent of the total transactions recorded in the first quarter.

Commercial properties accounted for 23.1 percent or S$2.26 billion of the total investment sales, while mixed-use properties made up 18.8 percent or S$1.83 billion in the first quarter.

Although Q1 sales moderated from the S$12.26 billion generated in the previous quarter, it was still 67.9 percent higher than the level in the same period last year. This showed that the market fundamentals remained optimistic despite uncertainties.

Overall, a total of six residential sites were sold in the first quarter, including two sites for the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and a land parcel designated for executive condominium (EC) development. Four industrial sites, three hotel land plots, a land parcel for petrol station use and another site for a residential-cum-commercial development were also awarded by the government in the first quarter. These amounted to a total value of S$3.38 billion, slightly lower than the S$3.98 billion worth of sites sold by the government in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the total value of property transactions for the region dropped 44.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$6.1 billion in the first quarter, according to a separate report from DTZ Research, with Singapore accounting for 91.9 percent of the region’s total investment value in Q1.

The number of transactions exceeding US$100 million dropped to 18 in the first quarter, from 23 transactions in the preceding quarter.

“We expect property investments in the region to pick up for the rest of the year, due to optimism in SEA’s growth prospects,” said Ms. Chua Chor Hoon, Head of SEA Research at DTZ.

“Singapore being a key city in the region with good economic fundamentals will continue to attract investments. Development initiatives, from Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme as well as the establishment of the REIT structure in Thailand will also boost property investment opportunities in the region.”

HDB seizes 39 flats

The Housing Development Board (HDB) stepped up enforcement against the illegal subletting of public flats last year, carrying out 7,000 flat inspections, up from the 3,000 flats inspected in 2009.

Out of the 7,000 HDB flats inspected, HDB took action against 95flats owners in relation to illegal subletting. Of the 95 apprehended for unauthorised subletting, 39 had their flats seized.

HDB said it is reminding all flat owners that HDB flats are primarily meant for owner occupancy.

“We will take stern actions against owners, including compulsory acquisition, even if it is the owner’s first infringement. This is especially for cases where the flat owners had bought the flat purely for monetary gains, with no intention of occupying it,” it said.

Flat owners who wish to sublet their entire flats must meet the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and obtain HDB’s approval before they can do so. 

“They must also comply with HDB’s terms and conditions for subletting, for example, by ensuring that the number of subtenants does not exceed the maximum number allowed for the various flat types.”

Cairnhill Mansions up for en bloc sale $361.5m reserve price for 43,103 sq ft site lower than in earlier sale attempt

A PLUM District 9 freehold residential development plot has been put on the market in the form of a collective sale of Cairnhill Mansions. The reserve price for the 43,103 square feet site, to be marketed through a tender exercise, is $361.5 million or about $2,308 per sq ft of potential gross floor area.

This is lower than the guide price of $443.6 million, which would have worked out to about $2,833 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the property in an earlier en bloc sale attempt in late 2007/early 2008.

No development charge is payable for Cairnhill Mansions, which is zoned for residential use with 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and 36-storey maximum height under Master Plan 2008. The new owner of the site can build up to Cairnhill Mansions' existing gross floor area of 156,581 sq ft, which reflects a plot ratio of 3.6327.

Analysts estimate that based on the $2,308 psf ppr reserve price for Cairnhill Mansions, the breakeven cost for a new project on the site could be about $3,000 to $3,100 psf.

A new project in the location could sell at an average price of about $3,500 psf if it were to be launched today, reckon property consultants.

In February, a 3,057 sq ft apartment at the nearby Ritz-Carlton Residences sold for $3,762 psf, while a larger unit of 6,501 sq ft in the same project fetched $4,307 psf. At Tomlinson Heights, a 2,734 sq ft unit sold for $3,238 psf and at Scotts Square, a 947 sq ft apartment achieved $4,626 psf in the same month, according to caveats data.

The highest price paid for freehold residential land in Singapore was $2,525 psf ppr for the collective sale of Westwood Apartments at Orchard Boulevard, inked in November 2007.

CB Richard Ellis is handling the tender for Cairnhill Mansions' collective sale, which closes on May 31.

The property consultancy group's executive director (investment properties) Jeremy Lake said: 'There hasn't been a super luxury residential site launched for collective sale since the sale of Westwood Apartments. The market has not seen an offering like Cairnhill Mansions for the best part of three years. This tender will also be a test of where land prices are for super luxury sites.'

He also noted that the pool of buyers for private sites above $500 million is quite small, whereas a site priced in the $350 million region would be affordable to more players.

According to CBRE's data, 10 collective sales were inked in the first quarter of this year, totalling $654 million. The tally for the whole of 2010 was 32 deals, adding up to $1.73 billion.

Cairnhill Mansions, which is 40 years old, comprises 60 apartments of about 2,024 sq ft each, and a penthouse of 8,525 sq ft. Owners of the apartments should pocket about $5.7 million each while the penthouse owner will receive around $15.1 million, based on the reserve price.

Source By - Kalpana Rashiwala Published: April 11 2011, The Business Times

Monaco still most expensive but Asia is catching up

Monaco has retained its title as the world’s most expensive place to buy a high-end house, although Asian cities are quickly climbing the leader board.


For an outlay of US$1 million a property investor can expect to buy just 15 sqm of luxury real estate in Monaco, according to Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank’s Annual Wealth Report.

The largest property deal recorded in Monaco last year was the €240m sale of La Belle Epoque to an unnamed Middle Eastern investor. The penthouse was sold by the Candy brothers, who also made £140m from the sale of the penthouse at One Hyde Park in London – the second most expensive city for luxury property. An investor with $1m can buy around 18 square metres of space in the complex. (May’s edition of Property Report South East Asia will feature an interview with Nick Candy).

The Asian cities of Shanghai, Mumbai and Singapore saw the biggest price rises during 2010, with prices for high-end properties in Shanghai increasing by an average of 21 per cent. The Chinese city is now the 23rd most expensive city for real estate.

New York is the most economically active and influential city according to the report, with London coming in a close second.

Source - Property Report

CityDev rated a Buy by CLSA

Although the Singapore residential market has been dampened by several policy measures with the most recent announced on Jan 13, CLSA has upgraded City Developments to a buy in a 100-page property report dated Apr 7. According to property analyst Pang Chin Hong, despite 44% of its revalued Gross Asset Value (GAV) coming from Singapore residential properties, “a substantial portion is pre-sold,” he says. Another 25% and 12% of GAV come from the office space and hospitality sector respectively.

The strongest driver for City Developments is likely to come from the divestment of its commercial property portfolio, Pang says. Last year, the company divested several older commercial properties such as The Corporate Building, The Corporate Office and Chinatown Point. In 2005, the company had planned to sell 11 properties to Suntec REIT for $788 million but the deal fell through. “We believe that CDL will continue asset divestment this year as the group is shifting its focus toward a higher-quality portfolio as evidenced by the South Beach development, 9 Tampines Grande and 11 Tampines Concourse,” Pang writes.

What could City Developments sell? At this stage, it’s unlikely to be Republic Plaza which Pang has revalued at $2.2 billion. Instead, lower-grade properties such as City House, Fuji Xerox Towers, Central Mall, Katong Shopping Mall, some strata units in Tanglin Shopping Centre, The Arcade, Palais Renaissance, Delfi Orchard, units in GB Building, Fortune Centre, Sunshine Plaza and Plaza by the Park are possible candidates for divestment. Pang reckons these properties are worth a further $2.2 billion. Tanglin Shopping Centre, worth $105 million, has been put up for a collective sale but market observers note there are so far no takers. Sunshine Plaza is also believed to have been up for sale for a while.

Nonetheless, Pang is optimistic that City Developments can realise good gains if it manages to sell these assets. The developer does not revalue properties unlike other companies. Investment properties are carried at historical cost plus accumulated depreciation. Pang reasons that the carrying book values of these properties are likely to be much lower than their true value and City Developments could rake in a capital gain of $1 billion if it can find buyers for such a diverse portfolio.

“This presents a key catalyst for City Developments’ share price in 2011. With interest in commercial properties on the rise, we would not be surprised to hear of aggressive offers,” Pang writes. He has a target of $14.31 for the stock against his RNAV (Revised Net Asset Value) estimate of $16.84.

Back on the residential front, City Developments’ mass-market project, H2O Residences, which saw a takeup rate of 27% during the first weekend launch on March 5, is to have drawn mediocre response so far. Also, only 21 of the 56 units released in the 226-unit The Residences at W on Sentosa Cove have been sold. City Developments says it doesn’t plan to launch any more units in the near term. At a results briefing in Feb, chairman Kwek Leng Beng says he can afford to hang on to the units because he has holding power.

Chart View: Funds inflow
With the STI closing 2.1% higher for the week at 3,187, the rally is likely to bump into resistance as it approaches 3,200. Still, the benchmark managed to move above the still declining 100-day moving average at 3,138. The 21-day RSI continues to rise and stochastics is at the top end of its range but could start to peak next week (Apr 11-15).

In an Apr 8 report, Markus Rosgen, strategist at Citi Research, says emerging markets had inflows of US$5.7 billion ($7.2 billion) or 0.8% of AUM (Assets Under Management), more than twice the levels of the previous week, and the largest amount since mid-October. Flows were focused on Global Emerging Market funds, accounting for nearly 70% of the total inflows into emerging market equities. Asia ex-Japan equity funds saw inflows of US$1.1 billion compared to US$400 million from the previous week.

“Flows broadened from regional funds to country funds, with China and Korea being the winners,” Rosgen writes. “China and Korea country funds took in US$356 million and US$310 million for the week, respectively.” For China, this is the biggest weekly inflow since late November last year; while for Korea, the weekly flows represented the biggest size ever in available history. “On the other hand, Singapore and Taiwan were the losers -- both saw outflows for the week, albeit mild,” he adds. — Goola Warden

Property market still going strong

The Singapore land sales market achieved four record prices, which revealed the unwavering optimism of developers, despite the global uncertainties.

A recent of Colliers International study showed that property developersdisplay upbeat sentiment and optimism in the country’s propertyinvestment sales market, which gained a healthy total of S$9.77 billion in the first quarter of 2011. This was achieved amidst the government’sproperty cooling measures, the political instability in North Africa and the Middle East and the massive Japan disasters.

Although the quarter’s sales value of S$9.77 billion is 20.3 percent moderation from the S$12.26 billion achieved in the final quarter of 2010, it is still 67.9 percent stronger than the sales completed in the first quarter of 2010, when the Singapore investment sales market was only beginning to recover.

“The fact that the figure for 1Q 2011 was still 67.9 percent stronger than that for 1Q 2010 indicates that marketfundamentals remain largely positive despite all the uncertainties,” said Ms. Chia Siew Chuin, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International.

“In fact, we have observed developers' confidence in the investment sales market when they set four record prices in the government land sales market — despite the introduction of further property cooling measures during the quarter.”

The first record price was set for the non-landed residential site situated at Bishan Street 14. A consortium led by CapitaLand Limited beat 18 other bidders for a 1.2 ha housing plot with its bid of S$550.1 million. This works out to S$869 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio, which exceeds the previous record of S$639 psf per plot ratio for the Ascentia Sky site in the Alexandra Road / Tiong Bahru Road locality in December 2007.

The top offer of S$170.1 million (S$320.86 psf per plot ratio), submitted for a site in Choa Chu Kang intended for an Executive Condominium (EC) project by City Developments Limited, also surpassed the previous record of S$320.58 psf per plot ratio attained for the Austville EC site at Sengkang East Avenue / Buangkok Drive in May 2010.

“At the same time, the private sector land sales market also reflected the same upbeat sentiments, where sales picked up momentum in 1Q 2011 and some S$992.58 million worth of private development sites were sold. This is a significant 94.7 percent improvement from 4Q 2010,” added Ms. Chia.

“In particular, the collective sale of seven existing projects for re-development chalked up a total value of S$588.88 million in 1Q 2011, up from the S$427.2 million contributed by 11 transactions in 4Q 2010. The conclusion of the higher-value albeit fewer collective deals in 1Q 2011 is an encouraging sign of developers’ growing appetite for collective sale sites.”

“Looking ahead, looming uncertainties stemming from the political unrest in the Middle East and North African regions, and the possible impact of the disaster in Japan on global economies could potentially temper marketsentiments.”

Singapore luxury home prices rank No.3 globally

Singapore’s high-end homes recorded the third largest increase in prices globally, behind Shanghai and Mumbai, according to a new report released today.

Compiled by property consultancy Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank, The Wealth Report 2011 found that Singapore’s luxury home prices rose 18 percent in 2010.

This was on top of a 17 percent increase the previous year, when Singapore recorded the fifth largest increase in high-end home prices globally.

Meanwhile, home prices in Shanghai saw a 21 percent increase in 2010, on top of a 52 percent jump in the preceding year, while Mumbai home prices rose 20 percent in 2010 after increasing 11 percent in 2009.

The top three home price heavyweights — Hong Kong, New York and London — saw smaller price increases in 2010, ranging between 10 and 15 percent.

URA releases flash 1st quarter 2011 private residential property price index

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released today the flash estimate of the price index of private residential property for 1st Quarter 2011.

Based on the estimated price index of private residential property, prices rose from 194.8 points in the 4th Quarter 2010 to 198.8 points in the 1st Quarter 2011. This represents an increase of 2.1%, compared with 2.7% in the previous quarter (see Annex A). The rate of price increase has moderated for 6 consecutive quarters, since 4th Quarter 2009.

URA also released today the flash estimates of the price changes in the 3 geographical regions for 1st Quarter 2011. Prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by 0.9% in Core Central Region, 2.2% in Rest of Central Region and 3.1% in Outside Central Region in the quarter (see Annex B). In comparison, for 4th Quarter 2010, prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by 2.2% in Core Central Region, 1.9% in Rest of Central Region and 2.1% in Outside Central Region.

The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in caveats lodged during the first ten weeks of the quarter supplemented by information on the number of new units sold. The statistics will be updated 4 weeks later when URA releases the full 1st Quarter 2011 real estate statistics, when more data on the caveats lodged and the take-up of new projects are captured. Past data have shown that the difference between the quarterly price changes indicated by the flash estimate and the actual price changes could be significant when the change is small. The public is advised to interpret the flash estimates with caution.


Supply in the Pipeline
As at 4Q2010, there was a total supply of 65,699 uncompleted units from private housing projects in the pipeline.1 Of these, 33,000 units were still unsold. This supply can last for about 3 years based on the historical annual take-up over the past 5 years. This supply also does not take into account new sites that were recently sold2 or will be made available for development through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. Prospective home-buyers are advised to take into consideration the ample pipeline supply of private housing, as well as the potential supply of private housing from GLS sites, when making decisions on property purchase.

1	These refer to new development and redevelopment projects with planning approvals, i.e. either a Provisional Permission (PP) or Written Permission (WP).
2	These refer to new projects for which planning approval have not been obtained yet.

Singapore's mass market property prices hit record high

Singapore’s resale capital values rose in the first quarter of the year, although more upward pressure was seen outside the prime districts in the Central and East Coast areas, according to preliminary estimates released by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

According to the global real estate services firm, capital values in the Central and East Coast regions rose between 2.0 and 2.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, echoing the observations seen in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Housing Index. Average non-prime capital values are now at a record S$1,043 psf, exceeding the previous high of S$1,020 psf achieved in Q4 last year.

However, luxury prime properties saw only a 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in rental values, as leasing demand softened in the first quarter. Smaller units were the key factor behind this, with both two- and three-bedroom units seeing rental values soften over the quarter.

Meanwhile, four-bedroom units in the prime districts remain in demand and were the only type of homes to see an increase in rental values this quarter. 

“The preference of the expatriate community is for larger four-bedroom apartments of at least 2,800 sq ft. The smaller size units are not particularly attractive as the majority of middle- and upper-management families relocating prefer spacious four-bedroom units that come with entertainment areas,” said Jacqueline Wong, Head of Residential at JLL.

“Going forward, we think this trend is likely to sustain and we will continue to see disparity in the housing market, where small-size leasing stock continues to face downward pressure, while larger units continue to see (an) upside”.

Based on caveats lodged, buyers from the Asia-Pacific region continue to dominate prime market sales, with Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian buyers purchasing more than 50 percent of the units sold in the primemarket in the first quarter.

The largest proportion of sales of prime residential units went to Indonesian buyers, contributing 24 percent of the total units sold. This was followed by Chinese and Malaysian buyers, acquiring 16 percent and 14 percent of prime residential units respectively.

Indeed, Chinese buyers were second only to Singaporeans in terms of the total number of units acquired in the first quarter. Nearly 241 units were sold to Chinese buyers, of which 63 percent were located in the massmarket and priced at between S$500,000 and S$1.5 million.

“The surge in Chinese buyers in Singapore coincided with the policy tightening in China,” said Dr. Chua Yang Liang.

“While we do not expect a repeat of what is observed this past quarter, we can expect the number of Chinese buyers to continue at a healthy level as seen in previous quarters, as the fiscal and monetary policy in China remains conducive to overseas investment by the wealthier Chinese.”