Montebleu, a stunning 34-storey landmark and one of Novena’s tallest, is a befitting statement of how you want to live today. Clad in cool grey and white tones, and defined by its sheer curtain wall of aluminium and glass interspersed with balconies of frameless glass parapets, Montebleu spells post-modern elegance.

An attractively designed and spacious recreation deck on the fifth level further enhances the development’s resort style ambience. Facilities on the fifth level include a garden terrace, swimming pool, jacuzzi corner, children’s wading pool, gymnasium, steam room, function hall, barbeque area and children’s playground.

For those who entertain, the beautifully landscaped Sky Terrace on the 14th storey is a wonder to behold. This open-space concept is designed for more private occasions such as the hosting of exclusive functions and the gathering of friends for a spa experience.

Over at the ground floor, you’ll find a tennis court and a porte cochere to welcome you home and elevate you to one of Novena’s highest points of achievement. With its balconies, bay windows, dry and wet kitchens, designer wardrobes, ensuite baths and quality sanitary ware, Montebleu is the epitome of luxury living.

Location: Minbu Road (District 11)
Site Area: 58,019 sqft
Tenure: Freehold
Expected TOP: Dec 2011
Total Units: 151
Unit Types:
*1 BR ~ 570 sqft (15 units)
*2 BR ~ 800 to 1070 sqft (51 units)
*3 BR ~ 1140 to 1420 sqft (40 units)
*4 BR Executive Suites ~ 1470 to 2160 sqft (42 units)
*4 BR Penthouses ~ 2640 sqft (1 unit)
*5 BR Penthouses ~ 2560 to 2910 sqft (2 units)

Contact us at vrealtor@gmail.com  or +65 93874786 for more information:

www.1000property.myweb.sg

Montebleu / Name / Contact # / Unit Type Interested

SAVINGS accounts have seen miserly interest rates of below 1 per cent per annum since 2001 – and people hoping for better yields ahead will be disappointed.

The rates are unlikely to rise – at least in the next six months, experts say.

Monthly average savings rates have been on a downward trend from January to last month. This means the annual average rate for this year is likely to dip below last year’s already paltry 0.22 per cent.

Rubbing salt into savers’ wounds – inflation is likely to rise next year.

Based on figures from 10 banks and financial institutions compiled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), savings accounts earned an average of 0.22 per cent a year in January, before holding at just 0.16 per cent from July to last month.

This is a far cry from the 1.28 per cent savers used to get in 2000, which was the last time interest rates exceeded 1 per cent.

Such measly rates have caused long-time savers such as Mrs F.S. Sim, 31, to dump conventional deposit accounts for other investments.

‘The rates for my DBS Bank savings account fell from 0.25 per cent to 0.125 per cent in July…After deducting fees and taking into consideration inflation, I think I might even lose money,’ said the communications manager.

Industry experts agree, saying it does not make sense for people who are looking to grow their money to put their savings in a basic deposit account, because of the meagre interest rates.

‘Depositing your money in the bank with such low rates can really be only for safekeeping and perhaps for some regular transactions,’ said the president of the Association of Financial Advisers (Singapore), Mr Raymond Ng.

‘In fact, if you leave it in there for a year, your savings might just get eaten up by inflation.’

Last week, the Trade and Industry Ministry raised its inflation forecast for next year to 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, from 1 per cent to 2 per cent, in view of the recent revision in the annual values of Housing Board flats announced by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

The MAS, however, did not revise its underlying inflation forecast of 1 per cent to 2 per cent, as its figures excluded the cost of accommodation and private road transport.

One would have to go as far back as 1997, during the last Asian financial crisis when the annual average was 3.08 per cent, for a decent return.

But Mr Ng believes that interest rates of between 3 per cent and 6 per cent are a thing of the past.

‘With the current interest rates, your funds will just remain idle and there are many people out there who still do not realise that,’ he added.

Deposit rates typically fall along with the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor), which is the rate at which banks lend to one another.

Sibor is the key factor that affects the rate that banks pay depositors. It has been hovering around 0.68 per cent, not far off the all-time low of 0.56 per cent set in June 2003.

Analysts also pointed out that Sibor is influenced by interest rates set by the United States Federal Reserve.

And since December last year, the US Fed has held its key federal funds rate at a record low of zero per cent to 0.25 per cent – to help pull the economy out of the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

All signs point to interest rates staying low for some time.

Kim Eng analyst Pauline Lee told The Straits Times: ‘We’re looking at interest rates to stay flat in the near term, perhaps until the first half of next year.’

Bankers cited another factor for the low rates. They said local banks are typically well-capitalised and hence do not need to attract deposits, even during the downturn.

The dismal amounts earned from bank interest over the years mean the impact on savers – if there were further reductions in rates – would probably be minimal.

For example, if interest rates for a savings account were cut by half from 0.25 per cent to 0.125 per cent, a deposit of $10,000 would earn only $12.50 less a year in interest.

Those wanting to eke out a better return, however, can turn to other options, such as promotional rates that offer higher interest of up to 1.25 per cent or more if certain conditions are met. These could include maintaining a higher minimum deposit amount for a fixed period of time.

Mr Ng, however, said those seeking higher-yielding alternatives would be better off putting their savings in money market funds.

Source : Straits Times – 23 Nov 2009

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A DULL-LOOKING office block just behind Bugis Junction has been sold and will be renovated for use as a campus for private school ERC Institute.

ERC Holdings, which owns the school, bought nearly all of the 999-year leasehold building in North Bridge Road for $46 million earlier this month from City Developments. With 60 units, or 38,534 sq ft, ERC now owns 91.3 per cent of the strata-titled development.

It plans to spend between $3.5 million and $5 million to renovate the six-storey block, said ERC Holdings chief executive Andy Ong.

The price, which works out to about $1,194 per sq ft based on strata area, is considered fair as such space is hard to find in the city, said Mr Shaun Poh of DTZ, who sealed the deal. Mr Ong said he took 15 months to find the space.

Currently, ERC Institute, which has 2,000 students, operates out of two sites: a campus in River Valley Road and an office unit in Robinson Centre. Its most popular programme covers entrepreneurship.

Come September next year, when its long-term lease at Robinson Centre ends, ERC Holdings will give up that space and move to the Bugis building, tentatively named ERC Complex.

‘By 2012, we hope to get 6,000 to 8,000 students, of which 3,000 to 4,000 will be in Singapore,’ said Mr Ong.

ERC has started operations elsewhere in the region, including in Indonesia.

After the renovation, the new building will offer better facilities than the existing campuses, said Mr Ong.

It will have at least two cafes serving a variety of cuisines, a library, a student rest area and a recreation area.

About 30 to 40 state-of-the-art classrooms will be spread over three levels.

One floor will be reserved for the corporate office of ERC Holdings.

The ground floor has retail space, currently taken by a hair salon and a noodle shop. This Fashion has just moved out.

Nearby, another small office block, Premier Centre, could also be transformed. Budget hotel operator Fragrance Group bought it in July for $18 million, or $1,076 per sq ft, from a Hong Leong Group unit, and might turn it into a hotel.

Source : Straits Times – 23 Nov 2009

THE property tax of HDB flats is being raised next year partly to avoid having to introduce a bigger increase later should home prices continue to rise, said Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew.

He gave the reason yesterday, after being asked at a dialogue with Aljunied-Hougang residents whether the Government could delay it, as the recession has just started to ease.

Noting that the adjustment had been delayed once, Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said: ‘The problem is, the longer you defer it, the larger the increase will be…if HDB prices continue to go up.’

He also pointed out that the Government is taking steps to soften the impact of the tax rise early next year. It is giving HDB homeowners a one-off rebate, set at 50per cent of the property tax payable and capped at $120. This means low-income families with homes whose property tax is $50 and less will not have to pay any such tax next year.

The property tax rate is 10 per cent of a property’s annual value, although homes that are owner-occupied enjoy a concessionary 4 per cent tax rate. The annual value has increased with rising property prices.

HDB resale prices have risen a hefty 31.2per cent in the past two years, and a further 3.8per cent in the first nine months of this year.

Hence, the Government has decided to raise the property tax ‘to reflect the prevailing movement of HDB prices and also to give rebates’, said Rear-Adm Lui.

He also addressed residents’ concerns about the affordability of HDB flats.

Noting that existing owners gain from their asset’s increasing value, he said: ‘If they eventually need to sell…(it) releases more money for their old age.’

But the anxieties of those planning to buy a flat are not lost on him. He assured them that an HDB flat would not be beyond their means, saying that the Ministry of National Development has matched the prices of different flat types against the salaries of different groups of people in the population. ‘It tries to make sure that for every group, there is a flat type that meets their needs,’ he said.

In doing so, it aims for homeowners to pay no more than 30per cent of their salary every month towards their home loan.

More than 75per cent of HDB dwellers use only the contributions to their CPF savings to make their monthly loan payments, he said, urging residents to buy what is affordable.

Source : Straits Times – 23 Nov 2009

Completion of large condo projects near MRT stations helps to boost demand

The number of subsales in the second and third quarters of this year were among the six highest quarterly figures since 1995 – reflecting the build-up in subsale activity that led to the government announcing measures on Sept 14 to cool property prices.

The completion of several condos this year – many of them large projects, close to MRT stations or near new projects launched this year – helped to boost their demand in the subsale market.

As well, the rise in private home prices this year has given sellers an incentive to let go units bought earlier.

Savills Singapore’s analysis of caveats captured by URA’s Realis system as at Nov 17 showed that 1,249 caveats were lodged for subsales of private apartments and condos in Q3 this year, a tad below the 1,300 caveats in Q2.

Since 1995 (when the Realis caveats database was first set up), there had been four other quarters when subsales of condos/apart- ments exceeded the 1,000 mark – during the 1996 and 2007 property market highs.

In Q2 and Q3 2007, subsales hit 1,857 and 1,534 respectively; in Q1 and Q2 1996, subsales were 1,238 and 1,650.

Projects that topped the subsales charts in Q2 and Q3 this year had generally been launched a few years ago and many of them were completed this year. Examples include Rivergate in the Robertson Quay area, Casa Merah near Tanah Merah MRT Station, City Square Residences along Kitchener Road, The Metropolitan Condo in the Alexandra Road area, The Centris in Jurong and Botannia in West Coast.

Projects that have been recently completed or which are nearing completion offer added appeal to potential buyers keen to move in or rent them out soon.

Giving a seller’s perspective, Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng said: ‘If they bought their properties with the intention of leasing them out and if they find today’s rental market challenging, it may make sense to simply cash out, especially if they can make a profit.’

Savills’ lists of the most popular projects in the subsale market in Q2 and Q3 2009 did not include developments launched this year, with the exception of The Quartz, which was relaunched this year.

‘Those who bought projects launched this year would find it harder to flip because their entry price may already be very high,’ says Lee Hon Kiun, owner of Landmark Property Advisers.

Subsales refer to secondary market transactions in projects that have yet to receive Certificate of Statutory Completion. This can take place three to 12 months after Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).

While subsales are often tracked as a gauge of speculative activity, Mr Lee hesitates to equate the increase in subsales in Q2 and Q3 this year with speculation. ‘Those who bought two to three years ago and sold this year… in the Singapore context, that’s a very long time,’ he chuckled. ‘Speculation is when people buy a property and flip it within six months to make a profit,’ he added.

Savills senior manager (research and consultancy) Christine Sun said new property launches by developers also fuelled subsale interest for nearby projects released a few years ago. For example, the release of Alexis, Ascentia Sky and Interlace in the Alexandra Road area could have helped subsales at The Metropolitan Condo nearby, which was completed this year.

Agreeing, Landmark’s Mr Lee said buyers can pick up more attractive buys in the subsale market for earlier launched projects than at new launches in the same area.

A developer said: ‘Personally, I advise friends to buy in subsale projects as prices are discounted to new launches.’

HDB upgraders bought 39 per cent of the 1,300 private apartments/condos transacted in the subsale market in Q2 this year, although the figure has slipped to 36.6 per cent in Q3 and 33.7 per cent in October. Nonetheless, these figures are higher than HDB residents’ 20.8 and 23.1 per cent share of subsale purchases during the property bull market in Q2 and Q3 2007.

Analysts say the jump in HDB resale flat prices has narrowed the price gap with private housing and made it easier for HDB dwellers to upgrade to a private home; and the subsale market offers a ready supply of recently completed homes that are ready for occupation.

Secondly, existing HDB flat dwellers looking for a bigger home may be deterred from picking one up from the HDB resale market because of high prevailing cash over valuation premiums. ‘If they fork out a little more cash, they could foot the downpayment for a private condo in the subsale market instead,’ said the developer.

Savills also provided monthly subsales data for non-landed private homes, which showed that for this year, the figure peaked at 596 in June.

It has since declined to 483 in July, 441 in August, 325 in Sept and just 184 in October – as at Nov 17 when Savills extracted the Realis data. It also observed an increase in the number of foreigners (including permanent residents) snapping up condos and apartments in the subsale market. Their share of purchases in the subsale market rose to about 31 per cent in Q3 this year and 33 per cent in October – from 21 per cent in Q1 2009.

Between 2007 and the first 10 months of 2009, Indonesians were the top buyers in the subsale market, followed by Malaysians, mainland Chinese, Indians and UK nationals.

Source : Business Times – 23 Nov 2009