Singapore Property By Mark Tan R032504C -Expat Relocation Agent-CONDO/HDB/Buy/Sell/Rent/Mgmt

Archive for January 6th, 2010

HDB offers flats in Choa Chu Kang and Hougang

Posted by Singapore Property Match on January 6, 2010

HOME buyers can look forward to plenty of new flats in the year ahead, as the Housing Board (HDB) aggressively ramps up the number of flats to tackle supply concerns.

It launched 1,291 new flats in Choa Chu Kang and Hougang yesterday, with another 1,500 new flats to be put up for sale in Punggol and Woodlands next month.

It is also putting up for sale two new executive condominium sites next Friday, which will cater to middle-income families with private housing aspirations who earn up to $10,000 a month. These sites are in Buangkok Drive and Yishun Ave 11.

In total, the HDB will offer 12,000 new build-to-order (BTO) flats this year if there is sustained demand, it said in a statement yesterday.

This flurry of activity comes amid mounting concerns over the supply of HDB flats. Some analysts say supply is not keeping up with high levels of demand.

Flash estimates released on Monday showed resale flat prices continuing their upward march, rising 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter last year over the previous quarter to hit a new high.

Real estate agency PropNex’s chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the upcoming BTO projects will not have a big impact on current resale flat prices, owing to the waiting period of three to four years for the new flats.

‘For those who cannot wait, they will still have to turn to the resale market,’ he said. But he noted that the HDB has been launching new flats almost every month since the middle of last year to meet demand.

Yesterday’s new projects – Limbang Green in Choa Chu Kang and Buangkok Vale in Hougang – offer 1,291 standard flats for sale.

Limbang Green in Choa Chu Kang Drive is served by Yew Tee MRT station and has 276 studio apartments, 128 three-room flats and 188 four-roomers. Prices range from $64,000 for a studio unit to $278,000 for a four-roomer.

Buangkok Vale, which is bounded by Buangkok Green and Yio Chu Kang Road, offers 128 two-roomers, 113 three-room flats and 458 four-room homes. Prices start at $88,000 for a two-roomer and go up to $288,000 for a four-room flat.

Mr Ismail expects the flats to be popular and estimates five applications for every flat on offer. Both projects are located in mature estates, and the three- and four-room flats are about 30 per cent and 20 per cent cheaper respectively than similar flats in their areas, he said.

First-timers will get priority for 95 per cent of the flats, and those eligible can apply for a housing grant of up to $40,000. Applications for the new flats are now open and close on Jan 18.

Source : Straits Times – 6 Jan 2010

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Preview of Urban Suites draws interest

Posted by Singapore Property Match on January 6, 2010

Asking price for the units said to start from $2,500 psf

PREVIEWS are open for only multiple unit purchases, yet this project is already drawing interest – pointing towards better days for the high-end residential market.

Urban Suites, located at the former Char Yong Gardens site at Hullet Road, is attracting serious buyers from overseas, according to sources.

BT understands that the asking price for these freehold units starts from around $2,500 per sq ft. It is currently available to those who will buy at least two units and there is no news as to when it will be open to those who wish to purchase only a single unit.

Urban Suites, designed by Kerry Hill Architects, comprises 165 units spread across three towers.

There are 26 two-bedders, 94 three-bedders, 40 four-bedders and five duplex and triplex penthouses. The development is expected to receive temporary occupation permit in 2013.

Joint developers CapitaLand and Wachovia Development Corporation had bought Char Yong Gardens en bloc for $1,788 psf of potential gross floor area, including development charges, when the property market was booming in 2007.

The high-end residential sector endured a tough 2009 as the global financial mess unravelled – prices of private homes in the core central region slid an estimated 2 per cent for the full year.

But market watchers expect activity in the high-end sector to pick up this year as the economy recovers.

Colliers International research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying says that the interest which Urban Suites has reportedly drawn is not surprising.

She notes that buyers have become increasingly keen on prime apartments since late last year, as recent transactions have shown.

For instance, Urban Redevelopment Authority data for November shows that 87 units at Marina Bay Suites were sold at prices ranging from $1,826 psf to $2,623 psf.

Ms Tay also says that more foreigners have inquired about homes here since the end of last year. In general, many of them are Malaysians, Indians, Chinese and Indonesians.

The situation is different from that in 2007, when buyers came from as far as Europe or Middle East. ‘Those (buyers) have not really come back in a big way,’ she shares.

In a report yesterday, OCBC Investment Research maintained its positive view on the high-end sector, saying that ‘it is likely to benefit most from the opening of the two integrated resorts this year’.

Source : Business Times – 6 Jan 2010

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Ten Mile Junction site up for sale

Posted by Singapore Property Match on January 6, 2010

The government has kick-started land sales for the year by putting up a residential site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road for tender – the first on the H1 2010 confirmed list to be launched for sale.

The 99-year-leasehold plot comes with the existing Ten Mile Junction development. Some market watchers are expecting higher bids ranging from $135-$150 million for the site this time, well above those received in 2008 when the government tried to sell it.

‘Market sentiments have picked up and there is actually quite a dearth of mass-market sites,’ says Colliers International research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying. ‘We should be able to see more respectable bids being put in.’

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday, the site spans 1.56 ha and the three-storey Ten Mile Junction sits on it. Commercial space with a gross floor area (GFA) of around 121,191 sq ft takes up the first two levels, while an LRT station occupies the third level.

The winning developer would be able to build a residential development with a maximum permissible GFA of 254,394 sq ft on top of Ten Mile Junction. The latter already has loading provision for the residential project, which could have around 200 apartments.

On the whole, the land sale involves only the existing commercial component and the future residential development. Supermarket chain Sheng Siong is the master tenant of the commercial space.

Property consultants cite the land parcel’s proximity to Bukit Panjang Plaza, the upcoming Bukit Panjang MRT Station and other amenities as attractive features.

CB Richard Ellis Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho expects bids for the site to range from $135-$150 million, comprising $60-$65 million for the residential component and $75-$85 million for the commercial podium. Developers could sell the homes at around $650-$700 per square foot (psf).

‘The site is likely to attract HDB upgraders and people who work in Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands,’ he says. At nearby Maysprings, apartments recently went for $509-$672 psf.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak believes that the site will attract five to eight bids, with the highest coming in at $140-$147 million.

He also draws up an interesting scenario – that Sheng Siong could team up with a developer to bid for the site. As part-owner, the supermarket chain would be able to ’secure its interest’ and keep rents down, he suggests.

But developing this site is not without challenges. As DTZ South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon highlights: ‘It is more challenging to build over the existing podium than over a vacant piece of land.’

The tender will close on Feb 23. Estimated bids for this tender far exceed those which the government received some years ago when it tried to sell the site. When tender closed in April 2008, just two developers submitted bids and the highest one was $61 million – too low to be accepted.

The government will be launching more sites on the confirmed list soon. HDB will invite interested parties to tender for two executive condominium sites at Buangkok Drive and Yishun Ave 11 on Jan 15.

Source : Business Times – 6 Jan 2010

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No dice, RWS may open on Jan 20

Posted by Singapore Property Match on January 6, 2010

Phased opening planned as it waits for casino licence

TECHNICALLY, Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) can now open for business as it has received TOP (temporary occupation permit) from the authorities. It also has more than 6,000 staff on board and over 1,000 more on their way soon.

However, the operator’s casino licence is still being processed.

Nevertheless, it has committed to opening some parts of the resort this month anyway.

In a statement released yesterday, RWS, which is owned by Genting Singapore, said that it would begin its ‘phased opening’ from Jan 20 beginning with four hotels.

Reservations for rooms and restaurants begin on Jan 10.

A check with RWS revealed that the Universal Studios Singapore buildings have also received TOP but will open later.

Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Crockfords Tower and Hotel Michael will provide a total of 1,350 rooms and 10 restaurants.

As the casino is located in the basement of Crockfords Tower, it too has received TOP. However, RWS said that the opening date for the casino will be announced when it gets the casino licence.

Earlier reports noted that RWS’s submission for the casino licence had been delayed because its submission was incomplete. RWS declined to comment on any outstanding issues.

When contacted, the Casino Regulatory Authority said the casino licence is still being processed.

To date, the price tag for RWS is US$4.4 billion.

Chairman of the Genting Group and RWS Lim Kok Thay said: ‘When the Genting Group won the bid to build Resorts World Sentosa in December 2006, we promised Singapore that we will deliver a true IR that will make Singapore and Singaporeans proud. We have been single-minded about this – no distractions or excuses – and today, we are happy to say we marked the first milestone towards delivering on that promise.’

Before the hotels open to the public on the Jan 20, two were opened to the staff of RWS yesterday.

RWS CEO Tan Hee Teck said that the phased schedule allows the resort and its projected 10,000 employees to ‘run in operations’.

He also acknowledged that RWS ‘had not only opened on time, but ahead of schedule’.

Phase Two of the integrated resort will open later. This includes two more hotels with a total of 500 rooms, a destination spa, the Marine Life Park and the Maritime Experiential Museum.

Source : Business Times – 6 Jan 2010

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Pending home sales down 16% in November

Posted by Singapore Property Match on January 6, 2010

The number of contracts to buy previously owned US homes fell more than forecast in November as Americans waited for a first-time buyer tax credit to be extended.

The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home sales, dropped 16 per cent after a revised 3.9 per cent October gain that was more than initially reported, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. It was the first decrease in 10 months.

The figure shows housing may be at risk of weakening when homebuyer incentives, which were extended in November, expire later this year. Unemployment close to a 26-year low and weaker consumer finances remain hurdles to a sustained acceleration in home sales that would help fuel the economy.

‘There will be a couple of months where you’ll see noticeable weakness in home resales,’ Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc in New York, said before the report. ‘I don’t expect the trajectory we’ve seen over the past three to six months to be maintained.’

Sales were projected to fall 2 per cent after an originally reported gain of 3.7 per cent in October, according to the median of 35 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from a drop of 12 per cent to a 3.9 per cent increase.

Compared with November 2008, pending sales were up 19.3 per cent, the real estate group said.

All four US regions registered decreases in November, led by 26 per cent slumps in the Northeast and Midwest. Pending sales dropped 15 per cent in the South and 2.7 per cent in the West.

Pending home sales are considered a leading indicator because they track contract signings. The Realtors’ existing-home sales report tallies closings, which typically occur a month or two later. The Realtors’ group started publishing the index in March 2005, and data go back to January 2001.

Transactions had to close by Nov 30 for buyers to qualify for the tax credit, which explains why resales continued to rise through November.

Separately, factory orders in the United States rose in November more than twice as much as anticipated, led by gains in demand for business equipment that indicate companies are boosting spending and production.

Bookings rose 1.1 per cent, the seventh increase in eight months, figures from the Commerce Department showed yesterday in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.5 per cent gain.

Source : Business Times – 6 Jan 2010

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