Fourteen strata shop units on the second storey of Holland Road Shopping Centre have been put up for sale.

The four-storey block shopping centre is located at 211 Holland Avenue.

The units have separate titles but are to be sold jointly.

They occupy a total gross floor area of 5,543 square feet.

All the units are currently tenanted and the tenancy will expire in 2013.

Property consultant Colliers International said the indicative price ranges between S$28 million and S$29 million.

This works out to about S$5,051 to S$5,231 per square foot.

Colliers International Deputy Managing Director of Agency and Business Services, Grace Ng, said Holland Road Shopping Centre enjoys an almost 100 per cent occupancy rate and its retail space has always been highly sought after.

She added that properties located in the Shopping Centre are likely to experience capital and rental appreciation due to the upcoming adjacent Holland Village MRT Station, which is scheduled to be ready in 2011.

The tender will close on August 5.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 14 Jul 2010

Thu, Jul 15, 2010
AsiaOne

Flat owners with ongoing subletting tenancies that commenced before February 1 this year are reminded by the Housing Board to register with them by the deadline on July 31.

HDB had announced the new ruling on January 12, to support the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) efforts to eradicate loansharking activities, and to better protect HDB residents.

While there is no need to seek prior approval for subletting of rooms, owners are also required to notify HDB when they renew or terminate their subletting contracts, and when there are changes to their subtenants’ particulars.

This will allow HDB to capture particulars of those who rent rooms in the HDB flats, and the MHA to trace the movement of borrowers.

Owners who flout the rules may fined up to $3,000 or for recalcitrant cases, compulsory acquisition of their flats.

Even though transactions of new home sales have dropped, prices seem to have held up.

For bargain hunters who are looking for properties in the price range of $600 psf, one can consider Choa Chu Kang. Take for instance the 553-unit Regent Grove, a 99-year leasehold condominium located at Choa Chu Kang North 7 (near the Yew Tee MRT station.) It appears to be drawing homebuyers on the lookout for reasonably priced mass market condominiums in the suburbs. From June 8 to 15, there were five transactions at the development at prices ranging from $590 to $665 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis.

With its proximity to an MRT station, the current prices at the 10-year-old condo developed by Far East Organization are considered attractive to buyers who are planning to buy a home that fits their budget. According to property agent Steven Chen of PropNex, affordability and proximity to the MRT station have been the two key attractions for homebuyers at Regent Grove.

In the latest transactions, the highest psf price achieved at Regent Grove was $665 psf on June 9, when a 926 sq ft two-bedroom unit on the 11th floor of Block 54 was sold for $616,000. This represents a 14% gain for the seller, who purchased the unit for $541,000 ($584 psf) from the developer in November 1999.

On the 10th floor of the same block, a 1,173 sq ft three-bedroom unit was sold for $770,000 ($656 psf) on June 8, providing a 25% gain for the seller who bought the unit for $617,400 ($526 psf) from the developer in October 2000.

On the seventh floor of the same block, a seller reaped a significant gain of 76% when he sold a 1,259 unit for $748,000 ($594 psf) on June 9. The seller bought the unit for $425,000 ($337 psf) in March 2006. Before this, the unit changed hands at a higher price of $638,000 ($507) on the resale market in March 2003.

Another similar-sized unit on the 12th floor at Block 52 was sold for $750,000 ($596 psf), giving a gain of 27% to the seller who purchased the unit for $589,000 ($468 psf) from the developer in August 1998.

Meanwhile, the fifth unit that changed hands was a 1,195 sq ft three-bedroom unit on the sixth floor at Block 50, which went for $705,000 ($590 psf). This represents a 34% gain for the seller, who purchased it at $525,000 ($439 psf) from the developer in March 1999.

Regent Grove is one of the few remaining developments in the Choa Chu Kang district where the average asking prices for units are still capped below $650 psf, according to Kelly Yu, marketing director of ERA.

Other condos in the area include Northvale and The Warren. At The Warren, which is newer given that it was completed in 2004/05, transaction prices over the last two months were between $648 and $731 psf, according to caveats lodged in May to June. Meanwhile, at the 12-year-old Northvale, transactions over the last two months have been in the range of $560 to $668 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis.

At Mi Casa, a 457-unit Far East Organization project at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3 (located across the street from Lot 1 Shoppers’ Mall ) that was launched late last year, more than 420 units have been sold as at end-May at a median price of $794 psf, according to URA’s monthly new home sales.

According to Citi’s latest research report last Monday, new mass-market condo prices will likely remain strong, given the support of capital gains from existing HDB flats at a seven-year high, and low mortgage rates. Fuelling investment demand for such properties is the rental yield of 4.25% compared with mortgage rates of below 2%. Citi expects prices in the massmarket segment to be capped at the $900 to $1,000 psf levels. Hence, investors may be zeroing in on older condos priced in the $600 psf range with immediate rental potential.

A NEW Peranakan-themed mall will soon take the place of the former Katong Mall and mark the debut mall for Pua Seck Guan’s Perennial Real Estate in Singapore.

Mr Pua is CEO of Perennial Real Estate and formerly CEO of Capitaland Retail. The mall, located at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road, will have a net lettable area (NLA) of 207,000 sq ft, 20 per cent larger than before.

It has already secured three key tenants. Cold Storage’s Market Place will take up about 13,000 sq ft of space. Meanwhile, Golden Village multiplex will take up 30,000 sq ft, boasting eight halls, two of which will be Gold Class Halls. This will be a first in the eastern part of Singapore. The third key tenant is George Quek’s BreadTalk group, which will open a 15,000 sq ft Food Republic Food Atrium and 7,500 sq ft of restaurants such as BreadTalk, Din Tai Fung and Toastbox.

The space leased by these three tenants will amount to about 32 per cent of the NLA. The mall will feature six levels of retail – basement 1 and from level 1 to 5, with an atrium on level 2. Basements 2 and 3 will have 310 carpark lots.

The mall is owned by Perennial Katong Retail trust, a private trust constituted for the purpose of buying Katong Mall. Investors in the trust include Alpha Investment Partners Limited’s Asia Macro Trends Fund, which holds a majority stake of 77 per cent. It is a unit of Keppel Corp. Other investors include BreadTalk Group Limited and Mr Pua, among others. The mall will be managed by Perennial (Singapore) Retail Management Pte Ltd.

Katong Mall is currently undergoing redevelopment and is expected to be ready by the third quarter of 2011. The contract is worth $60 million and has been awarded to SEF Construction Pte Ltd.

‘The expected rent is about $12 psf per month on average,’ said Mr Pua.

The mall, designed by DP Architects, will reflect the Peranakan culture that surrounds the mall and seamlessly integrate itself with the many F&B outlets around the area. For example, the first two floors will be dedicated to F&B and bars that will operate till extended closing hours that will complement the surroundings and the cinema upstairs.

Mr Pua believes that the new mall will do better than the former strata-titled Katong Mall because it will come under single ownership, where Perennial Retail Management will be able to control the tenant mix and positioning.

About 30 per cent of the mall space is expected to be designated F&B with another 30 per cent dedicated to fashion and accessories.

Source : AsiaOne – 12 Jul 2010

Four strata titled units in the central business district have been put up for sale.

The four units occupy the top floors of GB Building, which is located at 143 Cecil Street.

The building comprises a 3-storey podium with a 23-storey office tower and is within two to three minutes’ walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT.

Sizes of the four units for sale range from 5,210 square feet to 5,500 square feet per floor, with a total strata area of some 21,500 square feet.

The units feature column-free space on all the typical office floors.

Located on the top floors of the building, the units command good views of the surroundings.

The indicative price is $30.18 million.

Based on the indicative price, this works out to $1,400 per square foot over strata floor area.

Property consultant CB Richard Ellis is the sole marketing agent for this private treaty sale.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Jul 2010

Tenants hope new lifestyle store will lure crowds back to deserted mall, a former youth hangout

It was lunch time last Wednesday at The Heeren Shops in busy Orchard Road.

You would think the eateries at its basement and on the fifth floor would be packed, but, at Thai Express, only a handful of tables were occupied.

Just two shop spaces away, at Fish & Co, not even one customer was spotted.

And it was not only the eateries that were deserted.

Manicurists at The Nail Spa & Wellness chit-chatted and worked on each other’s nails.

A hairstylist at UrbanHair by Ginrich was busy – fussing over his own hair.

There were no customers at either shop.

The shopping mall, a popular hangout with young adults about four years ago, has lost a lot of its vibe.

A former anchor tenant, music store HMV, has packed up and gone, and glitzy malls like Ion Orchard and 313@Somerset are now the new buzzwords with shoppers.

‘When The Heeren opened, people had to squeeze through crowds, and I’d see about 200 people walk past in an hour,’ said Mr Richard Tat, 51, owner of Body Decor Tattoo and Piercing.

‘These days, hardly anyone walks by,’ said the Heeren tenant of 10 years, who now depends on regulars for business.

Days can be slow. Last Wednesday, six hours after he started work at noon, the tattoo artist had done just one tattoo and one piercing and had sold a replacement ball for a navel ring.

Indeed, that day was not a good one either for many other tenants, going by what The Sunday Times observed between 9.45am and 10pm.

We saw people venturing into the six-storey mall, but many just window shopped on the first floor before walking out.

Most of those interviewed said they were looking only for a specific item and were not interested in checking out the shops.

Even fewer bought anything.

Certainly, at 2pm, there were no shoppers in the youth zone on the fourth floor, as loud techno music blared from some shops.

Around 6pm, things got a little better. We counted about 30 people on the fourth floor, which is occupied mostly by shops selling apparel.

But there were fewer than 15 patrons at the restaurants on the fifth floor.

The dearth of traffic was despite at least 19 shops in the mall offering discounts of up to 75 per cent, though Pasta de Waraku’s student discount of 25 per cent seemed to be working.

It was the only restaurant on the fifth floor that was half-full at 1.30pm and 8.30pm. Other eateries were, at the most, about one-fifth full.

It was the same story with the basement eateries.

They were mostly empty, save for the newly opened Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which attracted a queue.

When the music stopped

Tenants have been wringing their hands ever since HMV pulled out in January this year. The music store relocated across the road to 313@Somerset, less than a five-minute walk away.

‘When HMV was here, we would be able to get more foreigners and increase our sales. Without it, we see a 30 to 40 per cent decrease in sales,’ said Ms Cherly Wong, store manager at shoe and apparel outlet Converse on the third floor.

Fewer customers could have prompted some tenants to pull out. The Sunday Times estimated that 25 per cent of shops were available for lease.

According to Swee Cheng Management, the company that manages the mall, it has an incoming tenant, hairdressing salon Shunji Matsuo. It is in talks to fill up six units.

Efforts have been made to keep up with the changes in the Orchard Road area.

The 14-year-old Heeren was renovated two years ago, with changes made to the basement and fifth floor to make for more retail and recreation space.

Last year, an outdoor refreshment area was built and several eateries, such as McDonald’s, set up shop.

Last month, the mall even hosted this year’s Manhunt Singapore in a bid to whip up excitement.

Shoppers, however, remained lukewarm.

Ms Jocelyn Chan, 22, a Singapore Management University student, said she used to shop at The Heeren during her secondary school days, when it was still a trendy hangout.

Now, she prefers malls that carry international brands like Zara and Topshop. ‘These days, I come only when the eating places at other malls are too crowded,’ she said.

Tenants are now banking their hopes on ALT, the new anchor tenant which takes up the space vacated by HMV.

ALT, a lifestyle concept store targeting shoppers from their mid-20s to mid-30s, opened last Thursday.

Mr Ignatius Koh, 27, owner of Coalition Store, which sells clothes and accessories on the fourth floor, said: ‘The crowd has been slow because we’ve been missing an anchor tenant for three levels of shop space.

‘I’m expecting things to go back to normal once ALT opens,’ he said last Wednesday.

The folks at Indonesian restaurant Desa Kartika share the same hope.

‘We’ll be happier once the anchor tenant opens. It will revitalise Heeren again,’ said a spokesman.

Source : Straits Times – 11 Jul 2010

Others say excessive liquidity exaggerates prices

PROPERTY prices of both private and Housing Board resale flats have, for the first time, surpassed previous peaks to reach new records.

Latest official estimates show private home prices rose 5.2 per cent in the second quarter, after a 5.6 per cent jump in the first quarter. That means prices are now 1.5 per cent above the 1996 highs.

HDB resale flat prices rose 3.8 per cent in the second quarter, marking the eighth straight quarter that prices have broken records since 2008, when they surpassed the peak levels of 1996.

The rise in prices signals a strong demand for homes in the property market. But with prices at record levels, can this demand be sustained?

For home-buyers and investors still on the lookout, the big question is: To buy or not to buy? Does it make sense to buy now, given that prices are at the highest levels?

Or is this a new era of property prices in Singapore?

Most industry analysts whom The Sunday Times spoke to seemed to think so.

The increase in levels of affluence in Singapore and in Asia due to a robust regional economy has helped to fuel prices, said C&H Realty managing director Albert Lu.

These prices move up and down in tandem with property cycles, but each peak is higher than the previous peak and each bottom is higher than the previous bottom, noted ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim.

‘So, if we were to plot a trend line across all the cycles, we can see that property prices will be on an uptrend over time,’ he said.

Given Singapore’s economy is roaring at double-digit growth rates, property prices can be expected to continue their march upwards in the short term, he added.

Even if private property buyers wait a year or two, there is no guarantee that prices will come down. And when they do, desirable properties are often taken off the market. ‘So if you see something you like, do your sums and if it is affordable for you, then go for it.’

Mr Lu agreed. Buyers who cannot wait might want to buy before prices go up further, although if the purchase can be put on hold, ‘it would be best to catch the next down cycle’, he said.

This means the absolute loan amount a buyer takes will be lower and more affordable.

But prices are unlikely to return to the 2004 levels and the next down cycle could be as far as five years away, he said.

Chesterton Suntec International research and consultancy director Colin Tan has a contrarian’s view.

This new level of prices is ‘somewhat exaggerated by the excessive liquidity in all the markets today’, he said.

While the market has achieved new peaks, it has done so on the back of ‘abnormally low interest rates’ – three times less than normal interest rates, he added.

The fundamental level of prices is likely much lower and close to pre-2007 price levels, he said.

‘So although we’re on a higher plane, current price levels will correct significantly to their true levels. The big question is when.’

So have investors missed the boat? ‘In a sense, they have. But it’s a boat lined with super glue – easy to jump into but difficult to disembark,’ cautioned Mr Tan.

The rental market has plateaued in the second quarter and from anecdotal evidence by agents, investors are finding it difficult to achieve the rental returns they had hoped for, he added. As a general rule, investors should aim for a 3 per cent to 4 per cent rental yield per year, said Mr Lim.

Despite the high price levels, Associate Professor Sing Tien Foo of the National University of Singapore’s real estate department observed that the current growth in prices is ‘still not as high compared with the growth in prices in the previous peaks in the 1990s’.

However, ‘we have to be concerned about the high volatility created by the active markets’ and cautious about the possibility of a property bubble, especially if prices continue to increase at a pace that is not sustainable or reflective of the health of the economy, he added.

Source : Straits Times – 11 Jul 2010