CELEBS CASH IN ON THEIR HOT PROPERTY

CELEBS CASH IN ON THEIR HOT PROPERTY
By Chong Zheng Ying
chongzy@sph.com.sg

June 04, 2007




THE local property market is sizzling hot right now.

En-bloc sales are the talk of town, luxury developments are snapped up almost instantly, and property prices are at an all-time high.

The Singapore Press Holdings' classified sections have seen a surge of more than 20 per cent in advertisements for apartments in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11.


So it's no wonder that some savvy celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon to benefit from the property market.

While not all of them had profit on their minds, celebrities like Chen Hanwei, Bryan Wong, Quan Yifeng and David Gan made profits by moving out this year.

Not to mention singer Sun Ho, who stands to make about $1 million if the collective sale for her condo, Horizon Towers in Leonie Hill, passes through.

In particular, The Glacier, a condominium development in Joo Chiat which was dubbed Kampong Glam for its unusual number of celebrity residents, suffered mass exodus when the celebs moved out.

The condo used to boast of residents like Bryan, Yifeng, Lynn and Darren Seah.

Hanwei added to the estate's star quotient when he moved in last December.

Bryan was the first to leave. He moved out of his 130 sq m apartment in April.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Bryan downgraded to a three-bedroom HDB flat in a bid to seek a 'simpler life'.

Other reports said he had gleaned some financial tips after hosting the Dollars and Sense gameshow, and had sold off his three-year-old apartment to cash in on the property boom.

Bryan is currently overseas and could not speak to The New Paper on Sunday.

His move was closely followed by Hanwei, who moved out of his penthouse unit after a mere four months.

He had bought his 214 sq m three-bedroom unit for close to $1m last year, but sold it off in April.

A quick check with the Urban Redevelopment Authority website showed that his unit probably sold for nearly $1.25m. Which means that Hanwei would have made a neat profit of at least $200,000 within four months.

Yet Hanwei claimed that his reasons for moving out were personal and not financial.

'My mom and two young nephews come to stay over very often. The apartment had a lot of glass fixtures in the balcony, rooms and toilet.

'I decided to get a new place that would be safer for my nephews, who are 8 and six-months-old.'

Hanwei also insisted that he didn't make much profit from the sale of his Joo Chiat apartment after taking away the cost of renovations ($30,000) and furniture.

Before buying the Joo Chiat condo, Hanwei used to live in rented apartments at Newton and Serangoon Gardens.

He said: 'I fell in love with it when I first saw it. It was the first home I owned and lived in.'

He is currently renting a one-bedroom apartment in Siglap for a little over $2,000 a month, and has no intentions of buying another home.

'I'll be renting until the property market cools down before I start looking at buying again,' he said.

So doesn't this make him quite a property guru in the making?

After all, Hanwei also sold off his 60sq m loft at the The Icon in Tanjong Pagar before its completion two years ago for a profit.

He had bought the apartment two years ago at around '$400,000 to $500,000' and claims he made only about '$20,000 to $30,000' when he sold it off at the end of 2005.

'The property market was soft at that time,' said Hanwei.

And according to a report that year, a 57 sq m unit at The Icon was going for about $390,000.

NO SPACE

Hanwei said he sold off his loft because he had just bought a piano, and there was 'no space in that small loft to put it'.

And it was sheer luck that both his properties sold for a profit.

'I just bought it because I liked it. I don't know how to make investments in the property industry.'

Despite Hanwei's denials about his investment acumen, it was through him that neighbour and colleague Yifeng sold off her own unit and found a new home.

Like Bryan, Yifeng was looking to downgrade.

Yifeng told Shin Min Daily News that Hanwei put her in touch with another actor, Jeffrey Wang Yuqing, whose friend later bought Yifeng's unit.

On the sale, Yifeng said: 'Well, there was money to be made. Now that the prices of private property are rising, of course you should sell now. Why wait?'

She also told Lianhe Zaobao that it was a prudent move as husband Peter Yu had just started out as a property agent.

Yifeng had bought her four-bedroom 123 sq m apartment for around $750,000 three years ago, and sold it off for about $800,000.

When asked about her profit, Yifeng reportedly replied: 'It's enough to pay for three years' rental, and I will still have a five-figure sum left over.'

Even then, she joked that she didn't make as much profit as Bryan and Hanwei because 'unlike them, I could not boast of my condo being a celebrity condo anymore, since they had already moved out'.

It is not clear when the estate's two other celebrity residents Lynn and Darren, moved out.

Yifeng is now in the midst of moving to a smaller rented apartment in the east.

Her new place is three quarters the size of her old apartment. The monthly rental is $2,500.

BURDEN

Asked if she felt sad about downgrading, Yifeng said: 'There is no stability in showbiz. The risks are big, so why pressure yourself with the burden of a home mortgage?'

All this moving and selling is tempting actor Vincent Ng, who lives nearby in Marine Parade.

The 32-year-old said that he is currently 'researching' the property market, as he hopes to sell his condo unit for a profit, and downgrade to a flat or rented property.

Actor Christopher Lee also apparently sold off his 900 sq ft apartment at Newton 18 some time after Chinese New Year this year.

He had bought the apartment for around $1m in 2003.

It was reported at that time that Fann Wong also bought a unit in the same condo as an investment.

At the time, Christopher had told Shin Min Daily News: 'This is a home I have purchased, and if I get married, it will be here...'

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case now.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, Christopher has not returned often to his Newton apartment after he was arrested for drink driving last October.

The 36-year-old actor is currently serving a four-week jail term for his offence.

It was not known why he sold the apartment. According to URA records, a unit of the same size in Newton sold for around $1.1m in February.

Which means Christopher probably didn't profit as much as the others.

Another star who didn't profit from selling is celebrity coiffeur David Gan.

He recently moved from his Paterson Edge apartment into a posh three-bedroom pad in The Boulevard Residence (BLVD) off Orchard Road, which has Fann as a resident.

He reportedly paid $5m for the apartment - nearly double what he received for his 120 sq m Paterson Edge sale.

The 44-year-old has been offered $6.5m for his new home but he will not be lured by this fat carrot.

He was quoted as saying: 'I feel a great sense of achievement when I'm here. It has taken me a lot of hard work to get this house and everything that's inside.'

- Additional reporting by Wendy Teo