Westwood ends scheduling row
Friday, 02 Nov 2007 17:19
Lee Westwood is hoping for success in Singapore this week Printer friendly version
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Lee Westwood has said he wants to put an end to the controversy surrounding his comments about the 'poor scheduling' of the European Tour.
The English golfer was forced to miss the final event of the season at the Volvo Masters as the dates clashed with a rival Asian Tour tournament, the Singapore Masters.
Westwood was invited to the Singapore event last year before the European Tour released their schedule and was critical when he discovered the dates of the two competitions clashed, meaning he could not be present for both.
"I think that everybody wants it over and done with so this mistake doesn't happen again next year," he said.
"Both sponsors have suffered - Volvo and Barclays [sponsors in Singapore].
"Barclays also lost out on a couple of players that would have ordinarily been playing here in Sergio [Garcia] and Padraig [Harrington]."
Westwood stood by his criticism of the European Tour but called for a line to be drawn under the entire episode.
"The mismanagement on behalf of the tour is disappointing," he added.
"I'd like to have played in both tournaments and hopefully it will be corrected in years to come so I can play in the last couple of events of the European season."
The Englishman's complaints have been echoed by a number of players, including European Tour Order of Merit leader Ernie Els.
The South African stands to lose out at the top of the standings because he was also committed to playing in Singapore.
Els has since missed the cut at the Asian event and must now watch a number of players who are hoping to top him in the money list, including the current top two in Spain Harrington and Justin Rose, battle it out for the winner's cheque in Valderrama.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Singapore and Chinese enterprises can draw on their different strengths and complement each other to explore external markets such as the Middle East.
S'pore, China firms can jointly explore external markets
By Wong Yee Fong, Channel NewsAsia's China correspondent | Posted: 02 November 2007 2148 hrs
NANJING, CHINA: Singapore and Chinese enterprises can draw on their different strengths and complement each other to explore external markets such as the Middle East.
Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, said this after attending a business forum in China's Jiangsu province.
Singapore and Jiangsu have enjoyed close ties since they developed the Suzhou Industrial Park together in 1994.
The long-time partners are now in a position to jointly explore opportunities abroad, said Mr Lee.
He said: "For instance, our architects or engineering firms can partner with some of the construction firms in China to undertake some of the largest projects in the Middle East.....civil engineering, construction, airport, seaport or waste treatment or power plant."
More and more Chinese companies are seeking management know-how and expertise to help them position themselves in global markets.
Mr Lee said Singapore plays a unique role with its location, being seven hours away from China and the Middle East.
If such a partnership is realised, perhaps some of the Chinese labels would be found in the Middle East some day.
The Singapore Minister of State also proposed possible joint business missions to India, Russia and Southeast Asia.
Mr Lee was speaking after attending the Jiangsu Enterprises Internationalisation Forum held in the provincial capital Nanjing.
More than 100 businessman and government officials from Jiangsu and Singapore attended the event organised by IE Singapore.
Ma Guiliang, assistant to general manager of Jiangnan Environmental Protection Company, said: "I'm interested in the way countries like Singapore control atmospheric pollution. "
Choe Peng Sum, chief executive officer of Frasers Hospitality, said: "We are looking at several areas in Wuxi, Suzhou. Nanjing itself has a lot of opportunities, apart from the one we have."
Frasers Hospitality (a Singapore property management company) and Yanlord Land (a Singapore property developer) have jointly launched their first serviced residence in Hexi, a new central business district.
It is the first of ten such residences by Frasers in China. - CNA/ir
By Wong Yee Fong, Channel NewsAsia's China correspondent | Posted: 02 November 2007 2148 hrs
NANJING, CHINA: Singapore and Chinese enterprises can draw on their different strengths and complement each other to explore external markets such as the Middle East.
Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, said this after attending a business forum in China's Jiangsu province.
Singapore and Jiangsu have enjoyed close ties since they developed the Suzhou Industrial Park together in 1994.
The long-time partners are now in a position to jointly explore opportunities abroad, said Mr Lee.
He said: "For instance, our architects or engineering firms can partner with some of the construction firms in China to undertake some of the largest projects in the Middle East.....civil engineering, construction, airport, seaport or waste treatment or power plant."
More and more Chinese companies are seeking management know-how and expertise to help them position themselves in global markets.
Mr Lee said Singapore plays a unique role with its location, being seven hours away from China and the Middle East.
If such a partnership is realised, perhaps some of the Chinese labels would be found in the Middle East some day.
The Singapore Minister of State also proposed possible joint business missions to India, Russia and Southeast Asia.
Mr Lee was speaking after attending the Jiangsu Enterprises Internationalisation Forum held in the provincial capital Nanjing.
More than 100 businessman and government officials from Jiangsu and Singapore attended the event organised by IE Singapore.
Ma Guiliang, assistant to general manager of Jiangnan Environmental Protection Company, said: "I'm interested in the way countries like Singapore control atmospheric pollution. "
Choe Peng Sum, chief executive officer of Frasers Hospitality, said: "We are looking at several areas in Wuxi, Suzhou. Nanjing itself has a lot of opportunities, apart from the one we have."
Frasers Hospitality (a Singapore property management company) and Yanlord Land (a Singapore property developer) have jointly launched their first serviced residence in Hexi, a new central business district.
It is the first of ten such residences by Frasers in China. - CNA/ir
Indonesian Investor Disappointed With Local Banks in Malaysia
Indonesian Investor Disappointed With Local Banks
By Mohd Haikal Isa
JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- An Indonesian investor who has invested significantly to buy four units of properties in two strategic locations in Johor Baharu, says he is changing his plans to invest millions of ringgit here, claiming he faced too many problems with the local banks here.
The investor's representative, Zufri Kaharuddin Mohd Nazir, 41, said the Indonesian investor, currently based in Singapore faced difficulties getting loans from banks here to proceed with his investment plans, although he had paid in cash RM460,000 to a local property company.
The money was the deposit for the said properties, valued at RM4.7 million.
"Since having signed the sale and purchase agreement late last year, the investor has approached almost all the local banks and it has been a dead-end for him. The banks have put up various reasons for refusing him the loan, such as being a foreign citizen, not having any achievement record and without monthly income," Zufri told Bernama here recently.
Zufri said the large amount of cash paid as deposit for the properties was already sufficient proof of the investor's financial standing to pay back any future bank loan.
The investor, who had requested for anonymity due to business reasons, is said to currently own a portfolio of real estate investments covering property assets in Germany, London, Indonesia and Singapore.
Zufri, who is a local businessman, claimed that among the properties owned by the investor included seven condominiums in Singapore worth more than SG$1 million each.
"The investor is among an elite group of Indonesians who took the decision to transfer their wealth to Singapore from Indonesia amid the unsteady economic and political climate in Indonesia during the late 90s and early 2000.
"Due to his standing as a property investor and his strong financial background, Singapore authorities accorded him permanent resident status," he further said.
As for his investment in Johor, Zufri said if the property sale and purchase agreement had been completed, the investor had intended to build a hotel close to the Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) to cater to relations of local patients admitted in the hospital as well as visiting Indonesians seeking treatment at the hospital.
He also planned to build a showroom for a popular car brand at one of the tourist spots here,
"But with the experience he has had with local banks, he has given up. He now wants to withdraw his investment plans here and focus on other countries," he said.
He also alleged that the investor in the beginning had been given the assurance that it would be easy and he would have no problem getting a loan from the local bank when he initiated the move to buy the property.
But the loan issue has yet to be resolved and the investor is in fear of losing his deposit as well, he said.
-- BERNAMA
By Mohd Haikal Isa
JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- An Indonesian investor who has invested significantly to buy four units of properties in two strategic locations in Johor Baharu, says he is changing his plans to invest millions of ringgit here, claiming he faced too many problems with the local banks here.
The investor's representative, Zufri Kaharuddin Mohd Nazir, 41, said the Indonesian investor, currently based in Singapore faced difficulties getting loans from banks here to proceed with his investment plans, although he had paid in cash RM460,000 to a local property company.
The money was the deposit for the said properties, valued at RM4.7 million.
"Since having signed the sale and purchase agreement late last year, the investor has approached almost all the local banks and it has been a dead-end for him. The banks have put up various reasons for refusing him the loan, such as being a foreign citizen, not having any achievement record and without monthly income," Zufri told Bernama here recently.
Zufri said the large amount of cash paid as deposit for the properties was already sufficient proof of the investor's financial standing to pay back any future bank loan.
The investor, who had requested for anonymity due to business reasons, is said to currently own a portfolio of real estate investments covering property assets in Germany, London, Indonesia and Singapore.
Zufri, who is a local businessman, claimed that among the properties owned by the investor included seven condominiums in Singapore worth more than SG$1 million each.
"The investor is among an elite group of Indonesians who took the decision to transfer their wealth to Singapore from Indonesia amid the unsteady economic and political climate in Indonesia during the late 90s and early 2000.
"Due to his standing as a property investor and his strong financial background, Singapore authorities accorded him permanent resident status," he further said.
As for his investment in Johor, Zufri said if the property sale and purchase agreement had been completed, the investor had intended to build a hotel close to the Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) to cater to relations of local patients admitted in the hospital as well as visiting Indonesians seeking treatment at the hospital.
He also planned to build a showroom for a popular car brand at one of the tourist spots here,
"But with the experience he has had with local banks, he has given up. He now wants to withdraw his investment plans here and focus on other countries," he said.
He also alleged that the investor in the beginning had been given the assurance that it would be easy and he would have no problem getting a loan from the local bank when he initiated the move to buy the property.
But the loan issue has yet to be resolved and the investor is in fear of losing his deposit as well, he said.
-- BERNAMA
Morley sets up first Asia office
Morley sets up first Asia office
By SIOW LI SEN
ONE of the largest property fund managers in Europe yesterday announced that it is setting up its first Asia office, in Singapore.
Morley Fund Management, which has plans to invest US$10 billion in the region over the next four years, said it has identified Singapore as key to its growth strategy.
Nick Mansley, Morley’s director of property strategy, told BT that the Singapore office will be the hub for the firm’s Asian property business. Morley, the asset management arm of UK-based Aviva plc said in a statement that it has appointed Nick Ridgewell to head its Asian property business based in Singapore. He was previously managing director of Macquarie Bank’s real estate business in Hong Kong.
‘We have strong ambitions for our property business in Asia and are confident we can replicate the rapid growth we have achieved in Europe,’ said Ian Womack, Morley’s managing director, property.
Morley’s property investment business has grown rapidly in recent years with more than US$60 billion invested in property assets in the UK and the rest of Europe. Mr Womack said that Mr Ridgewell’s expertise will be critical in supporting Morley’s strategy of leveraging on the robust expansion of Singapore’s property sector and growth in the real estate funds business.
‘Singapore will be a key growth market for Morley,’ Mr Womack said. ‘We are working on funds which will invest in Singapore.’
He said while investment in Singapore will be opportunistic, the strategy will not be deterred by the high prices here as ‘Singapore is a relatively safe market in the Asian context’.
Morley, which opened for business in Asia in April this year, will work with multiple joint venture and fund partners in Japan, China, South Korea and India to seek out developments and properties to meet its clients’ needs.
Firms within the Morley group of companies manage £pounds;168 billion (S$504 billion) as at June 30.
Morley manages both institutional and retail funds. It also acts as investment manager for a range of retail investment funds, marketed in the UK under the Norwich Union brand and in Europe under the Aviva Morley name. The property team manages in excess of £pounds;32 billion of UK and European property assets.
Source : Business Times - 02 Nov 2007
By SIOW LI SEN
ONE of the largest property fund managers in Europe yesterday announced that it is setting up its first Asia office, in Singapore.
Morley Fund Management, which has plans to invest US$10 billion in the region over the next four years, said it has identified Singapore as key to its growth strategy.
Nick Mansley, Morley’s director of property strategy, told BT that the Singapore office will be the hub for the firm’s Asian property business. Morley, the asset management arm of UK-based Aviva plc said in a statement that it has appointed Nick Ridgewell to head its Asian property business based in Singapore. He was previously managing director of Macquarie Bank’s real estate business in Hong Kong.
‘We have strong ambitions for our property business in Asia and are confident we can replicate the rapid growth we have achieved in Europe,’ said Ian Womack, Morley’s managing director, property.
Morley’s property investment business has grown rapidly in recent years with more than US$60 billion invested in property assets in the UK and the rest of Europe. Mr Womack said that Mr Ridgewell’s expertise will be critical in supporting Morley’s strategy of leveraging on the robust expansion of Singapore’s property sector and growth in the real estate funds business.
‘Singapore will be a key growth market for Morley,’ Mr Womack said. ‘We are working on funds which will invest in Singapore.’
He said while investment in Singapore will be opportunistic, the strategy will not be deterred by the high prices here as ‘Singapore is a relatively safe market in the Asian context’.
Morley, which opened for business in Asia in April this year, will work with multiple joint venture and fund partners in Japan, China, South Korea and India to seek out developments and properties to meet its clients’ needs.
Firms within the Morley group of companies manage £pounds;168 billion (S$504 billion) as at June 30.
Morley manages both institutional and retail funds. It also acts as investment manager for a range of retail investment funds, marketed in the UK under the Norwich Union brand and in Europe under the Aviva Morley name. The property team manages in excess of £pounds;32 billion of UK and European property assets.
Source : Business Times - 02 Nov 2007
Easy money from property?
Easy money from property?
There’s blood on the streets of Britain’s housing market - make a mistake when you invest and, it will cost you
Phil Spencer
There’s blood on the streets of Britain’s housing market. Five successive interest-rate rises have gouged deep wounds, but the coup de grâce could be yet to come – an estimated 2m people on fixed-rate mortgages will have to take out new loans at higher rates within the next 12 months, sending their monthly payments soaring and reducing their ability to trade up.
Of course, the market, especially in London and the southeast, is being underpinned by a rising population and a shortage of housing. But we can only handle a certain amount of debt, which means prices cannot keep on going up at the same rapid pace for ever. There comes a point when something has to give.
Over the past decade, it has been possible to trade up the ladder simply by owning a place on it – as I know from my own experience. During that period, without moving more than a mile within the same patch of southwest London, I have gone from my first flat right through to a large house with private parking on my favourite street, all by refurbishing and extending each property. The builders move in next week to start digging out the cellar, which will mean that, so long as I can still afford the mortgage when our fixed-rate deal expires, we – that’s the wife and two kids – are all set for the future. I have no intention of moving again. Nobody has a crystal ball. I certainly struck lucky a couple of times with market timing, but we also bought and sold well, and did the right work on the right properties.
In paper terms, bricks and mortar have been making money at a far greater rate than I’ve been earning from my day job. And that’s true of many people. Owning land or property has always been part of the British culture, but it became an obsession during the boom years.
Having read, watched or surfed our way through the extraordinary amount of magazines, television programmes and websites dedicated to all things property, we’re all now fully fledged, albeit self-certified, property experts.
Yet it has been much too easy (at least for those of us who got on the ladder early enough, if not for today’s struggling would-be first-time buyers). I meet people all the time who have made big mistakes in the past – going way over budget on the renovation – and have gone without punishment, as the market has effectively caught up and washed away their mistakes.
Don’t expect that to continue. Make a mistake in today’s market and you will have to pay the price. Most of us are not nearly as clever as we like to believe – and, yes, I include myself here. The genuinely stupid people, however, are the ones who, in the misguided belief that they were truly better off just because their house was worth more, went out and spent their increased equity – or paper money – on cars and holidays.
We’ve come to expect to make money on our homes. We’ve even come to demand it. So it is going to be a nasty shock when a slowdown means that isn’t going to happen. We will have to make a conscious effort to outperform the market, rather than simply ride it.
So, there you are, Mr and Mrs Average, with a sprog and a dog, squashed into your three-bedroom house, thinking about trying for another baby and worrying about needing a bigger place. What should you do?
Let’s imagine that you already have a decent slice of equity, but no great promotions or pay rises on the horizon, and that one of you would like to give up work when junior number 2 comes along. With the high costs of moving, and without the market to help this time, you’re going to have to get it absolutely bang on.
You will be forced to make compromises somewhere, so focus on finding flexibility – a home with room to grow into. It is always cheaper to build extra square footage than it is to buy it on the open market. You need to buy a property you can improve in terms of internal layout or fittings: one you can extend outwards (or up or down), or one in an area that becomes increasingly popular during the time you live there. The best opportunities combine all these elements.
Remember: “Location, location and location.” Well, I would say that, wouldn’t I? But it remains the truth – you’ve got to get it right to stand the best chance. The next district to “come up” and benefit from above-average price growth is likely to be one that borders an area that is already popular. Most buyers will be prepared to compromise on their ideal location in order to buy a larger property adjacent to their favoured position – hence this ripple effect. Even in highly developed and mature markets, it is still possible to find a few postcodes surrounded by more expensive property on all sides. If the architecture in these emerging locations is similar, then, however shabby or unfashionable the area, the anomaly in values is likely to correct itself at some point.
Much of our housing stock was designed and built with the lifestyles of our Victorian and Edwardian ancestors in mind. These days, there is a preference for more open-plan, less formal living, with fewer but bigger rooms. Opening hallways, removing doorways, shifting corridors and repositioning partition walls are simple changes that make better use of the space and can provide a more contemporary environment, leading to subsequent increases in value. Kirstie Allsopp, my co-host on Location, Location, Location, recommends lying on the floor and looking up at the ceiling to gain a better perspective.
To increase the likelihood of outperforming the market, you’ll need to work harder to find a house that combines as many of the above elements as possible. Remember, any property can be a good deal – provided you buy at the right price.
Home straight – the best in the business
Today, Phil Spencer, from Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, joins Sarah Beeny and Kevin McCloud as part of the Home team
There’s blood on the streets of Britain’s housing market - make a mistake when you invest and, it will cost you
Phil Spencer
There’s blood on the streets of Britain’s housing market. Five successive interest-rate rises have gouged deep wounds, but the coup de grâce could be yet to come – an estimated 2m people on fixed-rate mortgages will have to take out new loans at higher rates within the next 12 months, sending their monthly payments soaring and reducing their ability to trade up.
Of course, the market, especially in London and the southeast, is being underpinned by a rising population and a shortage of housing. But we can only handle a certain amount of debt, which means prices cannot keep on going up at the same rapid pace for ever. There comes a point when something has to give.
Over the past decade, it has been possible to trade up the ladder simply by owning a place on it – as I know from my own experience. During that period, without moving more than a mile within the same patch of southwest London, I have gone from my first flat right through to a large house with private parking on my favourite street, all by refurbishing and extending each property. The builders move in next week to start digging out the cellar, which will mean that, so long as I can still afford the mortgage when our fixed-rate deal expires, we – that’s the wife and two kids – are all set for the future. I have no intention of moving again. Nobody has a crystal ball. I certainly struck lucky a couple of times with market timing, but we also bought and sold well, and did the right work on the right properties.
In paper terms, bricks and mortar have been making money at a far greater rate than I’ve been earning from my day job. And that’s true of many people. Owning land or property has always been part of the British culture, but it became an obsession during the boom years.
Having read, watched or surfed our way through the extraordinary amount of magazines, television programmes and websites dedicated to all things property, we’re all now fully fledged, albeit self-certified, property experts.
Yet it has been much too easy (at least for those of us who got on the ladder early enough, if not for today’s struggling would-be first-time buyers). I meet people all the time who have made big mistakes in the past – going way over budget on the renovation – and have gone without punishment, as the market has effectively caught up and washed away their mistakes.
Don’t expect that to continue. Make a mistake in today’s market and you will have to pay the price. Most of us are not nearly as clever as we like to believe – and, yes, I include myself here. The genuinely stupid people, however, are the ones who, in the misguided belief that they were truly better off just because their house was worth more, went out and spent their increased equity – or paper money – on cars and holidays.
We’ve come to expect to make money on our homes. We’ve even come to demand it. So it is going to be a nasty shock when a slowdown means that isn’t going to happen. We will have to make a conscious effort to outperform the market, rather than simply ride it.
So, there you are, Mr and Mrs Average, with a sprog and a dog, squashed into your three-bedroom house, thinking about trying for another baby and worrying about needing a bigger place. What should you do?
Let’s imagine that you already have a decent slice of equity, but no great promotions or pay rises on the horizon, and that one of you would like to give up work when junior number 2 comes along. With the high costs of moving, and without the market to help this time, you’re going to have to get it absolutely bang on.
You will be forced to make compromises somewhere, so focus on finding flexibility – a home with room to grow into. It is always cheaper to build extra square footage than it is to buy it on the open market. You need to buy a property you can improve in terms of internal layout or fittings: one you can extend outwards (or up or down), or one in an area that becomes increasingly popular during the time you live there. The best opportunities combine all these elements.
Remember: “Location, location and location.” Well, I would say that, wouldn’t I? But it remains the truth – you’ve got to get it right to stand the best chance. The next district to “come up” and benefit from above-average price growth is likely to be one that borders an area that is already popular. Most buyers will be prepared to compromise on their ideal location in order to buy a larger property adjacent to their favoured position – hence this ripple effect. Even in highly developed and mature markets, it is still possible to find a few postcodes surrounded by more expensive property on all sides. If the architecture in these emerging locations is similar, then, however shabby or unfashionable the area, the anomaly in values is likely to correct itself at some point.
Much of our housing stock was designed and built with the lifestyles of our Victorian and Edwardian ancestors in mind. These days, there is a preference for more open-plan, less formal living, with fewer but bigger rooms. Opening hallways, removing doorways, shifting corridors and repositioning partition walls are simple changes that make better use of the space and can provide a more contemporary environment, leading to subsequent increases in value. Kirstie Allsopp, my co-host on Location, Location, Location, recommends lying on the floor and looking up at the ceiling to gain a better perspective.
To increase the likelihood of outperforming the market, you’ll need to work harder to find a house that combines as many of the above elements as possible. Remember, any property can be a good deal – provided you buy at the right price.
Home straight – the best in the business
Today, Phil Spencer, from Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, joins Sarah Beeny and Kevin McCloud as part of the Home team
Downturn and downtown in 2008: how investors in UK city-centre flats may feel the chill first
Downturn and downtown in 2008: how investors in UK city-centre flats may feel the chill first
WHAT exactly does a housing market downturn feel like?
ANNE ASHWORTH PROPERTY EDITOR
WHAT exactly does a housing market downturn feel like? This is the question on the minds of many of the 12 million people with a mortgage who have never been up close and personal with such a reverse, having known only good times.
These strangers to slowdowns will now be looking for guidance to homeowners who have experienced this phenomenon at first hand. In the 20th century, there were four severe falls in house values: 1930-1933, 1973-1976, 1979-1980, and 1989-1993, when there was a decline of 13 per cent.
Homeowners who were children in the early 1930s can recount their memories of the Depression years; survivor accounts of the three subsequent slumps are also useful.
But only up to a point – although if you are interested in stories of relationships going wrong, you will be mesmerised by the tales of some of the unfortunate couples who bought places together in 1988. Within months they fell out of love and into negative equity. And, for the next four years, they rowed incessantly in claustrophobic studio flats they could not sell.
Sub-prime slime is oozing out everywhere from the US -where will it spread next?
Hips will make us greener, or so the Government says
Hips have already won hearts and minds and will make us all greener, or so the Government says
Background
Mortgage competition makes millions immune to base-rate moves
Hidden costs of a place in the sun
Primark Principle revises gloomy views
Going green is not cheap
The common features of the four periods were recession combined with increases in unemployment and interest rates. Two of these conditions (recession and rising unemployment) do not currently apply, although the US market’s woes prove that a recession is not necessarily the precursor to a housing slump. There may indeed be a role reversal, with the property price collapse precipitating the recession.
Since history cannot provide an accurate guide to what lies ahead, forecasters currently predicting how the market will perform in 2008 are sometimes having to rely on guesswork. The depth of the problems resulting from the American sub-prime crisis is not yet clear, for example. It is certain that the resulting credit crunch has made UK mortgage lenders much meaner, but other side effects may still emerge that would have repercussions on both sides of the Atlantic.
The response of the nervier kind of buy-to-let investor to stagnating or sliding prices is also difficult to divine. As recently as 1993, the role of amateur landlord was much less popular than it is today. But even Capital Economics, the gloomiest guru collective, does not foresee a collapse in this sector. There are likely to be painful lessons, however, for those who invested unwisely in low-grade apartments in shoddy poorly located developments in Leeds, Liverpool and other cities. There are fears that these may go down in history as the properties most adversely affected in the downturn of 2008. For most other homeowners, the sensation of this slowdown seems likely to be more a ride down a gentle slope than a stomach-churning sudden descent.
GARAGES GO SKY HIGH
The prices fetched by garages are not yet a key indicator, but they do say something about confidence in the long-term prospects of the market in certain cities.
A double garage in Edinburgh sold for about £90,000 this week, a record. The space is suitable only for parking – it could not be transformed into a more valuable pied-à-terre for its new owners.
Huge potential for uplift, however, lies behind the $700,000 ($340,000) price of a garage in a block being built in the Chelsea district of Manhattan – which is an island of property price optimism amid the deepening sub-prime-induced misery elsewhere. Owners of apartments in this block will be able to drive into an elevator that will hoist them to garages on the same level as their luxury lofts. The security-conscious will be able to dodge “the hoods in the hood”. Those who are in the public eye will also be able to evade the photographers for whom celebrities forced to park in the street are ready prey.
As we report on pages 6-7, the garage feature is so popular that nearly three quarters of the $3.65 million-plus apartments are already sold. These values suggest faith in the continued availability of lucrative employment in Wall Street and the rest of New York. The jobs of paparazzi, however, may be under threat.
ESTATE OF MIND
Estate agents are called all sorts of things, some of them not that nice. Anyone who is less interested in the denigration of this trade than why they are so called (when most deal in semis rather than rather country piles) should know that the 200th anniversary approaches of their naming. The Times was involved.
Melanie Backe-Hansen, the historian at Chesterton, the estate agent, has uncovered the first use of the term “estate agent” in the edition of The Times of November 9, 1807. Formerly “house and estate agent” was the preferred phrase. The shorter name stuck and estate agents thrived to become businesses so successful that some are even able to employ their own in-house historians.
WHAT exactly does a housing market downturn feel like?
ANNE ASHWORTH PROPERTY EDITOR
WHAT exactly does a housing market downturn feel like? This is the question on the minds of many of the 12 million people with a mortgage who have never been up close and personal with such a reverse, having known only good times.
These strangers to slowdowns will now be looking for guidance to homeowners who have experienced this phenomenon at first hand. In the 20th century, there were four severe falls in house values: 1930-1933, 1973-1976, 1979-1980, and 1989-1993, when there was a decline of 13 per cent.
Homeowners who were children in the early 1930s can recount their memories of the Depression years; survivor accounts of the three subsequent slumps are also useful.
But only up to a point – although if you are interested in stories of relationships going wrong, you will be mesmerised by the tales of some of the unfortunate couples who bought places together in 1988. Within months they fell out of love and into negative equity. And, for the next four years, they rowed incessantly in claustrophobic studio flats they could not sell.
Sub-prime slime is oozing out everywhere from the US -where will it spread next?
Hips will make us greener, or so the Government says
Hips have already won hearts and minds and will make us all greener, or so the Government says
Background
Mortgage competition makes millions immune to base-rate moves
Hidden costs of a place in the sun
Primark Principle revises gloomy views
Going green is not cheap
The common features of the four periods were recession combined with increases in unemployment and interest rates. Two of these conditions (recession and rising unemployment) do not currently apply, although the US market’s woes prove that a recession is not necessarily the precursor to a housing slump. There may indeed be a role reversal, with the property price collapse precipitating the recession.
Since history cannot provide an accurate guide to what lies ahead, forecasters currently predicting how the market will perform in 2008 are sometimes having to rely on guesswork. The depth of the problems resulting from the American sub-prime crisis is not yet clear, for example. It is certain that the resulting credit crunch has made UK mortgage lenders much meaner, but other side effects may still emerge that would have repercussions on both sides of the Atlantic.
The response of the nervier kind of buy-to-let investor to stagnating or sliding prices is also difficult to divine. As recently as 1993, the role of amateur landlord was much less popular than it is today. But even Capital Economics, the gloomiest guru collective, does not foresee a collapse in this sector. There are likely to be painful lessons, however, for those who invested unwisely in low-grade apartments in shoddy poorly located developments in Leeds, Liverpool and other cities. There are fears that these may go down in history as the properties most adversely affected in the downturn of 2008. For most other homeowners, the sensation of this slowdown seems likely to be more a ride down a gentle slope than a stomach-churning sudden descent.
GARAGES GO SKY HIGH
The prices fetched by garages are not yet a key indicator, but they do say something about confidence in the long-term prospects of the market in certain cities.
A double garage in Edinburgh sold for about £90,000 this week, a record. The space is suitable only for parking – it could not be transformed into a more valuable pied-à-terre for its new owners.
Huge potential for uplift, however, lies behind the $700,000 ($340,000) price of a garage in a block being built in the Chelsea district of Manhattan – which is an island of property price optimism amid the deepening sub-prime-induced misery elsewhere. Owners of apartments in this block will be able to drive into an elevator that will hoist them to garages on the same level as their luxury lofts. The security-conscious will be able to dodge “the hoods in the hood”. Those who are in the public eye will also be able to evade the photographers for whom celebrities forced to park in the street are ready prey.
As we report on pages 6-7, the garage feature is so popular that nearly three quarters of the $3.65 million-plus apartments are already sold. These values suggest faith in the continued availability of lucrative employment in Wall Street and the rest of New York. The jobs of paparazzi, however, may be under threat.
ESTATE OF MIND
Estate agents are called all sorts of things, some of them not that nice. Anyone who is less interested in the denigration of this trade than why they are so called (when most deal in semis rather than rather country piles) should know that the 200th anniversary approaches of their naming. The Times was involved.
Melanie Backe-Hansen, the historian at Chesterton, the estate agent, has uncovered the first use of the term “estate agent” in the edition of The Times of November 9, 1807. Formerly “house and estate agent” was the preferred phrase. The shorter name stuck and estate agents thrived to become businesses so successful that some are even able to employ their own in-house historians.
No margin for error
No margin for error
Desperate to become a developer? It’s not as easy as it looks on television
Lucy Denyer
Back in 1992, Andrew Murray left university with a degree in economics, a bit of experience of painting and decorating, and heaps of confidence. In the absence of anything else to do, he persuaded an architect friend to let him do up a house – “a £500,000 job”.
“I literally did it with a DIY Collins manual, and I rewired the whole thing,” says Murray, 36. “I met some quite interesting people along the way. That was a kind of baptism of fire.”
Today, Murray is the director of Morpheus, a top-end development company that creates luxurious eco-pads for the extremely wealthy in London’s most desirable enclaves. His latest project is the multimillion-pound redevelopment of two penthouses in Mayfair, which, despite estimated price tags of £15m or more, are already attracting interest. Murray drives a rather nice car and lives comfortably in Fulham, southwest London, in a house to which he is about to add even more value by redeveloping it himself.
In short, he is the man every would-be property developer dreams of becoming. And there are plenty of dreamers out there. A YouGov poll last year put “property developer” at number seven in the list of the top 10 jobs people would like to have – above zoo-keeper, doctor and even, in our Beckham-obsessed nation, footballer.
Background
No margin for error
A bit on the side
Improve, not move
Tread carefully on big projects
It is not just the fault of all those television programmes that feature people – often with little more than basic DIY skills – making a profit out of doing up their homes. In the current market, with prices slowing and rental yields declining, “adding value” can be the only way to make a buy-to-let project work.
But is it as easy as these programmes would have it seem? Only if you get the right deal, says Gary McCausland, another self-made property profes-sional.McCausland knows his stuff: the head of the Richland Group, a luxury developer, he is acting as adviser to How to Be a Property Developer, the third series of which begins next month on Five. The programme gives two teams – one male, one female – £300,000 to buy, develop and sell four properties in a year.
The women, Paula Ketterer, 41, and Lynsey Jackson, 30, start by buying and sprucing up a one-bed flat in Edinburgh for a final profit of £15,000. They go on to purchase an old church in Clack-mannanshire, which they sell on with permission to convert into a house, then buy a one-bed flat at the top of the Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, which they turn into a two-bedder. Their final project is doing up a one-bed flat in the best street in Perth. Despite some setbacks (their first project went over time and budget, while they had to spend £10,000 digging under the church to prove there was no mine shaft there), they emerge the winners, making about £100,000 profit.
Their rivals, “the Dans” – best friends Daniel Errill and Dan Abbott, both 35 – get off to a far less auspicious start. Their first project – buying a house in Margate, Kent, and turning it into two luxury flats – cost them £15,000. Their next, equally disastrous buy is a plot of land in Portugal. They hope to get planning permission to build three flats and a villa – and sell it on for profit. They fail, and end up offloading it for another loss.
Their last two projects – doing up two flats in Hastings, East Sussex – yield a modest profit, but the men never recover from their shaky start and lose about £20,000. Undaunted, they intend to work on future projects – using their own money.
During filming, the pair found an old chapel in Pembrokeshire for £85,000, which they plan to turn into five luxury duplexes, aiming to sell them on for at least £200,000 each. They are also buying the one-bed flat Errill had been renting in Chelsea for £575,000. By renovating it and adding an extra bedroom, they hope to sell it on for £1.5m.
“The biggest nightmare of the programme is that you can be forced into a deal,” Abbott says. “There was so much pressure. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have touched that property [the Margate house] with our own money.”
So, back in the real world, how can you actually make a profit? “You make money when you buy, not when you sell,” McCausland says. “You’ve got to find something you can add value to.”
This means choosing the location and type of property carefully. Work out who’s going to buy or rent the finished product, and how much they will be prepared to pay. And, once you have settled on an area, don’t head straight for a part that is already booming.
“A lot of people don’t understand location,” says McCausland. “There’s no point buying in the best areas. It’s about finding somewhere that’s up and coming. There’ll be transport links opening, great little coffee shops and new schools. Look for skips on streets.”
Finding such a property may not be easy. Last December, Nigel Rosser quit his job as a journalist, convinced he could follow the example of all those people “tarting up old houses on television”. More than six months later, he has yet to find a suitable wreck in London or within commuting distance.
“The market has been largely sewn up by the professionals,” he says. “I’m sure I was naive, but I had no idea how few properties in the right area are actually available to the amateur.”
Once you’ve found somewhere, do your homework. “Always make sure you legally check out a property, to ensure that you’ve got the title and that there aren’t any restrictive covenants that might detract from the value,” warns McCausland. “And get a survey done – not doing so is a false economy.”
When you’ve negotiated on price (don’t forget stamp duty and Vat), budget carefully. Plan exactly how much you’re going to spend on each room – and factor in a 10% contingency sum on the whole project for the inevitable overruns. Keep the target market in mind throughout the process: the finished spec needs to be high, but there’s no point installing the latest high-tech wizardry if you’re aiming at first-time buyers on a limited budget.
You should also think green. “It’s something most people should look at now,” McCausland advises. He puts in solar panels, but just installing a dual flush on toilets can make a difference.
You can save money on a project by moving into it while you are doing it up, reducing living costs and saving tax when you sell. But be warned: HM Revenue & Customs will crack down if it thinks you’re acting as a business.
Above all, don’t be tempted to rush into anything. You get only one chance if you’re in this for the long haul, says McCausland. “Make a cockup and you can lose tens of thousands. If you screw up, you don’t really get another go.”
Unless, of course, you take part in a property programme on television and the money’s not yours in the first place.
How to Be a Property Developer starts on Five on July 4 at 8pm
So how do you find your project?
The first rule of developing is that you make your money when you buy – not when you sell. But don’t expect to march into your local estate agency and be handed a list of potential money-making projects.
Try these tricks:
- Watch out for the “three Ds” – death, divorce and debt – which can help you to get a property for less than the market price. Get hold of auction catalogues and, rather than fighting it out with other budding developers, make an offer well before sale day. “Make them feel they won’t do better in the ring,” advises John Weatherall, head auctioneer at Andrews & Robertson, which runs sales in London and the southeast.
- Build up a rapport with local estate agents and let them know what you’re looking for. As a further incentive, indicate that you will sell the property through them when you’ve done it up. In return for a fee (usually 1%), they will keep you notified of properties not on their books. But beware of offering them a backhander to tip you off about their own properties – they would be committing an offence.
- Look around the neighbourhood for rundown houses, vacant plots or properties you could extend. “I once knocked on a door in Richmond and asked the old guy who answered whether he’d think about selling,” Gary McCausland says. “He said he’d been thinking about it, so I offered to buy it straight off him.” You should also let people know you’re looking – word will soon get around.
- Search on Google Earth for little pieces of vacant land in built-up areas, then find out if you can buy the land to develop.
- Look in newspapers and magazines such as Estates Gazette, Property Weekly, even Loot. Sellers who have cut out estate agents may be ready to sell for less – giving you the margin you need.
- Approach developers. “I can’t do every deal that comes across my desk,” says McCausland, who has set up a property-finding arm to offload smaller developments to people looking for projects.
Desperate to become a developer? It’s not as easy as it looks on television
Lucy Denyer
Back in 1992, Andrew Murray left university with a degree in economics, a bit of experience of painting and decorating, and heaps of confidence. In the absence of anything else to do, he persuaded an architect friend to let him do up a house – “a £500,000 job”.
“I literally did it with a DIY Collins manual, and I rewired the whole thing,” says Murray, 36. “I met some quite interesting people along the way. That was a kind of baptism of fire.”
Today, Murray is the director of Morpheus, a top-end development company that creates luxurious eco-pads for the extremely wealthy in London’s most desirable enclaves. His latest project is the multimillion-pound redevelopment of two penthouses in Mayfair, which, despite estimated price tags of £15m or more, are already attracting interest. Murray drives a rather nice car and lives comfortably in Fulham, southwest London, in a house to which he is about to add even more value by redeveloping it himself.
In short, he is the man every would-be property developer dreams of becoming. And there are plenty of dreamers out there. A YouGov poll last year put “property developer” at number seven in the list of the top 10 jobs people would like to have – above zoo-keeper, doctor and even, in our Beckham-obsessed nation, footballer.
Background
No margin for error
A bit on the side
Improve, not move
Tread carefully on big projects
It is not just the fault of all those television programmes that feature people – often with little more than basic DIY skills – making a profit out of doing up their homes. In the current market, with prices slowing and rental yields declining, “adding value” can be the only way to make a buy-to-let project work.
But is it as easy as these programmes would have it seem? Only if you get the right deal, says Gary McCausland, another self-made property profes-sional.McCausland knows his stuff: the head of the Richland Group, a luxury developer, he is acting as adviser to How to Be a Property Developer, the third series of which begins next month on Five. The programme gives two teams – one male, one female – £300,000 to buy, develop and sell four properties in a year.
The women, Paula Ketterer, 41, and Lynsey Jackson, 30, start by buying and sprucing up a one-bed flat in Edinburgh for a final profit of £15,000. They go on to purchase an old church in Clack-mannanshire, which they sell on with permission to convert into a house, then buy a one-bed flat at the top of the Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, which they turn into a two-bedder. Their final project is doing up a one-bed flat in the best street in Perth. Despite some setbacks (their first project went over time and budget, while they had to spend £10,000 digging under the church to prove there was no mine shaft there), they emerge the winners, making about £100,000 profit.
Their rivals, “the Dans” – best friends Daniel Errill and Dan Abbott, both 35 – get off to a far less auspicious start. Their first project – buying a house in Margate, Kent, and turning it into two luxury flats – cost them £15,000. Their next, equally disastrous buy is a plot of land in Portugal. They hope to get planning permission to build three flats and a villa – and sell it on for profit. They fail, and end up offloading it for another loss.
Their last two projects – doing up two flats in Hastings, East Sussex – yield a modest profit, but the men never recover from their shaky start and lose about £20,000. Undaunted, they intend to work on future projects – using their own money.
During filming, the pair found an old chapel in Pembrokeshire for £85,000, which they plan to turn into five luxury duplexes, aiming to sell them on for at least £200,000 each. They are also buying the one-bed flat Errill had been renting in Chelsea for £575,000. By renovating it and adding an extra bedroom, they hope to sell it on for £1.5m.
“The biggest nightmare of the programme is that you can be forced into a deal,” Abbott says. “There was so much pressure. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have touched that property [the Margate house] with our own money.”
So, back in the real world, how can you actually make a profit? “You make money when you buy, not when you sell,” McCausland says. “You’ve got to find something you can add value to.”
This means choosing the location and type of property carefully. Work out who’s going to buy or rent the finished product, and how much they will be prepared to pay. And, once you have settled on an area, don’t head straight for a part that is already booming.
“A lot of people don’t understand location,” says McCausland. “There’s no point buying in the best areas. It’s about finding somewhere that’s up and coming. There’ll be transport links opening, great little coffee shops and new schools. Look for skips on streets.”
Finding such a property may not be easy. Last December, Nigel Rosser quit his job as a journalist, convinced he could follow the example of all those people “tarting up old houses on television”. More than six months later, he has yet to find a suitable wreck in London or within commuting distance.
“The market has been largely sewn up by the professionals,” he says. “I’m sure I was naive, but I had no idea how few properties in the right area are actually available to the amateur.”
Once you’ve found somewhere, do your homework. “Always make sure you legally check out a property, to ensure that you’ve got the title and that there aren’t any restrictive covenants that might detract from the value,” warns McCausland. “And get a survey done – not doing so is a false economy.”
When you’ve negotiated on price (don’t forget stamp duty and Vat), budget carefully. Plan exactly how much you’re going to spend on each room – and factor in a 10% contingency sum on the whole project for the inevitable overruns. Keep the target market in mind throughout the process: the finished spec needs to be high, but there’s no point installing the latest high-tech wizardry if you’re aiming at first-time buyers on a limited budget.
You should also think green. “It’s something most people should look at now,” McCausland advises. He puts in solar panels, but just installing a dual flush on toilets can make a difference.
You can save money on a project by moving into it while you are doing it up, reducing living costs and saving tax when you sell. But be warned: HM Revenue & Customs will crack down if it thinks you’re acting as a business.
Above all, don’t be tempted to rush into anything. You get only one chance if you’re in this for the long haul, says McCausland. “Make a cockup and you can lose tens of thousands. If you screw up, you don’t really get another go.”
Unless, of course, you take part in a property programme on television and the money’s not yours in the first place.
How to Be a Property Developer starts on Five on July 4 at 8pm
So how do you find your project?
The first rule of developing is that you make your money when you buy – not when you sell. But don’t expect to march into your local estate agency and be handed a list of potential money-making projects.
Try these tricks:
- Watch out for the “three Ds” – death, divorce and debt – which can help you to get a property for less than the market price. Get hold of auction catalogues and, rather than fighting it out with other budding developers, make an offer well before sale day. “Make them feel they won’t do better in the ring,” advises John Weatherall, head auctioneer at Andrews & Robertson, which runs sales in London and the southeast.
- Build up a rapport with local estate agents and let them know what you’re looking for. As a further incentive, indicate that you will sell the property through them when you’ve done it up. In return for a fee (usually 1%), they will keep you notified of properties not on their books. But beware of offering them a backhander to tip you off about their own properties – they would be committing an offence.
- Look around the neighbourhood for rundown houses, vacant plots or properties you could extend. “I once knocked on a door in Richmond and asked the old guy who answered whether he’d think about selling,” Gary McCausland says. “He said he’d been thinking about it, so I offered to buy it straight off him.” You should also let people know you’re looking – word will soon get around.
- Search on Google Earth for little pieces of vacant land in built-up areas, then find out if you can buy the land to develop.
- Look in newspapers and magazines such as Estates Gazette, Property Weekly, even Loot. Sellers who have cut out estate agents may be ready to sell for less – giving you the margin you need.
- Approach developers. “I can’t do every deal that comes across my desk,” says McCausland, who has set up a property-finding arm to offload smaller developments to people looking for projects.
How to be a buy-to-let survivor
The future of buy-to-let
Amateur landlords refuse to panic in the face of higher mortgage repayments and a cooling property market
Image :1 of 6
Judith Heywood, Lorna Blackwood and Lucy Alexander
RATES are rising, rents are falling, which is all bad news for the 400,000 buy-to-let investors in Britain. Or is it? As the growth in house prices slows down – or stalls in many parts of the country – investors can no longer count on paper profits to console them as they meet the cost of maintaining a portfolio. Many may rue the aggressive remortgaging that released profits to buy yet more homes, rather than retaining a buffer zone of equity to protect them in hard times.
But, even as interest rates seem certain to rise further – the National Association of Estate Agents reports that rents are up just 1.8 per cent – buy-to-let property owners are keeping their nerve. Almost all of those interviewed by Bricks and Mortar are philosophical about having to subsidise property investments, as rents fail to reflect higher house prices; they say that their homes are a long-term investment.
Take Shiona Goodman, below, who with her husband Geoff invested £100,000 of savings in a small home to help their children. Counting their blessings that their own West Sussex home had almost tripled in value in a decade, the couple decided that a property investment would help to make sure that their children, aged 10 and 6, would also one day be able to get on the ladder. They were willing to sacrifice plans for a holiday home to achieve that.
Fiona Leteney needed a home for her divorce settlement, but was priced out of Stoke-on-Trent. Determined to find a means to bolster her pension savings, she found an apartment in Florida within her price range. Even as the shine comes off the US market, Leteney sees the long-term value of hanging in.
How to be a buy-to-let survivor
Even many of the most aggressive investors remain confident. Laurent Ezekiel has built up a portfolio of ten flats – not including his home – in just four years. But, as he explains on page 18, he has left enough equity in each apartment to ensure he can remain calm amid the current talk of slowdown. Like many who have made lavish paper profits, Ezekiel is aware that, should he sell, the capital gains liabilities will be more overwhelming that any shortfall in rent. Ezekiel is one of the investors who think prices may continue to rise – it’s difficult to see a slowdown when sealed bids are still common in the East London areas he invests in, he says. That may discourage the readers engaged in furious debate on Times Online this week, many of whom argue that fewer investors will mean more hope for priced-out owner-occupiers.
They will be further cast down to know there are even now rays of light for investment buyers: the latest quarterly survey of Association of Residential Lettings Agents members, out next week, shows that tenant demand is rising in 70 per cent of Central London agencies, the highest level recorded. This, with confidence in the South East, will help to push rents up, easing the plight of buy-to-let investors.
THE CONCERNED PARENT
SHIONA GOODMAN, below, and her husband Geoff have been so alarmed at the upwards trajectory of the property market that they recently bought a £250,000 house for their children, aged 10 and 6. The couple don’t expect that Isobel and Alexander will ever live in the two-bed new-build in Haywards Heath, Mid Sussex, but hope that it will one day fund the children’s first steps on the property ladder. Until then, they will let it.
The Goodmans, who live in Cuckfield, West Sussex, had been considering buying a holiday property in Portugal but decided that the family home would be a better investment because it could be rented year-round. They put £100,000 of savings down and believe that rent will cover the £150,000 mortgage.
Shiona believes that they have “been very lucky with property”. They sold a three-bedroom townhouse in Fulham and bought their 1920s family home for £325,000 a decade ago. It is now worth £900,000. But they have no plans to build up a buy-to-let portfolio. Shiona says: “We are not big risk takers. I would not like to buy another property unless we had some money to put down and we would have to save that first.”
THE DJ’S OTHER JOB
THE radio DJ Dr Luuurve is otherwise known as Ambrose Harcourt, right, and, when not playing songs and dispensing advice on radio stations such as Sovereign and Arrow FM, he has been building a buy-to-let portfolio worth £1.5 million.
Harcourt, in his fifties, bought a two-bed flat in Brighton eight years ago when such properties cost £70,000. “I bought in Brighton because I knew it well. I knew that it was about to become a city and that prices would go up,” he says. It was a wise decision: Brighton is the city with the fastest-rising property prices. , Since then, Harcourt has focused on buying two-bedroom flats, which he thinks are most easily let, in areas such as London, Brighton and Crawley, which offer good transport links and relatively high rents, and more recently, former show homes on Barratt developments.
To manage his portfolio, Harcourt relies on an accountant, bookkeeper and lettings agents. He believes that property is a safe home for his money – including proceeds from his PR business – but will wait until the interest-rate outlook is clearer before buying more, though “if I found a good deal I would go ahead”, he adds.
THE PENSION SAVERS
GARY and Jenny Boreham, right, bought their first buy-to-let property in late 2001. “A lack of confidence in company pensions made us look at buy-to-lets,” he says.
They paid £106,000 for a one-bedroom maisonette in Leatherhead, Surrey, and have enjoyed a steady rental income from it since. So much so that in 2005 they decided to buy another property in the same development. “This one cost us £140,000 but it came with a bit of land,” says Gary, who thinks the two properties are now worth £180,000 and £190,000 respectively.
The couple also bought in Spain, but with the Spanish market flat they decided not to let it and instead use it as a holiday home.
The Borehams, both in their forties, look at the properties as a long-term investment and say there are plenty of tenants to be found in the Surrey area. They are happy to keep the houses for 20 years or so, providing the rental market stays healthy. However, they won’t be adding to their portfolio. “It’s far too expensive to buy any more and it isn’t worth our while – we are just breaking even on what we have.”
THE US INVESTOR
FIONA LETENEY, left, a self-employed consultant from Salford, was prepared to invest in an apartment in Florida without seeing it or having visited the US. But at the last minute she lost her nerve. “I flew in on a Friday and out on Monday and stayed in a similar apartment,” she says. “It confirmed the good impression I had from the brochures.”
Leteney, 48, had been planning to invest in a terrace house in Stoke-on-Trent and to let it to students at the nearby university. She had anticipated spending £40,000, but when her divorce settlement came through, in 2004, the price of the properties in her former home town had doubled in a year.
She discovered the $135,000 (£68,000) apartment in a refurbished Hilton hotel near Kissimmee through Currencies Direct, a foreign exchange company that she uses in her e-learning business. She was won over by the fact that the flat required no work and was overseen by a management company, which has secured “90 per cent occupancy from day one”. “I am on my own, and I have a business to run and there’s only a certain number of hours in any one day.”
Leteney is considering investing in another property, but would now consider buying in Salford Quays, where she lives, where prices are being boosted by an influx of BBC workers. “I had looked at things like shares and ISAs. Buying property was about not putting all my eggs in one basket,” she says.
Although property prices have been faltering in Florida and across the US, Leteney believes that her apartment, bought in 2005, has held its value, particularly because it is so close to Disney World. As a long-term investor she is prepared to ride out any temporary storms and, at times, to subsidise costs.
Buying and getting a mortgage, in her case for a 20-year term, in the US proved surprisingly trouble-free: “In America they don’t look at the person, they look at the property, so you can be 60, 70 or 80 years old and still get a mortgage. I have a personal banker with SunTrust bank who replies to e-mails within hours. I wish I had that kind of relationship with a bank in the UK.”
THE PROPERTY MAN
WHEN Sanjay Arora, above, moved house in West London in 1999 he became an “accidental landlord”. He decided to let his former home rather than sell, and it went well. So he began to buy more properties in Berkshire and Middlesex.
Arora worked as a manager in a City accountancy firm and spent his evenings and weekends fulfilling his duties as a landlord. “I did the full management and rent collection myself,” he says. “Then in 2005 I started buying properties all around the country – Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham – and the travelling became too much.” In August 2005 he gave up his job and concentrated on buying properties for resale at a profit, or to rent – now he has a portfolio of 32 properties.
Arora is aware that he picked a good time to invest and anyone starting today as a buy-to-let landlord may not be so fortunate. “I was lucky to start buying my properties a few years ago. A one-bed flat I bought for £90,000 in 2002 sold last year for £140,000, and the original £120,000 house I moved from in 1999 was sold last year for £225,000.”
He admits that rising interest rates are a headache: “The fixed-rate mortgages I took out five years ago are coming to an end, so I will have to remortgage or stay on high rates, and there’s no loan out there that matches my current deal.” But the threatened Revenue crackdown on landlords does not worry him: “As an accountant, I’ve always done my own tax returns and know the rules. However, I do know of landlords who don’t think they have to declare their rental income because their yields don’t cover their mortgage repayments. They’re banking on capital appreciation – but you have to hang on to your property to ensure that.”
He is sanguine about the future: “Property has proved to be better investment than the stock market, and I am positive it will continue to do so.”
THE NEW LANDLORD
ANDREA JAKES, right, is a novice landlord. The 28-year-old accountant from Hertfordshire is about to take the step of buying a home with her boyfriend. But instead of selling her own two-bedroom flat, she has decided to enter the buy-to-let market. “I didn’t have much choice,” she confesses. “The penalties to get out of my mortgage were so high (£3,000-£4,000), it seemed the obvious thing to do.”
Andrea bought the flat three years ago for £120,000 and believes it is worth about £135,000 on today’s market. She has had letting agents view the flat and received a good response, saying that it should rent out quickly. She also feels that holding on to the property means that she has something to fall back on, a comfort blanket of sorts, and also helps with the pension.
If buy-to-let laws change radically and it all seems more hassle than it’s worth she has decided to sell it. But for now, she is happy to keep her options open and to hold on to her property.
Amateur landlords refuse to panic in the face of higher mortgage repayments and a cooling property market
Image :1 of 6
Judith Heywood, Lorna Blackwood and Lucy Alexander
RATES are rising, rents are falling, which is all bad news for the 400,000 buy-to-let investors in Britain. Or is it? As the growth in house prices slows down – or stalls in many parts of the country – investors can no longer count on paper profits to console them as they meet the cost of maintaining a portfolio. Many may rue the aggressive remortgaging that released profits to buy yet more homes, rather than retaining a buffer zone of equity to protect them in hard times.
But, even as interest rates seem certain to rise further – the National Association of Estate Agents reports that rents are up just 1.8 per cent – buy-to-let property owners are keeping their nerve. Almost all of those interviewed by Bricks and Mortar are philosophical about having to subsidise property investments, as rents fail to reflect higher house prices; they say that their homes are a long-term investment.
Take Shiona Goodman, below, who with her husband Geoff invested £100,000 of savings in a small home to help their children. Counting their blessings that their own West Sussex home had almost tripled in value in a decade, the couple decided that a property investment would help to make sure that their children, aged 10 and 6, would also one day be able to get on the ladder. They were willing to sacrifice plans for a holiday home to achieve that.
Fiona Leteney needed a home for her divorce settlement, but was priced out of Stoke-on-Trent. Determined to find a means to bolster her pension savings, she found an apartment in Florida within her price range. Even as the shine comes off the US market, Leteney sees the long-term value of hanging in.
How to be a buy-to-let survivor
Even many of the most aggressive investors remain confident. Laurent Ezekiel has built up a portfolio of ten flats – not including his home – in just four years. But, as he explains on page 18, he has left enough equity in each apartment to ensure he can remain calm amid the current talk of slowdown. Like many who have made lavish paper profits, Ezekiel is aware that, should he sell, the capital gains liabilities will be more overwhelming that any shortfall in rent. Ezekiel is one of the investors who think prices may continue to rise – it’s difficult to see a slowdown when sealed bids are still common in the East London areas he invests in, he says. That may discourage the readers engaged in furious debate on Times Online this week, many of whom argue that fewer investors will mean more hope for priced-out owner-occupiers.
They will be further cast down to know there are even now rays of light for investment buyers: the latest quarterly survey of Association of Residential Lettings Agents members, out next week, shows that tenant demand is rising in 70 per cent of Central London agencies, the highest level recorded. This, with confidence in the South East, will help to push rents up, easing the plight of buy-to-let investors.
THE CONCERNED PARENT
SHIONA GOODMAN, below, and her husband Geoff have been so alarmed at the upwards trajectory of the property market that they recently bought a £250,000 house for their children, aged 10 and 6. The couple don’t expect that Isobel and Alexander will ever live in the two-bed new-build in Haywards Heath, Mid Sussex, but hope that it will one day fund the children’s first steps on the property ladder. Until then, they will let it.
The Goodmans, who live in Cuckfield, West Sussex, had been considering buying a holiday property in Portugal but decided that the family home would be a better investment because it could be rented year-round. They put £100,000 of savings down and believe that rent will cover the £150,000 mortgage.
Shiona believes that they have “been very lucky with property”. They sold a three-bedroom townhouse in Fulham and bought their 1920s family home for £325,000 a decade ago. It is now worth £900,000. But they have no plans to build up a buy-to-let portfolio. Shiona says: “We are not big risk takers. I would not like to buy another property unless we had some money to put down and we would have to save that first.”
THE DJ’S OTHER JOB
THE radio DJ Dr Luuurve is otherwise known as Ambrose Harcourt, right, and, when not playing songs and dispensing advice on radio stations such as Sovereign and Arrow FM, he has been building a buy-to-let portfolio worth £1.5 million.
Harcourt, in his fifties, bought a two-bed flat in Brighton eight years ago when such properties cost £70,000. “I bought in Brighton because I knew it well. I knew that it was about to become a city and that prices would go up,” he says. It was a wise decision: Brighton is the city with the fastest-rising property prices. , Since then, Harcourt has focused on buying two-bedroom flats, which he thinks are most easily let, in areas such as London, Brighton and Crawley, which offer good transport links and relatively high rents, and more recently, former show homes on Barratt developments.
To manage his portfolio, Harcourt relies on an accountant, bookkeeper and lettings agents. He believes that property is a safe home for his money – including proceeds from his PR business – but will wait until the interest-rate outlook is clearer before buying more, though “if I found a good deal I would go ahead”, he adds.
THE PENSION SAVERS
GARY and Jenny Boreham, right, bought their first buy-to-let property in late 2001. “A lack of confidence in company pensions made us look at buy-to-lets,” he says.
They paid £106,000 for a one-bedroom maisonette in Leatherhead, Surrey, and have enjoyed a steady rental income from it since. So much so that in 2005 they decided to buy another property in the same development. “This one cost us £140,000 but it came with a bit of land,” says Gary, who thinks the two properties are now worth £180,000 and £190,000 respectively.
The couple also bought in Spain, but with the Spanish market flat they decided not to let it and instead use it as a holiday home.
The Borehams, both in their forties, look at the properties as a long-term investment and say there are plenty of tenants to be found in the Surrey area. They are happy to keep the houses for 20 years or so, providing the rental market stays healthy. However, they won’t be adding to their portfolio. “It’s far too expensive to buy any more and it isn’t worth our while – we are just breaking even on what we have.”
THE US INVESTOR
FIONA LETENEY, left, a self-employed consultant from Salford, was prepared to invest in an apartment in Florida without seeing it or having visited the US. But at the last minute she lost her nerve. “I flew in on a Friday and out on Monday and stayed in a similar apartment,” she says. “It confirmed the good impression I had from the brochures.”
Leteney, 48, had been planning to invest in a terrace house in Stoke-on-Trent and to let it to students at the nearby university. She had anticipated spending £40,000, but when her divorce settlement came through, in 2004, the price of the properties in her former home town had doubled in a year.
She discovered the $135,000 (£68,000) apartment in a refurbished Hilton hotel near Kissimmee through Currencies Direct, a foreign exchange company that she uses in her e-learning business. She was won over by the fact that the flat required no work and was overseen by a management company, which has secured “90 per cent occupancy from day one”. “I am on my own, and I have a business to run and there’s only a certain number of hours in any one day.”
Leteney is considering investing in another property, but would now consider buying in Salford Quays, where she lives, where prices are being boosted by an influx of BBC workers. “I had looked at things like shares and ISAs. Buying property was about not putting all my eggs in one basket,” she says.
Although property prices have been faltering in Florida and across the US, Leteney believes that her apartment, bought in 2005, has held its value, particularly because it is so close to Disney World. As a long-term investor she is prepared to ride out any temporary storms and, at times, to subsidise costs.
Buying and getting a mortgage, in her case for a 20-year term, in the US proved surprisingly trouble-free: “In America they don’t look at the person, they look at the property, so you can be 60, 70 or 80 years old and still get a mortgage. I have a personal banker with SunTrust bank who replies to e-mails within hours. I wish I had that kind of relationship with a bank in the UK.”
THE PROPERTY MAN
WHEN Sanjay Arora, above, moved house in West London in 1999 he became an “accidental landlord”. He decided to let his former home rather than sell, and it went well. So he began to buy more properties in Berkshire and Middlesex.
Arora worked as a manager in a City accountancy firm and spent his evenings and weekends fulfilling his duties as a landlord. “I did the full management and rent collection myself,” he says. “Then in 2005 I started buying properties all around the country – Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham – and the travelling became too much.” In August 2005 he gave up his job and concentrated on buying properties for resale at a profit, or to rent – now he has a portfolio of 32 properties.
Arora is aware that he picked a good time to invest and anyone starting today as a buy-to-let landlord may not be so fortunate. “I was lucky to start buying my properties a few years ago. A one-bed flat I bought for £90,000 in 2002 sold last year for £140,000, and the original £120,000 house I moved from in 1999 was sold last year for £225,000.”
He admits that rising interest rates are a headache: “The fixed-rate mortgages I took out five years ago are coming to an end, so I will have to remortgage or stay on high rates, and there’s no loan out there that matches my current deal.” But the threatened Revenue crackdown on landlords does not worry him: “As an accountant, I’ve always done my own tax returns and know the rules. However, I do know of landlords who don’t think they have to declare their rental income because their yields don’t cover their mortgage repayments. They’re banking on capital appreciation – but you have to hang on to your property to ensure that.”
He is sanguine about the future: “Property has proved to be better investment than the stock market, and I am positive it will continue to do so.”
THE NEW LANDLORD
ANDREA JAKES, right, is a novice landlord. The 28-year-old accountant from Hertfordshire is about to take the step of buying a home with her boyfriend. But instead of selling her own two-bedroom flat, she has decided to enter the buy-to-let market. “I didn’t have much choice,” she confesses. “The penalties to get out of my mortgage were so high (£3,000-£4,000), it seemed the obvious thing to do.”
Andrea bought the flat three years ago for £120,000 and believes it is worth about £135,000 on today’s market. She has had letting agents view the flat and received a good response, saying that it should rent out quickly. She also feels that holding on to the property means that she has something to fall back on, a comfort blanket of sorts, and also helps with the pension.
If buy-to-let laws change radically and it all seems more hassle than it’s worth she has decided to sell it. But for now, she is happy to keep her options open and to hold on to her property.
“Look at what has happened to pensions over my working lifetime – the Robert Maxwell affair and Equitable Life, in which I had my own fingers burnt
How to use your home as a pension fund
With planning - and luck - a home can become your investment for retirement, says Fred Redwood
SINCE the rainy day in August 1980 when Dr Chris Blockley first set eyes on his house, Colts Bushes in Rowhook, West Sussex, the property has become the dentist’s family home and his place of work. Now it is to serve its most important function – it is to be his pension fund.
“I’m one of the lucky ones who borrowed as much as possible in the 1980s,” he says. “Now I’m left with a mortgage of less than 10 per cent of the value of my house. Realising that equity will help fund my retirement.” Many other owners of expensive homes are doing the same. According to the estate agent Savills, a wish to “downsize” is the reason behind 30 per cent of sales in the country-house market – little wonder when you consider how dramatically houses such as Blockley’s have appreciated in value.
The three-bedroom house that Blockley, 63, bought with his wife, Sally, 53, cost just £77,000 27 years ago. It is now on the market for £1.65 million. The house was by no means a show home in 1980, however. “The worst thing about it was the kitchen, which was painted bright orange and had what I’d call that ‘hacienda’ look,” says Mrs Blockley. “The dining room was painted bright red and on the stairs there was a curling, wrought-iron, shiny black balustrade. That’s to say nothing of the goats and geese all wandering around outside. Think Darling Buds of May. . .”
Yet Blockley could see the potential. It had five acres of paddock and two acres of woodland, which would prove to be ideal for his growing family. He has two sons: Justin, now 34, and Kyle, 31, from his first marriage and two more – Charles, 24, and William, 21 – from his marriage to Sally. “We were able to race gocarts,” says Blockley. “There was lots of room for cricket and football – it was a marvellous place for growing boys to let off steam.”
Despite being rather poky inside, with obvious cosmetic flaws, Colts Bushes was “mendable”. Remedial work began in 1982, when Blockley had a surgery built onto the house with a bedroom above it at a cost of £20,000. In 1989 a sizeable kitchen extension was built at a cost of another £20,000. At around the same time a study was built between the house and the barn outside, costing £10,000 and in the early 1990s a car port was built, costing £6,000. Blockley’s total outlay on the house has been £133,000.
The property has been transformed. There is a lovely, low-ceilinged, “cottagey” drawing room with a big fireplace and French doors leading out to the grounds, a quite formal dining room and a farmhouse kitchen. There’s also a family/sitting room and a dentist’s surgery that could easily be turned into a study. Upstairs there are six bedrooms, and outside is a tennis court, an entertainment barn for parties and a stable block.
Blockley was fortunate to buy in this area when he did, because the Surrey/Sussex borders around Horsham were just becoming extremely fashionable. In the 1980s it became known as the “rock star” belt. Eric Clapton was there, as were Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford of Genesis, Kenny Jones of the Small Faces and the record producer Glyn Johns. The area’s employment prospects also improved, notably when Sun Alliance moved its main office to Horsham, which created yet more demand for homes.
Now Blockley is planning a comfortable retirement, which will involve downsizing. He expects to spend about £800,000 on a new home; the rest he will add to his pension fund and put aside for the boys.
“I have calculated that I’ll need around £50,000 a year to keep ticking over,” he says. “I have a holiday home in Spain which cost me €300,000 some years ago, so my main luxury will be spending time there on a regular basis.” His two elder sons are now property owners themselves – Justin lives in Ascot and Kyle has an apartment in Singapore. However, William and Chris are both living at home at present and Blockley anticipates giving them a helping hand onto the property ladder. He has already signed over the ownership of the property in Spain to the boys, and if one of them so wished he could get a low-interest euro mortgage using the house as collateral.
If need be, Blockley will help more directly. “I’d question whether pension funds will adequately meet the needs of the younger generation,” he says. “Look at what has happened to pensions over my working lifetime – the Robert Maxwell affair and Equitable Life, in which I had my own fingers burnt. I’ll do what I can to help get the boys on the property ladder. Is there a pension fund that would have paid me the £1.5 million that I have made from this property over the past 27 years? I don’t think so.” Colts Bushes, Rowhook, West Sussex: Browns Estate Agents,
With planning - and luck - a home can become your investment for retirement, says Fred Redwood
SINCE the rainy day in August 1980 when Dr Chris Blockley first set eyes on his house, Colts Bushes in Rowhook, West Sussex, the property has become the dentist’s family home and his place of work. Now it is to serve its most important function – it is to be his pension fund.
“I’m one of the lucky ones who borrowed as much as possible in the 1980s,” he says. “Now I’m left with a mortgage of less than 10 per cent of the value of my house. Realising that equity will help fund my retirement.” Many other owners of expensive homes are doing the same. According to the estate agent Savills, a wish to “downsize” is the reason behind 30 per cent of sales in the country-house market – little wonder when you consider how dramatically houses such as Blockley’s have appreciated in value.
The three-bedroom house that Blockley, 63, bought with his wife, Sally, 53, cost just £77,000 27 years ago. It is now on the market for £1.65 million. The house was by no means a show home in 1980, however. “The worst thing about it was the kitchen, which was painted bright orange and had what I’d call that ‘hacienda’ look,” says Mrs Blockley. “The dining room was painted bright red and on the stairs there was a curling, wrought-iron, shiny black balustrade. That’s to say nothing of the goats and geese all wandering around outside. Think Darling Buds of May. . .”
Yet Blockley could see the potential. It had five acres of paddock and two acres of woodland, which would prove to be ideal for his growing family. He has two sons: Justin, now 34, and Kyle, 31, from his first marriage and two more – Charles, 24, and William, 21 – from his marriage to Sally. “We were able to race gocarts,” says Blockley. “There was lots of room for cricket and football – it was a marvellous place for growing boys to let off steam.”
Despite being rather poky inside, with obvious cosmetic flaws, Colts Bushes was “mendable”. Remedial work began in 1982, when Blockley had a surgery built onto the house with a bedroom above it at a cost of £20,000. In 1989 a sizeable kitchen extension was built at a cost of another £20,000. At around the same time a study was built between the house and the barn outside, costing £10,000 and in the early 1990s a car port was built, costing £6,000. Blockley’s total outlay on the house has been £133,000.
The property has been transformed. There is a lovely, low-ceilinged, “cottagey” drawing room with a big fireplace and French doors leading out to the grounds, a quite formal dining room and a farmhouse kitchen. There’s also a family/sitting room and a dentist’s surgery that could easily be turned into a study. Upstairs there are six bedrooms, and outside is a tennis court, an entertainment barn for parties and a stable block.
Blockley was fortunate to buy in this area when he did, because the Surrey/Sussex borders around Horsham were just becoming extremely fashionable. In the 1980s it became known as the “rock star” belt. Eric Clapton was there, as were Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford of Genesis, Kenny Jones of the Small Faces and the record producer Glyn Johns. The area’s employment prospects also improved, notably when Sun Alliance moved its main office to Horsham, which created yet more demand for homes.
Now Blockley is planning a comfortable retirement, which will involve downsizing. He expects to spend about £800,000 on a new home; the rest he will add to his pension fund and put aside for the boys.
“I have calculated that I’ll need around £50,000 a year to keep ticking over,” he says. “I have a holiday home in Spain which cost me €300,000 some years ago, so my main luxury will be spending time there on a regular basis.” His two elder sons are now property owners themselves – Justin lives in Ascot and Kyle has an apartment in Singapore. However, William and Chris are both living at home at present and Blockley anticipates giving them a helping hand onto the property ladder. He has already signed over the ownership of the property in Spain to the boys, and if one of them so wished he could get a low-interest euro mortgage using the house as collateral.
If need be, Blockley will help more directly. “I’d question whether pension funds will adequately meet the needs of the younger generation,” he says. “Look at what has happened to pensions over my working lifetime – the Robert Maxwell affair and Equitable Life, in which I had my own fingers burnt. I’ll do what I can to help get the boys on the property ladder. Is there a pension fund that would have paid me the £1.5 million that I have made from this property over the past 27 years? I don’t think so.” Colts Bushes, Rowhook, West Sussex: Browns Estate Agents,
Dubai’s man-made Palm islands is preparing to float $800 million (£384 million) of its luxury housing in what could be a prelude for a $60 billion
Artificial islands being pushed towards a float
James Rossiter in Dubai
The company behind Dubai’s man-made Palm islands is preparing to float $800 million (£384 million) of its luxury housing in what could be a prelude for a $60 billion listing of the entire business, The Times has learnt.
Nakheel, whose projects include the Palm Jumeirah island, wants to spin off about 50,000 beach-side apartments into a real estate investment trust (Reit) that it will then float on both Dubai’s nascent stock market and either the London or Singapore exchanges.
Chris O’Donnell, chief executive of Nakheel, said: “We are actively working on Reit structures here as we have residential property on the balance sheet. It is ideal for us to create a Reit.”
A decision whether to have the dual listing in either Singapore or London will be made “within three to six months”, Mr O’Donnell added, ready for a flotation and share offering that could raise up to $500 million.
Background
Behind Tussauds is next private equity giant
Rock rescue could take up to six months
Towers reach for the sky as Dubai booms
BP offers Abu Dhabi green solution
Och-Ziff seeking cash on eastern horizon
There are no losers around here
The fact that Gulf investment funds and Western private equity firms are getting together should be no surprise
Brown’s conjuring trick lacks magic touch
The bottom line is companies are not states
Background
Dubai fund snaps up $1.25bn Och-Ziff stake
Baugur teams with Dubai retailer for Saks bid
Arcapita sells water company
Bahrain banks focus on going by the book
Forte trains sights on Gulf expansion
Emirates get Western bugbear
Hothouse petrodollar economy in frantic dash for gas to keep the lights on, the water desalinated and the air chilled
BP offers Abu Dhabi green solution to chronic gas shortages
Middle East can leave oily old cycle in the past
Towers reach for the sky on a daily basis as Dubai booms
Related Links
Twenty-five shaping tomorrow’s world
Crossing investors’ palms with silver
A decision whether to float Nakheel or not is tied in with a $3.5 billion Islamic-compliant debt financing the company issued last December.
The company, which is chaired by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the three top advisers to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, has 2 billion square feet of housing, shops and hotel projects under development.
Mr O’Donnell is keen to emulate the model Investa used for its growth for his plans to broaden Nakheel’s core property development business into large-scale letting and real estate investment fund management.
The first stage of that development involves spinning off into a Reit what Mr O’Donnell said was “$600 million to $800 million of residential assets; we would retain between 30 per cent and 50 per cent”.
Barclays Capital and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) are expected to be among the front-runners to pitch for work connected with the flotation.
James Rossiter in Dubai
The company behind Dubai’s man-made Palm islands is preparing to float $800 million (£384 million) of its luxury housing in what could be a prelude for a $60 billion listing of the entire business, The Times has learnt.
Nakheel, whose projects include the Palm Jumeirah island, wants to spin off about 50,000 beach-side apartments into a real estate investment trust (Reit) that it will then float on both Dubai’s nascent stock market and either the London or Singapore exchanges.
Chris O’Donnell, chief executive of Nakheel, said: “We are actively working on Reit structures here as we have residential property on the balance sheet. It is ideal for us to create a Reit.”
A decision whether to have the dual listing in either Singapore or London will be made “within three to six months”, Mr O’Donnell added, ready for a flotation and share offering that could raise up to $500 million.
Background
Behind Tussauds is next private equity giant
Rock rescue could take up to six months
Towers reach for the sky as Dubai booms
BP offers Abu Dhabi green solution
Och-Ziff seeking cash on eastern horizon
There are no losers around here
The fact that Gulf investment funds and Western private equity firms are getting together should be no surprise
Brown’s conjuring trick lacks magic touch
The bottom line is companies are not states
Background
Dubai fund snaps up $1.25bn Och-Ziff stake
Baugur teams with Dubai retailer for Saks bid
Arcapita sells water company
Bahrain banks focus on going by the book
Forte trains sights on Gulf expansion
Emirates get Western bugbear
Hothouse petrodollar economy in frantic dash for gas to keep the lights on, the water desalinated and the air chilled
BP offers Abu Dhabi green solution to chronic gas shortages
Middle East can leave oily old cycle in the past
Towers reach for the sky on a daily basis as Dubai booms
Related Links
Twenty-five shaping tomorrow’s world
Crossing investors’ palms with silver
A decision whether to float Nakheel or not is tied in with a $3.5 billion Islamic-compliant debt financing the company issued last December.
The company, which is chaired by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the three top advisers to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, has 2 billion square feet of housing, shops and hotel projects under development.
Mr O’Donnell is keen to emulate the model Investa used for its growth for his plans to broaden Nakheel’s core property development business into large-scale letting and real estate investment fund management.
The first stage of that development involves spinning off into a Reit what Mr O’Donnell said was “$600 million to $800 million of residential assets; we would retain between 30 per cent and 50 per cent”.
Barclays Capital and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) are expected to be among the front-runners to pitch for work connected with the flotation.
BRAVO Building Construction group, which bought Tulip Garden and Pender Court a few months back, has now clinched Makeway View in the Newton area
BRAVO Building Construction group, which bought Tulip Garden and Pender Court a few months back, has now clinched Makeway View in the Newton area for $162.8 million through a collective sale.
The price works out to a land cost of $1,583 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area including an estimated $21.5 million development charge (DC).
The breakeven cost for a new project on the site will be about $2,100 psf, a Bravo spokeswoman said.
‘We’re planning about 70-80 loft apartments, with sizes ranging from 1,500 sq ft to 1,800 sq ft,’ she said. ‘The project, which could be about 23-24 storeys high, may be ready for launch around Q3 or Q4 next year.’
Makeway View is on a freehold site of 41,582 sq ft that is designated for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio under Master Plan 2003.
Knight Frank brokered the sale through a private treaty after a tender that closed last month.
The deal is subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board.
The buyer is Makeway Residences Pte Ltd, which is related to Bravo Building Construction.
‘At the purchase price of $162.8 million, Makeway View owners will receive gross sale proceeds of about $3.7 million to $10.4 million per unit,’ Knight Frank said yesterday.
Makeway View’s existing 32 apartments and penthouses range in size from 1,442 sq ft to 5,307 sq ft.
Bravo’s spokeswoman also told BT the group plans to develop the freehold Pender Court site off West Coast Highway, which it bought in July, into 48 cluster terrace housing units.
‘We’re in discussions with an overseas fund which is keen on buying the entire development for about $180 million, or about $3.8 million per unit on average,’ she said. ‘Each house will come with a private pool.’
Bravo’s acquisition of Tulip Garden, also in July, was for $516 million or $1,018 psf per plot ratio. No DC is payable.
Bravo is a five-year-old property and construction outfit that has bought more than a dozen sites in Singapore since September last year, including Castle Court on Changi Road, Regent Court in Serangoon and Koon Seng House in the Still Road area.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
The price works out to a land cost of $1,583 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area including an estimated $21.5 million development charge (DC).
The breakeven cost for a new project on the site will be about $2,100 psf, a Bravo spokeswoman said.
‘We’re planning about 70-80 loft apartments, with sizes ranging from 1,500 sq ft to 1,800 sq ft,’ she said. ‘The project, which could be about 23-24 storeys high, may be ready for launch around Q3 or Q4 next year.’
Makeway View is on a freehold site of 41,582 sq ft that is designated for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio under Master Plan 2003.
Knight Frank brokered the sale through a private treaty after a tender that closed last month.
The deal is subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board.
The buyer is Makeway Residences Pte Ltd, which is related to Bravo Building Construction.
‘At the purchase price of $162.8 million, Makeway View owners will receive gross sale proceeds of about $3.7 million to $10.4 million per unit,’ Knight Frank said yesterday.
Makeway View’s existing 32 apartments and penthouses range in size from 1,442 sq ft to 5,307 sq ft.
Bravo’s spokeswoman also told BT the group plans to develop the freehold Pender Court site off West Coast Highway, which it bought in July, into 48 cluster terrace housing units.
‘We’re in discussions with an overseas fund which is keen on buying the entire development for about $180 million, or about $3.8 million per unit on average,’ she said. ‘Each house will come with a private pool.’
Bravo’s acquisition of Tulip Garden, also in July, was for $516 million or $1,018 psf per plot ratio. No DC is payable.
Bravo is a five-year-old property and construction outfit that has bought more than a dozen sites in Singapore since September last year, including Castle Court on Changi Road, Regent Court in Serangoon and Koon Seng House in the Still Road area.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
‘The government does not own other commercial buildings of the same grade and category as The Atrium,’ an SLA spokeswoman said.
THE Singapore Land Authority has confirmed a BT report yesterday that it plans to sell The Atrium @ Orchard - the first state sale of a Grade A prime commercial building.
‘The government does not own other commercial buildings of the same grade and category as The Atrium,’ an SLA spokeswoman said. ‘It is not in the government’s strategic interest to continue to own a well-developed and pure commercial asset like The Atrium @ Orchard.
‘It is best to let the private sector take over its commercial utilisation. Given the buoyant market conditions, the government has decided that now is a good time to divest it with best value for the state.’
SLA has appointed CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) sole marketing consultant to advise on the planned sale. CBRE was chosen from a short list of five firms, SLA said. It clinched the job based on its competitive bid and strong track record under a two-stage selection process, SLA said without elaborating.
Market watchers suggest the other contenders were likely to have been Colliers, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank.
‘On the mode of sale, the government expects CBRE to recommend a sale strategy that is consistent with the prevailing best market practices for selling large commercial buildings, to enable the state to obtain the best price for the property in a level playing field for all interested buyers,’ SLA said.
The Atrium @ Orchard, next to Plaza Singapore and above the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, comprises two towers of seven and 10 storeys with a total net lettable area of about 375,000 sq ft. The building’s basement carpark has 100 lots. The project received Temporary Occupation Permit in April 2002.
SLA did not indicate how much the property is worth, but in yesterday’s BT report a market observer suggested a range of $2,500 to $3,000 psf of net lettable area, which would work out to $937.5 million to $1.13 billion.
A plus point is that SLA is expected to sell The Atrium on a fresh 99-year lease.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
‘The government does not own other commercial buildings of the same grade and category as The Atrium,’ an SLA spokeswoman said. ‘It is not in the government’s strategic interest to continue to own a well-developed and pure commercial asset like The Atrium @ Orchard.
‘It is best to let the private sector take over its commercial utilisation. Given the buoyant market conditions, the government has decided that now is a good time to divest it with best value for the state.’
SLA has appointed CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) sole marketing consultant to advise on the planned sale. CBRE was chosen from a short list of five firms, SLA said. It clinched the job based on its competitive bid and strong track record under a two-stage selection process, SLA said without elaborating.
Market watchers suggest the other contenders were likely to have been Colliers, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank.
‘On the mode of sale, the government expects CBRE to recommend a sale strategy that is consistent with the prevailing best market practices for selling large commercial buildings, to enable the state to obtain the best price for the property in a level playing field for all interested buyers,’ SLA said.
The Atrium @ Orchard, next to Plaza Singapore and above the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, comprises two towers of seven and 10 storeys with a total net lettable area of about 375,000 sq ft. The building’s basement carpark has 100 lots. The project received Temporary Occupation Permit in April 2002.
SLA did not indicate how much the property is worth, but in yesterday’s BT report a market observer suggested a range of $2,500 to $3,000 psf of net lettable area, which would work out to $937.5 million to $1.13 billion.
A plus point is that SLA is expected to sell The Atrium on a fresh 99-year lease.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
Far East offered $233.8 million or about $852 per square foot of potential gross floor area for the 32,681 sq ft plot near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.
In a sign that developers are turning cautious after the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme, a state tender for a 99-year residential site at Enggor Street behind the Icon development drew just two bids yesterday.
The higher bid by Far East Organization was 55 per cent above the only other offer by GuocoLand.
Far East offered $233.8 million or about $852 per square foot of potential gross floor area for the 32,681 sq ft plot near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. GuocoLand’s $150.98 million bid works out to around $550 psf per plot ratio.
All eyes are now on a tender for the residential site next-door closing on November 15.
Far East’s breakeven cost for a new condo project is understood to be in the $1,340 to $1,400 psf range. That still leaves it with a profit margin based on current prices being achieved at Icon.
Caveats show that mid-level units (on the 20th to 22nd levels) of Icon have been changing hands in recent months in the $1,500 to $1,600 psf range in the subsale market, although units above the 40th storey have been sold by Far East at above $2,000 psf.
The property giant is understood to have sold a penthouse on the 46th floor recently for about $2,300 psf. It is now left with about 30 units in the 646-unit project, and its prices range from $2,000 to $2,400 psf.
For the latest site, called Land Parcel A at Enggor Street, BT understands Far East’s scheme is for a 62-storey tower with about 200 apartments - likely to be a spread of unit types like Icon - and is targeting to launch the project around end-2008 or early 2009.
Far East will develop retail space on the project’s ground level to be linked to Icon Village, the street-level retail component of its earlier project.
While property market watchers attributed the thin participation at yesterday’s tender to developers turning cautious following the withdrawal of the DPS scheme, some were puzzled by the disparity between the two bids. ‘Far East has crunched their numbers and know what they are in for, based on their experience with selling Icon units,’ a seasoned property consultant said.
However, some analysts could not help but suggest that Far East’s significantly higher offer may also have been partly motivated by a need to support property prices, including the values of sites it bid earlier. In September, the property giant clinched a prime condo plot next to Ang Mo Kio Hub for $601 psf per plot ratio - a record for suburban 99-year leasehold condo land. That tender attracted a whopping 14 bids. Another state tender for a condo site next to Kovan MRT Station that closed in early October drew six bids.
‘Developers are a bit concerned after the DPS withdrawal. It looks like they’ve chickened out of this tender,’ a seasoned property consultant said, when explaining yesterday’s thin bidding.
However, another property consultant, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho suggested that another reason for the lukewarm response yesterday could be due to the site’s location.
‘It is behind Icon and is sandwiched between a commercial site that has been awarded and another residential site (Parcel B) whose tender will close on Nov 15. Nevertheless, the site is about five minutes’ walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
The higher bid by Far East Organization was 55 per cent above the only other offer by GuocoLand.
Far East offered $233.8 million or about $852 per square foot of potential gross floor area for the 32,681 sq ft plot near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. GuocoLand’s $150.98 million bid works out to around $550 psf per plot ratio.
All eyes are now on a tender for the residential site next-door closing on November 15.
Far East’s breakeven cost for a new condo project is understood to be in the $1,340 to $1,400 psf range. That still leaves it with a profit margin based on current prices being achieved at Icon.
Caveats show that mid-level units (on the 20th to 22nd levels) of Icon have been changing hands in recent months in the $1,500 to $1,600 psf range in the subsale market, although units above the 40th storey have been sold by Far East at above $2,000 psf.
The property giant is understood to have sold a penthouse on the 46th floor recently for about $2,300 psf. It is now left with about 30 units in the 646-unit project, and its prices range from $2,000 to $2,400 psf.
For the latest site, called Land Parcel A at Enggor Street, BT understands Far East’s scheme is for a 62-storey tower with about 200 apartments - likely to be a spread of unit types like Icon - and is targeting to launch the project around end-2008 or early 2009.
Far East will develop retail space on the project’s ground level to be linked to Icon Village, the street-level retail component of its earlier project.
While property market watchers attributed the thin participation at yesterday’s tender to developers turning cautious following the withdrawal of the DPS scheme, some were puzzled by the disparity between the two bids. ‘Far East has crunched their numbers and know what they are in for, based on their experience with selling Icon units,’ a seasoned property consultant said.
However, some analysts could not help but suggest that Far East’s significantly higher offer may also have been partly motivated by a need to support property prices, including the values of sites it bid earlier. In September, the property giant clinched a prime condo plot next to Ang Mo Kio Hub for $601 psf per plot ratio - a record for suburban 99-year leasehold condo land. That tender attracted a whopping 14 bids. Another state tender for a condo site next to Kovan MRT Station that closed in early October drew six bids.
‘Developers are a bit concerned after the DPS withdrawal. It looks like they’ve chickened out of this tender,’ a seasoned property consultant said, when explaining yesterday’s thin bidding.
However, another property consultant, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho suggested that another reason for the lukewarm response yesterday could be due to the site’s location.
‘It is behind Icon and is sandwiched between a commercial site that has been awarded and another residential site (Parcel B) whose tender will close on Nov 15. Nevertheless, the site is about five minutes’ walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
99-year residential site at Enggor Street behind the Icon development drew just two bids
In a sign that developers are turning cautious after the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme, a state tender for a 99-year residential site at Enggor Street behind the Icon development drew just two bids yesterday.
The higher bid by Far East Organization was 55 per cent above the only other offer by GuocoLand.
Far East offered $233.8 million or about $852 per square foot of potential gross floor area for the 32,681 sq ft plot near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. GuocoLand’s $150.98 million bid works out to around $550 psf per plot ratio.
All eyes are now on a tender for the residential site next-door closing on November 15.
Far East’s breakeven cost for a new condo project is understood to be in the $1,340 to $1,400 psf range. That still leaves it with a profit margin based on current prices being achieved at Icon.
Caveats show that mid-level units (on the 20th to 22nd levels) of Icon have been changing hands in recent months in the $1,500 to $1,600 psf range in the subsale market, although units above the 40th storey have been sold by Far East at above $2,000 psf.
The property giant is understood to have sold a penthouse on the 46th floor recently for about $2,300 psf. It is now left with about 30 units in the 646-unit project, and its prices range from $2,000 to $2,400 psf.
For the latest site, called Land Parcel A at Enggor Street, BT understands Far East’s scheme is for a 62-storey tower with about 200 apartments - likely to be a spread of unit types like Icon - and is targeting to launch the project around end-2008 or early 2009.
Far East will develop retail space on the project’s ground level to be linked to Icon Village, the street-level retail component of its earlier project.
While property market watchers attributed the thin participation at yesterday’s tender to developers turning cautious following the withdrawal of the DPS scheme, some were puzzled by the disparity between the two bids. ‘Far East has crunched their numbers and know what they are in for, based on their experience with selling Icon units,’ a seasoned property consultant said.
However, some analysts could not help but suggest that Far East’s significantly higher offer may also have been partly motivated by a need to support property prices, including the values of sites it bid earlier. In September, the property giant clinched a prime condo plot next to Ang Mo Kio Hub for $601 psf per plot ratio - a record for suburban 99-year leasehold condo land. That tender attracted a whopping 14 bids. Another state tender for a condo site next to Kovan MRT Station that closed in early October drew six bids.
‘Developers are a bit concerned after the DPS withdrawal. It looks like they’ve chickened out of this tender,’ a seasoned property consultant said, when explaining yesterday’s thin bidding.
However, another property consultant, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho suggested that another reason for the lukewarm response yesterday could be due to the site’s location.
‘It is behind Icon and is sandwiched between a commercial site that has been awarded and another residential site (Parcel B) whose tender will close on Nov 15. Nevertheless, the site is about five minutes’ walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
The higher bid by Far East Organization was 55 per cent above the only other offer by GuocoLand.
Far East offered $233.8 million or about $852 per square foot of potential gross floor area for the 32,681 sq ft plot near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. GuocoLand’s $150.98 million bid works out to around $550 psf per plot ratio.
All eyes are now on a tender for the residential site next-door closing on November 15.
Far East’s breakeven cost for a new condo project is understood to be in the $1,340 to $1,400 psf range. That still leaves it with a profit margin based on current prices being achieved at Icon.
Caveats show that mid-level units (on the 20th to 22nd levels) of Icon have been changing hands in recent months in the $1,500 to $1,600 psf range in the subsale market, although units above the 40th storey have been sold by Far East at above $2,000 psf.
The property giant is understood to have sold a penthouse on the 46th floor recently for about $2,300 psf. It is now left with about 30 units in the 646-unit project, and its prices range from $2,000 to $2,400 psf.
For the latest site, called Land Parcel A at Enggor Street, BT understands Far East’s scheme is for a 62-storey tower with about 200 apartments - likely to be a spread of unit types like Icon - and is targeting to launch the project around end-2008 or early 2009.
Far East will develop retail space on the project’s ground level to be linked to Icon Village, the street-level retail component of its earlier project.
While property market watchers attributed the thin participation at yesterday’s tender to developers turning cautious following the withdrawal of the DPS scheme, some were puzzled by the disparity between the two bids. ‘Far East has crunched their numbers and know what they are in for, based on their experience with selling Icon units,’ a seasoned property consultant said.
However, some analysts could not help but suggest that Far East’s significantly higher offer may also have been partly motivated by a need to support property prices, including the values of sites it bid earlier. In September, the property giant clinched a prime condo plot next to Ang Mo Kio Hub for $601 psf per plot ratio - a record for suburban 99-year leasehold condo land. That tender attracted a whopping 14 bids. Another state tender for a condo site next to Kovan MRT Station that closed in early October drew six bids.
‘Developers are a bit concerned after the DPS withdrawal. It looks like they’ve chickened out of this tender,’ a seasoned property consultant said, when explaining yesterday’s thin bidding.
However, another property consultant, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho suggested that another reason for the lukewarm response yesterday could be due to the site’s location.
‘It is behind Icon and is sandwiched between a commercial site that has been awarded and another residential site (Parcel B) whose tender will close on Nov 15. Nevertheless, the site is about five minutes’ walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
A WEAK response to the tender for a residential site in Enggor Street suggests market sentiment might have turned cautious, analysts say.
A WEAK response to the tender for a residential site in Enggor Street suggests market sentiment might have turned cautious, analysts say.
The 99-year leasehold site at Tanjong Pagar had attracted only two bids by the time it closed yesterday, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The top bid for the site was put in by Far East Organization’s Bishan Properties at $233.8 million, or $852 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).
The only other bid was almost half that - $151 million, or $550 psf ppr - and was tendered by First Capital Holdings.
This is the first public tender to close since the Government announced last week that it was scrapping the deferred payment scheme with immediate effect.
The scheme allowed buyers to fork out a down payment of only 10 or 20 per cent when purchasing a new home; the rest came due upon completion, which could sometimes be as long as three years later.
Analysts that The Straits Times spoke to said the Enggor Street bids reflected a more cautious attitude among developers.
Singapore’s spectacular property bull-run has, in recent times, seen up to 10 or more bids for public tenders.
‘The mood has turned cautious and the bids reflect this,’ said Chesterton International’s head of research and consultancy, Mr Colin Tan.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said this change could be due to the DPS announcement.
Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, agreed.
He pointed to uncertainty in the market, and added that developers are monitoring the behaviour of homebuyers before committing to buying more government land.
However, another reason for the weak response could be the location.
The site, with a gross floor area of 274,522 sq ft, is behind Far East’s Icon condo, and is sandwiched between a commercial site and another residential site whose tender closes on Nov 15.
But as it is only a five-minute walk from the Tanjong Pagar MRT station - at the heart of the Central Business District - the site remains attractive, say analysts.
Estimates for the project, launched for sale on Sept 4, indicate that it could provide 330 to 360 small units and a handful of large four-bedroom units, said Mr Mak.
CBRE’s Mr Li said the top bid was ‘reasonable’ and should translate into a break-even price of $1,300 psf for the future project.
Its units are likely to be priced at $1,500 to $2,100 psf when launched for sale - similar to the prices fetched at Icon recently.
Source : Straits Times - 2 Nov 2007
The 99-year leasehold site at Tanjong Pagar had attracted only two bids by the time it closed yesterday, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The top bid for the site was put in by Far East Organization’s Bishan Properties at $233.8 million, or $852 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).
The only other bid was almost half that - $151 million, or $550 psf ppr - and was tendered by First Capital Holdings.
This is the first public tender to close since the Government announced last week that it was scrapping the deferred payment scheme with immediate effect.
The scheme allowed buyers to fork out a down payment of only 10 or 20 per cent when purchasing a new home; the rest came due upon completion, which could sometimes be as long as three years later.
Analysts that The Straits Times spoke to said the Enggor Street bids reflected a more cautious attitude among developers.
Singapore’s spectacular property bull-run has, in recent times, seen up to 10 or more bids for public tenders.
‘The mood has turned cautious and the bids reflect this,’ said Chesterton International’s head of research and consultancy, Mr Colin Tan.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said this change could be due to the DPS announcement.
Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, agreed.
He pointed to uncertainty in the market, and added that developers are monitoring the behaviour of homebuyers before committing to buying more government land.
However, another reason for the weak response could be the location.
The site, with a gross floor area of 274,522 sq ft, is behind Far East’s Icon condo, and is sandwiched between a commercial site and another residential site whose tender closes on Nov 15.
But as it is only a five-minute walk from the Tanjong Pagar MRT station - at the heart of the Central Business District - the site remains attractive, say analysts.
Estimates for the project, launched for sale on Sept 4, indicate that it could provide 330 to 360 small units and a handful of large four-bedroom units, said Mr Mak.
CBRE’s Mr Li said the top bid was ‘reasonable’ and should translate into a break-even price of $1,300 psf for the future project.
Its units are likely to be priced at $1,500 to $2,100 psf when launched for sale - similar to the prices fetched at Icon recently.
Source : Straits Times - 2 Nov 2007
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDL HT) has reported distributable income of $18.8 million for Q3 2007, up 138.5 per cent from $7.9 million a year earlier
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDL HT) has reported distributable income of $18.8 million for Q3 2007, up 138.5 per cent from $7.9 million a year earlier and 90.8 per cent higher than its projection.
Revenue was $23.97 million, up 112.9 per cent from $11.3 million previously. And distribution per unit was 2.36 cents, up 108.8 per cent from 1.13 cents.
CDL HT said its hotels put up a strong showing.
Average occupancy rates at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore, M Hotel Singapore and Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore increased 3.9 percentage points from a year earlier to 89.4 per cent, while the average daily rates increased 21.8 per cent to $201. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 27.4 per cent to $179.
The four hotels achieved combined hotel revenue of $56.4 million and a combined gross operating profit of $28.2 million.Including Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel, which was acquired on June 7 this year, total hotel revenue for Q3 was $65.1 million and gross operating profit $32.4 million.
Combined weighted average RevPAR for the five hotels - including Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel - was $176. The average occupancy rate was 90 per cent.
Vincent Yeo, CEO of M&C REIT Management, manager of CDL HT, said: ‘Even though September’s growth against the previous year was diluted because of the extremely high rates achieved last year due to the one-off International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting held in Singapore, the third quarter still showed very strong growth rates overall.’
CDL HT said that of the $18.8 million of distributable income, $3.6 million - representing income available for distribution for the period from July 1 to July 18 - has already been distributed. The remaining $15.2 million of income available for distribution will be included in the computation of the next distributable income for the period July 19 to Dec 31.
CDL HT units closed eight cents higher at $2.47 yesterday.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Revenue was $23.97 million, up 112.9 per cent from $11.3 million previously. And distribution per unit was 2.36 cents, up 108.8 per cent from 1.13 cents.
CDL HT said its hotels put up a strong showing.
Average occupancy rates at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore, M Hotel Singapore and Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore increased 3.9 percentage points from a year earlier to 89.4 per cent, while the average daily rates increased 21.8 per cent to $201. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 27.4 per cent to $179.
The four hotels achieved combined hotel revenue of $56.4 million and a combined gross operating profit of $28.2 million.Including Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel, which was acquired on June 7 this year, total hotel revenue for Q3 was $65.1 million and gross operating profit $32.4 million.
Combined weighted average RevPAR for the five hotels - including Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel - was $176. The average occupancy rate was 90 per cent.
Vincent Yeo, CEO of M&C REIT Management, manager of CDL HT, said: ‘Even though September’s growth against the previous year was diluted because of the extremely high rates achieved last year due to the one-off International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting held in Singapore, the third quarter still showed very strong growth rates overall.’
CDL HT said that of the $18.8 million of distributable income, $3.6 million - representing income available for distribution for the period from July 1 to July 18 - has already been distributed. The remaining $15.2 million of income available for distribution will be included in the computation of the next distributable income for the period July 19 to Dec 31.
CDL HT units closed eight cents higher at $2.47 yesterday.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Singapore has overtaken Japan to become the most competitive economy in Asia, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.
Singapore has overtaken Japan to become the most competitive economy in Asia, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.
The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2007-2008, which was released yesterday, ranks Singapore at No 7 in the world - an improvement from its eighth spot last year. In contrast, Japan slid from its fifth place last year and is now ranked No 8 in the list of competitive economies. Overall, the United States emerged first, followed by Switzerland and Denmark.
In all, there are another seven Asia-Pacific countries - including South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia - that found their way into the top 30. China and India continue to lead the way among large developing economies, WEF said. Several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In sub-Saharan Africa, only South Africa and Mauritius feature in the top half of the rankings, with several countries at the bottom. In Latin America, Chile is the highest ranked country, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica.
‘The Asia region encompasses the entire gamut in our ranking, from highly competitive countries to the most challenged, drawing an extremely heterogeneous picture with respect to the levels of growth and development achieved in the region,’ said Fiona Paua, head of Strategic Insight Teams at the WEF.
For example, nine Asia-Pacific countries are among the top 30, ‘while Mongolia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and Timor-Leste are all positioned at the very bottom of the rankings’, she added.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of partner institutes, including research institutes and business organisations in the countries covered. This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries.
The survey is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy’s business climate.
The study also includes comprehensive listings of the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key priorities for policy reform. ‘Economic policy, especially at the microeconomic level, needs to set priorities that reflect the most important constraints to competitiveness in each country,’ said Michael Porter, professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of the report.
‘The GCR enables countries to move beyond abstract theoretical policy debates and identify the specific tasks ahead of them. In an uncertain global financial environment, it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.’
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2007-2008, which was released yesterday, ranks Singapore at No 7 in the world - an improvement from its eighth spot last year. In contrast, Japan slid from its fifth place last year and is now ranked No 8 in the list of competitive economies. Overall, the United States emerged first, followed by Switzerland and Denmark.
In all, there are another seven Asia-Pacific countries - including South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia - that found their way into the top 30. China and India continue to lead the way among large developing economies, WEF said. Several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In sub-Saharan Africa, only South Africa and Mauritius feature in the top half of the rankings, with several countries at the bottom. In Latin America, Chile is the highest ranked country, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica.
‘The Asia region encompasses the entire gamut in our ranking, from highly competitive countries to the most challenged, drawing an extremely heterogeneous picture with respect to the levels of growth and development achieved in the region,’ said Fiona Paua, head of Strategic Insight Teams at the WEF.
For example, nine Asia-Pacific countries are among the top 30, ‘while Mongolia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and Timor-Leste are all positioned at the very bottom of the rankings’, she added.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of partner institutes, including research institutes and business organisations in the countries covered. This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries.
The survey is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy’s business climate.
The study also includes comprehensive listings of the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key priorities for policy reform. ‘Economic policy, especially at the microeconomic level, needs to set priorities that reflect the most important constraints to competitiveness in each country,’ said Michael Porter, professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of the report.
‘The GCR enables countries to move beyond abstract theoretical policy debates and identify the specific tasks ahead of them. In an uncertain global financial environment, it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.’
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
UIC Ltd is launching its 192-unit Park Natura development across from Bukit Batok Nature Park
UIC Ltd is launching its 192-unit Park Natura development across from Bukit Batok Nature Park, and market watchers will be eager to see how sales will be affected by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis or by the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme (DPS).
So far, sales look good. Priced at the higher end for a suburban condominium at an average of $1,000 psf, more than 100 units have already been sold at the private soft launch. UIC group general manager Vito Koh said: ‘The demand shows that the pricing is right.’
Mr Koh said he did not have a breakdown of the profile of buyers but added that Park Natura was not the type of development to attract speculators.
UIC received approval to offer deferred payment to buyers before the end of the DPS, but whether this alone is attracting buyers is hard to say.
Still, Mr Koh said that the withdrawal of DPS from future developments could affect buyers’ confidence, especially for HDB upgraders hoping to enter the private property market.
Mr Koh also pointed out that the withdrawal of the DPS has come at a time when prices in the high-end segment appeared to have levelled off. ‘Market prices have already adjusted themselves so withdrawing DPS is not necessary,’ he said.
Another development that was recently launched is the CGH Group’s 72-unit Esta Ruby in the Katong area. Already, 25 per cent of the units have been sold at an average price of $1,160 psf.
CGH sales director Alex Chng said that recent events have affected the property market, with some potential buyers changing their minds. ‘But our feeling is that the buyers are still there.’ The good news seems to be that more foreigners and Singapore permanent residents appear to be buying units in suburban developments.
At Esta Ruby, Mr Chng estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of the buyers were non-Singaporean. ‘What is interesting is that the buyers are mainly from China, Indonesia and even Vietnam,’ he added. The remaining buyers are mainly those displaced by en-bloc sales, with 20 to 30 per cent of buyers being HDB upgraders.
Another development that has been selling through private previews is the 196-unit Aalto in the East Coast by Hong Leong Holdings. Units there are also selling fast with about 60 per cent - about 120 units - sold so far.
A spokesman for Hong Leong also said that transacted prices ranged from $1,500 to more than $2,500, or roughly the transacted prices for new developments in the area even before the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
So far, sales look good. Priced at the higher end for a suburban condominium at an average of $1,000 psf, more than 100 units have already been sold at the private soft launch. UIC group general manager Vito Koh said: ‘The demand shows that the pricing is right.’
Mr Koh said he did not have a breakdown of the profile of buyers but added that Park Natura was not the type of development to attract speculators.
UIC received approval to offer deferred payment to buyers before the end of the DPS, but whether this alone is attracting buyers is hard to say.
Still, Mr Koh said that the withdrawal of DPS from future developments could affect buyers’ confidence, especially for HDB upgraders hoping to enter the private property market.
Mr Koh also pointed out that the withdrawal of the DPS has come at a time when prices in the high-end segment appeared to have levelled off. ‘Market prices have already adjusted themselves so withdrawing DPS is not necessary,’ he said.
Another development that was recently launched is the CGH Group’s 72-unit Esta Ruby in the Katong area. Already, 25 per cent of the units have been sold at an average price of $1,160 psf.
CGH sales director Alex Chng said that recent events have affected the property market, with some potential buyers changing their minds. ‘But our feeling is that the buyers are still there.’ The good news seems to be that more foreigners and Singapore permanent residents appear to be buying units in suburban developments.
At Esta Ruby, Mr Chng estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of the buyers were non-Singaporean. ‘What is interesting is that the buyers are mainly from China, Indonesia and even Vietnam,’ he added. The remaining buyers are mainly those displaced by en-bloc sales, with 20 to 30 per cent of buyers being HDB upgraders.
Another development that has been selling through private previews is the 196-unit Aalto in the East Coast by Hong Leong Holdings. Units there are also selling fast with about 60 per cent - about 120 units - sold so far.
A spokesman for Hong Leong also said that transacted prices ranged from $1,500 to more than $2,500, or roughly the transacted prices for new developments in the area even before the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
SINGAPORE Land Authority is putting up The Atrium @ Orchard for sale
SINGAPORE Land Authority is putting up The Atrium @ Orchard for sale, BT understands.
Market watchers say the property is expected to fetch over $1 billion. They reckon the Orchard Road property, which will be sold with a fresh 99-year lease, could fetch up to $3,000 psf of net lettable area (NLA).
At $1 billion, the price works out to $2,667 psf based on the building’s NLA of about 375,000 sq ft. ‘I think it can fetch anything from $2,500 to $3,000 psf. The building has big-name tenants like Temasek, HSBC, Barclays and MTV, good-sized floor plates plus a prime location above Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station,’ one market observer said.
BT understands that agents were recently approached by SLA to handle the sale of the property, and it is believed that CB Richard Ellis has been selected for the job.
Most of the space in the building, which has two blocks, of 10 storeys and six storeys, is for offices but there is also some retail space. The building was completed in 2002 when Singapore was still experiencing a glut in office space.
The Atrium @ Orchard was built by the Land Transport Authority as a model planning project integrating land use and town and transport planning, and handed to SLA for management on behalf of the state.
The development has about 359,000 sq ft of office space and 16,000 sq ft of retail space, according to an earlier report in The Straits Times.
Market watchers expect The Atrium to attract strong demand from overseas as well as local real estate investors. Interest in Singapore’s office market, which is currently experiencing a supply crunch and soaring rents, has been sizzling.
In August, a Goldman Sachs real estate fund bought the leasehold Chevron House at Raffles Place for $730 million or a record $2,780 psf of NLA. Goldman Sachs group is also said to be finalising a deal to buy the next door Hitachi Tower, a 37-storey office tower on a 999-year leasehold site facing Collyer Quay, at about $3,000 psf.
Another major overseas investor in the local office market is Macquarie Global Property Advisors (MGPA). In September, it put in a record bid of $2.02 billion, or $1,409 psf of potential gross floor area, for a 99-year leasehold site slated for a mostly-office development behind the One Shenton project.
In March, an MGPA fund bought Temasek Tower in the Anson Road area for $1.04 billion or $1,550 psf of NLA. Later, MGPA sold 12 floors at Springleaf Tower, also in the Anson Road area, for $225 million to a unit of German pension fund manager SEB, making a neat profit as it had bought the floors for $134 million only in January.
SEB also bought SIA Building in April for about $526 million or $1,783 psf from TSO Investment, a fully-owned subsidiary of a property fund managed by CLSA Capital Partners. TSO had purchased the office block from Singapore Airlines in June last year for $343.88 million or about $1,165 psf.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Market watchers say the property is expected to fetch over $1 billion. They reckon the Orchard Road property, which will be sold with a fresh 99-year lease, could fetch up to $3,000 psf of net lettable area (NLA).
At $1 billion, the price works out to $2,667 psf based on the building’s NLA of about 375,000 sq ft. ‘I think it can fetch anything from $2,500 to $3,000 psf. The building has big-name tenants like Temasek, HSBC, Barclays and MTV, good-sized floor plates plus a prime location above Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station,’ one market observer said.
BT understands that agents were recently approached by SLA to handle the sale of the property, and it is believed that CB Richard Ellis has been selected for the job.
Most of the space in the building, which has two blocks, of 10 storeys and six storeys, is for offices but there is also some retail space. The building was completed in 2002 when Singapore was still experiencing a glut in office space.
The Atrium @ Orchard was built by the Land Transport Authority as a model planning project integrating land use and town and transport planning, and handed to SLA for management on behalf of the state.
The development has about 359,000 sq ft of office space and 16,000 sq ft of retail space, according to an earlier report in The Straits Times.
Market watchers expect The Atrium to attract strong demand from overseas as well as local real estate investors. Interest in Singapore’s office market, which is currently experiencing a supply crunch and soaring rents, has been sizzling.
In August, a Goldman Sachs real estate fund bought the leasehold Chevron House at Raffles Place for $730 million or a record $2,780 psf of NLA. Goldman Sachs group is also said to be finalising a deal to buy the next door Hitachi Tower, a 37-storey office tower on a 999-year leasehold site facing Collyer Quay, at about $3,000 psf.
Another major overseas investor in the local office market is Macquarie Global Property Advisors (MGPA). In September, it put in a record bid of $2.02 billion, or $1,409 psf of potential gross floor area, for a 99-year leasehold site slated for a mostly-office development behind the One Shenton project.
In March, an MGPA fund bought Temasek Tower in the Anson Road area for $1.04 billion or $1,550 psf of NLA. Later, MGPA sold 12 floors at Springleaf Tower, also in the Anson Road area, for $225 million to a unit of German pension fund manager SEB, making a neat profit as it had bought the floors for $134 million only in January.
SEB also bought SIA Building in April for about $526 million or $1,783 psf from TSO Investment, a fully-owned subsidiary of a property fund managed by CLSA Capital Partners. TSO had purchased the office block from Singapore Airlines in June last year for $343.88 million or about $1,165 psf.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Chancery Court and Thomson View Condo, both 99-year leasehold properties, are being put up for collective sale
Chancery Court, Thomson View tenders likely to close in early Dec.
Chancery Court and Thomson View Condo, both 99-year leasehold properties, are being put up for collective sale, with respective guide prices of $468 million and $550 million.
Chancery Court, a privatised HUDC estate on a choice location along Dunearn Road, has been launched for tender.
The guide price of $468 million indicated by its marketing agent CB Richard Ellis works out to about $1,614 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of two payments to the state.
These are a differential premium of about $65.5 million (for intensifying the site’s use) and a lease upgrading premium of $52 million for topping up the site’s lease to 99 years from a remaining term of about 73 years.
The breakeven cost for a new condo on the site will work out to around $2,075 psf based on the guide price, according to CBRE.
Chancery Court has a 259,137 square feet land area and can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 242 units with an average size of 1,500 sq ft. Chancery Court, which is near Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), is designated a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a five-storey height limit.
Owners controlling more than 87 per cent of share values in the development have signed the collective sale agreement, before the latest en bloc legislation kicked in on Oct 4. Chancery Court’s tender closes on Dec 5.
Thomson View Condo, along Upper Thomson Road, is being marketed by First Tree Properties and Huttons Real Estate. The indicative price for the 540,314 sq ft site is $550 million, which works out to $652 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated differential premium of $110 million and a lease-upgrading premium of about $80 million. First Tree managing director Alvin Er said that it may be possible to amalgamate the site with a strip of state land of about 39,000 sq ft along Bright Hill Drive subject to approval for its sale by the authorities.
‘If this is allowed, then the total unit land price to the buyer of Thomson View will be lowered to $620 psf ppr,’ he said.
The Thomson View site is designated for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio and 24-storey maximum height. The plot can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 950 units averaging 1,200 sq ft. ‘Because the property is on elevated ground, the new project will boast 270-degree views of MacRitchie Reservoir, surrounding nature reserve as well as Singapore Island Country Club,’ Mr Er said.
Thomson View’s collective sale agreement has received approval from owners controlling at least 82 per cent of share values before the new en bloc laws kicked in. The tender is expected to be launched next week and is likely to close in early December, Mr Er added.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Chancery Court and Thomson View Condo, both 99-year leasehold properties, are being put up for collective sale, with respective guide prices of $468 million and $550 million.
Chancery Court, a privatised HUDC estate on a choice location along Dunearn Road, has been launched for tender.
The guide price of $468 million indicated by its marketing agent CB Richard Ellis works out to about $1,614 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of two payments to the state.
These are a differential premium of about $65.5 million (for intensifying the site’s use) and a lease upgrading premium of $52 million for topping up the site’s lease to 99 years from a remaining term of about 73 years.
The breakeven cost for a new condo on the site will work out to around $2,075 psf based on the guide price, according to CBRE.
Chancery Court has a 259,137 square feet land area and can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 242 units with an average size of 1,500 sq ft. Chancery Court, which is near Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), is designated a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a five-storey height limit.
Owners controlling more than 87 per cent of share values in the development have signed the collective sale agreement, before the latest en bloc legislation kicked in on Oct 4. Chancery Court’s tender closes on Dec 5.
Thomson View Condo, along Upper Thomson Road, is being marketed by First Tree Properties and Huttons Real Estate. The indicative price for the 540,314 sq ft site is $550 million, which works out to $652 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated differential premium of $110 million and a lease-upgrading premium of about $80 million. First Tree managing director Alvin Er said that it may be possible to amalgamate the site with a strip of state land of about 39,000 sq ft along Bright Hill Drive subject to approval for its sale by the authorities.
‘If this is allowed, then the total unit land price to the buyer of Thomson View will be lowered to $620 psf ppr,’ he said.
The Thomson View site is designated for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio and 24-storey maximum height. The plot can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 950 units averaging 1,200 sq ft. ‘Because the property is on elevated ground, the new project will boast 270-degree views of MacRitchie Reservoir, surrounding nature reserve as well as Singapore Island Country Club,’ Mr Er said.
Thomson View’s collective sale agreement has received approval from owners controlling at least 82 per cent of share values before the new en bloc laws kicked in. The tender is expected to be launched next week and is likely to close in early December, Mr Er added.
Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007
Chancery Court residential development along Dunearn Road has been put up for en bloc sale.
The Chancery Court residential development along Dunearn Road has been put up for en bloc sale.
CB Richard Ellis said 124 out of the 144 units, representing more than 87 percent of the share value, have signed the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA).
The prime site is located next to Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
Chancery Court sits on 24,074.4 square metres of prime land and is a short walk to Newton MRT Station.
The guide price is S$468 million, which equates to about S$1,614 per square foot per plot ratio.
Under the Master Plan 2003, the plot ratio is 1.4 and the maximum number of storeys is five.
To maximize the plot ratio and top up the lease to a fresh 99 years, developers will have to pay a development charge of S$118 million.
A developer can build about 242 units, assuming an average size of 1,500 sq ft each. The estimated break-even is around S$2,075 per square foot.
The tender exercise closes at 3pm on 5 December 2007.
Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 31 Oct 2007
CB Richard Ellis said 124 out of the 144 units, representing more than 87 percent of the share value, have signed the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA).
The prime site is located next to Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
Chancery Court sits on 24,074.4 square metres of prime land and is a short walk to Newton MRT Station.
The guide price is S$468 million, which equates to about S$1,614 per square foot per plot ratio.
Under the Master Plan 2003, the plot ratio is 1.4 and the maximum number of storeys is five.
To maximize the plot ratio and top up the lease to a fresh 99 years, developers will have to pay a development charge of S$118 million.
A developer can build about 242 units, assuming an average size of 1,500 sq ft each. The estimated break-even is around S$2,075 per square foot.
The tender exercise closes at 3pm on 5 December 2007.
Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 31 Oct 2007
Prospective buyers should not be coerced into buying a property costing a million dollars, though this may be a small sum in today’s property market.
I AM writing to highlight what may be the start of a trend that property buyers need to be aware of.
Recently, I wanted to view a newly built showflat near Upper Bukit Timah Road but I was not allowed in.
The reason was that I had to present a signed blank cheque with the intention of booking a unit before I would be admitted into the showflat.
Is such a practice allowed and are there any watchdog organisations that regulate the sale practices of developers or agents assigned to market properties?
Prospective buyers should not be coerced into buying a property costing a million dollars, though this may be a small sum in today’s property market.
Chue Shien (Ms)
Source : Straits Times - 31 Oct 2007
Recently, I wanted to view a newly built showflat near Upper Bukit Timah Road but I was not allowed in.
The reason was that I had to present a signed blank cheque with the intention of booking a unit before I would be admitted into the showflat.
Is such a practice allowed and are there any watchdog organisations that regulate the sale practices of developers or agents assigned to market properties?
Prospective buyers should not be coerced into buying a property costing a million dollars, though this may be a small sum in today’s property market.
Chue Shien (Ms)
Source : Straits Times - 31 Oct 2007
IT IS stated on the website of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) that an agent should not accept any commission from both vendor/seller
IT IS stated on the website of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) that an agent should not accept any commission from both vendor/seller and purchaser/buyer in the same transaction … (Section 2.2.1 on page 3 on website). It is also stated that the professional fee is 2 per cent from the seller and 1 per cent from the purchaser if each of them is represented by the agent.
I would like to highlight a few points:
1) What is the recourse to the buyer without an agent if the seller’s agent insists that the potential buyer pay a 1 per cent commission, failing which the agent won’t go through with the transaction to sell the HDB flat to the buyer? The buyer is pressured by the agent because if he/she doesn’t pay the 1 per cent commission, the seller’s agent will not entertain the buyer upon signing the Option to Purchase. If the buyer decides to use legal recourse (which would take months), the property will be bought by other buyers who are willing to pay the 1 per cent commission. How does this benefit the seller as the agent is acting on his/her own interests rather than the seller’s? How is the buyer’s interest protected in this case? Is there any way to report the rogue agent to the authorities?
2. Are professional fees highlighted on the IEA website regulated or enforced? I am asking this because an agent can flout the rules by not letting any potential buyer view the property if he/she insists on not paying the 1 per cent commission to the agent although the agent is already paid 2 per cent by the seller. Any buyer who insists on not paying the 1 per cent commission will have considerably fewer chances to view flats. And the seller will, in turn, get fewer sales opportunities because his/her agent wants to pocket commissions from both the buyer and the seller.
3. Agents who flout the rules are punished lightly. If fired, they will simply join rival agencies. Because of the light punishment, agents are not afraid of breaking the rules. Lawsuits are out of reach for the common people, and rouge agents are using this knowledge to their advantage. How are property buyers/sellers protected from rouge agents?
4. The regulating authority should use ‘mystery shoppers’ (or ‘buyers’ in this case) to make spot checks on agents. Those found guilty should be banned or punished severely. This is to protect genuine agents who play by the rules.
Sentosa Gani
Source : Straits Times - 31 Oct 2007
I would like to highlight a few points:
1) What is the recourse to the buyer without an agent if the seller’s agent insists that the potential buyer pay a 1 per cent commission, failing which the agent won’t go through with the transaction to sell the HDB flat to the buyer? The buyer is pressured by the agent because if he/she doesn’t pay the 1 per cent commission, the seller’s agent will not entertain the buyer upon signing the Option to Purchase. If the buyer decides to use legal recourse (which would take months), the property will be bought by other buyers who are willing to pay the 1 per cent commission. How does this benefit the seller as the agent is acting on his/her own interests rather than the seller’s? How is the buyer’s interest protected in this case? Is there any way to report the rogue agent to the authorities?
2. Are professional fees highlighted on the IEA website regulated or enforced? I am asking this because an agent can flout the rules by not letting any potential buyer view the property if he/she insists on not paying the 1 per cent commission to the agent although the agent is already paid 2 per cent by the seller. Any buyer who insists on not paying the 1 per cent commission will have considerably fewer chances to view flats. And the seller will, in turn, get fewer sales opportunities because his/her agent wants to pocket commissions from both the buyer and the seller.
3. Agents who flout the rules are punished lightly. If fired, they will simply join rival agencies. Because of the light punishment, agents are not afraid of breaking the rules. Lawsuits are out of reach for the common people, and rouge agents are using this knowledge to their advantage. How are property buyers/sellers protected from rouge agents?
4. The regulating authority should use ‘mystery shoppers’ (or ‘buyers’ in this case) to make spot checks on agents. Those found guilty should be banned or punished severely. This is to protect genuine agents who play by the rules.
Sentosa Gani
Source : Straits Times - 31 Oct 2007
Novena Surgery, which takes up 8,000 sq ft, will be located on the eighth floor of the $257 million Novena Medical Center.
FAR East Organization and a group of doctors are investing $8 million to set up a clinic called Novena Surgery, in response to what they say is an increasing need for outpatient surgery for Singaporeans and international patients.
Lim Beng Hai, director and senior consultant hand surgeon for the Centre for Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Singapore, who is chairman of Novena Surgery, said that many local patients were opting for surgery as outpatients.
‘This demand is augmented by the rising number of international patients seeking treatment in Singapore,’ he said.
Novena Surgery, which takes up 8,000 sq ft, will be located on the eighth floor of the $257 million Novena Medical Center. It is expected to open its doors on March 1 next year.
It will be used by doctors practising at the centre and those from other hospitals, medical centres and clinics in the area.
Novena Surgery, which aims to provide ambulatory care and surgery facilities, will have three operating theatres and two endoscopy suites, with private rooms and common areas for patients to recover after surgery.
The facility will offer surgical specialties including eye surgery, ear-nose- throat and obstetrics and gynaecology. Surgeons can look forward to a concierge service, which will arrange for patients to be picked up and arrive on time for surgery.
Patients will be able to use touch-screen monitors in the wards to make requests from nurses, to access the Internet and to send e-mail.
The board of directors is expecting Novena Surgery to break even in the space of a year, and bring in annual revenues of more than $10 million after three years.
The number of cases per day could reach a maximum of 100, they said at a press conference.
Heah Sieu Min, who is on the board of directors, described Novena Surgery as a ’seamless, convenient service which will be value for money’.
GL Yap, executive director of Far East Organization, said that Far East would be interested in tendering a bid for the hospital site at Novena Terrace/Irrawaddy Road launched this week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
Lim Beng Hai, director and senior consultant hand surgeon for the Centre for Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Singapore, who is chairman of Novena Surgery, said that many local patients were opting for surgery as outpatients.
‘This demand is augmented by the rising number of international patients seeking treatment in Singapore,’ he said.
Novena Surgery, which takes up 8,000 sq ft, will be located on the eighth floor of the $257 million Novena Medical Center. It is expected to open its doors on March 1 next year.
It will be used by doctors practising at the centre and those from other hospitals, medical centres and clinics in the area.
Novena Surgery, which aims to provide ambulatory care and surgery facilities, will have three operating theatres and two endoscopy suites, with private rooms and common areas for patients to recover after surgery.
The facility will offer surgical specialties including eye surgery, ear-nose- throat and obstetrics and gynaecology. Surgeons can look forward to a concierge service, which will arrange for patients to be picked up and arrive on time for surgery.
Patients will be able to use touch-screen monitors in the wards to make requests from nurses, to access the Internet and to send e-mail.
The board of directors is expecting Novena Surgery to break even in the space of a year, and bring in annual revenues of more than $10 million after three years.
The number of cases per day could reach a maximum of 100, they said at a press conference.
Heah Sieu Min, who is on the board of directors, described Novena Surgery as a ’seamless, convenient service which will be value for money’.
GL Yap, executive director of Far East Organization, said that Far East would be interested in tendering a bid for the hospital site at Novena Terrace/Irrawaddy Road launched this week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Source : Business Times - 2 Nov 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A rare gem in Puchong
A rare gem in Puchong
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Nilam Puri Condominium and Ametis Terraces epitomise quality living
AT the forefront of Puchong’s growth explosion, Bukit Puchong is fast becoming a desirable address.
Developed by Bukit Hitam Development Sdn Bhd (Bukit Hitam), the hot 1290-acre Bukit Puchong is riding on the new wave of Puchong’s property growth.
The clubhouse and swimming pool
With innovative products and contemporary designs to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated market, the developer is confident with sales generated from recent launches, namely its Nilam Puri Condominium range, as well as its Ametis Terraces properties.
The Nilam Puri range and Ametis Terraces are Bukit Puchong’s flagship properties, which epitomise Bukit Puchong’s characteristics of a quality and modern environment for good living.
More importantly, it allows prospective buyers to own a piece of freehold property located in a thriving, well-planned integrated township.
A modern kitchen
Nilam Puri: Affordable Housing with Sophistication
Nilam Puri features the township’s latest array of quality homes with easy access.
Comprising a total of 272 units, the first phase of Nilam Puri boasts of impressive sales, having achieved 100% take-up rate upon completion and handover in August 2006.
The second phase, essentially an upgrade of the first, has a larger and more spacious built-up area ranging from 947 to 1,173 sq ft.
The developer is optimistic about the successful take-up rate of the second phase based on that of the first.
Meanwhile, Phase Two, which has all of Phase One’s features and more, comes with value-added finishes and extras.
Each unit in the second phase accommodates three bedrooms and two bathrooms and comes with a car park bay.
Clean lines in the bedroom
Most of the units in this phase offer a view of either the swimming pool or the landscaped garden.
Young professionals and entry-level house buyers are the main target for the second phase, which comes with security and a surprisingly reasonable price tag ranging from RM132,888 to RM228,888.
Nilam Puri also features a resident clubhouse with swimming and wading pools, gymnasium, a children’s playground and a multi-purpose hall.
“With full fledged amenities and a right balance of residential, commercial and industrial properties, we believe that buyers will get to know the real value of good living in Puchong. And Nilam Puri units are comparatively priced”, said Lim Jee Kong, Bukit Hitam’s general manager.
Nilam Puri Condo Phase Two is expected to draw a total gross development value (GDV) of RM42mil. Construction work is ongoing, and is expected to be completed by September 2009.
As part of its promotional campaign, the developer is giving away RM1,000 worth of home electrical products.
Meanwhile, buyers at the launch can also enjoy the buyer-get-buyer scheme and a referral incentive of RM1,000 for every successful sale.
To get to the Nilam Puri Phase 2 show unit, visitors can use the dedicated BBP interchange on the LDP just before the last toll to Putrajaya.
No-fuss dining room
Ametis Terraces: Secured Living, Open Spaces
Launched early this year, Ametis Terraces comprises 120 units of low-density 2 1/2-storey and 2-storey residential development designed for secured living in the heart of Bukit Puchong.
The Ametis Terraces intermediate units are fully furnished with a brand new interior design concept, which would appeal to the younger generation, especially newly married couples and young families.
The boudoir concept of Ametis Terraces’ new intermediate show unit gives a sense of intimacy, signifying the homeowner’s love of comfort, warmth and tactility.
Catering to a niche and increasingly sophisticated market, Ametis Terraces symbolises Bukit Puchong’s position as a self-sufficient medium to high-end township of choice in the Klang Valley.
Ametis Terraces comprises two designs – Classic and Contemporary. The former has a conventional home layout, whilst the latter, a refreshing reconfiguration of living space with an in-built water feature for feng shui and creative purposes.
“Water features are a key element in attracting positive and beneficial chi, especially with its continuous trickling, splashing and reflection of light and shade. With this in mind, we incorporated the water feature for future buyers to enjoy,” says Lim.
“Another attractive feature of Ametis Terraces is its one-acre landscaped park, situated right at the heart of the development. This doubles up as an extended garden for some premium units.
“To date, 60% of Ametis Terraces have been sold since its launch early this year, prompted by effective word-of-mouth marketing by existing buyers. This shows our products do speak for themselves!” he added.
Slated for completion by early 2009, Ametis Terraces is expected to have a gross development value (GDV) of RM46mil.
Prices for the intermediate units range from RM355,000 to RM389,000, while corner units are going from RM587,000 to RM691,000. Units have lot sizes from 20’ x 75’.
Digg this story Add to your del.icio.us account
Nilam Puri Condominium and Ametis Terraces epitomise quality living
AT the forefront of Puchong’s growth explosion, Bukit Puchong is fast becoming a desirable address.
Developed by Bukit Hitam Development Sdn Bhd (Bukit Hitam), the hot 1290-acre Bukit Puchong is riding on the new wave of Puchong’s property growth.
The clubhouse and swimming pool
With innovative products and contemporary designs to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated market, the developer is confident with sales generated from recent launches, namely its Nilam Puri Condominium range, as well as its Ametis Terraces properties.
The Nilam Puri range and Ametis Terraces are Bukit Puchong’s flagship properties, which epitomise Bukit Puchong’s characteristics of a quality and modern environment for good living.
More importantly, it allows prospective buyers to own a piece of freehold property located in a thriving, well-planned integrated township.
A modern kitchen
Nilam Puri: Affordable Housing with Sophistication
Nilam Puri features the township’s latest array of quality homes with easy access.
Comprising a total of 272 units, the first phase of Nilam Puri boasts of impressive sales, having achieved 100% take-up rate upon completion and handover in August 2006.
The second phase, essentially an upgrade of the first, has a larger and more spacious built-up area ranging from 947 to 1,173 sq ft.
The developer is optimistic about the successful take-up rate of the second phase based on that of the first.
Meanwhile, Phase Two, which has all of Phase One’s features and more, comes with value-added finishes and extras.
Each unit in the second phase accommodates three bedrooms and two bathrooms and comes with a car park bay.
Clean lines in the bedroom
Most of the units in this phase offer a view of either the swimming pool or the landscaped garden.
Young professionals and entry-level house buyers are the main target for the second phase, which comes with security and a surprisingly reasonable price tag ranging from RM132,888 to RM228,888.
Nilam Puri also features a resident clubhouse with swimming and wading pools, gymnasium, a children’s playground and a multi-purpose hall.
“With full fledged amenities and a right balance of residential, commercial and industrial properties, we believe that buyers will get to know the real value of good living in Puchong. And Nilam Puri units are comparatively priced”, said Lim Jee Kong, Bukit Hitam’s general manager.
Nilam Puri Condo Phase Two is expected to draw a total gross development value (GDV) of RM42mil. Construction work is ongoing, and is expected to be completed by September 2009.
As part of its promotional campaign, the developer is giving away RM1,000 worth of home electrical products.
Meanwhile, buyers at the launch can also enjoy the buyer-get-buyer scheme and a referral incentive of RM1,000 for every successful sale.
To get to the Nilam Puri Phase 2 show unit, visitors can use the dedicated BBP interchange on the LDP just before the last toll to Putrajaya.
No-fuss dining room
Ametis Terraces: Secured Living, Open Spaces
Launched early this year, Ametis Terraces comprises 120 units of low-density 2 1/2-storey and 2-storey residential development designed for secured living in the heart of Bukit Puchong.
The Ametis Terraces intermediate units are fully furnished with a brand new interior design concept, which would appeal to the younger generation, especially newly married couples and young families.
The boudoir concept of Ametis Terraces’ new intermediate show unit gives a sense of intimacy, signifying the homeowner’s love of comfort, warmth and tactility.
Catering to a niche and increasingly sophisticated market, Ametis Terraces symbolises Bukit Puchong’s position as a self-sufficient medium to high-end township of choice in the Klang Valley.
Ametis Terraces comprises two designs – Classic and Contemporary. The former has a conventional home layout, whilst the latter, a refreshing reconfiguration of living space with an in-built water feature for feng shui and creative purposes.
“Water features are a key element in attracting positive and beneficial chi, especially with its continuous trickling, splashing and reflection of light and shade. With this in mind, we incorporated the water feature for future buyers to enjoy,” says Lim.
“Another attractive feature of Ametis Terraces is its one-acre landscaped park, situated right at the heart of the development. This doubles up as an extended garden for some premium units.
“To date, 60% of Ametis Terraces have been sold since its launch early this year, prompted by effective word-of-mouth marketing by existing buyers. This shows our products do speak for themselves!” he added.
Slated for completion by early 2009, Ametis Terraces is expected to have a gross development value (GDV) of RM46mil.
Prices for the intermediate units range from RM355,000 to RM389,000, while corner units are going from RM587,000 to RM691,000. Units have lot sizes from 20’ x 75’.
BLand sees growth in property sector
BLand sees growth in property sector
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PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) sees potential growth in its property development earnings, both overseas and locally, says Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd.
It was anticipating RM30.2bil worth of mixed development projects in Vietnam to contribute to its growth, in addition to the revaluation of its landbank in Taman Tar and Selangor Turf Club (STC) in Malaysia, it said, noting that the projects in Vietnam would spread from 2009 to 2019.
An analyst from Kenanga believed that BLand had a high probability of securing these projects, noting that less cost and time would be needed on resettlement issues, seeing that most of BLand’s Vietnam lands were unoccupied.
On the local front, BLand was expected to launch projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.2bil on top of its on-going property development projects in the financial year ending April 30, 2008 (FY08) and FY09, the analyst said.
Its on-going projects, with GDV of RM802mil, are located in Bukit Jalil, Berjaya Park in Shah Alam, Taman Tar and Kuantan Perdana in Pahang.
According to Kenanga, BLand has planned a RM4.2bil mixed development project on the 248-acre STC, noting that its 10-year development plan had included a range of low to high-end residential development with commercial elements like a shopping mall, offices, service apartments and hotels.
STC’s possible conversion title to freehold from its current leasehold was expected to increase the land value by 30% to 50%, and a potential to increase its GDV to RM6.2bil from its original GDV of RM5.4bil, it said.
On top of that, BLand has also withheld launches of its Taman Tar bungalow plots to capitalise on higher pricing upon completion of Taman Tar’s main infrastructure works, as well as the pending approval for land title conversion, which is expected to increase prices by 30% to 50%.
The analyst believed that the remaining GDV of approximately RM324mil would increase by more than 15% once BLand resumed selling the land plots at Taman Tar towards the end of the year, adding that BLand had so far traded its bungalow plots in the Peak at Taman Tar at 81% to 127% higher than other residential sites in the area.
The research house rated the company as “trading buy” with a target price of RM7.61.
The counter closed two sen lower at RM4.30 yesterday on volume of 903,200 shares.
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PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) sees potential growth in its property development earnings, both overseas and locally, says Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd.
It was anticipating RM30.2bil worth of mixed development projects in Vietnam to contribute to its growth, in addition to the revaluation of its landbank in Taman Tar and Selangor Turf Club (STC) in Malaysia, it said, noting that the projects in Vietnam would spread from 2009 to 2019.
An analyst from Kenanga believed that BLand had a high probability of securing these projects, noting that less cost and time would be needed on resettlement issues, seeing that most of BLand’s Vietnam lands were unoccupied.
On the local front, BLand was expected to launch projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.2bil on top of its on-going property development projects in the financial year ending April 30, 2008 (FY08) and FY09, the analyst said.
Its on-going projects, with GDV of RM802mil, are located in Bukit Jalil, Berjaya Park in Shah Alam, Taman Tar and Kuantan Perdana in Pahang.
According to Kenanga, BLand has planned a RM4.2bil mixed development project on the 248-acre STC, noting that its 10-year development plan had included a range of low to high-end residential development with commercial elements like a shopping mall, offices, service apartments and hotels.
STC’s possible conversion title to freehold from its current leasehold was expected to increase the land value by 30% to 50%, and a potential to increase its GDV to RM6.2bil from its original GDV of RM5.4bil, it said.
On top of that, BLand has also withheld launches of its Taman Tar bungalow plots to capitalise on higher pricing upon completion of Taman Tar’s main infrastructure works, as well as the pending approval for land title conversion, which is expected to increase prices by 30% to 50%.
The analyst believed that the remaining GDV of approximately RM324mil would increase by more than 15% once BLand resumed selling the land plots at Taman Tar towards the end of the year, adding that BLand had so far traded its bungalow plots in the Peak at Taman Tar at 81% to 127% higher than other residential sites in the area.
The research house rated the company as “trading buy” with a target price of RM7.61.
The counter closed two sen lower at RM4.30 yesterday on volume of 903,200 shares.
BLand sees growth in property sector
BLand sees growth in property sector
Digg this story Add to your del.icio.us account
PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) sees potential growth in its property development earnings, both overseas and locally, says Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd.
It was anticipating RM30.2bil worth of mixed development projects in Vietnam to contribute to its growth, in addition to the revaluation of its landbank in Taman Tar and Selangor Turf Club (STC) in Malaysia, it said, noting that the projects in Vietnam would spread from 2009 to 2019.
An analyst from Kenanga believed that BLand had a high probability of securing these projects, noting that less cost and time would be needed on resettlement issues, seeing that most of BLand’s Vietnam lands were unoccupied.
On the local front, BLand was expected to launch projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.2bil on top of its on-going property development projects in the financial year ending April 30, 2008 (FY08) and FY09, the analyst said.
Its on-going projects, with GDV of RM802mil, are located in Bukit Jalil, Berjaya Park in Shah Alam, Taman Tar and Kuantan Perdana in Pahang.
According to Kenanga, BLand has planned a RM4.2bil mixed development project on the 248-acre STC, noting that its 10-year development plan had included a range of low to high-end residential development with commercial elements like a shopping mall, offices, service apartments and hotels.
STC’s possible conversion title to freehold from its current leasehold was expected to increase the land value by 30% to 50%, and a potential to increase its GDV to RM6.2bil from its original GDV of RM5.4bil, it said.
On top of that, BLand has also withheld launches of its Taman Tar bungalow plots to capitalise on higher pricing upon completion of Taman Tar’s main infrastructure works, as well as the pending approval for land title conversion, which is expected to increase prices by 30% to 50%.
The analyst believed that the remaining GDV of approximately RM324mil would increase by more than 15% once BLand resumed selling the land plots at Taman Tar towards the end of the year, adding that BLand had so far traded its bungalow plots in the Peak at Taman Tar at 81% to 127% higher than other residential sites in the area.
The research house rated the company as “trading buy” with a target price of RM7.61.
The counter closed two sen lower at RM4.30 yesterday on volume of 903,200 shares.
Digg this story Add to your del.icio.us account
PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) sees potential growth in its property development earnings, both overseas and locally, says Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd.
It was anticipating RM30.2bil worth of mixed development projects in Vietnam to contribute to its growth, in addition to the revaluation of its landbank in Taman Tar and Selangor Turf Club (STC) in Malaysia, it said, noting that the projects in Vietnam would spread from 2009 to 2019.
An analyst from Kenanga believed that BLand had a high probability of securing these projects, noting that less cost and time would be needed on resettlement issues, seeing that most of BLand’s Vietnam lands were unoccupied.
On the local front, BLand was expected to launch projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.2bil on top of its on-going property development projects in the financial year ending April 30, 2008 (FY08) and FY09, the analyst said.
Its on-going projects, with GDV of RM802mil, are located in Bukit Jalil, Berjaya Park in Shah Alam, Taman Tar and Kuantan Perdana in Pahang.
According to Kenanga, BLand has planned a RM4.2bil mixed development project on the 248-acre STC, noting that its 10-year development plan had included a range of low to high-end residential development with commercial elements like a shopping mall, offices, service apartments and hotels.
STC’s possible conversion title to freehold from its current leasehold was expected to increase the land value by 30% to 50%, and a potential to increase its GDV to RM6.2bil from its original GDV of RM5.4bil, it said.
On top of that, BLand has also withheld launches of its Taman Tar bungalow plots to capitalise on higher pricing upon completion of Taman Tar’s main infrastructure works, as well as the pending approval for land title conversion, which is expected to increase prices by 30% to 50%.
The analyst believed that the remaining GDV of approximately RM324mil would increase by more than 15% once BLand resumed selling the land plots at Taman Tar towards the end of the year, adding that BLand had so far traded its bungalow plots in the Peak at Taman Tar at 81% to 127% higher than other residential sites in the area.
The research house rated the company as “trading buy” with a target price of RM7.61.
The counter closed two sen lower at RM4.30 yesterday on volume of 903,200 shares.
A stroll in the park
Grab this chance to own a resort-style condo unit
HOW many property offerings in the Klang Valley are in the price range of RM150,000 to slightly above RM200,000?
Think hard. Not many, right?
An artist's impression of Villa Park
Well, this is the golden opportunity for property buyers, newlyweds and young couples planning to start a family to get a home at a very reasonable price.
It’s called Villa Park.
Nestled in the commune of the Bukit Jalil Technological Park, the condominium development is embellished with resort-style facilities – plush landscape and generous spaces for leisurely activities in the common area, and not to mention, a hard-to-miss Balinese-themed décor to invigorate tired souls.
The straight visual linkage between the bedroom corridor and the kitchen and dining hall exhibits the unit's functionally-designed layout
“The property can be owned by those with a combined income of between RM5,000 and RM6,000. You really can’t find similar developments with such spacious designs in the vicinity with similar facilities and amenities.
"Furthermore, we are absorbing homebuyers’ mortgage loan interest during the construction period, on top of providing free legal fees on sale and purchase agreement, and early bird discounts,” said developer Villamas Sdn Bhd’s managing director Gan Teck Seong. A 7% discount for Bumiputra buyers apply.
There are 392 units in total, segregated by two blocks – 206 in Block A and 186 in Block B. To be launched next month is Block B, followed by the other one on a later date.
“We are expecting completion in November 2010, and we’re giving a complimentary parking bay for unit purchases.
"They may also opt for a second parking lot at only RM18,000. There’s a 50% discount on the extra parking bays purchases for early birds, which comes up to only RM9,000,” added Gan.
Villa Park is situated to the south of the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex (7km away) and Technology Park Malaysia (about 300 meters apart) and to the north and north-west of Taman Bukit Serdang.
Once fully erected, it shouldn’t be too difficult to spot the two-tower condominium development right from the adjacent highway – the Jalan Sungai Besi-Puchong Expressway, when passing Astro’s head office.
Residents of Villa Park may save time further with the new link road currently under construction, which branches out from Jalan Sungai Besi-Puchong Expressway, cutting through the housing area.
Expect total comfort and spaciousness with Villa Park's space-generous floor plan
Otherwise, you can also reach Villa Park via the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway, followed by the service roads of Taman Serdang Raya and laterite paths of Taman Bukit Serdang – a new housing project in the immediate catchment area comprising medium-cost apartments and two-storey terraces.
Nearby shopping malls like the South City Plaza, The Mines Shopping Fair and Endah Parade will keep you occupied during the weekends. A turf club fan? The Selangor Turf Club is just 3 kilometres away.
Couples and families with school-going children will be served well with the many primary, secondary and international schools and universities in this area.
Namely, they are SJK (C) Serdang Baru (1), SJK Bandar Baru Seri Petaling; SMK Seri Kembangan, SMK Bandar Baru Seri Petaling; the Australian International School and the Alice Smith International School.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, International Medical University and the Universiti Tenaga Nasional are also within the area.
How does it look like inside?
The development boasts three design layouts – Type X, Type Y and Type Z. To start with, Type X units are priced from RM172,800 to RM185,300 with a minimum built-up of 1,106 sq ft. There’s a special “lanai” porch just outside the living hall for this unit design and the owner is free to convert it into either an outdoor meet-the-sun balcony or enclose it with an external glass partition to form part of your living room.
“It’s interesting as each unit here has its own storage heater – you don’t need to install a bulky water heater on the wall of your lavatory. Just turn on the tap, and voila, hot water pours out,” said Gan.
Location of Villa Park
Type Y units, on the other hand, are priced between RM197,300 and RM209,800 with built-up from 1,300 sq ft onwards.
The lowest entry units are from Type Z, which have built-ups from 956 sq ft.
Prices are from RM152,800 to RM165,800.
The open floor plan concept provides visual linkage from the living room through to the dining hall and subsequently, the kitchen.
Hence, you almost get an entire glance of your abode with one look.
Centralised facilities?
Notable sports facilities in Villa Park include full-sized futsal and basketball courts, a gym room, family-oriented cafeteria, children’s playground, gazebo, wading pool and a 30-meter lap pool. Besides that, there’s also a multipurpose hall, barbecue area, a kindergarten, convenience store, an indoor shower and changing room, an ICT room, as well as a surau.
Security worries? Fret not with the single entry-exit point, 24-hour guarded security, and CCTV in crucial spots.
HOW many property offerings in the Klang Valley are in the price range of RM150,000 to slightly above RM200,000?
Think hard. Not many, right?
An artist's impression of Villa Park
Well, this is the golden opportunity for property buyers, newlyweds and young couples planning to start a family to get a home at a very reasonable price.
It’s called Villa Park.
Nestled in the commune of the Bukit Jalil Technological Park, the condominium development is embellished with resort-style facilities – plush landscape and generous spaces for leisurely activities in the common area, and not to mention, a hard-to-miss Balinese-themed décor to invigorate tired souls.
The straight visual linkage between the bedroom corridor and the kitchen and dining hall exhibits the unit's functionally-designed layout
“The property can be owned by those with a combined income of between RM5,000 and RM6,000. You really can’t find similar developments with such spacious designs in the vicinity with similar facilities and amenities.
"Furthermore, we are absorbing homebuyers’ mortgage loan interest during the construction period, on top of providing free legal fees on sale and purchase agreement, and early bird discounts,” said developer Villamas Sdn Bhd’s managing director Gan Teck Seong. A 7% discount for Bumiputra buyers apply.
There are 392 units in total, segregated by two blocks – 206 in Block A and 186 in Block B. To be launched next month is Block B, followed by the other one on a later date.
“We are expecting completion in November 2010, and we’re giving a complimentary parking bay for unit purchases.
"They may also opt for a second parking lot at only RM18,000. There’s a 50% discount on the extra parking bays purchases for early birds, which comes up to only RM9,000,” added Gan.
Villa Park is situated to the south of the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex (7km away) and Technology Park Malaysia (about 300 meters apart) and to the north and north-west of Taman Bukit Serdang.
Once fully erected, it shouldn’t be too difficult to spot the two-tower condominium development right from the adjacent highway – the Jalan Sungai Besi-Puchong Expressway, when passing Astro’s head office.
Residents of Villa Park may save time further with the new link road currently under construction, which branches out from Jalan Sungai Besi-Puchong Expressway, cutting through the housing area.
Expect total comfort and spaciousness with Villa Park's space-generous floor plan
Otherwise, you can also reach Villa Park via the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway, followed by the service roads of Taman Serdang Raya and laterite paths of Taman Bukit Serdang – a new housing project in the immediate catchment area comprising medium-cost apartments and two-storey terraces.
Nearby shopping malls like the South City Plaza, The Mines Shopping Fair and Endah Parade will keep you occupied during the weekends. A turf club fan? The Selangor Turf Club is just 3 kilometres away.
Couples and families with school-going children will be served well with the many primary, secondary and international schools and universities in this area.
Namely, they are SJK (C) Serdang Baru (1), SJK Bandar Baru Seri Petaling; SMK Seri Kembangan, SMK Bandar Baru Seri Petaling; the Australian International School and the Alice Smith International School.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, International Medical University and the Universiti Tenaga Nasional are also within the area.
How does it look like inside?
The development boasts three design layouts – Type X, Type Y and Type Z. To start with, Type X units are priced from RM172,800 to RM185,300 with a minimum built-up of 1,106 sq ft. There’s a special “lanai” porch just outside the living hall for this unit design and the owner is free to convert it into either an outdoor meet-the-sun balcony or enclose it with an external glass partition to form part of your living room.
“It’s interesting as each unit here has its own storage heater – you don’t need to install a bulky water heater on the wall of your lavatory. Just turn on the tap, and voila, hot water pours out,” said Gan.
Location of Villa Park
Type Y units, on the other hand, are priced between RM197,300 and RM209,800 with built-up from 1,300 sq ft onwards.
The lowest entry units are from Type Z, which have built-ups from 956 sq ft.
Prices are from RM152,800 to RM165,800.
The open floor plan concept provides visual linkage from the living room through to the dining hall and subsequently, the kitchen.
Hence, you almost get an entire glance of your abode with one look.
Centralised facilities?
Notable sports facilities in Villa Park include full-sized futsal and basketball courts, a gym room, family-oriented cafeteria, children’s playground, gazebo, wading pool and a 30-meter lap pool. Besides that, there’s also a multipurpose hall, barbecue area, a kindergarten, convenience store, an indoor shower and changing room, an ICT room, as well as a surau.
Security worries? Fret not with the single entry-exit point, 24-hour guarded security, and CCTV in crucial spots.
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