Developers find pricing of GLS sites more in tune with market realities
Developers seem to be turning increasingly to state tenders instead of en bloc sales to restock their residential landbanks. This is because land pricing at state tenders is more responsive to the current bearish market conditions.
Also, the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, with its staple of mass-market, suburban residential sites, is currently just what developers want, as this market segment is expected to shine after the steep run-up in high-end home prices last year.
Figures compiled by Credo Real Estate show that while collective sales languished in the last two quarters of 2007, sales of GLS residential sites spiked in Q4. Developers picked up slightly more than $1 billion worth of 99-year leasehold residential sites sold through the GLS programme in Q4 of last year alone, surpassing the $865 million of such sites they had bought in the first nine months of the year.
In contrast, only $1.28 billion of residential collective sale sites changed hands in Q4 last year, down drastically from $11.2 billion in the first nine months.
Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh says: ‘En bloc sales have rigidity in their pricing mechanism; once the reserve price has been set in the collective sales agreement (CSA), it is difficult to lower it, as you’ll have to go through all the majority owners who agreed to the sale to sign a supplemental CSA.’
‘In contrast, the pricing for a state site offered through the GLS programme can be more reactive to the mood of the day, presenting an opportunity that developers are seizing today,’ he added.
Knight Frank executive director Nicholas Wong says: ‘Collective sales have a higher chance of success when the market is trending up as the reserve price in the CSA is always pegged to the last done transaction of a similar property. But when the market is flat or on a downturn, en bloc sales become more difficult to transact - unless the site boasts some unique propositions such as a landmark location, proximity to MRT stations, etc. Owners will have to price their sites reasonably to find buyers.’
Putting things in perspective, a seasoned market observer said: ‘Because the market has slowed, the spread between what developers are willing to pay and en bloc owners’ expectations has widened. En bloc sales involve many owners and it takes time for them to realise they have to lower their expectations.
‘Whereas for state land tenders, the minimum pricing is decided by the Chief Valuer, who is on top of the market and is more nimble to changes in market moods and values.’
The usual government policy is to sell a site if at least 85 per cent of the Chief Valuer’s price has been met.
For sites sold through the confirmed list, Chief Valuer’s assessment is made on the tender closing date. For sites sold through the reserve list (which are triggered for release only upon successful application by a developer), the Chief Valuer’s assessment is made before the government opens any application by a developer seeking the release of the site.
DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah also says developers find it ‘more straightforward’ to pick up a site at a state tender, unlike the hassle of going through the Strata Titles Board and potential court hearings in the case of collective sales. ‘Developers are also balancing their portfolios. After the run-up in high-end home prices, the mass-market is expected to shine this year,’ Mrs Ong added. Residential sites in the GLS programme are largely in suburban locations, suitable for development into mass-market condos catering to upgrader demand.
Mrs Ong expects developers to continue preferring GLS sites to restock their landbanks in the months ahead - especially if the government offers more 99-year private condo sites in mature Housing & Development Board estates near MRT stations.
Credo’s Mr Singh expects the volume of residential collective sales deals to ease from last year’s record $12.5 billion to about $4-6 billion this year. With weaker market sentiment, owners will have to be more realistic about their pricing, especially in the suburban market where the GLS is a formidable source of alternative land supply for developers, albeit on 99-year leasehold tenure.
‘But there will still be en bloc sales because they are the only credible source of prime sites right now. Previously, Sentosa Cove used to be an alternative source of supply of high-end residential sites. But land sales there have come to an end. En bloc deals involving prime sites will take place - if prices are realistic,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 22 Jan 2008
Showing posts with label Urban Redevelopment Authority. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Redevelopment Authority. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The “Cool Dome” design
The “Cool Dome” design, submitted by the Singapore Sports Hub consortium, will be Singapore’s next iconic structure.
Singapore Sports Hub Group’s proposal
The Singapore government on Saturday revealed the consortium as its preferred bidder for the Singapore Sports Hub project.
The consortium beats two other bids.
The winning team’s strong programming line-up gave it the upper hand over their rivals.
These were the “Horse shoe shaped design” submitted by the Singapore Gold consortium and the “wrapped-Stadium design” submitted by the Alpine Mayreder.
The new sports hub will be completed by end 2011 and will cost some S$1.2 billion. - CNA/ir
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 19 Jan 2008
Singapore Sports Hub Group’s proposal
The Singapore government on Saturday revealed the consortium as its preferred bidder for the Singapore Sports Hub project.
The consortium beats two other bids.
The winning team’s strong programming line-up gave it the upper hand over their rivals.
These were the “Horse shoe shaped design” submitted by the Singapore Gold consortium and the “wrapped-Stadium design” submitted by the Alpine Mayreder.
The new sports hub will be completed by end 2011 and will cost some S$1.2 billion. - CNA/ir
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 19 Jan 2008
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said it is opening up its properties for bidding to make their allocation more transparent.
RENTERS who have long hankered after that state-owned black-and-white colonial bungalow but are put off by the long waiting list can now bid for their dream home.
State landlord Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said it is opening up its properties for bidding to make their allocation more transparent.
Currently, tenants check SLA’s portal www.spio.sla.gov.sg for information on available properties and then register their interest with SLA-appointed agents.
There is usually a long waiting list for these properties as demand is high. State properties can be 5 to 50 per cent cheaper than properties in the private market.
Renters have said that getting one is like winning the lottery - a tenant is selected either on a first-come, first-served basis or through a balloting exercise when a property is released.
Under the new scheme, anyone interested in these properties will be invited to view them during open houses. They then have up to one week to submit a private bid to the SLA. Bidding will close the following Friday and results will be announced the same day.
The new system will allow these buildings to be secured within a week or so of their being made available.
All in, SLA has 2,360 units available for rent and the occupancy rate is 91 per cent. However, not all of them will come under the bidding scheme.
An SLA spokesman said the new method ‘encourages a fairer allocation process’. The bidding system also allows market forces to decide the value of the properties, ensuring a ‘more accurate market value’.
At least 36 houses in popular locations - ranging from terraced and semi-detached houses to bungalows - will be open for bidding in the first half of next year.
Mr Kevin Barrios, 29, a postgraduate student from the United States due to start work in Singapore, expressed concern that the new procedure will drive up rents. He pays $700 for a one-bedroom apartment in the Portsdown Road area.
But Mr Eric Cheng, executive director of property agency HSR Property Group, said the bidding system is fairer.
He said many of his clients faced months, or even years, of waiting for such properties to become available.
‘If someone really needs a house and is willing to pay for it, it’s fair that he should get it,’ said Mr Cheng.
SLA held a pilot bidding exercise for five of its properties last month and Belgian pilot Bernard Latierre was one of the successful bidders.
The price he paid - $6,550 a month for a semi-detached house in Seletar with a land area of 738 sq m - is reasonable, he said.
He had waited more than eight months for it. ‘It’s near my children’s school, has lush greenery and lovely architecture. We wouldn’t have got to live here if not for this new bidding system,’ he said.
SLA said properties that have a two-year tenure and are in popular locations will be selected for bidding. Wherever possible, SLA will also allow existing tenants to renew their tenancies directly, provided the rental is adjusted to the market rate.
List of estates and price range The SLA manages more than 2,300 residential state properties and has a 91 per cent occupancy rate.
Range of properties:
Flat/Apartment - 1,090 units; rental from $400-$3,800
Terrace - 340 units; rental from $600-$3,333
Semi-detached - 390 units; rental from $800-$11,500
Bungalow - 540 units; rental from $1,100-$23,222
Some of their locations:
Alexandra Park
Seletar Airbase
Telok Blangah
Scotts Road
Malcolm Park
Medway Park
Goodwood Hill
Bukit Timah
Woodleigh Park
Most of the black-and-white bungalows are in Sembawang, Alexandra Park and Adams Park.
The next list of properties available for rental will be on the SLA portal, www.spio.sla.gov.sg, from Dec 14.
They include a bungalow in Hyderabad Road, three two-room apartments in Clemenceau Avenue North and a two-storey bungalow in Maidstone Road.
Source : Sunday Times - 9 Dec 2007
State landlord Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said it is opening up its properties for bidding to make their allocation more transparent.
Currently, tenants check SLA’s portal www.spio.sla.gov.sg for information on available properties and then register their interest with SLA-appointed agents.
There is usually a long waiting list for these properties as demand is high. State properties can be 5 to 50 per cent cheaper than properties in the private market.
Renters have said that getting one is like winning the lottery - a tenant is selected either on a first-come, first-served basis or through a balloting exercise when a property is released.
Under the new scheme, anyone interested in these properties will be invited to view them during open houses. They then have up to one week to submit a private bid to the SLA. Bidding will close the following Friday and results will be announced the same day.
The new system will allow these buildings to be secured within a week or so of their being made available.
All in, SLA has 2,360 units available for rent and the occupancy rate is 91 per cent. However, not all of them will come under the bidding scheme.
An SLA spokesman said the new method ‘encourages a fairer allocation process’. The bidding system also allows market forces to decide the value of the properties, ensuring a ‘more accurate market value’.
At least 36 houses in popular locations - ranging from terraced and semi-detached houses to bungalows - will be open for bidding in the first half of next year.
Mr Kevin Barrios, 29, a postgraduate student from the United States due to start work in Singapore, expressed concern that the new procedure will drive up rents. He pays $700 for a one-bedroom apartment in the Portsdown Road area.
But Mr Eric Cheng, executive director of property agency HSR Property Group, said the bidding system is fairer.
He said many of his clients faced months, or even years, of waiting for such properties to become available.
‘If someone really needs a house and is willing to pay for it, it’s fair that he should get it,’ said Mr Cheng.
SLA held a pilot bidding exercise for five of its properties last month and Belgian pilot Bernard Latierre was one of the successful bidders.
The price he paid - $6,550 a month for a semi-detached house in Seletar with a land area of 738 sq m - is reasonable, he said.
He had waited more than eight months for it. ‘It’s near my children’s school, has lush greenery and lovely architecture. We wouldn’t have got to live here if not for this new bidding system,’ he said.
SLA said properties that have a two-year tenure and are in popular locations will be selected for bidding. Wherever possible, SLA will also allow existing tenants to renew their tenancies directly, provided the rental is adjusted to the market rate.
List of estates and price range The SLA manages more than 2,300 residential state properties and has a 91 per cent occupancy rate.
Range of properties:
Flat/Apartment - 1,090 units; rental from $400-$3,800
Terrace - 340 units; rental from $600-$3,333
Semi-detached - 390 units; rental from $800-$11,500
Bungalow - 540 units; rental from $1,100-$23,222
Some of their locations:
Alexandra Park
Seletar Airbase
Telok Blangah
Scotts Road
Malcolm Park
Medway Park
Goodwood Hill
Bukit Timah
Woodleigh Park
Most of the black-and-white bungalows are in Sembawang, Alexandra Park and Adams Park.
The next list of properties available for rental will be on the SLA portal, www.spio.sla.gov.sg, from Dec 14.
They include a bungalow in Hyderabad Road, three two-room apartments in Clemenceau Avenue North and a two-storey bungalow in Maidstone Road.
Source : Sunday Times - 9 Dec 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
UNITED Engineers (UE)
UNITED Engineers (UE) has won a new project at Changi Business Park with an estimated development cost of $280 million.
The company said yesterday that its wholly owned subsidiary, United Engineers Developments Pte Ltd (UED), has been awarded the Built-to-Suit project by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).
The project involves UED undertaking a development to be named the Global Centre for Information and Communication (Centric Singapore).
This will comprise four main components: a business centre to house 200 IT companies; an IT training hub comprising exhibition and convention halls, an auditorium and seminar rooms; a business hotel with 200-300 rooms; and office and retail space.
The development is part of JTC’s master plan to build the Changi Business Park into an active urban development with two separate activity hubs linked by an attractive green garden environment with kiosks, sculptures and performing venues, UE said.
Centric Singapore will be sited on a land area of 29,000 square metres with an expected built-up gross floor area of 72,500 sq m.
Centric Management AG, Switzerland, an ICT hub specialist, will be the anchor tenant for the business park space.
‘With an unbeatable location at the Changi Business Park at the interchange of the existing Expo MRT station and the new MRT station to be built under the future Eastern Region Line, the project is sited at an extremely attractive catchment area, and is ideally positioned to become an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub,’ UE said.
Construction is slated to commence in 2008, and targeted for completion in 2011.
Source : Business Times - 1 Dec 2007
The company said yesterday that its wholly owned subsidiary, United Engineers Developments Pte Ltd (UED), has been awarded the Built-to-Suit project by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).
The project involves UED undertaking a development to be named the Global Centre for Information and Communication (Centric Singapore).
This will comprise four main components: a business centre to house 200 IT companies; an IT training hub comprising exhibition and convention halls, an auditorium and seminar rooms; a business hotel with 200-300 rooms; and office and retail space.
The development is part of JTC’s master plan to build the Changi Business Park into an active urban development with two separate activity hubs linked by an attractive green garden environment with kiosks, sculptures and performing venues, UE said.
Centric Singapore will be sited on a land area of 29,000 square metres with an expected built-up gross floor area of 72,500 sq m.
Centric Management AG, Switzerland, an ICT hub specialist, will be the anchor tenant for the business park space.
‘With an unbeatable location at the Changi Business Park at the interchange of the existing Expo MRT station and the new MRT station to be built under the future Eastern Region Line, the project is sited at an extremely attractive catchment area, and is ideally positioned to become an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub,’ UE said.
Construction is slated to commence in 2008, and targeted for completion in 2011.
Source : Business Times - 1 Dec 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
THE waterfront promenade coming up at Punggol Point will be a new sea sports and recreation centre with rustic seaside dining venues.
THE waterfront promenade coming up at Punggol Point will be a new sea sports and recreation centre with rustic seaside dining venues.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday unveiled the design proposals for the waterfront and park, which will add to the leisure amenities in the north-eastern part of Singapore.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean gave residents of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC a snapshot of the development plans for the Punggol Waterfront Promenade at the constituency’s Family Day festivities yesterday.
A 4.9-kilometre promenade will be built to connect two proposed sports and recreation clusters at Punggol Point and along Sungei Serangoon. It will also be linked to new park connectors planned by the National Parks Board (NParks) along Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon.
Residents will be able to walk the entire stretch of the Punggol coastline from Sengkang Park to Punggol Park. The 4.9-km walk will comprise three thematic zones - Punggol Point Walk, Nature Walk and Riverside Walk.
Construction, estimated to cost $13 million, will begin in the middle of next year and is expected to be completed by 2010. It will be funded by URA and the project will be handed over to NParks for maintenance. URA said that it does not intend to close off the area from public use during construction.
Punggol Point was identified as one of the coastal areas with rustic charm in the URA’s Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plans that were drawn up in 2002. The Punggol coastline is currently interrupted by several drainage outlets with no continuous pathway for public access to the waterfront.
Punggol Point is currently a popular venue for activities like fishing and camping. Among new amenities coming up will be a lotus pond and a 0.6-hectare park. There will also be a horse-riding centre and food and beverage hub at Punggol Point. The site for the horse-riding centre has been awarded recently while the site for the dining development has been put on the Reserve List in the Government Land Sales Programme, up for bids by interested developers.
‘More attractions will be built when the remaining land parcels are successfully tendered out,’ Mr Teo, who is an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and adviser to the town council, said yesterday.
URA invites feedback from the public on the Punggol Waterfront Promenade before construction begins.
Source: Business Times 19 Nov 07
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday unveiled the design proposals for the waterfront and park, which will add to the leisure amenities in the north-eastern part of Singapore.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean gave residents of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC a snapshot of the development plans for the Punggol Waterfront Promenade at the constituency’s Family Day festivities yesterday.
A 4.9-kilometre promenade will be built to connect two proposed sports and recreation clusters at Punggol Point and along Sungei Serangoon. It will also be linked to new park connectors planned by the National Parks Board (NParks) along Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon.
Residents will be able to walk the entire stretch of the Punggol coastline from Sengkang Park to Punggol Park. The 4.9-km walk will comprise three thematic zones - Punggol Point Walk, Nature Walk and Riverside Walk.
Construction, estimated to cost $13 million, will begin in the middle of next year and is expected to be completed by 2010. It will be funded by URA and the project will be handed over to NParks for maintenance. URA said that it does not intend to close off the area from public use during construction.
Punggol Point was identified as one of the coastal areas with rustic charm in the URA’s Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plans that were drawn up in 2002. The Punggol coastline is currently interrupted by several drainage outlets with no continuous pathway for public access to the waterfront.
Punggol Point is currently a popular venue for activities like fishing and camping. Among new amenities coming up will be a lotus pond and a 0.6-hectare park. There will also be a horse-riding centre and food and beverage hub at Punggol Point. The site for the horse-riding centre has been awarded recently while the site for the dining development has been put on the Reserve List in the Government Land Sales Programme, up for bids by interested developers.
‘More attractions will be built when the remaining land parcels are successfully tendered out,’ Mr Teo, who is an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and adviser to the town council, said yesterday.
URA invites feedback from the public on the Punggol Waterfront Promenade before construction begins.
Source: Business Times 19 Nov 07
CONDOMINIUM site in Tanjong Pagar raised eyebrows
A CONDOMINIUM site in Tanjong Pagar raised eyebrows yesterday when it drew lower bids than a neighbouring plot, which was sold just two weeks ago.
In a market that has been booming, this is the latest in a series of lukewarm responses to government land sales. Experts say it is further evidence that sentiment in the property market may be fast cooling.
The condo plot, along Enggor Street in Tanjong Pagar, fetched a top bid of $180.8 million when its tender closed yesterday. Allgreen Properties put in the highest offer, pipping bids by Far East Organization and GuocoLand.
Its price works out to $717 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) - well below the $852 psf ppr achieved by the plot just next to it, which drew only two offers when the tender closed. That prompted market watchers to warn that the mood might have changed. Even then, the high bid, from Far East, was some $70 million above yesterday’s top offer.
The two land parcels, which are located behind the Icon condominium and a stone’s throw from the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, are of similar size.
The situation mirrors that in Marina View. Two months ago, a site there fetched a record $2 billion bid - but a neighbouring plot managed only half that price when its tender closed on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, an office site in Tampines drew only one bid, at a lower price than most consultants had expected.
These tepid sales come after the Government last month unexpectedly removed the deferred payment scheme for homebuyers in what was seen as a bid to curb speculation. Homebuyers can no longer postpone the bulk of their payments and must now pay progressively.
Although the Government has since come out to say that it has no further plans to cool the property market, the once-powerful winds appear to have shifted.
Yesterday’s tender is a reflection that ‘developers are turning cautious’, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.
He offered several reasons for the lower bids. For one thing, construction costs are surging, but home prices are not rising as quickly, he said. This means developers have to find a way to lower their land costs.
Luxury homes used to cost $300 psf to $350 psf to build, but this has now gone up to about $600 psf because of a construction squeeze, he explained.
At the same time, there are plenty of freehold collective sale sites still on the market that have not found takers. Faced with many options for land, developers might be less attracted to 99-year leasehold sites from the Government, suggested Mr Ku.
In any case, the Enggor Street plot was ‘not exactly a choice site’, he said, adding that it has ’small floor plates, its views are blocked and it is very close to the next building’.
Partly because of this, the top bid for the site, while lower than that for the plot next door, is ‘reasonable’, he said.
With the developer’s breakeven cost estimated at around $1,200 psf or $1,300 psf, finished homes could sell for at least $1,700 psf. Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, said current prices at nearby projects such as Icon, Lumiere and The Clift are between $1,600 psf and $2,100 psf.
Despite the lower prices being paid for state land now, consultants think this will not translate into cheaper homes, thanks to rising construction costs and still-strong demand from homebuyers.
But Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, warned that if the Government continues to release more land, it might result in a supply glut that could cause prices to plunge.
‘We are standing at the threshold of a glut, but it is still preventable,’ he said, adding that the low bids in recent state tenders will not affect existing projects, but will affect future land tenders.
‘If the Government pushes out more land parcels, and bids continue to slide downwards, some of the earlier buyers of state land are going to find it very challenging to sell their developed properties at a profitable rate.’
All eyes will now be on the government land sales programme for next year, which is due out next month. If the Government places many sites on the confirmed list, to be sold at a fixed date regardless of interest, this could lead to opportunistic bidding by developers and push down prices, consultants said.
Apart from the Enggor Street tender, Mr Mak said that the latest home sales data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday also points to weaker sentiment.
Homebuyers remained cautious last month, taking up only slightly more new homes than in September. They bought 590 new homes, up from 529 previously, but still a far cry from the 1,720 snapped up in August.
But while sales levels stayed low, home prices kept steady, even inching up for many projects. Homes sold last month were also pricier, with 63 units sold at between $3,500 psf and $4,500 psf, up from 28 in September.
Cheaper condos did even better, said Mr Mak. In fact, the number of units sold in the core central region fell by 53 per cent last month from September, while the number of mid-tier units sold doubled.
Source : Straits Times - 16 Nov 2007
In a market that has been booming, this is the latest in a series of lukewarm responses to government land sales. Experts say it is further evidence that sentiment in the property market may be fast cooling.
The condo plot, along Enggor Street in Tanjong Pagar, fetched a top bid of $180.8 million when its tender closed yesterday. Allgreen Properties put in the highest offer, pipping bids by Far East Organization and GuocoLand.
Its price works out to $717 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) - well below the $852 psf ppr achieved by the plot just next to it, which drew only two offers when the tender closed. That prompted market watchers to warn that the mood might have changed. Even then, the high bid, from Far East, was some $70 million above yesterday’s top offer.
The two land parcels, which are located behind the Icon condominium and a stone’s throw from the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, are of similar size.
The situation mirrors that in Marina View. Two months ago, a site there fetched a record $2 billion bid - but a neighbouring plot managed only half that price when its tender closed on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, an office site in Tampines drew only one bid, at a lower price than most consultants had expected.
These tepid sales come after the Government last month unexpectedly removed the deferred payment scheme for homebuyers in what was seen as a bid to curb speculation. Homebuyers can no longer postpone the bulk of their payments and must now pay progressively.
Although the Government has since come out to say that it has no further plans to cool the property market, the once-powerful winds appear to have shifted.
Yesterday’s tender is a reflection that ‘developers are turning cautious’, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.
He offered several reasons for the lower bids. For one thing, construction costs are surging, but home prices are not rising as quickly, he said. This means developers have to find a way to lower their land costs.
Luxury homes used to cost $300 psf to $350 psf to build, but this has now gone up to about $600 psf because of a construction squeeze, he explained.
At the same time, there are plenty of freehold collective sale sites still on the market that have not found takers. Faced with many options for land, developers might be less attracted to 99-year leasehold sites from the Government, suggested Mr Ku.
In any case, the Enggor Street plot was ‘not exactly a choice site’, he said, adding that it has ’small floor plates, its views are blocked and it is very close to the next building’.
Partly because of this, the top bid for the site, while lower than that for the plot next door, is ‘reasonable’, he said.
With the developer’s breakeven cost estimated at around $1,200 psf or $1,300 psf, finished homes could sell for at least $1,700 psf. Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, said current prices at nearby projects such as Icon, Lumiere and The Clift are between $1,600 psf and $2,100 psf.
Despite the lower prices being paid for state land now, consultants think this will not translate into cheaper homes, thanks to rising construction costs and still-strong demand from homebuyers.
But Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, warned that if the Government continues to release more land, it might result in a supply glut that could cause prices to plunge.
‘We are standing at the threshold of a glut, but it is still preventable,’ he said, adding that the low bids in recent state tenders will not affect existing projects, but will affect future land tenders.
‘If the Government pushes out more land parcels, and bids continue to slide downwards, some of the earlier buyers of state land are going to find it very challenging to sell their developed properties at a profitable rate.’
All eyes will now be on the government land sales programme for next year, which is due out next month. If the Government places many sites on the confirmed list, to be sold at a fixed date regardless of interest, this could lead to opportunistic bidding by developers and push down prices, consultants said.
Apart from the Enggor Street tender, Mr Mak said that the latest home sales data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday also points to weaker sentiment.
Homebuyers remained cautious last month, taking up only slightly more new homes than in September. They bought 590 new homes, up from 529 previously, but still a far cry from the 1,720 snapped up in August.
But while sales levels stayed low, home prices kept steady, even inching up for many projects. Homes sold last month were also pricier, with 63 units sold at between $3,500 psf and $4,500 psf, up from 28 in September.
Cheaper condos did even better, said Mr Mak. In fact, the number of units sold in the core central region fell by 53 per cent last month from September, while the number of mid-tier units sold doubled.
Source : Straits Times - 16 Nov 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The second Marina View plot drew only two bids when its tender closed yesterday. The top offer came in at $952.9 million
BARELY two months after a site at Marina View fetched a record $2.02 billion, a similar plot next door has managed only half that price.
The unexpectedly low bids for the plot, which was seen as highly attractive, came on top of lukewarm response to other recent land sales. This is further proof that sentiment in the property market has started to cool, consultants warned.
The second Marina View plot drew only two bids when its tender closed yesterday. The top offer came in at $952.9 million - a far cry from the first site’s price and well below the experts’ predictions of up to $1.6 billion.
Both Marina View sites, which are located behind the One Shenton condominium, had the same high bidder: Macquarie Global Property Advisers (MGPA), a private equity real estate firm partly owned by Australia’s Macquarie Bank Group.
Property group CapitaLand also put in offers for both plots.
MGPA’s offer in September for the first site, which is slightly bigger, worked out to $1,409 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), almost double the $779 psf ppr bid it submitted for the second site.
The stark difference shows how much the mood in the market has shifted in just two months, said Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.
‘Clearly, they had a change of heart,’ he said. ‘The two sites are right next to each other, but the second bid is only 55 per cent of the previous bid.’
Mr Mak agreed that the price is ’still decent’, and that there was ‘a fair bit of exuberance in land tenders previously’.
But, in general, property investors are now turning more cautious, he said. This is due to stock market volatility, uncertainty over the global credit crunch and recent government measures in the property market.
The Government last month removed the deferred payment scheme for homebuyers in a surprise move that is being seen as an act to discourage speculation.
Mr Mak suggested, however, that this may have helped overcool the market.
Following the Government’s move, a residential land parcel on Enggor Street at Tanjong Pagar attracted only two offers when it went on sale, while an office site in Tampines found just one bidder.
This is despite these plots being fairly attractive, said Mr Mak.
‘If the Government throws in a site in Jurong, they may not get any bids at all.’
But while other consultants agreed that developers and investors are now more circumspect, some said the low Marina View bids could be an aberration.
‘The mood has changed somewhat, but it’s not as drastic as this. This is a bit of a flash in the pan,’ said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, CB Richard Ellis’ executive director.
He had expected bids for the second Marina View site to come in at a lower level because 25 per cent of the plot’s gross floor area must be used for hotel rooms, which have slightly lower land values.
Mr Li said, however, that the huge difference in bids was unexpected. He attributed it partly to the fact that there were only two bids: ‘This cannot draw out the most competitive offers.’
The Marina View site has a land area of about 0.9ha and a maximum floor area of 1.2 million sq ft. On top of the hotel use requirement, at least 60 per cent of the plot’s area must be given to offices.
If MGPA is awarded the second site, it could lower its average price for the two plots to about $1,100 psf ppr and combine them to form a mega commercial development, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.
Source : Straits Times - 14 Nov 2007
The unexpectedly low bids for the plot, which was seen as highly attractive, came on top of lukewarm response to other recent land sales. This is further proof that sentiment in the property market has started to cool, consultants warned.
The second Marina View plot drew only two bids when its tender closed yesterday. The top offer came in at $952.9 million - a far cry from the first site’s price and well below the experts’ predictions of up to $1.6 billion.
Both Marina View sites, which are located behind the One Shenton condominium, had the same high bidder: Macquarie Global Property Advisers (MGPA), a private equity real estate firm partly owned by Australia’s Macquarie Bank Group.
Property group CapitaLand also put in offers for both plots.
MGPA’s offer in September for the first site, which is slightly bigger, worked out to $1,409 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), almost double the $779 psf ppr bid it submitted for the second site.
The stark difference shows how much the mood in the market has shifted in just two months, said Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.
‘Clearly, they had a change of heart,’ he said. ‘The two sites are right next to each other, but the second bid is only 55 per cent of the previous bid.’
Mr Mak agreed that the price is ’still decent’, and that there was ‘a fair bit of exuberance in land tenders previously’.
But, in general, property investors are now turning more cautious, he said. This is due to stock market volatility, uncertainty over the global credit crunch and recent government measures in the property market.
The Government last month removed the deferred payment scheme for homebuyers in a surprise move that is being seen as an act to discourage speculation.
Mr Mak suggested, however, that this may have helped overcool the market.
Following the Government’s move, a residential land parcel on Enggor Street at Tanjong Pagar attracted only two offers when it went on sale, while an office site in Tampines found just one bidder.
This is despite these plots being fairly attractive, said Mr Mak.
‘If the Government throws in a site in Jurong, they may not get any bids at all.’
But while other consultants agreed that developers and investors are now more circumspect, some said the low Marina View bids could be an aberration.
‘The mood has changed somewhat, but it’s not as drastic as this. This is a bit of a flash in the pan,’ said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, CB Richard Ellis’ executive director.
He had expected bids for the second Marina View site to come in at a lower level because 25 per cent of the plot’s gross floor area must be used for hotel rooms, which have slightly lower land values.
Mr Li said, however, that the huge difference in bids was unexpected. He attributed it partly to the fact that there were only two bids: ‘This cannot draw out the most competitive offers.’
The Marina View site has a land area of about 0.9ha and a maximum floor area of 1.2 million sq ft. On top of the hotel use requirement, at least 60 per cent of the plot’s area must be given to offices.
If MGPA is awarded the second site, it could lower its average price for the two plots to about $1,100 psf ppr and combine them to form a mega commercial development, said Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.
Source : Straits Times - 14 Nov 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday announced a successful application for a 99-year leasehold condo site on Alexandra Road
DEVELOPERS continue to trigger the release of sites from the Government Land Sales programme’s reserve list.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday announced a successful application for a 99-year leasehold condo site on Alexandra Road near Redhill MRT Station and next to CapitaLand’s Metropolitan project.
The developer who made the application - who was not identified - has agreed to bid not less than $220.7 million, or $489 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area.
The site will be launched for tender in about two weeks.
The 92,127-sq-ft plot can be developed into a new condo with about 400 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.
‘My take is that the site could fetch a premium of within 10 per cent of the reserve price,’ said CB Richard Ellis executive director Joseph Tan.
‘Even at the reserve price, the breakeven cost for a new condo would be close to the $850 psf average price at which units of The Metropolitan condo have been selling in recent months.’
A 10 per cent premium to the site’s $489 psf per plot ratio (ppr) reserve price works out to $540 psf ppr.
Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong estimates the site will fetch $550-$600 psf ppr, reflecting a breakeven cost of $850-$900 psf.
He reckons a condo on it could command about $1,000 psf on average if launched in 12-15 months.
‘This is one of the better sites on the reserve list, near an MRT Station and on the fringe of the CBD,’ he said.
‘It should attract five to eight bids. We’re not going to see the one to two bids that some Government Land Sale sites have been attracting lately,’ he added.
CBRE’s Mr Tan predicts at least five or six bids.
‘This is in a sector of the market that lacks supply and developers will be keen to bid for it,’ he said.
Market watchers believe a new condo near Redhill MRT Station should be able to tap demand from HDB upgraders given the high value of HDB resale flats in the area.
So far this year, 10 reserve-list sites on the Ministry of National Development’s slate of private residential, commercial and hotel sites have been triggered for launch.
Separately, URA yesterday awarded a residential site at Enggor Street behind Icon to Far East Organization unit Bishan Properties.
The company was the higher of two bidders the 99-year leasehold plot attracted at a tender that closed on Nov 1.
Its bid of $233.8 million or $851.66 psf ppr was 55 per cent higher than the only other offer of $150.98 million or about $550 psf per plot ratio by Guoco-Land.
A tender for the residential site next door closes on Nov 15.
Source : Business Times - 10 Nov 2007
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday announced a successful application for a 99-year leasehold condo site on Alexandra Road near Redhill MRT Station and next to CapitaLand’s Metropolitan project.
The developer who made the application - who was not identified - has agreed to bid not less than $220.7 million, or $489 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area.
The site will be launched for tender in about two weeks.
The 92,127-sq-ft plot can be developed into a new condo with about 400 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.
‘My take is that the site could fetch a premium of within 10 per cent of the reserve price,’ said CB Richard Ellis executive director Joseph Tan.
‘Even at the reserve price, the breakeven cost for a new condo would be close to the $850 psf average price at which units of The Metropolitan condo have been selling in recent months.’
A 10 per cent premium to the site’s $489 psf per plot ratio (ppr) reserve price works out to $540 psf ppr.
Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong estimates the site will fetch $550-$600 psf ppr, reflecting a breakeven cost of $850-$900 psf.
He reckons a condo on it could command about $1,000 psf on average if launched in 12-15 months.
‘This is one of the better sites on the reserve list, near an MRT Station and on the fringe of the CBD,’ he said.
‘It should attract five to eight bids. We’re not going to see the one to two bids that some Government Land Sale sites have been attracting lately,’ he added.
CBRE’s Mr Tan predicts at least five or six bids.
‘This is in a sector of the market that lacks supply and developers will be keen to bid for it,’ he said.
Market watchers believe a new condo near Redhill MRT Station should be able to tap demand from HDB upgraders given the high value of HDB resale flats in the area.
So far this year, 10 reserve-list sites on the Ministry of National Development’s slate of private residential, commercial and hotel sites have been triggered for launch.
Separately, URA yesterday awarded a residential site at Enggor Street behind Icon to Far East Organization unit Bishan Properties.
The company was the higher of two bidders the 99-year leasehold plot attracted at a tender that closed on Nov 1.
Its bid of $233.8 million or $851.66 psf ppr was 55 per cent higher than the only other offer of $150.98 million or about $550 psf per plot ratio by Guoco-Land.
A tender for the residential site next door closes on Nov 15.
Source : Business Times - 10 Nov 2007
A restored three-storey shophouse at the corner of Trengganu and Temple streets, often featured as an icon of Singapore’s Chinatown area
A restored three-storey shophouse at the corner of Trengganu and Temple streets, often featured as an icon of Singapore’s Chinatown area, has been put up for auction.
The owner’s indicative price is $3 million for the property, which is on a site with a remaining lease of 65 years. This works out to $4,274 per square foot based on the property’s 702 sq ft land area.
That sounds steep, considering that No 20 Trengganu Street nearby, comprising seven shophouses also with a remaining lease of 65 years, was sold earlier this year for $18 million, or $1,722 psf of land area, to Asok Kumar of Royal Brothers Group.
That property has a total land area of about 10,450 sq ft and a total lettable area of nearly 24,000 sq ft.
However, Knight Frank’s auctions director Mary Sai, whose firm is offering 15 Trengganu Street at its auction at Carlton Hotel on Nov 22, points to the property’s aesthetic appeal, with intricate arches and columns, and its historical background - it was an opera house in the 1930s/1940s.
‘It also has dual frontage along Trengganu Street and Temple Street,’ Ms Sai says.
The property is being put up for sale by its owner, a local businessman active in the Chinatown circle.
He occupies the building’s upper floors, according to Ms Sai. He will vacate the property for the new owner, although he has leased out the ground floor to a tenant until September 2008.
The property has about 2,200 sq ft of floor area.
Knight Frank is also offering at the same auction a two-storey pre-war intermediate terrace house at Lorong 40 Geylang. The freehold property has been put up for auction by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to recover outstanding property taxes.
The property has the address Nos 17 and 17A Lorong 40 Geylang. No 17A is the second storey, which is served by a separate external staircase.
The property’s land area is 1,392 sq ft.
Knight Frank, which points out that the property is not part of the Geylang red light district, says the indicative price is $700,000 to $750,000. Surrounding uses include residential and associations.
IRAS auctions off properties only as a last resort to recover property tax - after the owner repeatedly fails to pay or defaults on his payment despite many reminders. IRAS will return any balance on the sum received to the owner, after recovering outstanding tax, penalty payment, interest, and the cost of recovery.
Source : Business Times - 6 Nov 2007
The owner’s indicative price is $3 million for the property, which is on a site with a remaining lease of 65 years. This works out to $4,274 per square foot based on the property’s 702 sq ft land area.
That sounds steep, considering that No 20 Trengganu Street nearby, comprising seven shophouses also with a remaining lease of 65 years, was sold earlier this year for $18 million, or $1,722 psf of land area, to Asok Kumar of Royal Brothers Group.
That property has a total land area of about 10,450 sq ft and a total lettable area of nearly 24,000 sq ft.
However, Knight Frank’s auctions director Mary Sai, whose firm is offering 15 Trengganu Street at its auction at Carlton Hotel on Nov 22, points to the property’s aesthetic appeal, with intricate arches and columns, and its historical background - it was an opera house in the 1930s/1940s.
‘It also has dual frontage along Trengganu Street and Temple Street,’ Ms Sai says.
The property is being put up for sale by its owner, a local businessman active in the Chinatown circle.
He occupies the building’s upper floors, according to Ms Sai. He will vacate the property for the new owner, although he has leased out the ground floor to a tenant until September 2008.
The property has about 2,200 sq ft of floor area.
Knight Frank is also offering at the same auction a two-storey pre-war intermediate terrace house at Lorong 40 Geylang. The freehold property has been put up for auction by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to recover outstanding property taxes.
The property has the address Nos 17 and 17A Lorong 40 Geylang. No 17A is the second storey, which is served by a separate external staircase.
The property’s land area is 1,392 sq ft.
Knight Frank, which points out that the property is not part of the Geylang red light district, says the indicative price is $700,000 to $750,000. Surrounding uses include residential and associations.
IRAS auctions off properties only as a last resort to recover property tax - after the owner repeatedly fails to pay or defaults on his payment despite many reminders. IRAS will return any balance on the sum received to the owner, after recovering outstanding tax, penalty payment, interest, and the cost of recovery.
Source : Business Times - 6 Nov 2007
Friday, November 2, 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
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
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
THE mood continued to be buoyant at two property auctions yesterday held by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.
THE mood continued to be buoyant at two property auctions yesterday held by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.
The URA auctioned 12 sub-divided landed housing plots near Sembawang Beach which can be developed into a total of 57 landed homes.
The auction fetched a total sum of $37.09 million, working out to about $285 per square foot of land area on an average basis.
The bidders included mostly smaller developers, contractors and engineering firms but also some individuals, like local advertising guru Lim Sau Hoong.
The chief executive of Singapore-based advertising agency 10AM Communications clinched the sole bungalow plot of 4,477 sq ft for $940,000.
Market watchers expect Ms Lim to spend a further $1.5 million on construction costs and fees, bringing her likely all-in investment for her bungalow at about $2.5 million.
Mecbonn Engineering, whose office is at International Plaza and which is controlled by a Tew family, walked away with the biggest plot, a 43,687 sq ft site slated for development into 23 terrace houses, for $14.3 million or $327.33 psf of land area.
The plot attracted a total of 107 bids from about eight parties.
A property consultant estimates Mecbonn’s break- even cost works out to about $1.3 million per terrace house.
The company also bought two smaller plots for semi-detached homes.
Fragrance Group unit Fragrance Homes bought two plots. It paid $9.2 million or $294 psf for a plot designated for 14 terrace houses and $1.76 million or $270 psf for a smaller plot for three terrace homes.
Fragrance Group boss Koh Wee Meng and his wife Lim Wan Looi too bought a semi-detached plot for $289 psf.
The 99-year leasehold land plots auctioned by the URA yesterday form the first phase of Sembawang Greenvale.
URA’s director of land administration, Choy Chan Pong, was pleased with the auction result, noting that it drew ‘wide participation and competitive bidding’.
‘We can consider releasing the next phase of Greenvale in the H1 2008 Government Land Sales Programme,’ he added.
DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s auction at Amara Hotel saw a strong turnout of about 100, including spectators, with three mortgagee sale properties changing hands, including a ground floor shop unit at the freehold Grandlink Square at Guillemard Road selling for $226,000 or $1,102 psf of strata area.
The other two properties sold were a two-storey linked semi-D factory at 67E Tuas South Avenue 1, which fetched $1.3 million or about $139 psf of strata area, and a two-storey, freehold corner terrace house at 34 Maria Avenue in Opera Estate that was sold for $1.4 million, or $392 psf of land area.
Source : Business Times - 31 Oct 2007
The URA auctioned 12 sub-divided landed housing plots near Sembawang Beach which can be developed into a total of 57 landed homes.
The auction fetched a total sum of $37.09 million, working out to about $285 per square foot of land area on an average basis.
The bidders included mostly smaller developers, contractors and engineering firms but also some individuals, like local advertising guru Lim Sau Hoong.
The chief executive of Singapore-based advertising agency 10AM Communications clinched the sole bungalow plot of 4,477 sq ft for $940,000.
Market watchers expect Ms Lim to spend a further $1.5 million on construction costs and fees, bringing her likely all-in investment for her bungalow at about $2.5 million.
Mecbonn Engineering, whose office is at International Plaza and which is controlled by a Tew family, walked away with the biggest plot, a 43,687 sq ft site slated for development into 23 terrace houses, for $14.3 million or $327.33 psf of land area.
The plot attracted a total of 107 bids from about eight parties.
A property consultant estimates Mecbonn’s break- even cost works out to about $1.3 million per terrace house.
The company also bought two smaller plots for semi-detached homes.
Fragrance Group unit Fragrance Homes bought two plots. It paid $9.2 million or $294 psf for a plot designated for 14 terrace houses and $1.76 million or $270 psf for a smaller plot for three terrace homes.
Fragrance Group boss Koh Wee Meng and his wife Lim Wan Looi too bought a semi-detached plot for $289 psf.
The 99-year leasehold land plots auctioned by the URA yesterday form the first phase of Sembawang Greenvale.
URA’s director of land administration, Choy Chan Pong, was pleased with the auction result, noting that it drew ‘wide participation and competitive bidding’.
‘We can consider releasing the next phase of Greenvale in the H1 2008 Government Land Sales Programme,’ he added.
DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s auction at Amara Hotel saw a strong turnout of about 100, including spectators, with three mortgagee sale properties changing hands, including a ground floor shop unit at the freehold Grandlink Square at Guillemard Road selling for $226,000 or $1,102 psf of strata area.
The other two properties sold were a two-storey linked semi-D factory at 67E Tuas South Avenue 1, which fetched $1.3 million or about $139 psf of strata area, and a two-storey, freehold corner terrace house at 34 Maria Avenue in Opera Estate that was sold for $1.4 million, or $392 psf of land area.
Source : Business Times - 31 Oct 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Singapore Land Authority has released a 172,223 sq ft residential development site at Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive
With property prices hitting new peaks in recent times, it is rare to see a committed bid of just $7.8 million for a 15,200 sq ft site near the city centre.
Based on the committed bid received by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), each of the 17 two-storey shophouses on this Jalan Sultan site could, theoretically, go for as little as $460,000 a unit.
The committed bid is not the transacted price for the reserve list site as it will now be put up for public tender. Still, it gives an indication of the range of bids that could eventually come in.
The 17 shophouses have been gazetted for conservation and the successful tenderer is required to restore and reconstruct these conservation shophouses in accordance with the tender conditions and the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Conservation Guidelines for Historic District.
Zoned for commercial use, the shophouses could be used for office or even as hotels.
Colliers International executive director (investment sales) Ho Eng Joo believes the winning bid could be around $14 million or roughly $800,000 a unit. Add to this renovation and restoration costs of about $300,000 per unit and the potential winning bidder could be looking at spending about $1.1 million per unit.
But as Mr Ho notes: ‘The area is changing.’ Highlighting that KeyPoint, formerly known as Jalan Sultan Centre, was sold recently for $1,186 psf of net lettable area, Mr Ho believes the 17 shophouses could give an investor a yield of over 5 per cent if each unit is rented out for at least $5,000 a month.
‘Only the lack of carparking could be an issue,’ he added.
Over in Woodlands, the Singapore Land Authority has released a 172,223 sq ft residential development site at Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive and developers could also be looking at a bargain.
Mr Ho reckons the site, which is on the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales programme, could go for between $250 - $280 psf ppr. With a plot ratio of 1.4, the gross floor area could be up to 241,112 sq ft, giving the site a price tag of between $60.2 million and $67.5 million.
The site may not be directly next to an MRT station but Mr Ho believes a future development would have good rental potential as it is close to the Singapore American School.
Source : Business Times - 24 Oct 2007
Based on the committed bid received by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), each of the 17 two-storey shophouses on this Jalan Sultan site could, theoretically, go for as little as $460,000 a unit.
The committed bid is not the transacted price for the reserve list site as it will now be put up for public tender. Still, it gives an indication of the range of bids that could eventually come in.
The 17 shophouses have been gazetted for conservation and the successful tenderer is required to restore and reconstruct these conservation shophouses in accordance with the tender conditions and the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Conservation Guidelines for Historic District.
Zoned for commercial use, the shophouses could be used for office or even as hotels.
Colliers International executive director (investment sales) Ho Eng Joo believes the winning bid could be around $14 million or roughly $800,000 a unit. Add to this renovation and restoration costs of about $300,000 per unit and the potential winning bidder could be looking at spending about $1.1 million per unit.
But as Mr Ho notes: ‘The area is changing.’ Highlighting that KeyPoint, formerly known as Jalan Sultan Centre, was sold recently for $1,186 psf of net lettable area, Mr Ho believes the 17 shophouses could give an investor a yield of over 5 per cent if each unit is rented out for at least $5,000 a month.
‘Only the lack of carparking could be an issue,’ he added.
Over in Woodlands, the Singapore Land Authority has released a 172,223 sq ft residential development site at Woodlands Avenue 2/Rosewood Drive and developers could also be looking at a bargain.
Mr Ho reckons the site, which is on the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales programme, could go for between $250 - $280 psf ppr. With a plot ratio of 1.4, the gross floor area could be up to 241,112 sq ft, giving the site a price tag of between $60.2 million and $67.5 million.
The site may not be directly next to an MRT station but Mr Ho believes a future development would have good rental potential as it is close to the Singapore American School.
Source : Business Times - 24 Oct 2007
Singapore Land Authority offered the 172,223 sq ft site in-between Woodlands Avenue 2 and Rosewood Drive in a tender that closes on Nov 20.
THE Government has launched for sale a residential site in Woodlands, which has been enjoying a buoyant property market of late despite its far-flung location.
The Singapore Land Authority offered the 172,223 sq ft site in-between Woodlands Avenue 2 and Rosewood Drive in a tender that closes on Nov 20.
The site can accommodate a condo of up to five storeys with a gross floor area of 241,112 sq ft.
Mr Ho Eng Joo of marketing agent Colliers International said an apartment there could sell for more than $600 per sq ft (psf).
Already, some 20 units at Far East Organization’s executive condo, La Casa, were sold at a median price of $564 psf last month. La Casa was launched in 2005 at $380 psf on average.
While Woodlands may be far from town, properties there have registered rising rents, as the Singapore American School is in the vicinity, consultants say.
The Woodlands site comes under the Government’s confirmed list, where sites are put up for tender on a specific date.
The Government also sells sites on its reserve list, which are put up for tender only if a developer commits to submitting a minimum acceptable bid.
Yesterday, a developer did just that with a 99-year leasehold commercial site in Jalan Sultan involving the restoration of 17 two-storey conservation units.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority has an offer from a developer willing to bid at least $7.8 million for the 0.14ha site to be tendered out in two weeks.
In Amber Road, where property values continue to rise, a freehold site housing the 63-unit Amber Glades has been launched for sale at a guide price of $145 million. The tender for the 40,917 sq ft site closes on Dec 5.
Source : Straits Times - 24 Oct 2007
The Singapore Land Authority offered the 172,223 sq ft site in-between Woodlands Avenue 2 and Rosewood Drive in a tender that closes on Nov 20.
The site can accommodate a condo of up to five storeys with a gross floor area of 241,112 sq ft.
Mr Ho Eng Joo of marketing agent Colliers International said an apartment there could sell for more than $600 per sq ft (psf).
Already, some 20 units at Far East Organization’s executive condo, La Casa, were sold at a median price of $564 psf last month. La Casa was launched in 2005 at $380 psf on average.
While Woodlands may be far from town, properties there have registered rising rents, as the Singapore American School is in the vicinity, consultants say.
The Woodlands site comes under the Government’s confirmed list, where sites are put up for tender on a specific date.
The Government also sells sites on its reserve list, which are put up for tender only if a developer commits to submitting a minimum acceptable bid.
Yesterday, a developer did just that with a 99-year leasehold commercial site in Jalan Sultan involving the restoration of 17 two-storey conservation units.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority has an offer from a developer willing to bid at least $7.8 million for the 0.14ha site to be tendered out in two weeks.
In Amber Road, where property values continue to rise, a freehold site housing the 63-unit Amber Glades has been launched for sale at a guide price of $145 million. The tender for the 40,917 sq ft site closes on Dec 5.
Source : Straits Times - 24 Oct 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
THE collective sale frenzy may have cooled somewhat but a number of new sites have hit the market since new rules on these sales took effect earlier
THE collective sale frenzy may have cooled somewhat but a number of new sites have hit the market since new rules on these sales took effect earlier this month.
The latest are two sites in posh parts of town which were put up for sale yesterday - both are aiming for hefty sale prices.
One of them, Villa delle Rose, located off Holland Road, has an indicative price of $700 million.
Owners of the other site, Elizabeth Towers, in the more central location of Mount Elizabeth, are hoping for a price of $673 million.
In the past two weeks, a string of other collective sale sites have been put on the market, including Westwood Apartments on Orchard Boulevard, The Estoril on Holland Road and Royalville off Sixth Avenue.
Some of the latest sites for sale, such as Elizabeth Towers, still come under the old collective sale rules as the required minimum owner consent was obtained before Oct 4.
Property consultants have said that collective sale activity is likely to continue at a somewhat slower pace than the frenzy of sales seen earlier this year and last year.
They say there are several reasons, including the fact that the new rules will make the process more transparent and, as a result, probably more cumbersome.
Still, owners continue attempting to sell their estates en bloc.
Villa delle Rose’s guide price works out to $1,758 per sq ft of potential gross floor area. A development charge of about $31 million is payable.
The estimated breakdown is between $2,200 per sq ft (psf) and $2,300 psf.
Developers can expect to build 208 units, assuming an average size of 2,000 sq ft each, said CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing the site.
The 104-unit Villa delle Rose sits on 297,132 sq ft of land. Its sale tender closes on Nov 16.
In the Orchard area, Elizabeth Towers, a freehold 54,318 sq ft site, is up for sale at $2,666 psf of potential gross floor area. No development charge is payable.
The site can be built up to a plot ratio of 4.647, which would give it a gross floor area of 252,416 sq ft, said Newman & Goh, which is marketing the site.
Newman & Goh’s head of investment sales, Mr Jeffrey Goh, said the site can be redeveloped into 101 apartments with an average size of 2,500 sq ft each and could fetch well above $4,000 psf. This is because nearby developments such as Scotts Square and Hilltops are selling well at $4,200 psf and above, he said.
The tender for Elizabeth Towers closes on Nov 21.
The latest are two sites in posh parts of town which were put up for sale yesterday - both are aiming for hefty sale prices.
One of them, Villa delle Rose, located off Holland Road, has an indicative price of $700 million.
Owners of the other site, Elizabeth Towers, in the more central location of Mount Elizabeth, are hoping for a price of $673 million.
In the past two weeks, a string of other collective sale sites have been put on the market, including Westwood Apartments on Orchard Boulevard, The Estoril on Holland Road and Royalville off Sixth Avenue.
Some of the latest sites for sale, such as Elizabeth Towers, still come under the old collective sale rules as the required minimum owner consent was obtained before Oct 4.
Property consultants have said that collective sale activity is likely to continue at a somewhat slower pace than the frenzy of sales seen earlier this year and last year.
They say there are several reasons, including the fact that the new rules will make the process more transparent and, as a result, probably more cumbersome.
Still, owners continue attempting to sell their estates en bloc.
Villa delle Rose’s guide price works out to $1,758 per sq ft of potential gross floor area. A development charge of about $31 million is payable.
The estimated breakdown is between $2,200 per sq ft (psf) and $2,300 psf.
Developers can expect to build 208 units, assuming an average size of 2,000 sq ft each, said CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing the site.
The 104-unit Villa delle Rose sits on 297,132 sq ft of land. Its sale tender closes on Nov 16.
In the Orchard area, Elizabeth Towers, a freehold 54,318 sq ft site, is up for sale at $2,666 psf of potential gross floor area. No development charge is payable.
The site can be built up to a plot ratio of 4.647, which would give it a gross floor area of 252,416 sq ft, said Newman & Goh, which is marketing the site.
Newman & Goh’s head of investment sales, Mr Jeffrey Goh, said the site can be redeveloped into 101 apartments with an average size of 2,500 sq ft each and could fetch well above $4,000 psf. This is because nearby developments such as Scotts Square and Hilltops are selling well at $4,200 psf and above, he said.
The tender for Elizabeth Towers closes on Nov 21.
Villa delle Rose off Holland Road and Elizabeth Towers at Mount Elizabeth.
THREE sites for residential development were launched for tender yesterday - a 99-year leasehold, traditional suburban mass-market housing plot next to Lakeside MRT Station in the Jurong area, as well as two freehold, prime district sites offered through the collective sales of Villa delle Rose off Holland Road and Elizabeth Towers at Mount Elizabeth.
Villa delle Rose, with a land area of 297,132 sq ft, has a guide price of $700 million, which reflects a unit land price of $1,758 psf of potential gross floor area, inclusive of an estimated $31 million development charge. The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a four-storey maximum height under Master Plan 2003.
Its marketing agent CB Richard Ellis conducted an expression of interest for the property which ended in August and is said to have received offers of up to slightly over $1,600 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The EOI exercise had been launched before approval from majority owners was secured, which CBRE recently obtained.
CBRE executive director Jeremy Lake said in a news release yesterday that ‘a few parties have approached us with keen interest, but the owners would like a transparent public tender to achieve the best results’.
Villa delle Rose, developed by Pontiac Land and Keck Seng, comprises 104 units ranging from 2,800 sq ft to 3,200 sq ft. All but a handful of units are rented out, CBRE said.
Over in the Orchard Road area, Elizabeth Towers’ owners are looking at $673 million for their 54,318 sq ft site. This works out to $2,666 psf ppr. No development charge is payable. Planning approval has been obtained from the Urban Redevelopment Authority to build up to a plot ratio of 4.647, translating to a maximum gross floor area of 252,416 sq ft.
In Jurong, URA has launched the tender for a 2.2-hectare site flanked by Lakeside MRT Station and LakeHolmz condo. Property consultants reckon the site can be developed into around 680 apartments averaging 1,200 sq ft.
CBRE executive director Li Hiaw Ho estimates the site to be worth about $300 psf ppr, translating to a breakeven cost for a new condo at about $650 psf and an average selling price of about $700-750 psf.
Knight Frank, which predicts the site will draw between four and eight bids, estimates the site’s land price at $325-$375 psf ppr, or a breakeven cost of around $650-$720 psf.
The firm’s managing director, Tan Tiong Cheng, said developers will take into account the fact that the ‘Jurong area has traditionally been a slower-moving market compared with other suburban/mass market locations’.
CBRE said that units in The Lakeshore condo a short distance away from the latest site are currently being marketed by its developer at around $800 psf.
In the subsale market, Lakeshore units have been sold recently at $650-750 psf, while apartments at The Centris one MRT station away have been changing hands at about $600-650 psf.
The Lakeholmz, a completed development, has been seeing sales in the $550-600 psf range, according to CBRE research.
Source : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007
A PRIME residential site on Boon Lay Way has been released for sale, just days after news emerged that a nearby condominium unit had fetched a record
A PRIME residential site on Boon Lay Way has been released for sale, just days after news emerged that a nearby condominium unit had fetched a record price of $1,080 per sq ft (psf) last month.
Property pundits expect keen interest in the 2.2ha land parcel next to Lakeside MRT station. The Jurong West HDB estate and Jurong Point shopping mall are nearby.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched the 99-year leasehold site yesterday by public tender, stipulating that it has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 77,003 sq m.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said the site is expected to attract significant attention. He noted: ‘Given recent signs of recovery in the suburban market, we expect developers to be keen to bid for this site to beef up their land bank. Demand is likely to be from HDB upgraders and people working in western Singapore.’
Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development, Mr Ku Swee Yong, agreed the site would be popular. ‘It’s definitely quite attractive as there are quite a lot of things happening in the west. For example, the Canadian International School is going to move nearby soon.’
URA said this week that a unit in Far East Organization’s The Lakeshore, near the new site, had set a new benchmark of $1,080 psf last month - surprising most analysts as it had been on the market for more than two years.
CBRE’s Mr Li said the Lakeshore site had been purchased by the developer at $197 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) in August 2002. He noted: ‘The subject site will be able to fetch bids around $300 psf ppr, which translates into a selling price of $700 to $750 psf for the new project on-site.’
Knight Frank’s director of consultancy and research, Mr Nicholas Mak, said about 660 to 700 units could be built on the site. ‘This site would be attractive to major developers such as Far East Organization, Frasers Centrepoint and other listed developers. The number of bids could range from four to eight.’
URA said that a tender period of about eight weeks will be allowed for the site. The tender will close at noon on Dec 12, and selection of the successful tenderer will be based on the tendered land price only.
Source : Straits Times - 18 Oct 2007
Property pundits expect keen interest in the 2.2ha land parcel next to Lakeside MRT station. The Jurong West HDB estate and Jurong Point shopping mall are nearby.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched the 99-year leasehold site yesterday by public tender, stipulating that it has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 77,003 sq m.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said the site is expected to attract significant attention. He noted: ‘Given recent signs of recovery in the suburban market, we expect developers to be keen to bid for this site to beef up their land bank. Demand is likely to be from HDB upgraders and people working in western Singapore.’
Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development, Mr Ku Swee Yong, agreed the site would be popular. ‘It’s definitely quite attractive as there are quite a lot of things happening in the west. For example, the Canadian International School is going to move nearby soon.’
URA said this week that a unit in Far East Organization’s The Lakeshore, near the new site, had set a new benchmark of $1,080 psf last month - surprising most analysts as it had been on the market for more than two years.
CBRE’s Mr Li said the Lakeshore site had been purchased by the developer at $197 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) in August 2002. He noted: ‘The subject site will be able to fetch bids around $300 psf ppr, which translates into a selling price of $700 to $750 psf for the new project on-site.’
Knight Frank’s director of consultancy and research, Mr Nicholas Mak, said about 660 to 700 units could be built on the site. ‘This site would be attractive to major developers such as Far East Organization, Frasers Centrepoint and other listed developers. The number of bids could range from four to eight.’
URA said that a tender period of about eight weeks will be allowed for the site. The tender will close at noon on Dec 12, and selection of the successful tenderer will be based on the tendered land price only.
Source : Straits Times - 18 Oct 2007
A HOTEL development site at Sturdee Road has been put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
A HOTEL development site at Sturdee Road has been put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
The site is one of the four new hotel sites on the GLS programme for the second half of this year.
There are already five hotel sites on the reserve list, with two more expected by the end of the year.
The 0.61 ha site could go for between $430-$450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), it is reckoned by Donald Han, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield.
Mr Han noted that a white site at Race Course Road recently sold for $430 psf ppr in September. He said: ‘The Race Course Road hotel site may be located nearer to the MRT station than the Sturdee Road site, but hotel market sentiment is increasingly more optimistic now, judging from higher than expected bid prices for the Upper Pickering Street site.’
The site mentioned went to Hotel Plaza for $253.2 million or $805 psf ppr.
Other recent successful hotel site tenders include one on Tanjong Pagar Road/Gopeng Street awarded to Carlton Properties for $123 million, or $573 psf ppr in June. In July, a site at Tras Street went to businessman Chng Gim Huat of the CGH Group for $97.1 million, or $562 psf ppr.
The Sturdee Road site has maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of 18,334 sq m and can yield an estimated 430 hotel rooms.
A minimum of 60 per cent of the total GFA must be used for hotel rooms or hotel-related uses. The rest can be for commercial, and/or residential uses.
So far, the other hotel site put on the reserve list for H2′07 is at Jalan Bukit Merah/Alexandra Road.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority withdrew a hotel site at Balestier Road/Ah Hood Road from the reserve list this month.
About 9,100 new hotel rooms are expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010. This includes the supply of new hotel rooms from the two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, which are expected to be completed in 2009 and 2010.
Source : Business Times - 17 Oct 2007
The site is one of the four new hotel sites on the GLS programme for the second half of this year.
There are already five hotel sites on the reserve list, with two more expected by the end of the year.
The 0.61 ha site could go for between $430-$450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), it is reckoned by Donald Han, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield.
Mr Han noted that a white site at Race Course Road recently sold for $430 psf ppr in September. He said: ‘The Race Course Road hotel site may be located nearer to the MRT station than the Sturdee Road site, but hotel market sentiment is increasingly more optimistic now, judging from higher than expected bid prices for the Upper Pickering Street site.’
The site mentioned went to Hotel Plaza for $253.2 million or $805 psf ppr.
Other recent successful hotel site tenders include one on Tanjong Pagar Road/Gopeng Street awarded to Carlton Properties for $123 million, or $573 psf ppr in June. In July, a site at Tras Street went to businessman Chng Gim Huat of the CGH Group for $97.1 million, or $562 psf ppr.
The Sturdee Road site has maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of 18,334 sq m and can yield an estimated 430 hotel rooms.
A minimum of 60 per cent of the total GFA must be used for hotel rooms or hotel-related uses. The rest can be for commercial, and/or residential uses.
So far, the other hotel site put on the reserve list for H2′07 is at Jalan Bukit Merah/Alexandra Road.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority withdrew a hotel site at Balestier Road/Ah Hood Road from the reserve list this month.
About 9,100 new hotel rooms are expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010. This includes the supply of new hotel rooms from the two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, which are expected to be completed in 2009 and 2010.
Source : Business Times - 17 Oct 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Award of tender for white site at Marina View (Land Parcel A)
Award of tender for white site at Marina View (Land Parcel A)
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for the white site at Marina View (Land Parcel A) to MGP Berth Pte. Limited. The company submitted the highest bid in the tender for the site.$2,018,888,988
($15,165.93)gfa
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for the white site at Marina View (Land Parcel A) to MGP Berth Pte. Limited. The company submitted the highest bid in the tender for the site.$2,018,888,988
($15,165.93)gfa
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