Two en bloc sites, hotel plot up for grabs

Two en bloc sites, hotel plot up for grabs
PROPERTY owners continue to ride on the buoyant market by offering their sites for development. The latest attempts at collective sales are at Meng Garden Apartments off Killiney Road and Villa delle Rose just off Holland Road.

SuperBowl Holdings’ vacant site at the corner of Balestier Road and Jalan Datoh is also up for grabs; the site has approval for development into a hotel. All three sites are freehold.
Villa delle Rose, with 297,132 sq ft land area, is just off Holland Road, overlooking the Botanic Gardens. The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area). A $12.6 million development charge (DC) is payable.
CB Richard Ellis, which is marketing Villa delle Rose through an expression of interest exercise due to close on Aug 8, said there is no official price indication.
However, market watchers note that the much smaller Aura Park nearby was recently sold to Lippo Realty for $1,280 psf per plot ratio inclusive of DC.
Sources believe Villa delle Rose’s owners may be looking at a higher price, in the region of the $1,544 psf ppr achieved this year for Bishopswalk.
Villa delle Rose was jointly developed by Keck Seng and Pontiac Land in 1982. The existing development comprises 104 units ranging from 2,800 sq ft to 3,200 sq ft.
CBRE is seeking expressions of interest in Meng Garden Apartments at Lloyd Road with a 35,639 sq ft land area. The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio. An estimated $440,000 DC is payable. Submissions should be made by Aug 7.
The development of 26 apartments and a penthouse was built in the mid-1980s. Prior to its development, the site was the original residence of the Alkaff family, CBRE said in its news release.
Over in the Balestier area, Colliers is marketing a 22,965 sq ft vacant site approved for hotel development. Searches show the site’s owner is Superbowl Sentosa Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Superbowl Holdings.
Colliers said the site’s indicative land value is about $40 million, or about $580 psf per plot ratio. No DC is payable.
‘With a proposed gross floor area of 68,896 sq ft and a gross plot ratio of approximately 2.99, the subject site could be redeveloped into an 11-storey tower block comprising 168 hotel rooms above a two-storey podium block - plus a basement car park and a swimming pool,’ Colliers said.
The tender for the Balestier site closes on July 25.

Source: The Business Times, 04 July 2007

CGH Group bids $97.07m for hotel site near Amara

CGH Group bids $97.07m for hotel site near Amara
It plans to build 270-room business hotel on 99-year leasehold plot

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

BUSINESSMAN Chng Gim Huat of CGH Group has emerged as the top bidder for a hotel site near Amara Hotel, with an offer worth $97.07 million.

The group plans to invest a further $70 million-plus developing the 99-year leasehold plot into a 270-room, three-to-four-star business hotel. That brings the all-in investment to about $620,000 per room.
‘Assuming an average room rate of about $168 per night currently, the hotel’s occupancy will have to be above 70 per cent before we can break even. But we expect room rates to be at least 20 per cent higher when the hotel is completed, most likely within three years,’ said CGH Group director Benjamin Chng.
The state tender drew only one other bidder - from Hiap Hoe Superbowl JV Pte Ltd, which offered $78.8 million for the site.
The reserve-list site was triggered for release with an undertaking by a developer to bid at least $60.888 million. Mr Chng’s bid at yesterday’s state tender reflects a unit land price of $562 psf of potential gross floor area, which is $11 psf per plot ratio lower than the $573 psf ppr fetched for another nearby hotel plot, awarded to Carlton Properties earlier this year.

The lower bid in yesterday’s tender could be due to the fact that the latest site has a lower plot ratio, and hence smaller maximum gross floor area compared with the earlier plot, CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho reckons.
Mr Chng told BT yesterday that besides developing the plot into a 270-room hotel, CGH Group also plans to include about 30,000 sq ft net lettable area of commercial space.
‘Some of this will be for the hotel’s use while the rest will be strata titled for possible sale, or we may just keep it for investment,’ Mr Chng said.
CGH Group also owns Orchard Grand Court at Killiney Road, comprising more than 200 ‘hotel-style’ service apartments. It still owns about 600,000 sq ft of ramp-up factory space at Paya Ubi Industrial Park which it developed. This comprises about 40 per cent of the original development. The other 60 per cent has been sold. Of the 600,000 sq ft CGH Group still owns, 80 per cent has been let.
In the residential sector, the group recently completed the 44-unit condo Dengfu Ville in Kampong Eunos, which was fully sold earlier this year.
In August/September, it is planning to launch Esta Ruby, which has 72 apartments housed in a 19-storey twin tower development, with a rooftop pool. The project also includes ground floor shop units and a basement carpark.
Mr Chng controls 51 per cent of Compact Metal Industries.

Source: The Business Times, 04 July 2007

CapitaLand, Lippo to sell condo-backed bonds

CapitaLand, Lippo to sell condo-backed bonds
Developers raising $522m through the conversion of future homebuyers’ payments
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
DEVELOPERS CapitaLand and Lippo Group are selling US$342 million (S$522.2 million) worth of bonds backed by two residential projects.
They are securitising the future payments homebuyers will make for the Metropolitan and Scotts HighPark condominiums, which the developers said have both been sold out.
The deal was announced yesterday by South Africa’s Standard Bank, which is handling the bond sale.
The Metropolitan in Alexandra Road is being jointly developed by CapitaLand and Lippo Group in a 50:50 venture, while Scotts HighPark in Scotts Road is a CapitaLand project.
Most of the units in these two projects are believed to have been offloaded under deferred payment schemes.
What the securitisation does is to bring forward the cash flows due to the developers from these deferred sale payments, thereby freeing up capital for them to redeploy.
In return, CapitaLand and Lippo will assign the receivables to Vesta Investment Corporation, a special purpose vehicle set up for this deal.
Vesta will then issue bonds backed by these receivables to investors.
The floating-rate bonds mature in October 2011, by which time both condos will have been completed and all the payments made in full by the homebuyers.
Although the rates have yet to be finalised, both Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings have provisionally assigned top ratings to the bonds.
In giving its rating, Moody’s said it considered the track record of CapitaLand and Lippo in ‘developing similar residential projects in Singapore on time and within budget’ as well as ‘the market dynamics for Singapore’s residential properties’.
Private home prices in Singapore jumped 7.9 per cent in the second quarter on the back of good economic growth and strong market sentiment.
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender by assets, said the deal will be launched after an investor roadshow in Asia and Europe, which is expected to take place early this month.
This deal ‘is part of CapitaLand’s ongoing strategy to make its capital more efficient and productive’, the developer said in a statement yesterday.
This is the fifth time CapitaLand has advanced cash flows by securitising condos.
In March last year, CapitaLand raised US$332.7 million from the securitisation of Citylights in Jellicoe Road and Varsity Park Condominium in West Coast Road.
Earlier deals were done in 2001, 2002 and 2004. These four alone add up to more than $1 billion of issuance.
Other developers, such as Keppel Land and Centrepoint Properties (now Frasers Centrepoint), have also previously securitised payments from their condos under development.

Source : The Straits Times, 04 July 2007

URA to sell first temporary office site

URA to sell first temporary office site

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is set to sell the first site for ‘transitional’ offices as a shortage nudges rising rentals in the Central Business District to record highs.
The government will sell a piece of land at Scotts Road next to Newton MRT station which can be used to build up to 15,666 sq m of office space, the URA said on Wednesday in a statement.
The lease on the 1.04ha plot is for 10 years a low-rise development of about 3 to 4 storeys that can be built quickly in about a year, it said.
The URA also announced the launch of the sale of a commercial site at Anson Road.
‘The launch of these sites, which will generate up to almost 40,000 sq m of office space, will help to meet the demand for office space in the short to medium term,’ said URA.
The land parcel at Anson Road, located within Tanjong Pagar, a ‘key gateway’ into CBD, was made available for sale through the reserve list system of the GLS Programme on Oct 26, 2006.

URA announced on June 18 that it had received an application from a developer to put up the 0.25ha site for tender and would launch the site for public tender in about two weeks’ time.
The developer has committed to bid at least $116.2 million for the site in the public tender.
These launches came soon after the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced two weeks ago that the Government will make available sites for a total supply of 534,000 sq m of commercial space in the second half of 2007.
This includes 354,000 sq m of space from the GLS Programme and 180,000 sq m from other Government sources.
The MND had also announced at the same time that there was another 640,000 sq m of office space from projects in the pipeline, which were expected to be completed and be ready for occupation between the second half of 2007 and 2010.
Office rents have risen 59 per cent in the past two years after the city-state’s vacancy rate fell to a 10-year low, government data showed.

Source : The Straits Times, 04 July 2007

Overwhelming response to S’pore’s first Problem Gambling Conference

Overwhelming response to S’pore’s first Problem Gambling Conference

SINGAPORE’s National Council for Problem Gambling (NCPG) will be holding its first international Problem Gambling Conference.

The aim of the meeting is to develop a better understanding of problem gambling and address issues faced by gamblers and their families.

Attracting experts, policy makers, gambling operators and professionals in the relevant industries from all around the world, they will gather to discuss research findings and share effective measures to address problem gambling.

Some keynote speakers include Dr Jeffrey L. Derevensky from Canada, an expert on Youth gambling, and Dr Samson Tse from New Zealand, an expert on mental health development programmes in relation to problem gambling.

NCPG has already received an overwhelming response to the conference, with nearly 500 participants signed up for the discussions and workshops.

A joint effort by NCPG and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), the Singapore Problem Gambling Conference will feature four plenary sessions and three interactive workshop sessions.

High on the agenda- recent trends of increased youth gambling, and discussions on ways to increase public awareness and come up with new preventive measures, especially in light of the two Integrated Resorts opening by 2009.

NCPG said about 2.1 per cent of Singaporeans are at risk to become pathological gamblers, and while this is not an alarming figure, NCPG says it aims to try and lower this rate by taking a more proactive approach.

Dr Ang Yong Guan, a psychiatrist and member of the NCPG, said the council hopes to ‘come up with as many methods as possible to identify the gamblers’, and give them the help they need.

Although the conference will not be open to members of the public, there will be public talks held on Saturday for those interested to know more about problem gambling, or have some questions.

A Gambling Addiction Counsellor from the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society will be on hand to discuss the issue at the Singapore Power Auditorium. The talks are free and open to anyone, as long as they register beforehand.

Source : The Straits Times, 04 July 2007

Got $780k? Then this Tiong Bahru flat is yours

Got $780k? Then this Tiong Bahru flat is yours 
HDB owners hope to hit jackpot but few estates can command such high prices
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
FLAT WITH A VIEW: Property agent Melvin Tay admires the view from a high-floor five-room HDB flat in Kim Tian Place. The owners, who are preparing to move to Hong Kong, are asking for $780,000 for the flat. A same-size unit in the same block sold for $720,000 last month. — ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
 
THE owner of a five-room HDB flat in Tiong Bahru is asking $780,000 for her five-room home - just weeks after an owner in the same block sold his unit for $720,000.
And within two days of putting the Kim Tian Place flat on the market, chemist Louisa Yu received two offers, including one for $690,000.

Ms Yu, who is moving to Hong Kong with her permanent resident husband, has yet to have the flat with its skyline views valued but paid $500,000 for it a year ago.

Other HDB owners are also hoping to hit the property jackpot, prompted by the much publicised sales of two Tiong Bahru flats for huge profits last month.

Select areas near the city - such as Tiong Bahru and Queenstown - stand the best chance but others look more to be pie in the sky, with some hopeful owners demanding prices as much as $200,000 above valuation.

‘The current frenzy is limited to just a few estates,’ said the senior division director of property agency PropNex, Mr Eric Cheng.

Among the recent winners was a five-room flat, also in Kim Tian, that fetched $606,000, while a five-room unit in Jalan Membina went for $690,000. Both had yet to be valued.

This is not unusual in the area where a few cash-rich buyers have inked deals before valuations are done.

The Bukit Merah area is ano- ther high-price hotspot. A five- room flat in Bukit Merah View valued at $518,000 recently sold for $618,000, said PropNex.

Marine Drive has had its moments with a five-room unit selling recently for $695,000 before valuation. Not out of the ordinary, say agents, as Marine Parade flats with sea views traditionally attract keen buyers.

But owners in other areas may fall well short of their asking prices.

Housewife Esther Yeo wants more than $700,000 for her high- floor 1,700 sq ft flat in Toa Payoh Central. She told The Straits Times: ‘I’m not a desperate case. I’m just riding the wave.’

Three other owners are also asking for more than $700,000 for their executive flats behind the Yellow Pages building in Toa Payoh.

But the highest price done in Toa Payoh, according to Prop- Nex, was a $565,000 deal for a five-room flat in May.

Hopes are even higher for an owner of a three-room flat in Tanjong Pagar. He is asking for about $400,000, almost $200,000 above valuation, said the managing director of C&H Realty, Mr Albert Lu.

And an optimistic owner of an executive flat in Jurong West wants $600,000 - $250,000 above valuation, added Mr Lu.

‘My agent had to refuse to sell for him,’ he said.

In fact, some Jurong West flats are selling for below valuation. A five-room unit valued at $290,000 recently went for $280,000, said PropNex.

In Woodlands, a five-room flat just sold for $275,000, below its $278,000 valuation.
 

Source : The Straits Times, 04 July 2007

HDB resale transactions likely to surpass 30,000 this year

HDB resale transactions likely to surpass 30,000 this year

By Daryl Loo, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 July 2007 2041 hrs

SINGAPORE: Property agents said they are likely to sell more than 30,000 HDB resale flats this year as homebuyers turn increasingly towards public housing.

This will be a notch above the 29,700 resale transactions recorded last year.

The forecast comes as HDB resale prices rose by 2.9 percent during the second quarter of this year – the fastest pace in nearly nine years.

Property agents said this is largely due to a spill-over from the private sector as such homes have been getting much costlier in recent months.

Chris Koh, Director, Dennis Wee Properties, said: “When the prices of high-end property move to a point that is too high, people who can’t afford these places will look to the middle range. When the middle range also moves to a point that is too high, they will look to the lower end.

“And when the lower end also moves, the gap widens between HDB and private. So what we’re seeing recently is a lot of buyers turning to HDB because prices of private property have gone up too high.”

Flat-buyers have tended to be young families seeking a first home, but observers are noticing a change.

They said many private property owners, who recently sold their homes en bloc, are increasingly turning to HDB flats as replacement homes.

Mr Koh said: “I’m seeing another group of people – the retirees. They have been sitting on private properties for the last ten years and they have never thought of selling them because the prices weren’t that high. But now when they see the prices of private properties hitting such a mark, they’re saying, ‘Why not I sell it, take that money and downgrade to a HDB flat?’ They could pay in full for a HDB flat and still have a couple of hundred thousands to go for holidays.”

A five-room flat at Kim Tian Place went for a record S$720,000 last month, breaking another record set for a five-room unit in nearby Jalan Membina, which was sold for S$675,000.

While some have called this a one-off deal, others said the increase in activity means there is also a higher likelihood of new records being set.

Eric Cheng, Senior Division Director, PropNex, said: “Recently, we had a transaction caveated in Jalan Membina at S$690,000. In today’s market, a lot of owners are quoting much higher pricing. We’ve seen HDB owners asking for S$800,000 or S$850,000.”

Analysts are predicting that HDB resale prices will go up 10 percent for the whole year.
- CNA/so

Singapore Several areas still buck trend of rising home prices

Several areas still buck trend of rising home prices
July 3rd, 2007

For property prices, this could be a tale of two cities. While housing prices in many parts of Singapore have shot up over the past two years, there are some places where they have only crept up, and others where they have even dropped.
While private home prices in general have climbed 27.9 per cent from the Q2 2005 to Q2 of this year, official estimates released yesterday showed, in some parts of the island the price increase has been marginal, or even negative.
Partly because of this, a range of units in projects across the island are still available for under $500 per square foot (psf). Related article: Click here for URA’s press release
Data from property firm Savills Singapore show that while prices for the rest of the island have climbed by as much as 40 per cent over the past 24 months - with home prices in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11 climbing by over 50 per cent - housing prices in the north, north-east and west of the country have either remained flat, or dropped.
‘Home prices in the north, north-east and west have dropped about 10 per cent on average over the past two years,’ said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.
Savills identified Districts 23, 25 and 27 - Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Hillview Avenue, Upper Bukit Timah, Admiralty, Woodlands, Sembawang and Yishun - as those that have seen price drops.
At Euphony Gardens at Jalan Mata Ayer, prices have dropped from $404 psf in the second quarter of 2005 to $362 psf in the second quarter of this year - a fall of 10.4 per cent. At Palm Gardens at Hong San Walk, the price has fallen by 4.6 per cent to $373 psf, from $391 psf two years ago. The supply of private homes in these areas still outstrips demand for them, Mr Ku said. ‘Demand has not spilled over far enough from the core central region into these areas,’ he said.
It is then not surprising that a whole lot of projects going for under $500 psf can be found in these districts.
The data from Savills show that there are 65 properties - 14 freehold, 35 with 99-year leases and 16 executive condominiums - where units have transacted at under $500 psf over the past few months. Nineteen of these 65 projects are in Districts 23, 25 or 27.
The relatively low going rates means that buying a private condo in these projects might even be cheaper than picking up a HDB flat in a popular area. Last month, a 1,240 sq ft HDB flat at Kim Tian Place went for $720,000 - setting a record for five-room flats.
‘At less than $500 psf, a 1,200 sq ft unit will sell for less than $600,000,’ said Mr Ku. ‘There are a lot of private units that are not as expensive as top-tier HDB flats.’
Mr Ku however pointed out that the comparison does not hold true when comparing a private condo and a HDB flat located in the same area, when the price fetched by the condo will always be higher.
Over the past two years, prices in the core central region of Singapore - which includes Districts 9, 10, 11, Marina Bay and Sentosa - have climbed much faster than in the rest of the island.
The latest estimates by the Urban Redevelopment Authority put the increase of homes prices over the second quarter of this year at 7.6 per cent in the core central region, and a smaller 6.5 per cent in the ‘outside central region’ category.
As prices in the outlying areas of Singapore recover, property prices in Districts 23, 25 and 27 should see better growth, analysts said. And in line with this, the number of properties selling for under $500 psf can also be expected to drop.

Source: The Business Times, 03 July 2007

Singapore Government to ensure sufficient supply of homes: URA

Government to ensure sufficient supply of homes: URA
July 3rd, 2007

In a departure from tradition in recent years, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday commented on the state of the private residential market when it released the latest price indices.
It also seemed to have some advice for potential home buyers who may be carried away by the current market frenzy.
The departure is seen in industry circles as reflecting official concern about the run-up in private residential prices which, as yesterday’s flash estimates show, is no longer confined to just the luxury segment but has spread to other segments as well.
‘The government will continue to monitor the market very closely,’ URA said yesterday. Its subsequent elaboration dwelt on measures to ensure there is sufficient supply of homes, without even a hint of any possible measures to tackle demand, or subsales, market watchers noted.
URA said: ‘The government will ensure that there will be sufficient supply of residential space to meet demand. The GLS (Government Land Sales) Programme for the 2nd half of 2007, which was just announced recently, comprises 20 residential sites and five other commercial and residential, and white sites which have a potential supply of about 8,000 units of private housing and executive condominium (EC) housing.’
The government has also re-introduced an EC site to give an additional housing option to Singaporeans. ‘If necessary, the government will make available even more sites for private residential development through the GLS Programme next year,’ URA said.
The authority reiterated that besides new GLS sites, there are some 42,200 new private homes slated for completion from H2 2007 to 2010. About 22,700 of these units have not been sold by developers yet.
‘Prospective home-buyers should take into consideration the sufficient pipeline supply of private housing, as well as the potential supply from GLS sites, when deciding to make a property purchase,’ URA said.
In its release, URA also gave its take on the rise in private home prices in recent quarters, which it said is ‘in line with greater economic growth and rising confidence’.
‘Private housing prices are now increasing at a faster pace because of good economic prospects going forward and the increasing attractiveness of Singapore as a global city,’ it added.

Source: The Business Times, 03 July 2007

Parents volunteer at primary schools as registration opens for P1

Parents volunteer at primary schools as registration opens for P1

SINGAPORE: Tuesday was the first day of Primary One registration.

With a smaller intake for Primary One expected this year (because of a smaller “Snake Year” cohort), the Education Ministry has lowered the number of places available.

But it has assured parents that there will be sufficient places for all eligible students.

Some popular schools like Nanyang Primary have opened up more classes in anticipation of demand.

The school opened up 13 classes, bringing its 2008 P1 cohort size to 390.

But many parents are still not taking chances in ensuring their children get into the right school.

They have started very early on, some as many as four years ago, to volunteer at their chosen schools.

However some schools say being a parent volunteer does not guarantee a place for their child.

With so many parent volunteers at popular schools, children are still required to ballot for places.

The Education Ministry also says schools have a right to select which parents get to be volunteers.

Heng Boey Hong, Principal of Nanyang Primary School believes that parents should take a broader view when it comes to choosing a primary school.

“For us the most important thing is, parents should identify with the school’s values, its future development, and their child’s educational needs,” says Heng.

According to the Education Ministry, six new primary schools are expected to open next year.

These are Anchor Green Primary, Beacon Primary, Endeavour Primary, Greendale Primary, Innova Primary, and North Vista Primary.

There will also be one new school each in the new towns of Bukit Panjang, Sembawang, and Woodlands, and two new schools in Sengkang.

More information on the registration procedure and allocation of places can be found at www.moe.gov.sg as well as on Channel 8, Teletext page 720. - CNA/yy

CASE warns public about timeshare company Aztex Int’l

CASE warns public about timeshare company Aztex Int’l

Channel NewsAsia - 2 hours 33 minutes agoSINGAPORE : The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has issued a warning against Aztex Int’l, a company which provides timeshare leasing and resale services.
 
CASE said Aztex promises to help consumers lease or resell their timeshare for a fee.

The company gives its word to fully refund their fees, if it’s unsuccessful after an 18-month contractual period.

But there were at least seven cases where Aztex failed to refund customers as promised, months after their contracts ended.

The seven consumers have formally filed complaints with CASE.

The refunds owed range from $500 to $4,500.

In one case, the company issued a cheque for a refund to the customer, but according to CASE, the cheque bounced.

And in at least 14 other cases, customers were told their timeshare membership entitlements would be leased to Aztex’s corporate clients.

CASE said it had twice invited Aztex to sign a Voluntary Compliance Agreement.

The invitations took place on April 24 and June 5 this year.

By doing so, the firm would be admitting to carrying out unfair practices and would have to compensate its customers.

The agreement would also bind the firm to stop the unfair practices, not to engage in further unfair practices, and to agree that details of the agreement be made public if any of its terms were breached.

But till now, Aztex has yet to sign the agreement.

CASE said it will commence injunction proceedings against the company.

It advised all consumers who have not received refunds to file a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal.

CASE also noted that the firm’s registered business address in the Accounting Corporate and Regulatory Authority (ACRA) records is different from the location it’s operating out of. - CNA /ls