SingPower Building on sale for expected $990m in S’pore

SingPower Building on sale for expected $990m

Market watchers say leasehold property likely to fetch $1,800 psf
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
THE office market can be expected to continue teeming with deals, with the latest offering said to be the Singapore Power Building behind Somerset MRT Station. The 30-year-old building, once known as PUB Building, is being marketed through an expression-of-interest exercise, BT understands.

Singapore Power Building: Sitting on a site with a remaining lease of 67 years, the building was completed in 1977 and refurbished just last year
Market watchers expect the leasehold property to fetch about $1,800 per sq ft of net lettable area (NLA), which works out to $990 million based on the 17-storey building’s NLA of around 550,000 sq ft.

SingPower Building, completed in 1977 and refurbished last year, is on a site with a remaining lease of 67 years.

The building is being put up for sale by owners SingPower and Public Utilities Board. The latter moved out earlier this year. SingPower occupies some 200,000 sq ft, while the rest of the space is leased to other tenants.

SingPower is expected to structure a deal to lease back the space it occupies from the new buyer

Industry sources say SingPower Building’s existing gross floor area reflects a 7.0 plot ratio - the ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area. This exceeds the 4.9 plot ratio indicated in Master Plan 2003. The site area is about 110,000 sq ft.

However, there may be a possibility of redeveloping the property in the medium term by building a more efficient modern structure, after existing leases expire.

SingPower Building has two basements with a total of 530 parking lots. There is also an auditorium for public use.

The building was originally developed for $32 million. It was clad in silvery metal when refurbished last year.

The building was described as a ‘ground-scraper’ - two parallel slab blocks facing north and south connected by a lift and stair core - in an article in The Straits Times in August this year. Between the two blocks is a landscaped court.

If SingPower Building changes hands for around $990 million, it will be one of the biggest office deals so far this year, along with the $1.04 billion sale of Temasek Tower to a fund managed by Macquarie Global Property Advisors in March, and the sales of separate one-third stakes in One Raffles Quay to K-Reit Asia and Suntec Reit for $941.5 million each.

In late August, CapitaLand, IP Property Fund Asia and NTUC Income Insurance Co-op sold the leasehold Chevron House, formerly Caltex House, at Raffles Place, for $730 million or a record $2,780 psf of NLA. The buyer is understood to be a Goldman Sachs-linked fund.

The Goldman Sachs group is also understood 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.

The price is expected to be around $3,000 psf.

Hitachi Tower is 50:50 owned by CapitaLand and National University of Singapore.

Source : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007

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Singapore Marina Bay’s key selling points

Singapore Marina Bay’s key selling points

Its ‘live-work-play’ concept makes it an attractive location for home-buyers, reports UMA SHANKARI

MARINA Bay is not just well on the way to becoming Singapore’s new financial hub, it is also shaping up as an attractive location for home-buyers.

Hot demand: When Marina Bay Residences was launched, all 428 units were snapped up within days, with one penthouse fetching $3,450 psf - a record for private homes prices at the time
Property analysts say that since the first residential project there - City Developments’ The Sail - was launched in late 2004, interest in the area has spiked, sending prices climbing.

Prices at The Sail averaged $970 per sq foot in 2004 after the project was launched in November that year.

But since then the average price - taking into account new sales, resales and sub-sales - climbed to $1,060 psf in 2005 and $1,300 psf in 2006, says Knight Frank’s director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.

And for the first nine months of 2007, units at The Sail went for an average of about $1,600 psf, he says.
‘We are seeing a keen appetite among investors confident in Singapore and interested in the live-work-play destination of Marina Bay’

He reckons prices could hit $1,800-$1,900 in about two years. The 1,111-unit development is fully sold.

‘The project was launched in 2004, which means it was just in time to rise on the property market upturn,’ he said.

Analysts say the upside for other residential projects in the area may not be as great because they were launched at higher prices. But they could still benefit from the ‘buzz’ now associated with the area.

Two projects have been launched since The Sail - Marina Bay Residences and One Shenton.

Marina Bay’s biggest selling point, analysts and developers agree, is its ‘live-work-play’ concept.

For one, office space there has been a huge hit with banking and financial institutions.

The top office draw at the moment is the massive Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC).

Two office towers in MBFC’s first phase will add about 1.7 million sq ft of lettable area when they come up in 2010. And the office tower in the second phase is expected to offer a further one million-plus sq ft of space.

Nearby One Raffles Quay, completed last year, has slightly over 1.3 million sq ft of office space.

In addition to this, the government has indicated that it intends to progressively release plots in the area.

Two parcels - known as Land Parcel A at Marina View and Land Parcel B at Marina View - will add at least 1.7 million sq ft of office space. Parcel A has been awarded, while the tender for Parcel B closes on Nov 13.

The authorities are also moving to increase the area’s vibrancy. And one eagerly anticipated project is Gardens by the Bay.

The waterfront is set to be home to three distinct gardens, each with its a unique look, the National Parks Board revealed last year.

The gardens will range in size from 10 to 54 hectares. It is estimated that $300 million-$400 million could be spent on them.

Perhaps most significantly, the $5.2 billion Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (IR) will come up in 2010 - significantly changing the look and feel of the place.

Besides drawing more tourists, the retail and F&B facilities at the IR could attract home buyers, market watchers say. All these goings-on have translated into greater local and foreign interest in homes in the area, analysts and developers point out.

‘We are seeing a keen appetite among investors confident in Singapore and interested in the live-work-play destination of Marina Bay,’ said Kan Kum Wah, head of residential marketing for Marina Bay Suites.

More residential projects are likely to be launched in the coming months.

For a start, Land Parcel A and Land Parcel B are ‘white’ sites, which means the successful bidders can use some of the gross floor area to build homes.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is also setting aside some 60ha of land at Marina South for a landmark residential district.

Some 11,000 housing units are planned, with a mix of commercial, hotel and community facilities.

URA expects to start launching sites in the residential district within the next year, and interest is expected to be keen.

But the next project in the area to hit the market is likely to be Marina Bay Suites.

The 223-unit development, which is the second and last residential block at MBFC, will be launched early next year.

MBFC’s developers - Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Land - expect strong interest in the project, as well as high prices, on the back of then-record prices achieved by Marina Bay Residences.

Last December, when Marina Bay Residences was launched, all 428 units were snapped up within days, with one penthouse fetching $3,450 per square foot (psf) - a record for private homes prices at the time.

‘Marina Bay Suites will be a fitting, even more upscale, sister development to the 428-unit Marina Bay Residences,’ said Mr Kan.

However, homes in the area still have some catching up to do before they reach the prices fetched by residential units in the traditional prime districts 9 and 10.

At Orchard Residences, CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties are said to have sold a penthouse on the 53rd storey for about $5,600 psf. In contrast, prices at Marina Bay have only hit $3,450 psf.

But home prices in the area could hit $3,500-$4,000, said Ku Swee Yong, Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development.

‘Once the casino is up - and perhaps with more traffic congestion due to the vibrant economy - younger high-flying execs in financial services, legal services, etc will come to appreciate inner-city living,’ Mr Ku said.

Source : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007

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Singapore Sites in Jurong, Holland, Orchard up for sale

Singapore Sites in Jurong, Holland, Orchard up for sale

2 prime freehold sites could fetch $670-$700m each in collective sales
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

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 Della Rose: The Holland Road property could be sold for a unit land price of $1,758 psf of potential GFA
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

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Singapore HDB expects stock of unsold flats to drop to 2,200 units by year-end

Singapore HDB expects stock of unsold flats to drop to 2,200 units by year-end

By ARTHUR SIM
THE stock of unsold Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, which stood at about 10,000 three years ago, is now down to 3,500, and the board expects the stock to fall to 2,200 units by the end of the year.

Speaking at a press conference to release the HDB Annual Report 06/07 on Tuesday, HDB CEO Tay Kim Poh said: ‘Positive growth has resulted in strong demand for HDB flats.’

Indeed, according to the figures in the latest annual report, demand appears to have outstripped supply.

For the financial year ended March 31, HDB sold 5,712 new flats, down from 10,100 flats in the previous year, a drop of over 40 per cent. But the number of flats completed in the year was also down, to just 1,764, a decline of nearly 60 per cent from the 4,378 flats of the 2005-06 period, perhaps explaining the recent spike of 6.5 per cent in HDB’s Resale Price Index (flash estimate) for open market flats.

As at March 31, 14,212 flats were under construction, compared to 12,571 in the previous year. These flats have already been launched, and Mr Tay said: ‘BTO (Built-to-Order) subscription is also very high.’

HDB’s latest bi-monthly balloting/walk-in sale exercise also suggests that demand is high, with the 489 flats offered now almost 10 times oversubscribed. Four thousand and eight hundred online applications have been received so far.

New supply of about 6,000 flats from BTO exercises and the Design, Build and Sell Scheme is expected over the next six months but managing supply and demand will be a challenge.

HDB said that a projected 6,300 flats will be completed in FY07-08, followed by 1,700 in FY08-09, 4,000 in FY09-10, and 13,000 in FY10-11.

Savills Singapore director (marketing and business development) Ku Swee Yong said: ‘Assuming about 5,000 to 7,000 flats are completed between 2008 and 2009, we are at best even on supply and demand.’

Mr Ku said improved economic conditions and population growth could have some impact on this balance.

It is, of course, difficult to predict future demand. A case in point would be the backlog of 10,000 unsold flats just three years ago.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak said that in the past, HDB built flats ’speculatively’, hence the backlog. But, with the current practice of BTO exercises, the building programme has become more ‘market responsive’.

For now, any unsatisfied demand will have to be supplied by the resale market. ‘The resale market is very big and has great capacity to increase demand,’ added Mr Mak, but he also cautioned: ‘If the economy and job market continues to expand, we can expect demand for new flats to spill over into the resale market and this could impact prices.’

While resale prices have gone up, the HDB said that the number of resale applications actually fell 7 per cent in FY06-07. This could be because HDB buyers are still very price sensitive.

HSR Property Group senior vice-president Donald Yeo said that he does not believe a supply crunch is imminent because many potential buyers already own HDB flats. Based on feedback from HSR property agents, Mr Yeo said that about eight out of 10 buyers already own flats, so even if there is a desire to buy a new flat - regardless of whether it is to upgrade or downgrade - there is no dire need to.

‘Buyers who find resale prices too high are also prepared to wait for new flats rather than buy from the resale market,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007

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Singapore CDL in US$125m Moscow hotel venture

Singapore CDL in US$125m Moscow hotel venture

JV will develop conference and business facilities on adjacent site
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) has teamed up with a company owned by Sudhir Gupta of Amtel Group for a US$125 million joint venture in Moscow that involves investing in a hotel that will be repositioned as a Copthorne (under CDL’s Millennium & Copthorne Hotels chain). The tie-up will also develop conference and business facilities, among other things on a vacant site next door.

Boomtown Moscow: Site comprising Iris Congress Hotel (above) and artist’s impression of new complex, which will consist of conference & business facilities, food & beverage areas and a car park
‘CDL is also looking at more residential developments and hotel investments in the Russian cities of Moscow and St Petersburg,’ a CDL spokesman said.

Under the agreement inked yesterday, CDL will take a 50 per cent stake in Soft Proekt, which owns the Iris Congress Hotel and a nine-storey serviced apartment building in Moscow. The remaining 50 per cent in Soft Proekt is held by Golden Orchard Hotels Pte Ltd, which is linked to Dr Gupta, who is founder and chairman of the Amtel Group of Companies.

The eight-storey Iris Congress Hotel has over 200 rooms and facilities, including 13 conference rooms. The joint venture also plans to build a mixed-use development complex on a vacant plot adjoining the existing hotel. The complex will include conference and business facilities, food and beverage areas, and a car park. Details are being finalised.

Related link:

Click here for City Developments’ news release
The combined land area of the site of the joint venture is 287,547 sq ft. It is located along Korovinskoye Chaussee, about 15 km north of Moscow city centre and 16 km south-east of Sheremetyevo Airport.

CDL said that Moscow is experiencing an acute shortage of hotel rooms due to its economic boom, and recorded among the highest revenue per available room growth in Europe last year.

Yesterday’s agreement is CDL’s maiden investment in Russia, although the group has been marketing some of its upmarket Singapore condos in the country for a while.

‘We look forward in great anticipation to exploring further opportunities in our investments and developments in Russia and Eastern Europe,’ CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng said in a release yesterday.

India-born Dr Gupta, who was educated in Russia and is now a Singapore citizen, is no stranger to CityDev. He bought three floors and a penthouse at The Sail @ Marina Bay in 2005.

CityDev also indicated in its release yesterday that M&C, its London-listed hotel arm, will soon be launching the Grand Millennium brand as its most prestigious brand in key cities.

First off will be the former Regent Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, which has just been reflagged as a Grand Millennium. Ongoing refurbishments at the property are expected to be completed soon.

M&C’s three other brands are Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate.

Dr Gupta’s Amtel Properties Development also has a joint venture with The Ascott Group, a subsidiary of CapitaLand, to acquire and develop international-class serviced residences in strategic business districts in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Source : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007

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S’pore URA launches tender for Boon Lay condo site

S’pore URA launches tender for Boon Lay condo site

By Nicholas Fang

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 : Business Times - 18 Oct 2007

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S’pore URA launches tender for Boon Lay condo site

S’pore URA launches tender for Boon Lay condo site

By Nicholas Fang

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

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Singapore Two collective sale sites eyeing high selling prices

Singapore Two collective sale sites eyeing high selling prices

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
$700M PRICE TAG

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.

Source : Straits Times - 18 Oct 2007

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More 2-room, rental flats soon in Singapore

More 2-room, rental flats soon  in Singapore

THE Housing Board is building more two-room and rental flats to help meet growing demand from lower-income families.
It resumed offering two-room flats for sale last year and has launched 539.

The number includes 184 flats that it carved out of bigger units to meet demand. Buyers have already snapped up 177 of these, said HDB.

More two-room flats have also been provided under HDB’s Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers).

HDB was managing 47,979 rental flats as at March 31, the end of its last financial year.

As the number of rental flats is limited, HDB has started building new units in Choa Chu Kang, Sembawang and Yishun.

It is also converting five vacant blocks of three- and four-room flats into one- and two-room rental flats.

HDB’s rental flats are heavily subsidised.

In the last FY, 4,037 rental flats were let out, up 1.9 per cent from 3,962 in the previous year.
Source : Straits Times - 18 Oct 2007

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Singapore HDB glut shrinks in rising market

Singapore HDB glut shrinks in rising market

Number of unsold flats plunges from 10,000 to 3,500 in just three years; more will be built
By Joyce Teo

MORE than 10,000 Housing Board flats were languishing unsold in a tepid market just three years ago.
But the rapidly rising residential market has meant that the stock of unsold flats has fallen dramatically to 3,500.

And by the end of this year, that figure will plunge even further to only about 2,200 units, as eager buyers snap up homes.

In response, HDB is pulling out all the stops to meet burgeoning demand.

‘The rosy economic outlook and improved market sentiment have resulted in rising demand for new flats,’ said HDB chief executive Tay Kim Poh at a briefing held on Tuesday on HDB’s newly released annual report.

Demand is now so strong that HDB’s bi-monthly sale this month attracted 4,800 applicants for just 489 flats.

Mr Tay said HDB is committed to building more flats to meet the rising demand as supply shrinks.

In the next six months, it will offer about 4,500 new flats under the build-to-order (BTO) system, which puts flats on the market only if there is sufficient demand.

So far, in the first nine months of the year, HDB has offered 2,700 new flats under the BTO system.

It will also release another three new Design, Build and Sell Scheme sites, which will yield about 1,500 flats in total.

‘Definitely, whatever that we have, we will push it out,’ said Mr Tay of its stock.

This is a far cry from just two years ago, when HDB was still devising new ways to clear about 9,000 unsold units.

Today, strong demand has meant that buyers in central areas are paying bigger sums over valuation, for instance.

HDB’s initial estimate for the third quarter, released earlier this month, showed that resale flat prices have risen 6.5 per cent, up from a 3 per cent rise in the previous quarter and by far the biggest quarterly jump since 1999.

And prices could rise further in line with the general market.

‘Our prices move with the market,’ said Mr Tay. ‘But if you were to look at how resale prices compare with the market, our movement for HDB flats is not as great as private housing.’

The HDB market has a ’stabilising effect’ as buyers can choose to buy from the resale market or purchase a new flat, he said.

‘When we price our flats, we do look at prevailing market prices. Then after that, we will give a market discount.’
Source : Straits Times - 18 Oct 2007

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