Construction of Singapore’s first Hard Rock Hotel to start in May

Construction of Singapore’s first Hard Rock Hotel to start in May

By Wong Siew Ying,

SINGAPORE: Construction of Singapore’s first Hard Rock Hotel which will be located at the upcoming Resorts World at Sentosa will begin in May.

The 360-room hotel is one of six to be developed and fans and visitors will be grooving to it when the famous chain opens in 2010.

Together, the hotels will provide 1,800 rooms but this might still not be enough.

Elena Arabadjieva, Deputy Vice-President, Resort Marketing, Resorts World at Sentosa, said: “We have 15 million visitors projected for the first year of operation, out of which 60% will be from overseas. We will definitely have challenges accommodating all our guests. Therefore, we are working with the hotels on the island to forge out some partnership.

“In the years to come, we are looking at different opportunities, from block booking part of the properties and other forms of partnership.”

The S$346 million five-star hotel will include 20 conference rooms and they are expected to be in high demand especially, the massive ballroom which will have no columns.

This will be located at the basement of the Hard Rock Hotel and could take up to 7,300 people.

The Hard Rock Hotel chain has operations in the US and around the region, including Bali, Penang and Pattaya.

Resorts World has been promoting its wide range of offerings in trade shows overseas.

It’s expected to rev up its marketing activities in 2009 in Southeast and North Asia, Australia as well as Europe.

The Hard Rock Hotel is part of the S$6 billion resort development.

It’s also the first of six hotels to begin construction work after the building contract was awarded to Low Keng Huat Limited.

The construction firm edged out two other bidders to secure the deal.

Resorts World said Low Keng Huat was selected based on its proven track record and its expertise in building construction and property development, especially in the hospitality-related sectors.

This deal is the latest in a string of construction contracts amounting to over S$1 billion that have been awarded so far. - CNA/vm
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 09 April 2008

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Singapore Property investment sales up at S$8.36b in Q1 but still off 2007 peak

Singapore Property investment sales up at S$8.36b in Q1 but still off 2007 peak
SINGAPORE : Property investment sales rose nearly 3 percent to S$8.36 billion in the first quarter compared to the previous three months. But this was still 36.6 percent below the peak of S$13.2 billion worth of sales amassed in the third quarter last year.

This is according to latest figures from property consultants Colliers International.

Colliers said with the exception of the commercial and industrial sectors, all other key property sectors experienced a decline in sales volume in the first quarter of this year.

The commercial investment sales market gathered momentum in March, chalking up some S$3.2 billion worth of transactions, or 38.6 percent of total investment sales.

The industrial investment sales market registered S$731 million worth of sales, up 10 percent on quarter. The majority of industrial sales transactions came from REITs purchases.

Colliers’ Director for Research and Consultancy Tay Huey Ying said CapitaCommercial Trust’s acquisition of One George Street for S$1.165 billion was the most significant commercial transaction in the first quarter, in terms of absolute sale quantum.

By unit price, the most notable investment deal was the acquisition of the 999-year Hitachi Tower by Goldman Sachs at S$811 million.

Residential investment sales dropped about 36 percent in the first quarter to $2.3 billion, compared to the previous three months.

Colliers said sentiment in the collective sale market also weakened.

The private sector accounted for the bulk of the investment sales activity, raking in some S$5.6 billion, or 11 percent higher than the fourth quarter.

Colliers said the strong participation of developers at recent land tenders has demonstrated their continued confidence in the mid-term prospects of Singapore’s property market.

The consultancy expects the confidence to continue to underpin investment sales activities for the rest of this year. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 09 April 2008

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Freehold Singapore residential site Amber Glades relaunched for en bloc sale

Freehold Singapore residential site Amber Glades relaunched for en bloc sale

By Cheryl Lim,
SINGAPORE : Colliers International will be relaunching the collective sale of Amber Glades, a freehold residential site at Amber Road.

The site has a gross plot ratio of 2.8 and consists of two 10-storey tower blocks with 63 units in total.

About 90 percent of the owners have agreed to the sale and are asking for about S$127 million. Including the estimated development charge of S$3.5 million, the price will work out to about S$1,140 per square foot per plot ratio. This is lower than the previous asking price of S$145 million six months ago.

Based on the 2003 Master Plan, the site is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 2.8. The new development can accommodate a residential development with up to 88 units at 1,300 square feet each.

The tender sale will close on April 23 at 3pm. - CNA /ls

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 09 April 2008

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Singapore En bloc market suffers double whammy as investors look elsewhere

Singapore En bloc market suffers double whammy as investors look elsewhere

By Ng Baoying,

SINGAPORE : En bloc sales have been slowing down over the past few months, but it’s not just due to the recent tightening of the rules governing such transactions.

Amid the global credit crunch, property watchers said foreign investments have pulled back, and the overall downturn is pushing developers to look at other moneymaking options.

But they also noted that fundamentals remain strong in Singapore, and the current slowdown is due more to external factors.

Collective sales saw strong demand a few months ago, but developers are now changing tack in the tighter credit environment.

Those on the buying end of en bloc sales are choosing to hang on to their properties longer, delaying new project launches. They are also getting picky about additions to their landbank.

“They’ve got plenty to choose from. The most straightforward possibility for developers to partake would be going to government sale of site programme. A lot are more configured toward mass market, lower mid-tier level where we’re seeing some activity in the end-market purchases,” said Donald Han, MD of Cushman & Wakefield (Singapore).

Many said the current slowdown is largely due to the external environment, rather than the fundamentals of Singapore.

“A lot of buying that resulted in last round of en bloc came from overseas funds… We are rather small, in terms of available of units or land, so an amount which may not make an impact in another country will have a big impact on us. (Funds) either coming in or out have got that exponential effect on the market in Singapore,” said Dr SK Phang, a lawyer.

So with tightening credit conditions worldwide causing a dip in foreign inflows, Singapore’s property market is taking a hit.

But analysts said many developers took home huge profits in the past two years, and will definitely be able to weather stormy skies for now.

While there is little to be done about the external environment, analysts said en bloc rules can be further tweaked to allow the process to be speeded up.

Said Dr Phang: “The long timeline has to be shortened; it’s too long, the whole en bloc process. The law allows you 12 months to get 80 percent. And after that, the law allows you 12 months to file the ST (strata title). And when you do, the STB (Strata Title Board) may take short of 4 months or a long time of a year.

“Of course not every case is that long but if you look at the historical maximum permissible time, you’re looking at something about 2 years plus. And that’s a long time to wait for the money. Given the volatile market conditions in Singapore, if it goes up, owners get concerned with replacement. If it goes down, developers (become) concerned. So we should try to manage the timeline and shorten it.”

The en bloc market saw more than a 100 deals valued at more than S$13 billion last year. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 09 April 2008

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Confirmed: Singapore Tulip Garden’s en bloc sale to Bravo rescinded

Confirmed: Singapore Tulip Garden’s en bloc sale to Bravo rescinded

IT’S official. Tulip Garden’s owners have rescinded the $516 million en bloc sale of the estate to a unit of Bravo Building Construction.
Lee & Lee partner Ow Yong Thian Soo, representing Tulip Garden owners, confirmed that the firm yesterday sent a notice of rescission of the sale- and-purchase agreement for Tulip Garden to Bravo’s lawyers. ‘We also informed them that the sellers will be forfeiting the 5 per cent of the transaction price paid to them so far. And our clients reserve all rights,’ he said.

The notice of rescission was sent to Bravo after it failed to pay the second 5 per cent instalment by the deadline on April 7. Bravo had requested another extension of this deadline to June 7, as well as to extend the completion date of the transaction (which is when it would have had to pay up the remaining 90 per cent of the purchase price) from May 28 to Aug 7. Tulip Garden owners met over the weekend and most indicated they wanted to cancel the sale if Bravo missed the payment deadline on April 7.
Source : Business Times  - 09 April 2008

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Singapore seen posting strong Q1 GDP growth

Singapore seen posting strong Q1 GDP growth

Indicators point to good growth though confidence may be weak: economists
By ANNA TEO
BUSINESS confidence may be weak, but the domestic economic growth outlook remains strong, according to at least two economists.
 
Mr Basu: Forecasts first-quarter GDP growth of 8.4 per cent 
Daiwa Institute of Research’s chief economist (Asia ex-Japan) P K Basu - who from day one was unfazed by the sharp slowdown towards the end of 2007 - has forecast first-quarter GDP growth of 8.4 per cent. That’s well above the consensus estimates of sub-6 per cent.

‘I haven’t changed my view one iota since the start of the year (and in fact since last year), and I think the data is bearing me out so far,’ he told BT yesterday.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry will release advance estimates of Q1 growth - based only on January and February data - tomorrow.

GDP growth slowed to 5.4 per cent in Q4 2007, mainly because of a plunge in biomedical manufacturing. Against the preceding quarter, the economy shrank 4.8 per cent in Q4.

Barring an unexpected plant maintenance shutdown, the manufacturing sector is likely to have bounced back to double-digit year-on-year growth after contracting in Q4 2007, says Mr Basu.

Business confidence may have weakened, but the activity indicators suggest ‘very few pockets of real weakness in the economy’, he says, citing the commerce and transport and communications sectors in particular.

Data for the first two months of the year shows ’surging tonnage of vessel arrivals, stronger tourist arrivals, better retail sales, and stronger re-exports and trade volumes than in any quarter of last year’, he notes.

Construction contract awards also suggest that the building boom will persist through to at least early-2009, he adds.

The growth pace in construction and financial services likely slowed from the frenetic pace seen in the second half of 2007, but should still be at a double-digit level, he expects.

The only weakness? Growth in property transactions.

HSBC’s Robert Prior-Wandesforde also reckons that the economy will see double-digit quarter-on-quarter growth in Q1 as the pharmaceutical industry rebounds.

‘Although confidence is lacking right now, the fundamentals for domestic growth generally remain extremely favourable,’ he said in a report last Friday.

And, with loans growth running at close to 20 per cent, there is also little evidence of credit constraints, he said.

Still, he suspects that the Monetary Authority of Singapore is probably more worried about the growth outlook given the uncertainties, and with consumer price inflation peaking soon. He expects the monetary policy of ‘modest and gradual’ currency appreciation to stay but with the band widened.
Source : Business Times  - 09 April 2008

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Farm resort in S’pore? It will be a reality soon

Farm resort in S’pore? It will be a reality soon

By EMILYN YAP

GREENERY is all around and there is nary a tall building in sight. Gone is the buzz of heavy day-time traffic. Have a short rest in your air-conditioned villa, and take in the stretches of gardens and fruit trees that come into view. But there is no need to linger for too long, as there is much outside to indulge you in - a wellness spa, a farm produce market and even a corn plantation tour.
 
Mr Tan: The attractions at HLH’s D’Kranji Farm Resort will include villas, farming plots, a spa, seafood restaurant, beer garden and an R&D centre for corn plantations 
This may sound like a farm stay overseas, but rustic escapes like this will soon be possible in Singapore. Come September, what is hailed by the HLH Group as the country’s first agri-tainment getaway D’Kranji Farm Resort will be ready to welcome its first visitors.

The five-hectare Lim Chu Kang resort, already 60 per cent complete, will house 21 villas, 21 farming plots and retail kiosks, a wellness spa, seafood restaurant, beer garden, as well as a research and development (R&D) centre for corn plantations.

D’Kranji is a $10 million project undertaken by mainboard-listed HLH Group, the former PDC Corp which in 2006 adopted its present name to reflect its shift from electronics business to agricultural business.

Its three core areas now are agricultural plantation, agri-business and property development.

The foray into agri-tainment is a reflection of HLH’s restructuring efforts since 2006. The group, a commercial corn producer in Asia, is involved in the whole value chain of corn plantation, corn processing as well as the merchandising of agricultural products.

The resort is an offshoot of HLH’s efforts to develop its corn plantation business. According to CEO Tan Siang Hee at the media briefing yesterday, HLH began with the idea of setting up an R&D centre in Singapore to test different varieties of corn before growing them on a larger scale. Noting that people may be interested in visiting corn plantations, the concept then developed into the one we see today.

The resort also offers entrepreneurship opportunities by providing rental-free agri-retail kiosks to those interested in farming. Kiosk operators will receive a two-year operating permit, renewable subject to overall performance, and will pay a monthly management fee to HLH in return.

The resort aims to attract 500,000 visitors a year. HLH is in talks with eight tour group operators, and also has plans to work with community centres to bring visitors to the site.

Landscaping company Nyee Phoe Group also has plans to launch kampung-style chalets in Lim Chu Kang.

On the potential competition, Mr Tan said that the key was about ‘how we are going to strategise, how we are going to make our uniqueness stand out, and how we differentiate our products’. With similar players in the area, there would also be potential for Lim Chu Kang to develop as a lifestyle hub.

Shares of HLH closed trading unchanged at three cents yesterday.
Source : Business Times  - 09 April 2008

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Property agents in race against Singapore en bloc clock

Property agents in race against Singapore en bloc clock

Sites relaunched at lower prices as collective sales agreement deadlines loom
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Property agents are expected to keep pushing out a steady stream of relaunched en bloc sales over the next few months, as they attempt a last hurrah before their collective sales agreements (CSAs) inked last year expire.
 
Relaunched: The price tag of Amber Glades (above) is 15% lower than last year, while asking prices of Pinetree Condo (next), Landmark Tower and Royalville are 10-20% less. 
Asking prices for such sites this time round are about 10-20 per cent lower than last year. Agents hope developers will bite, given their strong participation in recent government land tenders.

‘Whatever collective sales that went into the market in the third or fourth quarter of last year and which are not yet sold, you can expect their CSAs to expire around mid-2008 or Q3 this year. So the current second quarter is pretty much the only window of opportunity for the sellers and agents to make a last try,’ a seasoned agent in the en bloc sales business says.

Data from Credo Real Estate show there were 14 en bloc sale sites launched in Q3 last year but which are still unsold, while another 30 launched in Q4 last year have yet to find takers. These include The Riverwalk, Elizabeth Towers, Cairnhill Mansion, Grange Heights, Chancery Court, Thomson View Condo, Villa delle Rose, Spanish Village, Estoril and Vista Park.

From the time the minimum 80 per cent consent level is secured for a CSA, agents have up to 12 months to find a buyer and submit an application to the Strata Titles Board for an order for the collective sale.

Says Colliers International executive director of investment sales Ho Eng Joo: ‘We can expect to see a rush on the part of owners and agents to take another shot at the market. If you don’t do that, the old CSA expires and any fresh attempt at an en bloc sale will fall under new rules that took effect last October - and these are a lot more onerous.’

Colliers yesterday relaunched Amber Glades along Amber Gardens with an indicative price of about $127 million or $1,140 psf per plot ratio, inclusive of development charges. This is about 15 per cent lower than the $1,345 psf ppr sought by Amber Glades’ owners in October last year.

In recent weeks, Landmark Tower in Chin Swee Road, Pinetree Condo in the Balmoral area and Royalville in Bukit Timah have also been relaunched at indicative prices ranging from 10-20 per cent below what they had been offered at in Q3 or Q4 last year.

Typically, these sites are being relaunched under the existing CSAs and based on the same reserve prices as last year. However, this time round, owners’ asking prices are closer to reserve prices, whereas last year, the asking prices may have been pegged at a significant premium to the reserve prices, market watchers say.

Some agents are also believed to be in discussion with owners who’ve signed a CSA to see if they are willing to sign a supplementary agreement to lower the reserve price.

Savills Singapore director Steven Ming says: ‘The initial asking prices were a bit lofty when the sites were launched last year. That was when the market was still exuberant. As the sub-prime crisis set in, confidence weakened and home sales slowed. Developers have had to factor this in when pricing their bids for en bloc sites.

‘They also have to take into account higher construction costs and with the ongoing credit squeeze, the opportunity cost for putting in more equity into the project.’

Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng has this advice for en bloc sellers: ‘Developers are no longer prepared to pay the price owners had expected last year, but if you can still collect a premium from an en bloc sale than if you were to sell your unit on your own, why not adjust your pricing and collect the windfall? You may also be able to take advantage of a more subdued market to shop for a replacement property.’

Besides the pressure of looming CSA expiry dates, market watchers point to another factor in the impetus for the current wave of en bloc sale relaunches: the strong bidding at recent state tenders, for instance, for a reservoir-fronting condo site in Yishun and a ‘white’ site at Serangoon Central. ‘This has brought back a bit more confidence in the market,’ says Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh.

‘Property bigwigs like Mr Kwek Leng Beng and Mr Liew Mun Leong have also come out to say they remain confident about prospects for the Singapore property market, but that we need time for sub-prime to clear before we see activity coming back again. If there were a barometer to measure the mood of the day in the property market, April’s measure appears to be slightly better than March,’ he says.

Source : Business Times  - 09 April 2008

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Fewer home loans taken up as Singapore property market cools further

Fewer home loans taken up as Singapore property market cools further 

Mortgage default rate also falls but some banks see refinancing deals rise

By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent 
COOLING OFF
 
THE number of home loans taken up has fallen sharply in recent months as the property market continues to contract.
Only 4,200 new home loans were approved in January, up about 13 per cent on the 3,722 in December but down 21 per cent from the peak of 5,319 last August.

The Credit Bureau of Singapore figures also show that 2,544 second mortgages were taken up in January, a 31 per cent drop from the high of 3,698, also last August.

‘We expect the growth in new mortgages to slow further this year,’ said Credit Bureau general manager Mark Rowley.

Inquiries for new home loans have also dropped, down to 8,923 in February, the lowest since April 2006.

Mr Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank’s head of consumer secured lending, said: ‘We have observed that property buyers are becoming more cautious in their purchase decisions.’

United Overseas Bank’s (UOB’s) head of loans, Mr Kevin Lam, said that ‘in line with property sales transactions, our loan applications were slower in January and February’ but there was ‘a pick-up in market activity at the end of March’.

His counterpart at HSBC Singapore, Ms Alice Chia, said the bank has ’seen a reduction in applications for new home loans, which is reflective of sentiment towards the property market’.

But she pointed to one area where banks are getting increased business - more people are re-mortgaging their home to take advantage of the declining interest rate environment.

‘We have seen an increase in the number of refinancing applications over recent months,’ she said.

Maybank and OCBC have also encountered more home owners looking to refinance.

Ms Helen Neo, Maybank’s head of consumer banking in Singapore, said it launched financing packages in February ‘catering to customers seeking refinancing’ and has received ‘an encouraging response’.

However, Standard Chartered and UOB said they have not seen a significant increase in customers wanting to refinance.

The Credit Bureau figures also revealed certain more positive aspects of the mortgage market.

The number of delinquent account holders has fallen to 4,636, or just 1.63 per cent of total mortgage holders - the lowest in two years.

This allays concerns raised during the speculative frenzy last year that some buyers would overstretch by taking on loans they could not afford.

Mr Rowley said the lower delinquency rate is ‘a good sign’ that Singapore customers are creditworthy, even as loan amounts have risen steadily.

The increase in the number of home owners with significantly larger mortgages has also been striking.

There were 7,404 home owners with outstanding balances on their mortgages of over $1 million in January. This was an 81 per cent jump over February last year. This segment makes up almost 3 per cent of the total number of mortgage holders in Singapore.
Source : Straits Times  - 09 April 2008

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Singapore Tulip Garden owners call off collective sale

Singapore Tulip Garden owners call off collective sale 
 
OWNERS at Tulip Garden have called off the $516 million collective sale of their 164-unit Holland Road condo, but they will keep the $25.8 million deposit.
Mr Ow Yong Thian Soo of Lee & Lee, who is representing the owners, told The Straits Times yesterday that a notice rescinding the sale was given to the intended buyer - a consortium led by Bravo Building Construction.

The owners also told Bravo that they would retain the 5 per cent deposit, a right allowed under the sale and purchase agreement.

They decided to cancel the sale after Bravo missed Monday’s deadline - which had already been extended from last month - to pay a further 5 per cent of the purchase price. The developer wanted even more time to pay and complete the sale.

The deposit will now be distributed proportionally. Owners who were due to receive $2.5 million to $4.2 million from the sale will now get 5 per cent of these sums once the estate pays expenses of possibly $1 million or more. These include half the conveyancing fees, half the fees of consultants Savills Singapore, plus litigation and administration costs.

Bravo bought Tulip Garden last July and was due to complete the sale late next month. It also has unfinished business at Pender Court, where it missed the $80 million collective sale completion date but has an extension until later this month.
JOYCE TEO

Source : Straits Times  - 09 April 2008

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Prices of high-end Singapore condos starting to fall as sales dwindle

Prices of high-end Singapore condos starting to fall as sales dwindle
 
Downward trend may continue for next few quarters, experts predict

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 
 
HOME prices are starting to fall, as several high-end properties begin to feel the squeeze of retreating buyers.
Sales of Singapore’s most expensive condominiums - all the rage last year - have dwindled to just a trickle this year.

And with plunging sales, prices have also started to dip, although official figures have yet to reflect this trend.

Early signs of the slide lie in the handful of caveats filed involving many luxury projects in the first quarter. These showed prices fell from the previous quarter, in some cases by up to 20 per cent.

In Districts 9 to 11, Singapore’s creme de la creme of residential locations covering Orchard, Holland and Bukit Timah, average prices have fallen by about 30 per cent since the beginning of the year, according to caveats.

They dropped to an average of $1,564 per sq ft (psf) between January and March from $2,023 psf in the preceding three months.

In luxury island enclave Sentosa Cove, almost all condos posted drops in average psf prices, ranging from 2 per cent for the Marina Collection to 23 per cent for The Azure.

Property experts say this could be because luxury home buyers are now selecting only the most competitively priced properties.

‘Market activity is very slow now, so any transactions that do take place are likely to be from people who have found attractive buys,’ said Mrs Ong Choon Fah, the executive director at property firm DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

She said high-end properties in the traditional prime districts were more dependent on investor buying, so they could be more affected by the current global credit crunch and weaker sentiment.

‘A lot of people who bought luxury homes are also ’specuvestors’, so they may be happy making just a small profit and selling quickly,’ Mrs Ong explained.

The Government estimated last week that private home prices continued to climb in the first three months of the year, albeit at a slower pace. They rose 4.2 per cent, down from 6.8 per cent in the previous three months.

In the priciest segment, the core central region, the price gain dropped to 4.4 per cent from 7.5 per cent in the previous quarter. This region covers Districts 9 to 11, the Marina Bay area and Sentosa.

Anecdotal evidence from property insiders and caveats lodged, however, showed that prices at many projects fell rather than rose this year. At Scotts Square in Scotts Road, only two units have been sold so far this year - at an average price of $3,700 psf, down from $4,000 psf for 42 units in last year’s fourth quarter.

Similarly, at The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove, the most recent deals were in February, where three units were sold at $1,720 to $1,751 psf. Just six months before that, 15 units were sold at an average price of $2,480 psf.

Other high-profile, pricey condos, such as the Marina Bay Residences and The Marq on Paterson Hill, have yet to see a single caveat lodged this year.

But the story is not all bad. The Orchard Residences, which holds the title of Singapore’s most expensive condo, has sold only one unit this year - but at $4,700 psf, higher than most of its other sales.

Other older condos in areas such as Cavenagh or Balmoral may also be trading at higher prices from their previously low base, pushing up the overall prices for the whole district, suggested Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

But he said the price index for high-end homes may be under pressure in the next two quarters, now that ‘everyone wants a bargain’.

‘You only need developers to start giving discounts or people starting to buy lower-

floor units instead of penthouses. That will push the index down and put pressure on prices.’

Source : Straits Times  - 09 April 2008

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