Market recovery boosts 2 property developers

Market recovery boosts 2 property developers

By Jessica Cheam

Healthy sales for Guocoland’s developments, including Elliot on the east coast (above), contributed to increased revenue for the property developer.

A BOOMING property market on the back of a broad if tentative economic recovery last year has boosted the results of two mainboard-listed developers.

Guocoland posted a net profit yesterday of $60.4 million in its second quarter ended Dec 31 last year - a dramatic jump from just $861,000 earned in the same quarter a year earlier.

Boosted by positive sentiment and strong property sales, Guocoland’s revenue leapt 284 per cent to hit $363.7 million from the same period a year earlier.

Wing Tai Holdings posted a more modest 7 per cent rise in net profit to $22.3 million in its second quarter in the same three-month period. Revenue shot up 93 per cent to $177 million.

Guocoland said yesterday that its strong performance was mainly due to the strong sales of projects in China, especially Nanjing’s Ascot Park.

China’s property market has rallied in the recent year, in tandem with its growing economy. Asian markets have been leading a broad global recovery following the 2008 financial crisis.

For the half year ended Dec 31, Guocoland had a net profit of $72.8 million, reversing a net loss of $2 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue was also up 85 per cent to $459.4 million.

Closer to home, the group launched Sophia Residence in the Dhoby Ghaut area and Elliot on the east coast, which chalked up more than 90 per cent and 70 per cent sales respectively.

Earnings per share for the group were 7.27 cents for the second quarter, up from 0.1 cent previously. The group’s net asset value was $2.32 as of Dec 31, compared to $2.37 as of June 30.

Brisk sales in Singapore’s private residential market also gave Wing Tai’s financial performance a lift.

The group said it sold more homes at its Belle Vue Residences at Oxley Walk and The Riverine by the Park at Kallang.

For the half year, its net profit rose 28 per cent to $68.7 million, while revenue rose 101 per cent to $454.3 million.

Earnings per share for the group for the second quarter were 2.87 cents, up from 2.67 cents in the same quarter a year earlier. Its net asset value per share was $2.06 as of Dec 31, up from $2.03 as of June 30 last year.

Guocoland’s share price closed 12 cents down at $2 yesterday, while Wing Tai Holdings closed four cents lower at $1.76.

Source : Straits Times - 06 February 2010

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Condos hit the sweet spot, even without a tennis court

Condos hit the sweet spot, even without a tennis court

By EMILYN YAP

PAYING big money does not necessarily get you everything these days, at least when it comes to buying a private apartment.

New homes going for as much as $2,600 per square foot can offer designer furnishings and place you in a coveted district, but they may no longer come with large common spaces or even tennis courts traditionally associated with a private address.

In the core central region (CCR), home seekers would not find tennis courts in projects such as Marina Bay Suites, Sophia Residence and Illuminaire on Devonshire.

Further from town, buyers have paid as much as $1,345 psf at Alexis or $1,514 psf at Suites@Guillemard, where there is just a margin of space around the buildings, and swimming pools and gyms congregate on the rooftop. Tennis courts are also missing from the picture.

Nowadays, ‘you don’t really get developments with sprawling grounds, where there’s openness’, observes DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah. ‘Those are actually more difficult to come by.’

Many projects cannot offer large landscaped grounds or a full range of facilities simply because their sites are not big enough. A tennis court alone measures 78 ft by 36 ft, taking up 2,808 sq ft. According to EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon, a developer could try to tuck a court just nicely into a smallish site, but it could become a ‘disamenity’ to residents living too close to the noise.

In fact, there are buyers who do not expect to see tennis courts for smaller projects within or near town, he adds. ‘Even if they really see, they’ll be asking if it will be too near their units.’

EL Development has three projects in CCR which do not have tennis courts - Illuminaire on Devonshire, Parc Centennial and Rhapsody on Mount Elizabeth - but they are sold out.

Many projects are still able to command high prices because of their location. This is especially so if owners intend to rent the apartments out.

The absence of a tennis court, for instance, may mean a longer search for a tenant but consultants say rents are unlikely to be dented much. ‘That’s about property investment. Location is everything,’ says Savills residential director Phylicia Ang.

GuocoLand is banking on Sophia Residence’s location near Dhoby Ghaut MRT station to attract buyers. The project does not have a tennis court, but home seekers’ ‘main buying criterion was to be in the city, to have easy MRT access to all parts of Singapore and also a property which offered attractive rental yield’, it told BT. The development will be where Sophia Court used to be and the latter also did not have a tennis court.

Beyond site constraints, high land prices may be prompting developers to cut back on common spaces and certain facilities.

‘With land costs so high, most developers want to maximise the saleable area,’ says ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim.

But that’s not to say that all developers have free rein on the site design. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has rules on site coverage, which indicate how much space buildings can occupy.

For developments classified as flats/apartments and condominiums, site coverage cannot exceed 40 per cent. Mixed-use developments are the ones which are not subject to this rule.

Still, developers are careful to keep features which most residents cannot seem to do without, namely swimming pools and gyms. Faced with a smaller site, ‘the priority is given to swimming pools’, says DP Architects director Tai Lee Siang. But ‘where possible, it is likely that developers will still want to incorporate tennis courts’.

As it becomes harder to find prime projects offering large ground spaces and complete facilities, existing developments with these features are likely to stand out. ‘One of the reasons why Ardmore Park is so popular is because it has a beautiful landscaped garden, and the grounds are sprawling. You don’t get many of these, these days,’ says DTZ’s Mrs Ong.

Source : Business Times - 06 February 2010

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com