Cash-Over-Valuation is here to stay, says Minister Khaw

Cash-Over-Valuation is here to stay, says Minister Khaw

04:46 AM Aug 11, 2011

SINGAPORE – National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has reiterated that Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) – the premium that HDB resale flat buyers pay to seller – is here to stay.

Responding to netizens on his Facebook page on National Day, Mr Khaw said abolishing COV and relying on a professional valuer to set the price of resale flats was tried “years ago”. “COV then went underground as ‘under counter cash payment’,” he wrote.

The debate over public housing policy began on Tuesday morning after Mr Khaw posted his National Day greetings. Soon, a netizen suggested Mr Khaw remove COV “for good” since it is “an inflationary” component.

But Mr Khaw pointed out that COV is the difference between price of flat as agreed between buyer and seller and the valuation of the flat given by a professional valuer. Abolishing COV means removing the difference between the price of flat between buyer and seller, he noted.

Last month, the HDB decided it will no longer disclose in its quarterly releases the overall median COV figure nationwide. It has also stopped providing overall median COV figures for different housing estates and flat types. Explaining the decision, Mr Khaw said the data could be misleading because there are many other variables involved.

Mr Khaw also said that while the Government is concerned about rising resale flat prices, the problem will be largely resolved in three to five years, when build-to-order (BTO) flats are ready.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Singles and seniors get more help for housing »« S’pore developers plan more suburban offices

S’pore developers plan more suburban offices

S’pore developers plan more suburban offices

04:45 AM Aug 06, 2011

SINGAPORE – Developers here are building more office space in the city’s suburbs as companies including Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank shift some operations away from downtown to cut costs, according to Cushman and Wakefield.

The city’s supply of suburban office space is expected to rise to 920,000 sq ft in 2014, five times the 190,000 sq ft that is expected to be completed this year, the world’s largest privately held property services company said.

About 44 per cent of office space will be in the suburbs by 2014, up from 6 per cent now, said Cushman and Wakefield’s Singapore-based vice-chairman Donald Han.

CapitaLand, Singapore’s largest listed property developer, said its largest investment commitment this year is a S$1.5 billion office and retail building in the western part of the country.

Rents in the central business district are 2.3 times those in the outskirts, according to Government data. Leasing costs are rising, making Singapore the third most expensive in the Asia-Pacific region in the second quarter, Colliers International said.

“There are a lot of these companies that are now bracing themselves for higher costs, pending a rise in rentals over the next few years,” said Mr Han. “They have to find cheaper options to average down their costs.” BLOOMBERG

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Cash-Over-Valuation is here to stay, says Minister Khaw »« SC Global Developments reports Q2 net profit of S$46.3m

SC Global Developments reports Q2 net profit of S$46.3m

SC Global Developments reports Q2 net profit of S$46.3m

By Arthur Sim | Posted: 12 August 2011 2235 hrs

SINGAPORE: SC Global Developments Ltd has reported a net profit of S$46.3 million for the quarter ended 30 June, an increase of 88 per cent year-on-year.

Revenue for the quarter was S$261.8 million, an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year.

This was attributed to contributions from progressive revenue recognition of the group’s development projects in Singapore, including Hilltops, Martin No. 38, and Seven Palms at Sentosa Cove.

SC Global said The Marq on Paterson Hill set a new record sale price for Singapore at S$5,842 psf. It added that Martin No. 38 achieved a new benchmark price of S$2,963 psf and Seven Palms, Sentosa Cove achieved a new benchmark price of S$3,606 psf.

While revenue from the group’s subsidiary in Australia, AVJennings Ltd, was lower than last year following the disposal of the Contract Building division in August 2010, SC Global said it increased the total number of lots under control or management by about 20 per cent to approximately 11,300 lots from some 9,500 lots since the beginning of the year.

Earnings per share of 11.19 cents for the quarter (fully diluted basis) was higher than 6.17 cents for the same period last year. No interim dividend was declared for the quarter.

-CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

S’pore developers plan more suburban offices »« CDL’s Q2 net profit up 17%

CDL’s Q2 net profit up 17%

CDL’s Q2 net profit up 17%

By Amanda Feng / Stella Lee | Posted: 12 August 2011 1720 hrs

SINGAPORE: City Developments (CDL) on Friday announced a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in its second quarter net profit to S$220.9 million.

The company also registered a 0.2 per cent drop in its revenue to S$979.4 million.

The group said that property development continues to be a major contributor to the group’s profits, which include hotel operations and rental properties.

Hotel operations benefited from the continued good trading performance from its main key gateways in London, Singapore and New York, while gains were recognised from the sale and leaseback of Studio M Hotel.

The company added that it currently has several projects in the pipeline, including four property launches.

CDL’s executive chairman, Kwek Leng Beng, commented that the group is watchful of the global economic situation, but estimates that the growth in the region will remain “fairly steady”.

“With a low interest rate environment, developers here will be mindful of market appetite, which will be a major factor in deciding the timing of the launches and purchase or tender for development sites,” he said.

For now Mr Kwek believes the low interest rate environment is still a blessing for the property sector.

He said: “It cannot continue to be low all the time…if the inflation comes about severely or fiercely, we got to do something about interest rates.”

Still, he added that there was presently no reason to increase interest rates.

Mr Kwek also said that the private sector needs to work closely with the Singapore government to brave economic challenges.

He said: “We have to work hand and glove with the government to come up with a viable solution. I believe that with the government’s cooperation, as they have done so during the Lehman brothers’ era not so long ago, the world will recover faster.”

Basic earnings per share increased for the second quarter by 17.4 per cent to 23.6 cents.

A special interim ordinary dividend of 5 cents per ordinary share has been declared.

- CNA/al/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

SC Global Developments reports Q2 net profit of S$46.3m »« Grand Tower sold for S$88.5m