Nov 15, 2009
Impact of new sites won't be felt yet
Sites for tender will yield 2,925 units but they won't be ready for at least 11/2 years
By Joyce Teo
The Government came out about a week ago to say that there is no shortage of residential supply and thus no need for buyers to rush. That was when it announced its decision to tender out eight residential sites for sale in the first half of next year.
The eight sites are in non-city areas such as Choa Chu Kang, Simei and Tampines.
It also has a long reserve list of residential sites that are available for sale, if developers are to show interest by committing to a minimum bid the Government finds acceptable.
This potential supply comes from the twice-yearly government land sales programme and means buyers will have more choices while property owners may benefit.
HDB upgraders in particular will be glad to know that the latest sales programme - for the first half of next year - will see a slew of suburban residential sites.
Property owners who live near the eight sites can expect to see a new project in their neighbourhood in the next few years.
If the economy improves steadily, they can even look forward to a rise in their home values when the new project is released for sale.
'Generally, when a new project is launched, it will have a bearing on the developments in the vicinity,' said Colliers International's research and advisory director, Ms Tay Huey Ying.
'If a project is launched at bullish price levels, it could push up the prices of surrounding developments, though a lot can depend on project attributes.'
Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Nicholas Mak said: 'In a buoyant market, developers would launch at a higher price on a per sq ft basis than surrounding projects. In a less buoyant market, the premium would be smaller.
'The launch price does give some support to the asking prices of individual sellers in the area.'
In January, three sites will be put up for sale, including two executive condominium (EC) sites.
The first EC site in Buangkok Drive, near The Quartz condo and Buangkok MRT station, can accommodate an estimated 520 units while the second in Yishun Avenue 11, next to the Lilydale EC, can take 385 units.
The EC scheme was launched in 1996 to help Singaporeans who could afford more than new HDB flats yet found the prices of private housing too high.
The biggest of the eight sites is at the junction of Tampines Avenue 1 and Avenue 10, next to The Tropica condo and Bedok Reservoir. It can take 605 units.
The site in Choa Chu Kang Road, suitable for 200 units, sits above the Bukit Panjang LRT Depot and Ten Mile Junction, and is near the future Bukit Panjang MRT station.
The Sembawang Road site is near Sembawang Shopping Centre and can take about 290 units.
In the west, the Boon Lay Way site for 525 units is next to the sold-out The Caspian and near Lakeside MRT station.
Property consultants also singled out the site at Simei Street 3 and the one at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Pheng Geck Avenue as choice ones because of their proximity to the Simei and Potong Pasir MRT stations respectively.
'As Singapore becomes more populated, characterised by a relatively fast-paced lifestyle, accessibility and proximity to mass transit stations will be a key consideration for future home buyers,' said CBRE Research director Leonard Tay.
On the reserve list, there are also sites near MRT stations: The Bartley Road site, which can take about 500 units, faces Bartley MRT station and the Stirling Road site, which can have 405 units, is near Queenstown MRT station.
Both sites are seen as highly attractive and thus likely to be triggered for sale next year. Even if they are not, the eight sites to be tendered out next year will yield 2,925 units, which is nearly as high as the 3,000 units put out in the se-cond half of 2007.
In addition to the reserve list sites, the Government is making available 10,550 private residential units - the largest supply since the second half of 2001.
Still, the impact of this will not be felt immediately.
It will take at least 11/2 years before a project on the eight sites can be launched, said Mr Mak.
And depending on how the market pans out, developers may choose to launch their projects later, he said.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
ST : Why singles opt for shoebox apartments
Nov 15, 2009
YOUR LETTERS
Why singles opt for shoebox apartments
I refer to last Sunday's editorial, 'Tiny flats a good buy?'
The main reason such private shoebox units have taken off is that many singles who want to live on their own are unable to afford resale HDB flats because of the high cash over valuation (COV) amounts which sellers demand.
Singles who generally have savings of between $20,000 and $30,000 will thus opt for a private shoebox apartment because that sum can cover around 5per cent of the purchase price.
Going for a resale three-room HDB flat, for instance, would require one to set aside some $30,000 to $50,000 for renovations.
Buying a new private unit would mean less hassle with, and expense on, renovations as almost all fixtures are provided.
One may just need to spend on some simple electrical works or decor for a new 'mickey mouse' studio.
Single Singaporeans also compete with permanent residents for resale HDB flats. The demand for such flats outstrips their supply, thus pushing up their prices even more.
I live with my parents in the Bedok Reservoir area. Finding a resale HDB flat that is within my means is not a problem, but those available would likely be located much farther away - such as in Jurong West or Woodlands.
Considering the heavy first-time cash outlay for a resale HDB flat and an undesirable location, I would rather get a private shoebox apartment, where I would be at least near my parents and have my own space as well.
YOUR LETTERS
Why singles opt for shoebox apartments
I refer to last Sunday's editorial, 'Tiny flats a good buy?'
The main reason such private shoebox units have taken off is that many singles who want to live on their own are unable to afford resale HDB flats because of the high cash over valuation (COV) amounts which sellers demand.
Singles who generally have savings of between $20,000 and $30,000 will thus opt for a private shoebox apartment because that sum can cover around 5per cent of the purchase price.
Going for a resale three-room HDB flat, for instance, would require one to set aside some $30,000 to $50,000 for renovations.
Buying a new private unit would mean less hassle with, and expense on, renovations as almost all fixtures are provided.
One may just need to spend on some simple electrical works or decor for a new 'mickey mouse' studio.
Single Singaporeans also compete with permanent residents for resale HDB flats. The demand for such flats outstrips their supply, thus pushing up their prices even more.
I live with my parents in the Bedok Reservoir area. Finding a resale HDB flat that is within my means is not a problem, but those available would likely be located much farther away - such as in Jurong West or Woodlands.
Considering the heavy first-time cash outlay for a resale HDB flat and an undesirable location, I would rather get a private shoebox apartment, where I would be at least near my parents and have my own space as well.
ST : What's up at the bay
Nov 15, 2009
What's up at the bay
Marina Bay, Singapore's crown jewel, is slowly but surely taking shape
By Tan Dawn Wei
In 1992, there were plans for a landmark twin tower - Singapore's tallest office buildings - just at the water's edge in Marina Bay, soaring to as high as 80 storeys.
A model of the towers was even on exhibition in 1996 when plans were unveiled for the area.
Those monumental structures never quite materialised on the fringe of the waterfront. And it was probably a good thing: Imagine how people in the other buildings behind the two mammoth structures would have felt.
The new plan by Singapore's urban planners was much more equitable: Let everyone have a piece of the bay views.
It was a rethinking that meant throwing out the original blueprint of densely developed buildings along the waterfront, and creating districts rather than block after block of commercial buildings.
And so it was mandated that waterfront developments should not rise above 50m in height, while buildings will step up gradually, much like how seats are arranged in a theatre.
When the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) was tasked with the job of planning for Singapore's future land needs, it was not just about dumping soil into the sea to create more land.
The bigger challenge was sculpting the skyline, making sure it looks picture perfect on every postcard and tourist snapshot.
Meticulous planning
Marina Bay is, undoubtedly, Singapore's crown jewel - arguably the most ambitious and longest-in- planning development the Government has ever undertaken.
An enormous amount of contemplation, engineering and investments has been poured into this prime plot, which the public had a glimpse of when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared a fly-by video of it at his National Day Rally speech this year. In his rally speech in 2005, he gave a preview of the new Marina Bay, which was still at the drawing stage.
The Government has already pumped in $7.5 billion in infrastructure cost to make the land ready for investors, while total private investments tally up to $20.2 billion to date.
Around 24ha of land within Marina Bay has already been sold for development, including sites for One Raffles Quay, the Marina Bay Financial Centre and Marina Bay Sands.
It is where everyone will congregate and where everything will happen: the annual night-time Formula One race, New Year's Eve countdown, National Day Parade, big-scale conventions, an upcoming casino, the new financial centre and the city's highest luxury residential blocks.
With the bay's most iconic development - integrated resort Marina Bay Sands - about to open for business in the first quarter of next year, anticipation and excitement are at an all-time high.
But it has taken more than 30 years to get to this point. At the beginning, there was nothing - not even land.
Land reclamation exercises from 1969 to 1992 produced about 370ha in the bay area and 80ha in Marina Centre, in anticipation of the nation's economic growth and, with it, the extension of the Central Business District (CBD).
Unlike, say, Canary Wharf in East London, which was developed as a huge office and shopping precinct that is separate from the city's traditional financial centre in The Square Mile, Marina Bay's advantage is in its integration with the current financial district.
'It is not the old downtown and the new downtown. Marina Bay is planned as a seamless extension of the existing CBD,' said Mr Andrew Fassam, deputy director of URA's urban planning department.
All new roads branch off from existing road networks at Raffles Place and Shenton Way.
Singapore's urban planners also made a conscious decision to frame the bay, and ensure that the area would have a mix of uses where there would be life after dark - 24/7, in fact.
Another design principle was that it had to be a place for everyone and 'not just the affluent', said Mr Fassam.
So the Government decided to put in public-pleasing facilities: A 3.4km promenade linking the major public attractions like the Merlion, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay and the upcoming ArtScience Museum; underground links lined with shops; and 100ha of land set aside for three waterfront gardens.
But it also decided to zone the area as a 'white site', which means that developers have the flexibility to build according to their vision.
When property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng bid for a plum piece of land fronting the bay, he had initially wanted the project to be half-commercial.
He later changed his mind and developed The Sail instead, two residential blocks towering at 63 and 70 storeys which saw no lack of takers, even though property analysts were initially sceptical and felt only that an office building would work on that site.
The URA also allotted larger parcels in the area so developers could build bigger buildings based on the needs of financial institutions, such as trading floors.
An upcoming development, Asia Square, is hoping to plug the gap for Grade A office space in town, especially those that have column-free floor plates.
When completed, the two towers will add 2 million sq ft of office space to the mix.
'What clinched the deal for us was the availability of a huge parcel of land that could be developed into premium grade A+ office space, sitting in a prime location that is well-connected to the business hub,' said project director Jeremy Choy.
The development's parent company, Macquarie Global Property Advisors, bid more than $2 billion for the land.
The integrated development also houses a 280-room five-star hotel, and has space for retail and food and beverage, in addition to office space.
Mr Choy added that one of the critical deciding factors was the long-term plan for the area.
That the area was supported by the latest advances in infrastructure, like access to a district cooling system, also helped seal the deal.
Buildings in the area are served by common services tunnels which carry sewerage, water and telecommunication pipes typically buried under the road. These tunnels can be accessed without digging up the roads.
This is the first such network in South-east Asia.
The district also has its own cooling system, which makes for better economies of scale. In the pipeline is a centralised pneumatic refuse collection system that sucks all rubbish to one central location and saves the garbage truck from having to go door to door.
Even the greening of the area has been planned to a T. Planting plans include green, pink and yellow themes for different districts within the area. Coupled with this is a night lighting plan, which was originally designed for the Civic District but has since been extended to the CBD and Marina Bay.
Under the plan, buildings are required to be lit as part of the sale conditions, while the Government gives a cash grant to existing buildings around the bay to light up.
'We can put good hardware in place, but that doesn't mean that the place will be successful. The right software is important to make it come alive,' acknowledged Mr Fassam.
So it went and wooed private investors by going to overseas fairs, some of which have translated into successful land sales.
Good long-term prospects
Likewise, the clincher for Marina Bay Sands has been the long-term prospects of the area and the growing exhibition and convention business, said its chief executive officer and president Thomas Arasi.
'The company's investment and commitment were based on the fact that Singapore has breadth and depth across all the major travel segments to make the integrated resort thrive. Few global gateways offer everything that Singapore can offer tourists from around the region and around the world,' he said.
Over the years, the plan has been constantly refined - from when it first appeared as a concept plan in the 1970s, to 2000, when the first site was launched - which has since been developed into what is now One Raffles Quay.
At one point, Marina South was thrown up as a possible site for the Singapore Management University campus, but it was decided that the university should go back to where the schools traditionally were, in the Bras Basah area.
Marina South's interim tenants have since all gone, and infrastructure works are taking place there now. That land had been sold on short-term leases of between 21 and 24 years after it was reclaimed. Those leases expired last year.
But the fervent development of Marina Bay as the new financial hub has also thrown up some concerns, among which is whether there will be an oversupply of office space, especially since the economy has been hit so badly.
The authorities do not seem worried.
Some office leasing agents have reportedly seen an increased number of leasing enquiries over the last quarter as rental rates became more competitive, and lease packages offered by landlords became more attractive, said URA.
And this could spur demand and help absorb some of the office space that is coming on stream.
Some developers have also continued to delay the completion of their projects, while a few others are considering converting existing office buildings in the CBD to residential use.
This would help regulate the supply of office space, they reason.
There has been quite a bit of international interest, said Mr Fassam, with investors asking when the next parcel will be released for sale.
But the authorities are in no hurry to open the floodgates and let buildings sprout.
After all, it has taken three decades for Marina Bay's transformation, and it could well take another three decades to fill up the rest of the land.
dawntan@sph.com.sg
1977: An expanse of white sand marks the Marina Bay site (in the background) after a land reclamation exercise. -- PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
What's up at the bay
Marina Bay, Singapore's crown jewel, is slowly but surely taking shape
By Tan Dawn Wei
In 1992, there were plans for a landmark twin tower - Singapore's tallest office buildings - just at the water's edge in Marina Bay, soaring to as high as 80 storeys.
A model of the towers was even on exhibition in 1996 when plans were unveiled for the area.
Those monumental structures never quite materialised on the fringe of the waterfront. And it was probably a good thing: Imagine how people in the other buildings behind the two mammoth structures would have felt.
The new plan by Singapore's urban planners was much more equitable: Let everyone have a piece of the bay views.
It was a rethinking that meant throwing out the original blueprint of densely developed buildings along the waterfront, and creating districts rather than block after block of commercial buildings.
And so it was mandated that waterfront developments should not rise above 50m in height, while buildings will step up gradually, much like how seats are arranged in a theatre.
When the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) was tasked with the job of planning for Singapore's future land needs, it was not just about dumping soil into the sea to create more land.
The bigger challenge was sculpting the skyline, making sure it looks picture perfect on every postcard and tourist snapshot.
Meticulous planning
Marina Bay is, undoubtedly, Singapore's crown jewel - arguably the most ambitious and longest-in- planning development the Government has ever undertaken.
An enormous amount of contemplation, engineering and investments has been poured into this prime plot, which the public had a glimpse of when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared a fly-by video of it at his National Day Rally speech this year. In his rally speech in 2005, he gave a preview of the new Marina Bay, which was still at the drawing stage.
The Government has already pumped in $7.5 billion in infrastructure cost to make the land ready for investors, while total private investments tally up to $20.2 billion to date.
Around 24ha of land within Marina Bay has already been sold for development, including sites for One Raffles Quay, the Marina Bay Financial Centre and Marina Bay Sands.
It is where everyone will congregate and where everything will happen: the annual night-time Formula One race, New Year's Eve countdown, National Day Parade, big-scale conventions, an upcoming casino, the new financial centre and the city's highest luxury residential blocks.
With the bay's most iconic development - integrated resort Marina Bay Sands - about to open for business in the first quarter of next year, anticipation and excitement are at an all-time high.
But it has taken more than 30 years to get to this point. At the beginning, there was nothing - not even land.
Land reclamation exercises from 1969 to 1992 produced about 370ha in the bay area and 80ha in Marina Centre, in anticipation of the nation's economic growth and, with it, the extension of the Central Business District (CBD).
Unlike, say, Canary Wharf in East London, which was developed as a huge office and shopping precinct that is separate from the city's traditional financial centre in The Square Mile, Marina Bay's advantage is in its integration with the current financial district.
'It is not the old downtown and the new downtown. Marina Bay is planned as a seamless extension of the existing CBD,' said Mr Andrew Fassam, deputy director of URA's urban planning department.
All new roads branch off from existing road networks at Raffles Place and Shenton Way.
Singapore's urban planners also made a conscious decision to frame the bay, and ensure that the area would have a mix of uses where there would be life after dark - 24/7, in fact.
Another design principle was that it had to be a place for everyone and 'not just the affluent', said Mr Fassam.
So the Government decided to put in public-pleasing facilities: A 3.4km promenade linking the major public attractions like the Merlion, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay and the upcoming ArtScience Museum; underground links lined with shops; and 100ha of land set aside for three waterfront gardens.
But it also decided to zone the area as a 'white site', which means that developers have the flexibility to build according to their vision.
When property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng bid for a plum piece of land fronting the bay, he had initially wanted the project to be half-commercial.
He later changed his mind and developed The Sail instead, two residential blocks towering at 63 and 70 storeys which saw no lack of takers, even though property analysts were initially sceptical and felt only that an office building would work on that site.
The URA also allotted larger parcels in the area so developers could build bigger buildings based on the needs of financial institutions, such as trading floors.
An upcoming development, Asia Square, is hoping to plug the gap for Grade A office space in town, especially those that have column-free floor plates.
When completed, the two towers will add 2 million sq ft of office space to the mix.
'What clinched the deal for us was the availability of a huge parcel of land that could be developed into premium grade A+ office space, sitting in a prime location that is well-connected to the business hub,' said project director Jeremy Choy.
The development's parent company, Macquarie Global Property Advisors, bid more than $2 billion for the land.
The integrated development also houses a 280-room five-star hotel, and has space for retail and food and beverage, in addition to office space.
Mr Choy added that one of the critical deciding factors was the long-term plan for the area.
That the area was supported by the latest advances in infrastructure, like access to a district cooling system, also helped seal the deal.
Buildings in the area are served by common services tunnels which carry sewerage, water and telecommunication pipes typically buried under the road. These tunnels can be accessed without digging up the roads.
This is the first such network in South-east Asia.
The district also has its own cooling system, which makes for better economies of scale. In the pipeline is a centralised pneumatic refuse collection system that sucks all rubbish to one central location and saves the garbage truck from having to go door to door.
Even the greening of the area has been planned to a T. Planting plans include green, pink and yellow themes for different districts within the area. Coupled with this is a night lighting plan, which was originally designed for the Civic District but has since been extended to the CBD and Marina Bay.
Under the plan, buildings are required to be lit as part of the sale conditions, while the Government gives a cash grant to existing buildings around the bay to light up.
'We can put good hardware in place, but that doesn't mean that the place will be successful. The right software is important to make it come alive,' acknowledged Mr Fassam.
So it went and wooed private investors by going to overseas fairs, some of which have translated into successful land sales.
Good long-term prospects
Likewise, the clincher for Marina Bay Sands has been the long-term prospects of the area and the growing exhibition and convention business, said its chief executive officer and president Thomas Arasi.
'The company's investment and commitment were based on the fact that Singapore has breadth and depth across all the major travel segments to make the integrated resort thrive. Few global gateways offer everything that Singapore can offer tourists from around the region and around the world,' he said.
Over the years, the plan has been constantly refined - from when it first appeared as a concept plan in the 1970s, to 2000, when the first site was launched - which has since been developed into what is now One Raffles Quay.
At one point, Marina South was thrown up as a possible site for the Singapore Management University campus, but it was decided that the university should go back to where the schools traditionally were, in the Bras Basah area.
Marina South's interim tenants have since all gone, and infrastructure works are taking place there now. That land had been sold on short-term leases of between 21 and 24 years after it was reclaimed. Those leases expired last year.
But the fervent development of Marina Bay as the new financial hub has also thrown up some concerns, among which is whether there will be an oversupply of office space, especially since the economy has been hit so badly.
The authorities do not seem worried.
Some office leasing agents have reportedly seen an increased number of leasing enquiries over the last quarter as rental rates became more competitive, and lease packages offered by landlords became more attractive, said URA.
And this could spur demand and help absorb some of the office space that is coming on stream.
Some developers have also continued to delay the completion of their projects, while a few others are considering converting existing office buildings in the CBD to residential use.
This would help regulate the supply of office space, they reason.
There has been quite a bit of international interest, said Mr Fassam, with investors asking when the next parcel will be released for sale.
But the authorities are in no hurry to open the floodgates and let buildings sprout.
After all, it has taken three decades for Marina Bay's transformation, and it could well take another three decades to fill up the rest of the land.
dawntan@sph.com.sg
1977: An expanse of white sand marks the Marina Bay site (in the background) after a land reclamation exercise. -- PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
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