ST : New project selling well; 3rd en bloc site sold

Apr 10, 2010

New project selling well; 3rd en bloc site sold

By Joyce Teo

THE private homes market remains buoyant, with more than 200 units sold at a new launch and the year's third collective sale site sealed.

UOL Group said it has sold more than 200 units of Waterbank at Dakota in Dakota Crescent at a preview that started on Wednesday. Prices ranged from $1,000 per sq ft (psf) to $1,300 psf.

With 616 units, it is the first project here without bay windows and planter boxes. Industry sources said there was stronger take-up for the smaller, more affordable units. Units range from a 484 sq ft one-bedder to a 2,820 sq ft penthouse.

Meanwhile, Culford Garden in Siglap has been sold en bloc to Fragrance Properties for $39 million, making it the third collective sale to be sealed this year.

Marketer Credo Real Estate said the land rate is about $632 psf per plot ratio, or $574 psf ppr, based on a gross plot ratio of 1.54, which includes balcony space. The tender, which closed on Thursday, attracted four offers, all of which were within the asking range of $37 million to $40 million.

The owners of the 24 units stand to reap an average of $1.625 million each.

The year's first collective sale was a Balestier industrial site that can be converted to residential use. The second was a cluster of 16 terraces in Fort Road.



An artist's impression of Waterbank at Dakota, a 99-year leasehold condominium which has sold more than 200 units since its preview started on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: UOL GROUP

ST : Give up the sky for $1m?

Apr 10, 2010

Give up the sky for $1m?

No way, say Mr and Mrs Ng Cheow Kheng and others like them who own HDB penthouses which come with a roof terrace

By tay suan chiang

If you think $1 million for a resale HDB flat is a pipe dream, it is not one that home owners Ng Cheow Kheng and Lee Swee Imm harbour.

They will not sell theirs even at that price. And the day is not far when they might be made that offer, since theirs is no ordinary HDB flat but a 1,776 sq ft maisonette at the top of the building and which comes with a sky terrace.

Home for Mr Ng, 56, a civil servant, and Madam Lee, 53, a housewife, for the last 15 years is this 23rd-storey maisonette in Bishan Street 11.

They bought it for $670,000 in 1995 and are the second owners of the flat. Their three children, aged 16 to 23, live with them.

On Monday, a penthouse maisonette with a roof terrace in Bishan Street 24 was sold for $900,000, becoming the most expensive HDB flat.

When contacted, the Housing Board said it does not build penthouses, but rather, these flats are executive maisonettes with added features, such as open terraces. They can be found in Bishan, Strathmore Avenue, Pasir Ris, Hougang and Choa Chu Kang.

Mr Lim Yong Hock, senior vice-president at property agency PropNex, says HDB penthouses are 'units that are on the highest floor that come with an exposed sky terrace'.

Mr Eric Cheng, chief executive of real estate agency ECG Property, says such units tend to be attractive as 'they are rare and, because of their height, owners are sure of great views of the surroundings'.

For housewife Susan Tan, 57, who lives in a Strathmore Avenue penthouse, it was the size of the flat that attracted her. She lives with her daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren. They bought the flat for $300,000 in 1993.

'I like my 6m-wide balcony as it is much wider than that of a regular maisonette,' she says.

Property experts say the flat's current value is at least $700,000.

In Choa Chu Kang Street 64, there are six blocks that have HDB executive maisonettes with sky terraces.

The owner of one such penthouse is 40-year-old housewife Mrs A. Tan, who has been living there since 1996. She bought it for about $480,000. The flat is opposite Yew Tee MRT station.

'I can see Bukit Timah Nature Reserve from my sky terrace,' she says, adding that she has no plans to move.

Fellow Choa Chu Kang resident, housewife Loo Meng Miang, 48, has been living in her penthouse with her husband and three sons for the last eight years.

She bought it for about $650,000. She has no plans to sell the property as she likes the spaciousness of the flat.

'Also, I don't want to take up another housing loan again,' she says.

Experts say such flats can go for about $675,000 now.

Mr Lim of PropNex says a sky terrace, while obviously attractive to homebuyers, has its disadvantages: 'As it is exposed, there can be periods of direct sun and it gets wet when it rains. You definitely need to maintain it.'

Bad weather no deterrent

Another Bishan penthouse owner, Mr Benny Lee, 39, considers that a small price to pay. 'The furniture gets weathered very quickly but it doesn't bother me,' says the financial consultant, who enjoys hanging out on his terrace on deck chairs.

It was the thought of having a sky terrace in her home that attracted housewife Evelyn Ang, 57, to her Bishan flat.

When she and her retiree husband, Mr Ang Seng Long, 63, were looking to buy a flat to upgrade to, she saw the Bishan penthouses from afar. 'I thought it would be wonderful if I could buy one,' she says.

Her agent found her one in Bishan Street 12 and the couple paid $728,000 for it and moved in 1 1/2 years ago.

'The terrace is very convenient for when we have barbecue parties or gatherings,' she says. The couple have three children who are living overseas.

As they plan to live there for a long time, they forked out $100,000 to overhaul the flat. One bedroom wall was knocked down to create a bigger kitchen, while another wall was built to create a study that looks out to the terrace.

The terrace was retiled and in a corner sits a water feature and a few pots of bougainvillea.

'Not too much green here because there is no one to look after them when we travel,' says Mr Ang of the sky terrace.

From their bedroom, they can see the Marina Bay area and catch fireworks displays, says Mr Ang.

Their terrace has also become a hot spot for friends who come by to take pictures of the sunset.

Property agents leave inquiries about the sale of their flat daily and some even come knocking on the door.

Mr and Mrs Ang do not know the value of their flat now as they have 'no intention to sell'.

What if they are offered $1 million? 'I may think about it,' Mrs Ang says with a laugh.

taysc@sph.com.sg

With additional reporting by Kezia Toh

BT : How much is property worth in gold?

Business Times - 10 Apr 2010

SHOW ME THE MONEY

How much is property worth in gold?

In the long term, both gold and real estate are without doubt a better store of value than fiat money

By TEH HOOI LING
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

I MET a friend for lunch this week. I'd won a treat from him. Back in September 2009, we each put down the level at which we thought the Dow Jones Industrial Index, the Straits Times Index and gold prices would close the year.

We weren't that far off with our estimates, given that there weren't any surprises in the final three months of the year. I was just slightly luckier.

Over lunch, my friend reviewed the market predictions he made in early 2008. Back then, he said that he had short positions in the UK housing market and sterling.

Sterling has depreciated significantly vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar in the two years since. But my friend said that he is surprised that the UK property market has not fallen as much as he expected.

I suggested that perhaps because of cheaper sterling, a lot more foreigners are finding London properties "cheap" and see them as a good place to park spare cash. Indeed, within my circle of friends - we who are not especially rich - one has bought a London apartment and another is considering doing so.

Our lunch conversation then turned to gold. My friend's theory is that there is almost a fixed gold supply. "Annual gold production increases are very small - and sometimes they fall. And this is what makes gold such a perfect yardstick to measure the value of another asset against."

After lunch, my friend did some calculations and came back with this: It takes 245 ounces of gold to buy the average London house today. Back at gold's last peak in 1980, it took just 50 ounces of gold to buy the average London house. Gold was expensive or houses were cheap then.

"This suggests that gold will be a better investment over the next five years than London property," my friend said.

Well, the conversation set me thinking about the relative value of UK and London properties vis-a-vis Singapore properties, and their prices in terms of gold ounces.

So I downloaded some numbers and did some crunching. And here's what I found. UK's Nationwide Building Society has a database of representative UK house prices from the last quarter of 1952 to the first quarter of this year. During that period, a typical house in the UK went from £1,891 (S$4,016) to £162,887. That's compounded annual growth of 8 per cent a year in sterling terms. But the price appreciation came in spurts. One of the steepest climbs was the 12 years between 1995 and end-2007. During that period, price appreciation was 11.3 per cent a year.

So how does the price trajectory of a UK house compare with a private residential property in Singapore? In Chart 1, I set the prices of UK properties and Singapore properties to a common base in Q1 1975. Here, you can see that in local currency terms, a typical UK house has appreciated at a faster rate than Singapore private residential properties. The annual compounded rate is 8.2 per cent for UK and 7.8 per cent for Singapore.

However, as mentioned, sterling has weakened against the Singapore dollar. Hence, in Sing-dollar terms, Singapore properties have been a better investment in the past 30 years. Between Q4 1980 until Q1 2010, Singapore properties appreciated 5.8 per cent a year, while in Sing-dollar terms, a typical UK house managed only 3.8 per cent a year. (Bloomberg's exchange rate data between Singapore and sterling pound only goes as far back as 1980.)

Chart 3 shows the absolute price of a typical house in the UK and the median price of a 100 sq m condominium in Singapore in US dollars. Here, you can see that private housing prices in Singapore are significantly higher than in the UK, although I don't know how big a typical house in UK is.

How about a London flat? How do Singapore condo prices compare with those of London flats? From Chart 4, you see that a 100 sq m condo in Singapore is still more expensive than a representative London flat. A typical London flat, according to Nationwide, was valued at US$321,000 at end-March this year. In Singapore, the median price of a 100 sq m condo is US$754,000. Again, the question is how big is a typical London flat.

And finally, the interesting bit. How many ounces of gold does it take to buy a condo in Singapore, a flat in London and a house in UK?

At current prices, it will cost 222 ounces to buy a typical UK house, 289 ounces to buy a representative London flat and 680 ounces to buy a 100 sq m Singapore condo.

Of course, these numbers have to be viewed in relation to their respective historical range.

From Chart 5, you can see that at its peak, between Q2 1996 and Q2 1997, Singapore condos cost more than 2,000 ounces of gold. The cheapest a Singapore condo has been, in gold terms, was in Q4 1980 at 166 ounces - the earliest available data point for this series.

From that perspective, the 680 ounces of gold required to buy a condo now may not be too excessive.

As for a UK house, the range - going as far back as 1970 - is between 84 ounces of gold in 1980 and 682 ounces in Q2 2004. For a London flat, from 1990 until now, the range is between 184 ounces in Q1 1996 and 919 ounces in Q4 2001.

So the 222 ounces required to buy a typical UK house, and the 289 ounces required to buy a London flat now - can, from this point of view, be considered cheap now, and arguably offering more value than Singapore properties.

But of course, the gold price is subject to investor sentiment and increasingly to the buying and selling of hedge funds, exchange-traded funds, central banks and so on. The gold price also fluctuates in response to the overall level of confidence in the monetary system and the economy. For example, the equity bear market of 1966 to 1982 coincided with a bull market in gold and gold-related investments. Meanwhile, the equity bull market of 1982 to 2000 coincided with a bear market in gold and gold-related investments. And the equity bear market that began in 2000 has, to date, coincided with a bull market in gold and gold-related investments.

But between 2003 and 2007 and for the whole of last year, both gold and equity prices rose sharply. Between 1970 and now, the gold price has risen by 8.9 per cent a year, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.5 per cent a year.

Gold today, of course, is at its all-time high levels. The expectation is that it will continue to go further. The continued rise in the gold price will make real estate look even cheaper in relative terms. Conversely, a decline in gold will make property prices look expensive in gold terms.

Whatever happens, we can be certain of one thing. In the long term, both gold and real estate are without doubt a better store of value than fiat money.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

BT : Fragrance Props pays $39m for Siglap property

Business Times - 10 Apr 2010

Fragrance Props pays $39m for Siglap property

Culford Gardens' en-bloc selling price at $632 psf per plot ratio

By FELDA CHAY

CULFORD Gardens in Siglap, which was put up for sale last month, has been sold to Fragrance Properties for $39 million, said Credo Real Estate, which handled the sale.

The amount falls along the higher end of the freehold property's asking price, which was between $37 million and $40 million, allowing the developer to break even at about $950-$1,000 psf. Credo said that the site received four offers, all of which fell within this price range.

The selling price translates to a land rate of about $632 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), based on a 1.4 plot ratio - ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area. This excludes the 10 per cent balcony allowance.

Including the balcony allowance, the sale price becomes $574 psf ppr at a gross plot ratio of 1.54. With the sale, the owners of the en-bloc site stand to receive an average price of $1.63 million for their property.

Culford Gardens, which sits on a 44,093 sq ft site in the Siglap/Upper East Coast vicinity, is zoned under Master Plan 2008 for residential development with a maximum height of five storeys and a 1.4 plot ratio. The District 15 site is close to amenities and food & beverage outlets in Siglap and East Coast Park.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.



FOUR OFFERS
The bids for Culford Gardens were in the $37 million to $40 million price range

BT : Homes on high

Business Times - 10 Apr 2010

Homes on high

The shimmering skyline of Singapore's residential skyscrapers will be seeing some notable additions

By FELDA CHAY

THERE is only one way to go for residential properties in Singapore: up, up and up.

When it comes to building height, the five tallest private residential buildings - perhaps a better description would be 'residential skyscrapers' - are all taller than 100 metres. All were also completed within the last four years - a clear sign that property developers here are on a high. And while residential buildings are a common sight in land-scarce Singapore, this wave is interesting because it takes residential building heights in Singapore to a whole new level, placing them alongside commercial skyscrapers.

The mood appears to be an infectious one, with public housing developer HDB following suit with The Pinnacle@Duxton on Cantonment Road. With seven 50-storey blocks that include facilities like skybridges, the development offers a higher standard of living than previously seen in public housing.

At a grand height of 168m, The Pinnacle@Duxton (completed last December) holds the record for being the tallest public housing building in Singapore. It also comes in third place when the comparison takes into account private residential buildings.

Currently, the tallest of all residential skyscrapers in Singapore is one of the towers at The Sail @ Marina Bay, namely the Marina Bay Tower. At 245m, the 70-storey tower is just 35m shy of the three tallest commercial skyscrapers in Singapore: Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One, and OUB Centre.

The second apartment building of The Sail, Central Park Tower, comes in at No 2 among local residential buildings with a height of 215m and 63 floors. Both buildings were completed in 2008.

The towering heights of The Sail's two apartment blocks also put them on global building data provider Emporis.com's list of the 100 tallest residential buildings in the world. The Singapore landmarks rub shoulders with the likes of the Q1 Tower in the Australian city of Gold Coast, the Millennium Tower in Dubai, and The Harbourside in Hong Kong.

The Q1 Tower is the tallest residential building in the world at 323m, while the Millennium Tower, ranked sixth, is 285m. The Harbourside stands at 251m, and is ranked 17th.

The Sail's two towers are ranked 22nd and 47th, respectively.

Coming in under the two towers of The Sail and The Pinnacle@Duxton is Icon's Tower 2. The tower on Gopeng Street in Tanjong Pagar is 163m and 46 storeys high. Completed in 2007, it stood as Singapore's tallest residential building until The Sail came along in 2008.

Rounding up the list of the five tallest residential buildings in Singapore is Newton Suites. Sitting along Newton Road, the 120m tall project has 36 floors, and was completed in 2007.

But this list will soon see changes, with as many as three developments likely to be displaced - another indication that the trend is to go high. The upcoming Altez is set to be 250m tall - just five metres ahead of The Sail's Marina Bay Tower - and 62 storeys high. To be located on Enggor Street near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, the development will be completed in 2015.

Marina Bay Suites, too, is set to unseat developments that are currently on the list. Once completed in 2012, the development on Central Boulevard will be 240m tall and 55 storeys high. Over at Shenton Way, 76 Shenton will be 160m tall and 39 storeys high when completed in 2014.

Then there is Sky@Eleven on Thomson Lane, which when completed by this quarter will boast four towers, each 153m tall and 43 storeys high.

The height of these properties has contributed to high home prices at these developments, say property watchers here. Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research for South-east Asia and Singapore, Chua Yang Liang, said that while height alone will not guarantee a premium in prices, 'it is common understanding that the higher the units, the better the view and hence higher the price.'

According to data provided by Jones Lang LaSalle Research and URA retrieved on Wednesday, the median unit price for Marina Bay Tower at The Sail in the first quarter of this year was $2,301 per square foot. The highest unit price was $3,204 psf, while the lowest $1,800 psf. At Icon Tower 2, the median unit price was $1,600 psf, with the highest price at $1,925 psf and the lowest at $1,404 psf.

For the yet-to-be completed Altez, which saw its first launch in February, the median unit price was $1,832 psf, with the highest at $2,345 psf and the lowest at $1,675 psf. Over at Central Boulevard, the Marina Bay Suites fetched a median unit price of $2,500. The highest price it saw was $2,980 psf, while the lowest was $2,088 psf.

Dr Chua said that buyers are generally willing to pay more for a higher unit primarily for the view. Also, some are willing to pay a premium if a development is iconic or is often the defining residential development in the area, such as being a landmark or having been awarded a title like the tallest residential building in Asia, etc.

'Such accolades appeal to some buyers who particularly enjoy the prestige that comes with such iconic buildings,' says Dr Chua. 'These landmark buildings appeal to these buyers for the same reason why branded residences have mushroomed in the Singapore residential market of late.

'As economic affluence rises and buyers mature and become more discerning, creating an aura of prestige, of distinction from the crowd becomes increasingly important and appealing,' he added.

For Peter Ow, Knight Frank's managing director of residential services, an apartment on a high floor offers panoramic views and the sense of exclusivity to occupy the tallest level. 'Residents will feel in sync with the trend that Singapore is increasingly going into the concept of vertical-city living,' he said.

HDB, like developers in the private sector, is picking up on the trend. It is planning to roll out more of such skyscraper-style flats by 'building taller buildings with higher intensities to optimise land use where feasible', it said.

The current trend seems to suggest that the sky is, quite literally, the limit.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

BT : 40% of units at Dakota condo sold

Business Times - 10 Apr 2010

40% of units at Dakota condo sold

Small units first to be sold; prices start from $570,000 for a one-bedder

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

UOL Group has sold about 40 per cent of its 616-unit Waterbank at Dakota condo by yesterday. By some analysts' calculations, UOL stands to book pretax earnings of $135 million to $160 million progressively from the project as it is built once it is fully sold. Prices of typical units range from 'above $1,000 psf to above $1,300 psf'. Buyers were predominantly Singaporeans.

Smaller units were first to be snapped up in the 99-year leasehold project, next to the soon-to-open Dakota MRT Station and fronting Geylang River.

In absolute price quantum, the cheapest one-bedroom unit cost $570,000, for a 484-sq ft unit on the second level. Two-bedders start from $979,000 for an 883 sq ft unit. All five penthouses (2,390 sq ft to 2,820 sq ft) have also been sold at $2.8 million to $3.4 million.

UOL has released more than 300 of the total 616 units in the development, which is due for completion in 2014. The group is expected to save some units for the project's official launch next Saturday, the same day as the opening of Dakota Station.

The developer opened the showflat to staff and associates and consultants earlier this week before inviting other buyers yesterday. 'The Dakota area has tremendous potential to be the next prime area at the fringe of the city,' said UOL chief operating officer Liam Wee Sin. He also pointed to the area's strategic location near two major growth precincts - Kallang Riverside and Paya Lebar. Waterbank is also near Old Airport Road hawker centre.

Unit sizes range from 484 sq ft for a one-bedder to 2,820 sq ft for a penthouse. The project has 175 one-bedroom and one bedroom-plus-study units, 78 two bedders, 271 three-bedders, 37 four-bedders and five penthouses. There are 11 cabana units, which are two-bedroom units perched on a landscaped deck overlooking the swimming pool and with their own carpark lots.

UOL's preview of the project comes just seven months after it was awarded the site last September at $508 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). City Developments is due to release later this month a 429-unit project at Chestnut Avenue. It will build the 24-storey condo on a site bought at a state tender last August for $280 psf ppr.

The short turnaround time reflects developers' strategy of riding the current buying momentum for mass and mid-market homes. It also suggests that projects on sites sold by the government from January to May this year stand a good chance of being launch-ready before the year runs out.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.



WATERBANK AT DAKOTA
Prices of typical units range from 'above $1,000 psf to above $1,300 psf'

ST : Jurong Lake District makeover kicks off

Apr 9, 2010

Jurong Lake District makeover kicks off

Developer makes $350m bid for 1.9ha site; tender to open in two weeks

By Joyce Teo

A MIXED development site next to Jurong East MRT station is set to be put up for sale and kick-start the transformation of the area into Jurong Lake District.

The tender, which is expected in two weeks, has been triggered by an unnamed developer which has committed to a minimum bid of $350 million, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said yesterday.

It marks the first big step in the morphing of the sleepy Jurong area into the Jurong Lake District regional commerce centre, which could have started earlier if not for the global financial crisis.

The site was made available on the reserve list in late November 2008, some eight months after the Government unveiled its ambitious plans for the area. But consultants expected little interest then given the uncertain business environment and the difficulty in securing funding.

Sites on the reserve list are put up for tender only after a developer commits to a minimum bid the Government finds acceptable.

Colliers International's director for research and advisory, Ms Tay Huey Ying, said the trigger of the site for sale was 'the first sign of private sector endorsement for the Government's vision for Jurong Lake District'.

Plans for the area, which occupies 360ha - about the size of Marina Bay - will be implemented over 10 to 15 years.

The district will consist of two precincts. Jurong Gateway precinct will be the biggest commercial hub outside the city centre. It will provide a mix of office, retail, hotel, entertainment, and food and beverage outlets around the Jurong East MRT station.

The second, Lakeside precinct, is to be turned into a world-class leisure destination for locals and tourists. New edutainment or nature-based attractions, waterfront boardwalks, wetlands, parks and promenades will be developed in the scenic lakeside setting around the Chinese Garden and Lakeside MRT stations.

A number of government agencies, such as the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, as well as statutory boards such as national water agency PUB, will relocate their offices to Jurong Lake District in the near future.

The 99-year leasehold site that has been triggered for sale is in the heart of Jurong Gateway and has a land area of 1.9ha.

At least 30 per cent of the gross floor area of 1.15 million sq ft must be set aside for office use.

The rest can be used for additional office space or other uses permitted under white site zoning such as commercial (retail and entertainment), hotel and residential uses.

Property experts expect the plot to attract a handful of bidders, given its size.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han said: 'It is a big-ticket item. So you would expect a few big developers to join forces and bring in their different capabilities into the equation, and at the same time they can spread their risk.'

Such developers would include the likes of Cheung Kong Holdings, Hongkong Land, Far East Organization and Hong Leong Group, he said. Cheung Kong Holdings said it did not trigger the tender, but will be keen to look at it.

With government agencies moving to the area, the successful developer can potentially build-to-suit for the Government, Mr Han said.

He projects that the site could attract bids of $380 to $400 per sq ft per plot ratio, above the minimum bid of $304 per sq ft per plot ratio.

The final bid price, experts suggest, is unlikely to be double the trigger bid given that it is a suburban site.

'The price can't shoot up too much, as there will be many more sites in the area. There will be a first-mover advantage,' said Mr Han.

Colliers' Ms Tay said: 'Developers could be taking the opportunity to pick up development sites at prices that are at a significant discount to peak prices, given that the office market is just about to turn around.'

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

ST : Raffles Hotel to get new look after sale

Apr 9, 2010

Raffles Hotel to get new look after sale

Plans to double number of rooms

By Esther Teo

AFTER three changes of ownership in seven years, the iconic Raffles Hotel looks headed for a makeover after its pending sale to a Qatar sovereign wealth fund.

Qatari Diar, which is expected to assume ownership of the hotel by early next year, is looking to fund an earlier-announced extension to the hotel that envisages almost doubling the number of guest rooms.

Last April, Saudi Arabian investment company Kingdom Holding obtained the nod from the Singapore authorities to redevelop the hotel's shopping arcade to make space for as many as 78 additional guest rooms.

Qatari Diar is trying to put a figure on the cost of refurbishing the hotel and revamping its adjacent retail and leisure activities, reports The Times of London. The cost is said to be as high as US$100 million (S$140 million).

Kingdom Holding formerly held a 58.1 per cent stake in Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), which in turn owned Raffles Hotel, along with about 100 hotels around the world.

But its stake in FRHI was diluted to 35 per cent earlier this week when Cayman Islands-based Voyager Partners - a private investment company affiliated to Qatari Diar - acquired new shares equivalent to 40 per cent of FRHI's capital.

According to The Times of London, the terms of the proposed sale of the hotel include a long-term management contract allowing Fairmont Raffles to continue running the Singaporean landmark for the foreseeable future.

The chairman of Kingdom Holding, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Talal, told Bloomberg Television on Monday that Kingdom Holding teaming with Qatari Diar - which already has a portfolio of hotels in countries like Egypt and Syria - will boost Fairmont Raffles' management business.

'(Qatari Diar) will supply us with a maximum number of hotels that will add to our income stream... Consequently, when we go public, hopefully in the next two to three years, this will add dramatic value to us,' he said.

Qatari Diar, which is the principal real estate entity of the Qatar Investment Authority, has a portfolio that includes a US$329 million mixed development investment in tourist destination Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.

As part of Qatari Diar's US$847 million purchase announced on Monday - which includes the 40 per cent stake in luxury hotel chain Fairmont Raffles worth US$467 million, and US$275 million for Raffles Hotel - it will provide Fairmont Raffles with about US$105 million worth of future management contracts for hotels operating under the Fairmont Raffles brands of Fairmont, Raffles or Swissotel.

Last April, The Times reported that Fairmont Raffles was looking to sell Raffles Hotel for up to US$450 million and speculated that Prince Alwaleed might consider disposing of assets after incurring investment losses, but this was denied by Kingdom Holding at the time.

Chesterton Suntec International's research and consultancy director, Mr Colin Tan, said that Raffles Hotel might be gearing itself up for an influx of sophisticated visitors following the opening of the two integrated resorts.

'Raffles Hotel might be trying to capture a niche market of foreigners who appreciate the history and significance behind the hotel. It might be differentiating itself to grab quality visitors,' he said.

esthert@sph.com.sg

ST Forum : Valuation report is not a marketing tool

Apr 9, 2010

Valuation report is not a marketing tool

I REFER to Ms Phyllis Law's Forum Online letter yesterday, 'Buyers shouldn't
pay for valuation reports', in which she suggested that the valuation report
in an HDB resale transaction is a 'marketing tool and part of the agent's
service'.

The valuation report is not a marketing tool. In this context, the valuation
report provides the market value of the HDB resale flat on the date of
valuation and is used to apply for HDB's mortgage loan or withdraw CPF
savings by the buyer of the HDB resale flat. The seller does not require a
valuation report to sell his flat. Nor does the estate agent require one to
market the flat on behalf of the seller.

In the terms and conditions of sale/purchase of an HDB resale flat available
on HDB Infoweb, paragraph 4.5 reads: 'A valid valuation report done by an
HDB-assigned valuer must be produced latest at the First Appointment if the
buyer is taking a loan and using CPF money to pay for the flat. A valuation
report is valid for three months from the date of report.'

Therefore a valuation report is required of the buyer (not the seller) if he
is taking a mortgage loan and using CPF money to pay for the resale flat.
This is regardless of whether the buyer is taking a mortgage loan from HDB
or a bank. This further indicates that the valuation report is for the
benefit of the buyer.

Nonetheless, buyers of HDB resale flats can ask their appointed agent or
seller to consider bearing the cost of the valuation report as part of
purchase negotiations.

Dr Tan Tee Khoon

Chief Executive Officer

Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies

ST : 'Beware of asset price inflation'

Apr 9, 2010

'Beware of asset price inflation'

Stanchart banker flags risk for markets with high capital inflow

By Gabriel Chen

ASSET price inflation could become a key problem for emerging economies
buoyed by capital infusions from developed countries, warned a top banker at
a seminar here yesterday.

Hong Kong-based Jaspal Bindra (above), chief executive for Standard
Chartered Bank's Asian operations, told the Singapore Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry that the perceived risk of asset inflation was likely
to grow as a consequence of inflows of foreign direct investment.

And money pouring into developing countries could raise concerns about their
currency policies - particularly those that are pegged to the US dollar.

Mr Bindra said the challenge for emerging economies was whether they can
absorb capital, such as foreign direct investments.

'The lack of depth and breadth of capital markets means such flows find a
home in equity or real estate, adding to asset price inflation,' he said.

Mr Bindra's comments come at a time of rapid recovery in emerging markets
and inflation rises in countries such as China and India.

China's consumer inflation rose to 2.7 per cent in February from 1.5 per
cent in January, while India's central bank last month raised interest rates
for the first time in almost two years after inflation accelerated to a
16-month high in February.

Malaysia and Vietnam have also raised interest rates to fight inflation.

'Brazil's recent introduction of taxes to curb inflows highlights the path
some countries will take,' Mr Bindra said at the event held at the Tanglin
Club yesterday.

'It would not be surprising if more of such measures were introduced in
different countries, in an attempt to deter hot money and control the scale
of capital inflows.'

In October last year, Brazil imposed a 2 per cent financial transactions tax
on foreign capital entering the country for investment in equities and
fixed-income instruments.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said South-east Asian
countries may need to take measures to avoid asset-price bubbles.

ST : MARINA BAY FINANCIAL CENTRE PHASE 1

Apr 9, 2010

MARINA BAY FINANCIAL CENTRE PHASE 1

Nearly all office space taken up

By Esther Teo

NEARLY all of the first phase of the giant Marina Bay Financial Centre
(MBFC) has been leased ahead of its completion later this year.

Every office suite - with the exception of a small percentage reserved for
existing tenants' expansion - is now taken, several months prior to the
phase's official completion in the third quarter.

Phase 1 consists of commercial Towers One and Two, and has a total office
space of about 1.6 million sq ft.

MBFC management company Raffles Quay Asset Management (RQAM) announced
yesterday that Prudential Asset Management had signed up to be a tenant and
Barclays Capital was taking more space. Pre-committed tenants include BHP
Billiton, Macquarie and Nomura.

Barclays Capital will be taking a 10-year lease on approximately 350,000 sq
ft of space, and occupy 14 floors of the 50-storey commercial Tower Two from
the first quarter of next year.

Prudential Asset Management will move into 37,000 sq ft of space next year
in MBFC's Tower Two and occupy 11/2 floors on a nine-year lease.

RQAM chief executive Wilson Kwong said that there had been strong interest
from global companies for the Grade A office space, with good pre-commitment
levels from well-regarded tenants being testament to MBFC's claim to be
'Asia's Best Business Address'.

The development offers flexible and state-of-the-art office space to
multinational companies looking to consolidate their operations at one
location, he added.

Barclays Capital director Quek Suan Kiat said that the proximity of MBFC
Tower Two to the company's current office space at One Raffles Quay was a
key factor in its choice of location.

'We see this consolidation of space as beneficial to our employees and for
service delivery to our clients,' he said.

MBFC is being developed by a consortium comprising Hongkong Land, Cheung
Kong/Hutchison Whampoa and Keppel Land.

In 2006, the consortium said that it would spend $2 billion on the first
phase of the development.

BT : Changing face of Duxton

Business Times - 09 Apr 2010

Changing face of Duxton

Re-gentrification of the once trendy area that has suffered a blow to its reputation is starting to take root, report OLIVIA HO and JAIME EE

WHEN it came to picking a location for her new gastrobar, Celina Tan had myriad options to choose from. She could join the here-today-gone-in-six-months concept restaurants that clutter Dempsey village, the quieter, leafy surrounds of Rochester Park, or even add to the bohemian buzz of, say, Wessex Estate in Portsdown Road. Instead, she chose Duxton Road - better known as the 'other Geylang' with its proliferation of KTV bars and ladies of the night trying to interest pub-goers in their own daily specials.

Call it a leap of faith, but Ms Tan - who runs the five-month-old Celina's with her husband - is but one of the new residents of the Duxton area who believe they can breathe respectable life into the once trendy neighbourhood that has suffered a blow to its reputation over the past decade.

Before the phrase 'lifestyle enclave' became part of the vocabulary of Singaporean hipsters, the Duxton area - comprising Duxton Road, Duxton Hill and neighbouring Craig Road - was home to upscale F&B outlets such as the fine-dining French restaurant L'Aigle D'or at the former Duxton Hotel, and quaint eateries such as a Brittany-style creperie which specialised in authentic buckwheat pancakes from the French region.

Thomas Choong, owner of bespoke Chinese restaurant Xi Yan on Craig Road, fondly recalls classic establishments such as J J Mahoney's and Elvis, popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. 'J J Mahoney's was a very nice pub,' he says. 'In fact, they were the pub in Singapore, and Duxton area was the place to be. Before Dempsey, before many other places.'

Residential element

However, as their fortunes turned, so too did the surrounding area as dubious nightspots began to make the area their playground. 'At first there were not so many sleazy pubs,' says Karen Scharenguivel, a manager at HBH Singapore who has worked in various places around the area for 20 years. 'Then they cropped up one by one. Like ants to honey.'

That is all set to change, thanks to police enforcement and the onset of housing developments such as the iconic Pinnacle@Duxton which will inject a strong residential element to the neighbourhood. It may take a while, but the re-gentrification of Duxton is starting to take root.

Besides Celina's - which specialises in matching food and wine - there is also the four-month-old Pavilion Chinese restaurant in Craig Road, and the just-opened Japanese restaurant Mizu. Then there is the 11/2-year-old Saraceno, at the now renamed Berjaya Hotel, and a popular two-year-old Irish pub Toucan.

Non-F&B set-ups include Elite Bicycles, a concept store from the United States which fits and repairs bikes. Located on Duxton Hill, it is already seeing a steady clientele from the Pinnacle, says Daphne Wee, director of Elite Bicycles Asia. 'We are getting a lot of walk-in business from residents who want their bikes repaired.' When asked why they chose to open in Duxton, Ms Wee shrugs and says, 'This place has edge. And a big parking lot.'

Like the other tenants in the area, Ms Wee takes comfort in the changes that are taking place. Despite having been open for only one month, she's already noticed that 'one of the neighbouring pubs is moving out on Saturday'. Soon, she adds, 'this whole place will be re-gentrified'.

Old-timers such as Steve Hansen of BROTH and Rolando Luceri of Pasta Brava are confident that the era of the karaoke pubs will soon be over. 'I think the government is planning to clear the area, especially with that big condo Pinnacle so near,' theorises Mr Luceri. 'There are a few bars that already moved out, a lot of places that can be reused.'

Mr Hansen adds: 'I hear the police are not issuing liquor licences any more. If you want to have a pub in Duxton Road, you have to buy up an existing one.'

At the moment, there are about seven empty spaces in Duxton Road and Duxton Hill that have been vacated by karaoke bars. Marcus Lim, the property agent for one of the shophouses, says that several parties who enquired about renting the premises were from the F&B business. For the karaoke bars that remain, control is tight. One pub owner, who declined to be named, said that the police perform checks on his pub a couple of times a week, usually after midnight.

In the daytime, Duxton possesses a picturesque, almost village-like quality. Up on Duxton Hill, the elegant facades of conservation shophouses line cobble-stoned streets. Were it not for the neon signs hanging lifelessly in the sunlight, it would be hard to imagine that it takes on an uglier facade after dusk.

It's the secluded beauty of Duxton that Mr Hansen hopes will prevail with the cleaning up of the area. He feels that it's this intangible charm that has contributed to the staying power of his 10-year-old restaurant. 'For me, my instinct tells me it's just the setting of the street,' he says. 'I can see the impression it has on people's faces when they first come here.'

Concurs Keith Winders, general manager at Australian steakhouse Uluru. 'It's a lovely place - in the early evening you can see sunbirds in the trees.' Adds Celina's Ms Tan: 'It's very quaint. Especially Duxton Hill - it's much prettier than so many other places.'

Its old-world charm, lower rental and proximity to the central business district are the reasons that Ms Tan took the plunge to open in Duxton, but the challenge now is still to convince the public that the time is right to re-discover the place. While stalwarts like BROTH and Pasta Brava maintain a regular following, traffic is slow for some of the newer entrants.

'People don't actually realise that it is changing,' says Ms Tan. While she and her husband personally do not mind the 'girly bars', she does feel that their reputation affects traffic. 'I don't want them to be completely gone, but I also don't want them to be coming out into the street. The men may feel comfortable but the women don't, and when you don't get women you don't get customers. Like that, it's very hard to get regular clientele.'

Celina's currently opens only on weekdays as it caters to the crowd from the nearby financial district. However, if it is popular with the residential crowd, it will open on weekends. 'We are practically at their back door,' says Ms Tan's husband, Fook Onn Kok, gesturing animatedly at the glittering 50-storey-high Pinnacle towering over Duxton Road.

One Duxton Road tenant which is seeing increased activity due to the Pinnacle is the five-year-old spa Glow International. Partner Lily Kew has already signed up five residents for Glow's spa packages. Two of them even signed up as early as 2008 because they knew they were going to move in. Ms Kew adds that she's also seeing more walk-in customers.

Mr Hansen admits to a love-hate relationship with the seedy side of Duxton. 'It's been quite entertaining for our guests - they have to wade through all the action going on down there,' he says.

But he is less inclined to feel the same way when BROTH gets entangled in the action. Four years ago, his staff were taking out the trash one Friday night when a bottle rolled out and smashed. The sound attracted the attention of a group of drunks on the pavement, who took it to be a challenge and assaulted Mr Hansen's staff. A police report was made and it subsequently became a court case.

Presence of expats

It doesn't mean that decent pubs don't have a place in Duxton. The Irish pub Toucan, for example, gets an average of 100 customers a night, says outlet supervisor Mohammed Farid. The location was chosen because of the expats living in the area - 80 per cent of its clientele are expats with 20 per cent being locals, adds Mr Mohammed.

The Pinnacle, though, has been a definite draw for tenants such as Kelvin Lee, chef-owner of Pavilion. 'It adds life to the area,' he says. 'There are a lot of offices around here, and the rent is affordable so we use the savings to offer great quality at reasonable price.'

Attracted by the old-world charm of the area, Mr Lee thinks the area 'will become another Keong Saik Street - it used to be a red-light district but now it's a hip area with plenty of good restaurants and boutique hotels.' Business at Pavilion has been good too, with lots of repeat customers. 'We do over 100 covers a day,' adds Mr Lee.

While restaurants and nightspots seem to dominate the area, Duxton's tenants hope that other lifestyle businesses will move in to offer more variety, such as nearby Club Street. 'Not just food and drink, but other lifestyle options, like a bakery or even a Singaporean Dean & Deluca,' says Kathy Lim-Sheehy, CEO of the Singapore Straits Wine Company, which supplies wine to many restaurants in the area. 'An upmarket bookstore would be great,' adds Ms Tan.

'It would be great to have more of a buzz,' agrees Mr Hansen, adding too many eateries would have a saturation effect. 'It would be a travesty to have a restaurant in every single shop, like at Boat Quay or Clarke Quay,' he says. 'If that happened here, I would be the first to throw up my hands and go.'

That probably won't happen. Perhaps as new entrepreneurs warm to the appeal of Duxton, an organic growth will finally turn the area into what it was always meant to be - an eclectic neighbourhood with an old-world charm.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.



Picturesque: The elegant facades of shophouses line cobble-stoned streets on Duxton Hill.



There are about seven empty spaces in Duxton Road (above) and Duxton Hill that have been vacated by karaoke bars.



A restaurant and wine bar (above) on Duxton Hill



F&B scene: Celina's (above) currently opens only on weekdays as it caters to the crowd from the nearby financial district. While stalwarts such as BROTH (next) maintain a regular following, traffic is slow for some of the newer entrants

BT : 1st site at Jurong Lake District put up for sale

Business Times - 09 Apr 2010

1st site at Jurong Lake District put up for sale

Unnamed developer commits to bid at least $350m for 1.9 ha parcel

By UMA SHANKARI

THE government will launch a 99-year leasehold mixed-use site at Jurong Lake District in two weeks - the first plot put up for sale there since the masterplan for the area was unveiled two years ago.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority said yesterday that an unnamed developer has committed to bid at least $350 million for the 1.9 ha parcel, triggering a public tender.

The site, at Jurong Gateway Road next to Jurong East MRT station, has been on the government's reserve list since November 2008.

'The triggering of this site is exciting because it's the first sign of the private sector's endorsement of the government's vision for Jurong Lake District,' said Tay Huey Ying, director of research and advisory at Colliers International. 'Hopefully, this will catalyse more developments in the area.'

In April 2008, the government unveiled plans to transform the 360 ha Jurong Lake District - about the same size as Marina Bay - into a major regional centre. The aim is to provide an attractive location for commercial developments outside the city centre and a world-class leisure destination by the lake. But no sites have been sold to the private sector yet.

The newly triggered site can provide a maximum gross floor area of 1.15 million square feet. The minimum bid price works out to $304 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Most analysts BT spoke to said it is difficult to pin down a likely top bid because the parcel is classified as a 'white' site - which means the winning bidder can put it to commercial, residential or hotel use. URA requires at least 30 per cent of the maximum possible gross floor area to be set aside for office use.

But some analysts guessed the site could fetch around 1.5 times the minimum bid price. They also expect the winning developer to set aside a significant amount of the gross floor area for retail use, which will provide a better yield.

However, the number of bids will be limited by the size of the site and the 30 per cent office use requirement, they added.

Colin Tan, director of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International, said the tender period of about eight weeks may not be enough for interested parties to get ready, especially since the size of the site means developers may look for partners to submit joint bids.

'The bids are likely to come from consortiums,' Mr Tan said. 'So the developer or group that triggered the site probably has a head start. Other interested bidders may have to scramble from today to put a consortium together.'

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

BT : Keppel Land positive about residential sector

Business Times - 09 Apr 2010

Keppel Land positive about residential sector

It plans to launch more waterfront homes in S'pore

By UMA SHANKARI

KEPPEL Land is upbeat about the prospects for residential property in Singapore and other key markets it operates in, it says in its latest annual report.

In 2009, the developer sold 384 homes in Singapore and about 3,100 overseas.

Keppel Land now intends to push out more waterfront homes in Singapore. After Caribbean at Keppel Bay and Reflections at Keppel Bay, the group has three more residential sites in the area, which will be rolled out in phases to meet demand. Keppel did not give a time line for the launches.

It said it will remain 'disciplined and mindful of the potential policy risks' from further withdrawal of the government's stimulus measures, as well as the possibility of further measures to contain property speculation.

But Keppel Land will still 'actively seek attractive residential sites at reasonable prices to ensure a continued stream of residential development profits'.

Overseas, Keppel Land has several launches planned in Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Chengdu this year.

The group also gave an update on its debt. Loans outstanding at end-2009 totalled $1.7 billion, representing 53 per cent of total available facilities of $3.3 billion. Of this amount, $823 million is due this year.

Keppel Land also revealed that its chief executive Kevin Wong was paid between $2.25 million and $2.5 million in 2009.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

BT : China bubble will burst this year: Chanos

Business Times - 09 Apr 2010

China bubble will burst this year: Chanos

(SINGAPORE) China's property market is a bubble that may burst by as early as this year, according to hedge fund manager James Chanos.

The world's third-biggest economy may need to keep up the pace of property investment because up to 60 per cent of its gross domestic product relies on construction, Mr Chanos said.

The bubble may begin to 'run its course' in late-2010 or 2011, he said in an interview on The Charlie Rose Show that will air on PBS and Bloomberg TV.

China is 'on a treadmill to hell', said Mr Chanos, who said in January that the nation is Dubai times a thousand. 'They can't afford to get off this heroin of property development. It is the only thing keeping the economic growth numbers growing.'

Property prices in China rose at the fastest pace in almost two years in February even after officials this year re-imposed a tax on homes sold within five years of their purchase to curb speculation and ordered banks to set aside more funds as reserves to cool lending.

The boom in China's real estate has fuelled concern that China may face a collapse seen in Dubai that has hurt the ability of some of its companies to repay debt.

Since his January prediction, Mr Chanos, the founder of Kynikos Associates Ltd, has been joined by Gloom, Doom & Boom publisher Marc Faber and Harvard University professor Kenneth Rogoff in warning of a potential crash in China's property market.

Chinese state and local governments are among the most leveraged to property-related borrowings and the nation will 'ultimately' have to nationalise a lot of the bad loans that will arise from the end of the bubble, Mr Chanos said.

China's foreign currency reserves will be 'one asset' that can be used to fund a clean-up of the banking system, he said.

The country has accumulated a record US$2.4 trillion of reserves, and US$889 billion of US government debt, partly a consequence of its exchange-rate policy.

Mr Chanos was one of the first investors to foresee the 2001 collapse of Houston-based energy company Enron Corp. The investor said that he is short-selling Chinese developers as well as companies supplying building-related materials to the country, without identifying any stocks.

In a short sale, investors bet on declines in securities by borrowing stock to sell on the expectation that it can be purchased at a lower price before handing it back. -- Bloomberg

BT : High-end home auctions hit $13m in Q1

Business Times - 09 Apr 2010

High-end home auctions hit $13m in Q1

This exceeds any quarter of 2009, says Colliers Int'l

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) More high-end homes surfaced at auctions in the first quarter of this year, mostly involving owner sales, the latest figures from Colliers International show.

About $13.4 million of such properties changed hands at auctions in Q1, higher than any quarter of last year.

The total value of all properties sold at auctions in the first three months of this year, meanwhile, surged to $45.3 million. This is an increase of about 16 per cent from the preceding quarter and 2.5 times the $17.94 million in Q1 last year.

Upmarket homes have been drawing bids not just from Singaporeans but also foreigners such as Malaysians and Indonesians, says Grace Ng, deputy managing director (agency and business services) and auctioneer at Colliers.

She defines high-end residential properties as prestigious and good-quality developments in prime locations. Ms Ng also said high-end homes located near the integrated resorts and apartments in the central business district (CBD) and around Tanjong Pagar were well sought after in Q1.

'The strong market response seen for new projects such as 76 Shenton has spilled over to other residential developments in the vicinity such as Icon, One Shenton, as well as apartments in older developments like International Plaza,' Ms Ng reckons.

Residential properties made up 51 per cent of auction sales in the first three months of the year.

Jones Lang LaSalle head of auctions Mok Sze Sze has also observed an increase in demand for both commercial and industrial properties at her firm's auctions in Q1. She attributes this to office rents starting to stabilise and people looking to take advantage of higher rental returns attributed to commercial property.

Owner sales continued to dominate auctions. Colliers figures show that nearly 83 per cent of the total 160 properties put on the auction block in Q1 2010 were offered by their owners. The number of mortgagee properties put up for auction remained low in view of continued economic recovery and improvement in the job market.

Ms Ng says that compared with the same period last year, auctions in Q1 this year were marked by more positive market sentiment and a stronger appetite for property investment, with healthy participation on the auction floor and interest even from foreign bidders for high-end properties.

'In Q1 2009, when the property market was still reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, auction rooms were packed but buyers were looking for bargains. So bidding levels and activity were low and there was a big price gap between sellers and buyers,' she recalls.

The total value of properties sold at auction rose from about $15.8 million in January and $9.1 million in February this year to nearly $20.4 million in March.

'There is general interest from Singaporeans to park their money in properties due to high liquidity and paltry returns on bank deposits,' says Ms Ng.

Owner sales will continue to dominate auctions, say auctioneers.

However, owners are jacking up prices following the price increases achieved by developers. 'In some cases, owners are asking around 20 per cent above valuation,' according to Ms Ng.

Shaun Poh, DTZ senior director of auction & investment advisory services, says the buyer-seller price gap for auction properties has widened from about 5-10 per cent in Q3 last year to 10-15 per cent currently. 'This is the single biggest challenge for the auction market.'

Enquiries for residential properties put up for auction have quietened down significantly in the past few weeks as buyers have been drawn to property launches.

'Financing packages are also more attractive for new properties at launches than for completed ones, so it's easier on the wallet to buy a home from a developer than through an auction,' Mr Poh notes.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

CNA : Fragrance buys Culford Garden in enbloc bid for S$39m at tender

Fragrance buys Culford Garden in enbloc bid for S$39m at tender
By Desmond Wong | Posted: 09 April 2010 2042 hrs

SINGAPORE: Fragrance Properties has bought the Culford Garden estate at Siglap for S$39 million in a collective sale.

The price translates to a land rate of about S$574 per square foot per plot ratio at a Gross Plot Ratio of 1.54.

The 24-unit Culford Garden has a land area of 44,094 square feet and is zoned for residential development with an allowable height of up to five stories.

Each owner could get an average of S$1.625 million from the sale.

This is believed to be the third successful enbloc sale this year. - CNA/vm