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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

ST : IndoChine owner claims he was 'misled' in shophouse deal

Apr 20, 2010

IndoChine owner claims he was 'misled' in shophouse deal

By K.C. Vijayan

INDOCHINE pub and restaurant chain owner Michael Ma went to the High Court yesterday in a bid to reclaim $386,000 he had paid for the option to buy five conservation shophouses.

He had handed over 5 per cent of the Tanjong Katong Road shophouses' total worth of $7.7 million thinking he could buy them for commercial use. But he later found out they were partially restricted to residential use.

Mr Ma claimed the seller, Goodman Development, had misrepresented the shophouses as being for commercial use, and wants it to return his money.

But Goodman denies misleading him and said he should have conducted better checks.

Yesterday, Mr Ma, an Australian and permanent resident here, told the High Court he paid the option fee on behalf of renovation and interior design firm Aqua Art, of which he was a director.

As he already owned a residential property, he was not eligible to buy any more meant for residential use. Neither could Aqua Art, as it was foreign-owned.

The trouble began on June 16 three years ago. Mr Ma said his property agent Odelia Tan told him Goodman's property agent Katherine Poh confirmed that the shophouses were zoned for commercial use.

When he inspected them that day with business associate Andrew Neary and Aqua Art director Camilla Hall, Ms Poh confirmed they were for commercial use, although people were living in them, Mr Ma told the court.

However, when Ms Poh took the stand yesterday, questioned by Mr Ma's lawyer Kenneth Pereira, she denied telling him that.

Ms Poh said she made it quite clear the two-storey shophouses were meant for commercial use only on the ground floor.

She also claimed that at no point did Mr Ma tell her he was a foreigner, which meant he would be ruled out of buying the shophouses. When asked why she did not check, she replied: 'He never tells me, I never probe.'

On the day of the site visit, Mr Ma paid a fifth of the 5 per cent option to purchase fee.

Within three weeks, he paid the remainder so that he could exercise the option to buy.

But he later found out the properties were partially zoned as residential, pulled out of the deal, and sought a refund.

Goodman refused, and pointed out that nowhere in the purchase documents was it stated the properties were for commercial use.

Lawyer Felicia Ng also argued in defence statements that Goodman did not know Aqua Art was foreign-owned.

The hearing before Justice Choo Han Teck continues today.

ST : Property: Do something drastic or do nothing?

Apr 20, 2010

Property: Do something drastic or do nothing?

There is no free market in housing; Govt must do something selectively

By Chua Mui Hoong

HOUSING markets everywhere are fraught with market failures and there is no housing market in the world devoid of government intervention.

I am stating the obvious, of course, but it bears repetition, especially in the light of the growing frenzy in the residential property market in Singapore. There are two schools of thought, diametrically opposed, on what should be done.

Would-be home buyers, especially first-timers, want the Government to 'Do Something Drastic' to control runaway prices. Depending on their aspirations, they want prices kept down for: new Housing Board (HDB) flats, resale HDB flats, executive condominiums or private condos.

The other camp wants the Government to 'Do Nothing' about rising property prices. This point of view was best articulated by developer Simon Cheong, who argued that private property served just 16.5 per cent of the population and should be left free of government intervention. In other words, the state should keep its hands off, and developers should be able to price condo units as high as the market can accept, never mind if the only ones who can afford the units are New York bankers or celebrities who want an apartment here so they have somewhere to sleep in between their board meetings or botox treatments.

Both points of view are disingenuous and limited. If the Government panders to either, you and I - the rest of Singaporeans who are neither first-time home-owners nor the super rich - will be worse off.

The majority would be better off if the Government judiciously steps in to 'Do Something Selectively' now and then to keep the market on a relatively even keel.

The Government has to consider the public interest in managing the property market. And so far, its handling has been a lot more right than wrong.

True, there is currently a mismatch between supply and demand, with queues for new HDB flats and at popular condo launches. This is likely to be a short-term glitch.

Critics also point to the last big property boom of 1996 before the Asian financial crisis hit, which was sparked in part by credit loosening for HDB resale flats, spurring a boom in demand for private property. Anti-speculation measures were slow in coming then. Since then, the Government has stated that it favours small incremental dampeners as the temperature rises, rather than wait for a blazing fire before trying to douse the flames.

But if you take a long view, a lot is going right in housing, thanks to the Government's refusal to treat housing as a free market. Anyway, Housing Economics 101 tells us the housing market is rife with market failures.

Housing is heterogeneous - units are diverse and can't be substituted. As a result, what constitutes an economically competitive price is often not transpa-rent, leading to information asymmetry.

The average unit takes about three years to build, so the time to market is long and the price is always prone to short-term swings while supply catches up with demand. So buying a housing unit is a lot more complex than buying, say, a cellphone.

Instead of pretending that the housing market is like any other market, the Government has explicitly turned housing into an object of social policy, making home ownership a national objective and tailoring policies accordingly.

A Housing Board flat is not just a home; it is an important component of the social safety net and an asset which can be monetised for retirement or in bad times. (Rent out a room for $500 a month, say.)

Pandering to those complaining of being priced out of the market, and 'Doing Something Drastic' to chill the housing market, will be a great disservice to existing home owners. Simple arithmetics tell us the issue of rising housing prices cannot be one that disgruntles the majority. The 30,000 young couples who set up home each year may be vexed, but the 900,000 who already own their homes are probably not.

On the other hand, 'Doing Nothing' is also not a good idea as it could lead to an asset bubble.

Every government in the world intervenes in the housing market for social objectives. In the United States, subsidised mortgages help low-income households own homes. Tax exemptions for imputed rent for owner-occupied homes and mortgage interest deduction make it attractive for people to buy their own homes, rather than rent.

An interesting paper by Ms Rebecca L.H. Chiu of the University of Hong Kong in 2008 looked at government intervention in housing in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and China before and after the Asian financial crisis of 1997.

The paper found that every government intervened. Taiwan subsidised housing loans liberally. The South Korean state monopolised land supply, introduced price caps at different points of the cycle and used capital gains tax and property tax to dampen demand. Hong Kong slowed down land sales to mitigate supply. In contrast, the paper found Singapore's intervention in the years immediately after 1997 'mild'.

Singapore has got the big picture on housing right with its hybrid system, which combines socialist-style provision of mass housing with elements of free market competition and market-driven pricing in both the resale HDB market and the private property market.

The result is an underlay of housing security benefiting almost all households, with 90 per cent being able to afford to own homes. New HDB flat prices are not allowed to soar freely in tandem with a bullish market, but are priced with an eye on affordability and pegged to median income levels, ensuring the median income-earner can always afford a home.

Market forces are allowed some free play to allow home-owners to realise the value of their assets - but with the Government retaining a watchful eye in case of wide swings.

Instead of 'Doing Nothing' or 'Doing Something Drastic', the best policy in an overheating market is precisely what the Government is doing now: Stay cool, watch the market and be prepared to 'Do Something Judiciously'.

muihoong@sph.com.sg

ST : Public forums on urban plan in May

Apr 20, 2010

Public forums on urban plan in May

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is holding two public forums next month to share proposed recommendations on its review of the Concept Plan 2011.

The plan maps out the long-term directions for Singapore's land use and transport for the next 40 to 50 years.

Two focus groups have met over the past four months to discuss four key issues - quality of life, ageing, sustainability and identity - and will share their preliminary recommendations at the two forums, said the URA yesterday.

Some of the questions posed in the focus groups included how to maintain and enhance the quality of life even as Singapore develops, and how to meet the diverse aspirations of the different population segments.

The first forum - on sustainability and identity - will be on May 6 and co-chaired by Mr Lee Tzu Yang, chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore, and the director of the Institute of Policy Studies, Mr Ong Keng Yong.

The second forum addresses quality of life and ageing issues and will be on May 10. National Arts Council chairman Edmund Cheng and Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, president of the National University of Singapore, will co-chair the event.

The URA said the focus groups will review feedback received at the forums before they submit final recommendations.

A draft concept plan will then be created and the URA will seek feedback on this next year.

The review is carried out every 10 years with the current process scheduled to be completed next year.

Previous concept plans have given birth to major infrastructure projects like Changi Airport and the first MRT lines, which were both in the 1971 plan. The parks and waterbodies plan stemmed from the 2001 review.

URA said it has yet to decide on the venue of the forums, but interested members of the public can register at www.ura.gov.sg

BT : URA to get public feedback for Concept Plan 2011

Business Times - 20 Apr 2010

URA to get public feedback for Concept Plan 2011

(SINGAPORE) The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will be organising two public forums next month to gather feedback for the upcoming Concept Plan 2011.

URA earlier formed two focus groups to consider issues that will shape Singapore's environment in the years ahead. Over the past four months, the focus groups have met to discuss quality of life, ageing, sustainability and identity issues

The groups will share their preliminary recommendations for Concept Plan 2011 at the public forums, to seek feedback.

The first forum - on Sustainability and Identity - will be held on May 6 at 6pm. Shell Companies in Singapore chairman Lee Tzu Yang and Institute of Policy Studies director Ong Keng Yong will co-chair the session.

The second forum - on Quality of Life and Ageing Issues - will take place on May 10 at 6pm. National Arts Council chairman Edmund Cheng and National University of Singapore president Tan Chorh Chuan will lead the session.

The focus groups will review the feedback received at the forums before submitting their final recommendations to URA.

URA will then come up with a draft Concept Plan after considering views from the focus groups and the public. It will allow the public to give feedback on the draft Concept Plan next year.

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

BT : Commercial property investment up in region

Business Times - 20 Apr 2010

Commercial property investment up in region

By UMA SHANKARI

(SINGAPORE) Commercial real estate investment transactions in the Asia-Pacific region continued to grow in the first quarter of 2010 to hit US$38.6 billion, up from US$28.2 billion in Q4 2009, according to a report by DTZ.

The increase was due to better economic conditions and the prospect of tighter lending in China, which encouraged investors there to bring forward purchases, DTZ said. Transactions may tail off in coming quarters, it said.

The Q1 tally is a record, beating the previous peak in Q3 2007. Investment activity during Q1 was also boosted by the return of recapitalised real estate investment trusts (Reits), which spent about US$2.4 billion. They also sold almost US$2 billion of property, but Q1 was the first quarter since Q4 2008 that Reits were net buyers, DTZ said.

While domestic investors remained the most active players in the Asia-Pacific market, foreign investors are slowly returning, said David Green-Morgan, head of research for DTZ in the Asia-Pacific.

China again led the region with over US$25 billion of commercial real estate transacted during Q1, accounting for 65 per cent of overall activity in the region. Much of this was due to investors replenishing land banks.

The largest deal in Q1 was also in China - the sale of the Guangzhou Asian Games site to a local developer for US$3.7 billion.

Most of the markets covered by DTZ recorded higher transactional activity in Q1 than Q4 2009. Outside China, investors were particularly interested in the region's more mature stable markets and cities.

In Singapore, AEW Capital Management bought Robinson Point in Robinson Road for US$145 million during Q1 - one of the biggest deals in Singapore in a year.



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

BT : Slower April sales not stopping launches

Business Times - 20 Apr 2010

Slower April sales not stopping launches

Tree House, The Holland Collection being launched this weekend

By UMA SHANKARI

(SINGAPORE) Developers plan to launch more residential projects this weekend - even though home sales slowed in April after a strong showing in March.

1,761 new private homes were sold in March - a 47 per cent month-on-month increase. But sales have come off this month, market watchers say - though there have been exceptions.

UOL Group said that it sold more than 130 units in its 616-unit Waterbank at Dakota condominium from Friday to Sunday. This takes the number of apartments sold there to more than 500. Apartments went for $1,000-1,300 per sq ft and UOL said that it will release more this weekend.

Would-be buyers can also look forward to two projects that will be launched for the first time this weekend - City Developments' Tree House and The Holland Collection from Lippo Group and CLSA Capital Partners.

The Holland Collection's 26 high-end luxury homes are being built on the site of the former Aura Park condominium in Holland Road. Lippo bought the site in a collective sale deal in June 2007 for $1,280 psf of potential gross floor area - a high for the location. CLSA Capital Partners took a 50 per cent stake in the project a few months later.

CLSA Capital Partners' development director Peter Tham said that the partners wanted to launch the project in 2008 but decided to hold back until market sentiment improved.

'The market took a turn for the worse and we might not have achieved our break-even price,' said Mr Tham. 'But we took advantage of the decline in construction costs and started building in September last year.'

The Holland Collection's 26 units will have 19 unique variations in layout, size and space configurations. Apartment sizes range from 1,281 sq ft to 3,606 sq ft. Units will be launched this weekend at an average price of $2,000 psf.

Elsewhere, City Developments will launch its 429-unit Tree House on Chestnut Avenue. Prices start from around $600,000 for a 721 sq ft two-bedroom apartment, agents say.

Analysts have warned that government policy risk could come back into focus following March's strong sales.

'We believe that policy risk still exists,' said DBS Group Research analyst Adrian Chua. 'Back in January, strong monthly sales of around 1,480 units triggered a second wave of government measures.'

Deutsche Bank likewise raised a red flag last week. The bank's analysts believe possible measures the government could use to cool the market include increasing the supply of land, lowering the loan-to-value limit for second home purchases and a capital gains tax.

Despite this, analysts believe that home sales are likely to stay healthy for the rest of the year amid Singapore's economic recovery.

Mr Chua has raised his 2010 forecast for private home sales to 10,000-12,000 units, from 8,000-10,000 units, following strong Q1 2010 numbers.

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



Wide variety: The Holland Collection's 26 units will have 19 unique variations in layout, size and space configurations. Units will be launched this weekend at an average price of $2,000 psf

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