BT : Gains in London home prices slow as owners decide to sell

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Gains in London home prices slow as owners decide to sell

More luxury houses and apartments on market as market recovers: Savills

(LONDON) Luxury-home prices in central London increased by the smallest amount in five quarters after a year-long recovery in values persuaded more owners to put apartments and houses on the market, Savills plc said.

The average value of a home costing more than £1 million (S$2.09 million) rose 0.6 per cent in the second quarter from the first three months of the year, according to the London-based property broker. Prices were 12 per cent higher than a year earlier, down from an annual gain of almost 17 per cent in the first quarter.

'It now seems clear we're at a tipping point' as more stock has come onto the market just as election uncertainty and planned government budget cuts hurt demand, Yolande Barnes, head of residential research at Savills, said in the statement.

Prices will fall about 4 per cent in the second half as the fragile economic recovery and higher taxes dampen appetites for homes in neighbourhoods like Mayfair, Kensington and Notting Hill, Barnes predicted. She expects values to decline one per cent in the full year, following an 8.8 per cent gain in 2009.

Luxury property values have gained every month since March last year as buyers competed for a limited number of homes for sale. Prices increased 3 per cent in first quarter and 4.3 per cent in the last three months of 2009. The second quarter increase was the smallest since an 18-month slide in prices bottomed out in March 2009.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced last week that from June 23 the tax rate on profits from the sale of rental properties or second homes will rise to 28 per cent from 18 per cent for UK taxpayers with total annual income exceeding £37,400.

Brokers reported a pickup in properties put on the market after a plan announced by the governing Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties implied that the capital gains tax rate would increase to as much as 50 per cent.

From April, individuals earning more than £150,000 a year are subject to a 50 per cent income tax levy. Mr Osborne also left in place the previous administration's plan to raise property transfer tax, known as stamp duty, for homes costing more than £1 million to 5 per cent in April 2011 from 4 per cent now.

The tax changes are unlikely to reduce demand for London real estate from overseas buyers, who account for half the purchases and 63 per cent of deals involving properties worth more £15 million, Savills said.

While values are 10 per cent below the peak reached in the third quarter of 2007, the pound's slide means that in dollar terms prices are down by 33 per cent, Savills said.

Properties selling for more than £5 million appreciated by 1.3 per cent from the end of March, the broker said, while homes costing in excess of £15 million gained 1.5 per cent in the quarter. -- Bloomberg

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



Tipping point: More stock has come onto the market just as election uncertainty and planned government budget cuts hurt demand, said Yolande Barnes of Savills

BT : Dubai house prices unlikely to recover before 2011

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Dubai house prices unlikely to recover before 2011

Residential and commercial property market hit by oversupply: report

(DUBAI) Dubai house prices are not seen recovering before 2011 at the earliest while oversupply in commercial property will boost vacancy rates to more than 50 per cent next year Jones Lang LaSalle said on Sunday. A total of 26,000 homes are expected to be completed in 2010 and 25,000 in 2011, bringing total residential stock to 320,000 homes by the end of 2011, up from 287,000 at the end of the second quarter, the property consultancy said in a report.

'Despite the recent stabilisation in pricing levels, Dubai's residential market will experience a situation of oversupply and prices are not expected to recover before 2011 at the earliest,' the report said.

'Finance is a key factor in market recovery. The residential market has shown signs of improved lending in 2010 as more banks are injecting liquidity into the mortgage market.' Dubai's once booming property sector collapsed in the wake of the global financial crisis, leaving developers and customers with huge debts and several major projects unfinished.

Average apartment rents fell 10 per cent in the second quarter from the same period a year ago, and were down 4 per cent from the first quarter this year. Average villa rents fell 23 per cent in the second quarter from the second quarter of 2009 and were down 11 per cent from the first quarter this year. Greatest declines were in the luxury and high-end for both categories, the report said.

Apartment prices remained stable while villa prices rose marginally over the quarter.

While Dubai's office market is expected to experience a supply overhang, there is still a shortage of good quality supply, the report said.

2010 represents the peak in new supply with 20 million square feet of supply expected, but only 25 per cent of that is currently complete and further delays are expected\. \-- Reuters

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



Taking stock: 2010 represents the peak in new supply with 20 million square feet of supply expected, but only 25 per cent of that is currently complete and further delays are expected

BT : Sales holding up but outlook cautious: UK housebuilder

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Sales holding up but outlook cautious: UK housebuilder

(LONDON) British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey plc said sales had held up in the first half of the year, but could offer little reassurance for the full year as consumer confidence remains depressed.

Taylor Wimpey, the first volume housebuilder to update investors since the UK general election and subsequent emergency budget, said sales had been dented in the second quarter as consumers delayed making big ticket purchases around the poll.

But the UK's third-largest housebuilder by market value said sales had recovered in recent weeks, echoing comments from luxury apartment developer Berkeley Group on Friday.

This will give some comfort to the sector, which has been struggling to regain a sure footing after the downturn knocked building activity, caused many builders to turn to shareholders for cash and wiped a fifth off property values.

But low mortgage availability - especially for first time buyers - and broader macro-economic uncertainty is denting short-term confidence in the sector.

'With ongoing political and economic uncertainty, we continue to run the business on a cautious basis, with selective land investment and an ongoing focus on costs and cash,' said Taylor Wimpey in a statement.

The company's comments come after a survey by mortgage lender Nationwide showed UK consumer confidence was at its lowest level in almost a year in May, reflecting concerns about the UK economy and unemployment which is set to rise sharply in the wake of government spending cuts.

House prices fell 0.4 per cent in May according to mortgage lender Halifax, while Nationwide reported a 0.5 per cent rise for the month, half the rate of the previous two months. The Land Registry said prices had fallen 0.2 per cent on the month.

Further pain may be on the cards as the government looks to reform the planning system. Taylor Wimpey said any change needs to be implemented with a clear transition period and with regard to cultural change.

The reform of the planning system - aimed at giving greater power to the local areas - is causing a headache for the building sector as some local authorities have already put planning decisions on hold until there is greater certainty from the coalition government.

Taylor Wimpey said it expects to complete 4,650 homes in the first half at an average selling price of £167,000 (S$350,000). This compares with 4,702 homes at an average selling price of £153,000 in the same period last year.

Taylor Wimpey, the most highly geared UK housebuilder with net debt of £650 million, said trading in the US market was volatile in the year-to-date, but it sees 'a steadier, clearer picture' towards the end of the year. -- Reuters

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

BT : HK's mortgage loan approval up 34% in May

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

HK's mortgage loan approval up 34% in May

(HONG KONG) New mortgage loans approved in Hong Kong in May rose by 34.3 per cent from a year earlier and increased 0.1 per cent in value terms from April, figures from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) showed.

New loans approved in May totalled HK$37.8 billion (S$6.74 billion), the HKMA said yesterday. Month-on-month figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Loan approvals for new property rose 0.7 per cent month-on-month in May, while loan demand for mortgages on existing property fell 4.5 per cent. Approvals for refinancing loans increased by 10.5 per cent against April.

Following is a summary of data from the authority for May compared with April: The number of new mortgage applications fell 11.1 per cent to 20,283 from the previous month's 22,818.

· The value of new mortgage loans drawn down increased by 12.7 per cent to HK$28.9 billion.

· The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased 1.5 per cent to HK$675.6 billion.

· The mortgage delinquency ratio and re-scheduled loan ratio were steady at 0.03 per cent and 0.06 per cent, respectively. -- Reuters

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

BT : StayWell brings Australia hotel brands to Singapore

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

StayWell brings Australia hotel brands to Singapore

Park Regis hotel opening in Sept; Leisure Inn plans on drawing board

By EMILYN YAP

AUSTRALIA-BASED StayWell Hospitality Group is looking to stamp its Park Regis and Leisure Inn brands on more properties in Singapore and the rest of Asia.

The first Park Regis hotel here is set to open in September, and the group also has the country's first Leisure Inn hotel on the drawing board.

StayWell may be rather new to Singapore, but it is not venturing unassisted. The group's chairman is Asok Kumar Hiranandani, who built up property firm Royal Brothers with his brother, Raj Kumar.

Park Regis Investments - in which Mr Asok Kumar Hiranandani is a shareholder - won the bid for a piece of state land at Merchant Road in 2007. It has invested around $175 million in total to build the 203-room four-star Park Regis Singapore, as well as a seven-storey office block, on the site.

The hotel is targeting business travellers and room rates could start in the range of $200. StayWell is expecting an occupancy rate of 70-80 per cent. Talks to lease the office space out are underway.

The hotel will be a 'stunning investment' in the next few years, Mr Hiranandani told The Business Times. His confidence stems from the hotel's location near Clarke Quay and from the opening of the two integrated resorts.

To stand out from the competition, Park Regis Singapore will incorporate 'bits of Singaporean and Australian flavours', said StayWell CEO and managing director Simon Wan. For a start, it has picked an Australian, Jason Dowd, as the hotel's general manager.

'We will make sure that from the composition of the food, the composition of the wine, the television channels in the room to the staff uniforms, there will be some Australian flavour complemented by local themes,' Mr Wan said.

There are generally few good hotels up for sale in Singapore, so those on the market tend to generate interest among investors and observers. According to Mr Hiranandani, Park Regis Singapore has already attracted investors' interest.

'If someone gives us a management contract back for at least 15 years, we'll be more than happy to sell the hotel . . . The intention of bringing the brand to Singapore was to take it out of Australia and expand it to Asia,' he said.

'But I'd rather open the hotel first and get the income going. If it's an attractive price, we'll take the offer and buy another site.'

StayWell hopes to follow up with another hotel here under the three-star Leisure Inn brand. The Park Regis and Leisure Inn lines will complement each other, Mr Wan said, adding that there is strong demand for well-located and well-managed hotels in the three-star market.

He cited the success of Ibis Singapore as an example. The hotel, managed by another hospitality group Accor, opened in February last year and has achieved an above 90 per cent occupancy rate in the last three months.

But StayWell will not be rushing into any deal just so it can set up the Leisure Inn hotel. 'Because of high land costs, we have to be very careful in approaching this,' Mr Hiranandani said.

StayWell has 24 hotels in its portfolio and owns 14 of them. The group is looking to expand in Asia, and is in negotiations to buy 38 hotels in China.

Mr Hiranandani also said that he has bigger plans for StayWell but declined to elaborate. All he shared was: 'We are the only unlisted hotel operator out there.'

So is StayWell eyeing a public listing? Mr Hiranandani's son Bobby, who has been involved in the day-to-day running of his father's hospitality business, said: 'There are many options we are looking at. A listing is somewhat possible down the road.'

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



Brains behind the business: Bobby Hiranandani (centre); Mr Dowd (left) and Elaine Lim, director of sales and marketing, Park Regis Singapore. The hotel is targeting business travellers and room rates could start in the range of $200. StayWell is expecting an occupancy rate of 70-80 per cent and talks to lease the office space out are underway

BT : Banks face mounting losses in commercial property

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Banks face mounting losses in commercial property

Risk of further losses from exposure to real estate sector: BIS

(BASEL) The body grouping central banks around the world warned yesterday that banks are still worryingly exposed to risks such as falling commercial property prices which are likely to dent their earnings.

'Despite the improvement in banks' balance sheets, several factors raise doubts about the sustainability of bank profits,' said the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in its annual report.

The so-called central bank for central bankers noted in particular that 'there is growing evidence that further losses can be expected from exposure to the commercial real estate sector'. Commercial property values in the United States have plunged by a third from their peak and rates of overdue loan payments have risen to more than 8 per cent, said the Basel-based bank.

In European countries like Ireland and Britain, commercial property prices have also plummeted by up to 46 per cent from their peak.

'Losses on European bank balance sheets are expected to mount over the next few years,' it said, noting that some banks have in fact been rolling over loans rather than inducing foreclosures, a move that is delaying recognition of losses.

Beyond losses in commercial properties, some banks are also highly exposed to sovereign debt risks, said BIS.

At the same time, with governments also having significant borrowing needs, BIS said banks may find it tougher to obtain refinancing.

Many international banks including Citigroup, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland suffered from massive writedowns and losses during the financial crisis as their bets on the sub-prime private home loan market soured.

By April 2010, losses or writedowns reported by banks reached US$1.306 trillion, BIS said.

But new capital injected - mostly by governments through special rescue funds - almost matched these losses, reaching US$1.236 trillion.

The BIS groups more than 54 central banks\. \-- AFP

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

BT : UK house price growth slows further in June

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

UK house price growth slows further in June

(LONDON) UK house prices rose the least in five months in June as the prospect of a budget squeeze curbed demand and the supply of homes for sale increased, Hometrack Ltd said.

The average price in England and Wales gained 0.1 per cent from May, the slowest pace since January, to £158,900 (S$332,309), the London-based property researcher said in an e- mail report yesterday.

The number of new buyers registering with real-estate agents grew 0.1 per cent, and fell in six out of 10 regions, led by a 0.9 per cent drop in London.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne last week announced the deepest spending cuts in a generation and higher taxes to cut the UK's budget deficit. Consumer confidence slumped the most since July 2008 last month, Nationwide Building Society said. Home-price inflation has also been restrained by an increase in the number of properties for sale.

'Over the last four months the supply of housing for sale has grown three times faster than demand,' Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in the report. 'We expect demand for housing to slow further as seasonal factors come into play and households consider the implications of the budget on their finances and on the economy.'

From a year earlier, prices increased 2.1 per cent in June, Hometrack said. The number of properties being listed for sale grew 2.9 per cent from May and is up 15 per cent in the past four months.

'We expect market conditions to remain subdued with prices likely to track sideways at best, but with the distinct possibility of small month-on-month falls,' Mr Donnell said.

Hometrack said higher interest rates pose 'the greatest potential threat' to the housing market and could lead to a 'material change' in market conditions. Bank of England policy maker Andrew Sentance voted for an interest-rate increase at the central bank's June 10 meeting, the minutes of the decision showed. It marked the first push for a rise within the policy committee in almost two years. The seven other members voted to leave the benchmark rate on hold at a record low 0.5 per cent.

Hometrack surveyed 1,507 agents and surveyors at 5,712 companies for its June report. -- Bloomberg

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

BT : Industrial rents creep up in first rise since Q3 '08

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Industrial rents creep up in first rise since Q3 '08

By EMILYN YAP

RENTS for factories and warehouses turned around in the second quarter, rising for the first time since Q3 2008, DTZ said yesterday.

The property consultancy said the average monthly gross rent for first-storey private conventional industrial space was $2 per sq ft in Q2, up 2.6 per cent from Q1. The rent for upper-storey space was $1.60 psf, up 3.2 per cent.

According to DTZ, the average monthly gross rents for first and upper-storey private industrial space are down 14.9 and 22 per cent respectively from their peaks in Q3 2008.

Colliers International's director (industrial) Tan Boon Leong also said rents for factories and warehouses edged up in Q2. 'This is in line with the increase in factory orders, which in turn led to higher demand for industrial space,' he said.

In May, Singapore's manufacturing output surged 58.6 per cent year on year, driven largely by higher biomedical output.

Greater demand for industrial space has come mainly from higher-end manufacturers such as those in electronics and precision engineering, Mr Tan said.

He believes factory and warehouse rents will continue to rise in small steps this year, as manufacturers still need to utilise excess capacity carried over from the downturn.

DTZ has a similar view. 'Industrial rents are likely to continue to increase but at a slow pace given the stream of about 15 million sq ft of private industrial space in the pipeline over the next one and a half years,' said its South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.

The outlook for hi-tech industrial space is less bright. In Q2, the average monthly gross rent for business, science park and other space in this sector was unchanged at $3.15 psf.

DTZ does not expect hi-tech rents to move much this year, with a significant amount of business park space expected to come on stream in the second half.

There will also be competition for tenants from commercial space in secondary locations, said DTZ's executive director (business space) Cheng Siow Ying. 'The narrow rental gap between decentralised offices and hi-tech industrial space provides little impetus for upward movement of hi-tech industrial rents.'

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

BT : Savills puts 6 HDB shops up for sale

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

Savills puts 6 HDB shops up for sale

(SINGAPORE) Real estate consultancy Savills yesterday launched six HDB commercial shops for sale through expressions of interest.

The shops are in the mature estates of Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Yishun and Tampines.

They are rented and operate as substantial eating establishments, with seven to 13 food stalls each plus an anchor drinks stall. They have elastic seating capacity of 200-370 people spread over internal and outdoor areas.

All the shops are close to wet markets and transport nodes, and have good visibility and plenty of public car parking.

Collectively, the six shops have a guide price of about $65 million, reflecting a net yield before property tax of 5.7 per cent. They can be sold as a portfolio or individually, with each shop priced at between $4.8 million and $16 million.

The existing tenancies have four to nine years to run. The net yield before property tax is expected to grow to above 6 per cent in the near term as committed rents are stepped up over the tenancy period.

Expressions of interest close at 3pm on July 21.

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

BT : It's boom time for Biopolis

Business Times - 29 Jun 2010

INDUSTRIAL SPACE
It's boom time for Biopolis

Phase 5 will be completed by 2013 and will bring the total R&D space there to more than 3.3 million sq ft, reports UMA SHANKARI

SINGAPORE'S biomedical sciences sector is booming. And to cater to the growing number of companies that need more space, the nation's premier biomedical research hub, Biopolis, will be expanded again.

Industrial developer and landlord JTC said in May that it will spend another $140 million to provide 495,000 square feet of new space for companies engaged in cutting-edge work in creating new drugs and medical equipment.

This new phase - which will be the fifth for Biopolis and will be completed by 2013 - will bring the total research and development (R&D) space at Biopolis to more than 3.3 million square feet.

Phase five follows hot on the heels of the fourth phase, which was announced just in January this year.

Biopolis has been purpose-built for public and private biomedical research institutes and organisations and the expansion comes at a time when multi-national biomedical companies are expanding in Singapore.

'The biomedical sector has been putting up a strong showing so far this year,' says CIMB economist Song Seng Wun. 'We have seen a lot of reports on capacity expansion and reports on new investments and it looks like the sector is now attracting quite a lot of interest.'

In May, Japan-based Fujitsu officially opened its first biomedical research facility in South-east Asia here in Singapore. The company plans to work with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) to provide cutting-edge methodology to drive research for the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

'Fujitsu's collaboration with A*Star represents our commitment to being part of an ecosystem that will enable Singapore to harness innovations in technology, with the aim of developing a world-class R&D hub,' said Francis Goh, president of Fujitsu Asia, at the plant's opening.

US-based Abbott also officially opened its Asia-Pacific Nutrition Research & Development Centre at the Biopolis in Singapore recently. The centre is Abbott's largest nutrition R&D facility outside of the US and will create science-based nutritional products for infants, children and adults.

The biomedical sector has been a boost to the overall economy over the first five months of this year. For example, Singapore's economy grew by close to 50 per cent year-on-year in April 2010 and 60 per cent year-on-year in May. Mr Song points out that the growth was largely led by the biomedical sector, which accounted for more than half of the growth in both months.

And for the whole of 2009, Singapore's biomedical sciences manufacturing output rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to $20.7 billion, while total employment climbed 7.2 per cent to 13,174. Singapore aims for the sector to hit a manufacturing output of $25 billion by 2015.

Looking ahead, the sector is expected to continue expanding, and JTC will provide the real estate to support this growth, said Heah Soon Poh, director of JTC's biomedical and chemicals cluster.

Spearheading sustainable design

Biopolis's fifth phase will feature an energy efficient and sustainable design which will allow for more pre-clinical trials to be carried out.

In fact, the entire development aims to spearhead innovation in environment performance and sustainability and serve as a test-bed for promising environmental technologies.

Examples of Biopolis' sustainable features include: a building-integrated photovoltaic or solar-powered system; 'intelligent' building automation systems to optimise energy usage; a district cooling system to provide centralised chilled water supply to optimise the use of space and minimise energy costs for air-conditioning; and solar-powered LED lights with ultra capacitor as energy storage device, which are now being used as a landscape feature.

But with the upcoming expansion of Biopolis, sustainability will be taken a step further as JTC focuses on energy-efficient lab designs. Design strategies JTC will be looking into include more accurate sizing of laboratory equipment to reduce energy wastage; tapping on higher efficiencies for mechanical and electrical equipment and solar control and glazing for laboratory spaces to reduce heat gain.

It is also looking at the optimal selection of lighting to reduce maintenance and running costs as well as designing for naturally ventilated spaces wherever possible to reduce the cooling needed for the building.

'JTC recognises that energy efficiency is the leading driver for sustainable lab design as it represents the greatest possible operational savings,' the agency says. 'Sustainable energy efficient labs underscores JTC's ongoing effort to provide innovative and sustainable real estate solutions.'

Working to build a biomedical hub

Besides Biopolis, JTC is preparing land for manufacturing activities in the biomedical sciences sector.

The agency said earlier this year that it will launch a medical technology (med-tech) cluster in Jurong.

The med-tech sub-sector is expected to drive growth within the larger biomedical sciences sector. The cluster involves the manufacture of equipment used in the industry, such as syringes and medical test-kits.

Singapore's manufacturing output of med-tech products is expected to increase from $2.9 billion in 2008 to $5 billion by 2015, said JTC's Mr Heah.

Med-tech employs about two-thirds of all workers in the biomedical science sector, as it is more labour intensive than pharmaceutical production.

The new med-tech cluster, at Jalan Tukang in Jurong, aims to bring major industry players together in a new facility that will cost $60 million to $80 million to build initially.

Firms can collaborate and cut costs through cooperation as they will be located 'in the same space, creating synergies and reducing costs', said Mr Heah.

JTC and other government agencies are also pushing Tuas Biomedical Park, which has already attracted a host of global biomedical players such as Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Wyeth, Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline.

The 183ha Tuas Biomedical Park I and 188ha Tuas Biomedical Park II are located at Tuas View at the western tip of Singapore and are five minutes from the Tuas Checkpoint to Malaysia and 20 minutes away from Jurong Port.

The park has all essential infrastructure, such as roads, power lines, telecommunication lines, sewer pipes and water and gas supplies. Third parties provide utilities such as steam, natural gas, chilled water and waste treatment services.

With the estate's 'plug-and-play' design, pharmaceutical, biologics, medical device and other biomedical companies can set up manufacturing operations with minimal lead time. They can either move into fully serviced facilities or custom-build their own.

By staying within a cluster, these firms can enjoy economies of scale from sharing major infrastructure. It is also easier for JTC to look after their niche requirements, the agency says.

All these developments show the government's ambitions for the biomedical sciences sector.

Several government agencies - including the Economic Development Board, A*Star and JTC - all share the job of turning Singapore's aim of being a biomedical hub into reality. JTC, which is charged with supporting the unique real estate requirements of the biomedical sciences industry, will continue to come up with innovative solutions, it said.

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



Driving growth: Biopolis's fifth phase aims to spearhead innovation in environment performance and sustainability and serve as a test-bed for promising environmental technologies