Nov 24, 2010
6 bids for Tampines executive condo site
By Harsha Jethnani
AN EXECUTIVE condominium site in Tampines Avenue 8, launched last month, has chalked up six bids, with offer prices slightly higher than market expectations.
The top bid of $187.6 million or $302 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) came from a consortium comprising Hoi Hup Realty, Sunway Developments and SC Wong Holdings.
The 20,600 sq m site, put out to tender on Oct 6, is set to yield about 525 units.
Analysts had expected prices for the site with a maximum gross floor area of 57,680 sq m to range from about $220 to $280 psf ppr.
The second top bid was from another consortium, made up of Opal Star and Lum Chang Building Contractors, which offered $172.8 million or $278 psf ppr in the tender, which closed at noon yesterday.
Demand for executive condo sites launched in the second half of the year has been tapering off.
Two sites at Punggol drew five and four bids when tenders closed in June and September. In August, a site at Jurong West saw no bidders.
However, the somewhat stronger response for the Tampines land parcel 'shows that developers are fairly confident about this site', said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research.
He added that the site is within walking distance of Bedok Reservoir and Temasek Polytechnic. It is also near Tampines Central, Tampines MRT station and the Tampines Retail Park featuring Giant, Ikea and Courts outlets.
Mr Li said the $302 psf ppr offer price translates to a break-even cost of $600 to $620 psf.
Going by the experience at Waterview, a private condo at Bedok Reservoir where 200 units were reported to have been sold at an average of $838 psf last week, 'there will be a market for this new EC project if it is priced at a differential of 15 to 20 per cent lower than Waterview', said Mr Li.
That works out to a selling price of $670 psf to $712 psf.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
ST : Citi signs lease for 8 floors at Asia Square
Nov 24, 2010
Citi signs lease for 8 floors at Asia Square
Marina Bay deal part of bank's expansion, including hiring few hundred staff each year
By Esther Teo
IN A fresh sign of continuing strong demand for prime office space, Citi Singapore has signed up as a tenant at Marina Bay, Singapore's newest financial and business district.
Citi said yesterday that it has signed a 10-year lease for more than 250,000 sq ft - or eight floors - at Asia Square Tower 1.
This will accommodate up to 2,700 staff across its consumer, corporate and private banking businesses. It is expected to cost the bank $85 million in renovation and relocation costs.
This mega deal brings total leasing for Asia Square Tower 1 to about 50 per cent of the 1.26 million sq ft of available office space. There is 'substantial interest' in the rest of the space, said MGPA Asia chief executive John Saunders.
Asia Square is a mixed-use development being established by private equity real estate advisory company MGPA.
It comprises two towers, with the first be completed by June next year. Tower 2 is set to be ready in 2013 and will boast 780,000 sq ft of office space along with a five-star hotel with about 280 rooms.
Rents at Asia Square will be higher than the market range of about $10 per sq ft per month. A new tenant looking at mid- to top-floor space is likely to pay double-digit rents, Mr Saunders said.
Citi said the move to the Marina Bay premises will allow it to consolidate its trading rooms as part of its expansion and growth plans in Singapore. The headcount is expected to rise by a few hundred each year, said country head Michael Zink.
'More and more of the economic growth in the world economy is here in the Asia-Pacific region and Citi...has to figure out how to deal with that rebalancing. Singapore is the place where we're putting a lot of our incremental Asian business to serve our clients, not only here, but around the region,' Mr Zink added.
Employees currently in Centennial and Millenia Towers, and some in Capital Square, will move to the new location from the last quarter of next year through to 2013 as existing leases expire, Citi said.
Although Singapore's office market has suffered a downturn over the past few years, rents have been rising of late and companies are starting to realise that the amount of prime space available is becoming more finite, Mr Saunders said.
'When you look at Singapore in a regional context, I think with the rent levels we have at the moment, Singapore is still a competitive place to do business. Rents are very substantially lower than, let's say, Hong Kong and other comparable cities,' he added.
Asia Square will feature green elements such as a biodiesel generation plant to recycle food oil waste produced at catering firms on site. It will also have 400 bicycle racks, shower facilities and lockers, to encourage more people to cycle to work.
Other tenants secured by Asia Square include American law firm White & Case, Pure Fitness, Swiss bank Sarasin, Swiss private banking group Julius Baer, and insurance giant Lloyd's.
esthert@sph.com.sg
Citi signs lease for 8 floors at Asia Square
Marina Bay deal part of bank's expansion, including hiring few hundred staff each year
By Esther Teo
IN A fresh sign of continuing strong demand for prime office space, Citi Singapore has signed up as a tenant at Marina Bay, Singapore's newest financial and business district.
Citi said yesterday that it has signed a 10-year lease for more than 250,000 sq ft - or eight floors - at Asia Square Tower 1.
This will accommodate up to 2,700 staff across its consumer, corporate and private banking businesses. It is expected to cost the bank $85 million in renovation and relocation costs.
This mega deal brings total leasing for Asia Square Tower 1 to about 50 per cent of the 1.26 million sq ft of available office space. There is 'substantial interest' in the rest of the space, said MGPA Asia chief executive John Saunders.
Asia Square is a mixed-use development being established by private equity real estate advisory company MGPA.
It comprises two towers, with the first be completed by June next year. Tower 2 is set to be ready in 2013 and will boast 780,000 sq ft of office space along with a five-star hotel with about 280 rooms.
Rents at Asia Square will be higher than the market range of about $10 per sq ft per month. A new tenant looking at mid- to top-floor space is likely to pay double-digit rents, Mr Saunders said.
Citi said the move to the Marina Bay premises will allow it to consolidate its trading rooms as part of its expansion and growth plans in Singapore. The headcount is expected to rise by a few hundred each year, said country head Michael Zink.
'More and more of the economic growth in the world economy is here in the Asia-Pacific region and Citi...has to figure out how to deal with that rebalancing. Singapore is the place where we're putting a lot of our incremental Asian business to serve our clients, not only here, but around the region,' Mr Zink added.
Employees currently in Centennial and Millenia Towers, and some in Capital Square, will move to the new location from the last quarter of next year through to 2013 as existing leases expire, Citi said.
Although Singapore's office market has suffered a downturn over the past few years, rents have been rising of late and companies are starting to realise that the amount of prime space available is becoming more finite, Mr Saunders said.
'When you look at Singapore in a regional context, I think with the rent levels we have at the moment, Singapore is still a competitive place to do business. Rents are very substantially lower than, let's say, Hong Kong and other comparable cities,' he added.
Asia Square will feature green elements such as a biodiesel generation plant to recycle food oil waste produced at catering firms on site. It will also have 400 bicycle racks, shower facilities and lockers, to encourage more people to cycle to work.
Other tenants secured by Asia Square include American law firm White & Case, Pure Fitness, Swiss bank Sarasin, Swiss private banking group Julius Baer, and insurance giant Lloyd's.
esthert@sph.com.sg
ST : 2nd chance to vote for lift upgrading: Mah
Nov 24, 2010
Parliament
2nd chance to vote for lift upgrading: Mah
By Teo Wan Gek
OF THE 5,000 blocks of HDB flats offered lift upgrading since 2001, only a very tiny number have voted against it.
Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that residents of 54 blocks - scattered around Singapore - chose not to take up the offer to have lift landings on every floor.
These blocks will, however, be given a second chance to vote on the matter, he said in a written reply to Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar GRC).
Under HDB rules, 75 per cent of the households in a block have to vote for the programme for it to be carried out.
Mr Baey had asked if blocks which had earlier failed to achieve the 75 per cent would be offered another chance, as some flat owners and their sentiments would have changed over the years.
Of the 54 blocks, 32 blocks have been allowed to rethink their decision, and 22 of that group have obtained the 75 per cent majority which gets them lift upgrading.
The other 10 blocks have yet to vote a second time.
The remaining 22 blocks that failed to meet the 75 per cent threshold can still be re-offered the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), said Mr Mah, adding that grassroots advisers can work with the HDB to do so.
In wards held by the People's Action Party, the elected MPs are the grassroots advisers. In opposition-held wards, advisers are people appointed by the People's Association.
Said Mr Mah: 'The Government is committed to complete the LUP by 2014. Therefore, we urge residents to exercise their polling options carefully within this timeframe, taking into consideration the benefits that the LUP will bring to them and their families.'
The programme is heavily subsidised by the Government. Residents and town councils each pay between 5 per cent and 12.5 per cent of the cost, depending on flat size and configuration of the block.
A total of $3.8 billion has been earmarked for this programme.
The polling of residents usually takes place nine to 15 months after the HDB announces its selection of a precinct of several blocks for lift upgrading.
Parliament
2nd chance to vote for lift upgrading: Mah
By Teo Wan Gek
OF THE 5,000 blocks of HDB flats offered lift upgrading since 2001, only a very tiny number have voted against it.
Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that residents of 54 blocks - scattered around Singapore - chose not to take up the offer to have lift landings on every floor.
These blocks will, however, be given a second chance to vote on the matter, he said in a written reply to Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar GRC).
Under HDB rules, 75 per cent of the households in a block have to vote for the programme for it to be carried out.
Mr Baey had asked if blocks which had earlier failed to achieve the 75 per cent would be offered another chance, as some flat owners and their sentiments would have changed over the years.
Of the 54 blocks, 32 blocks have been allowed to rethink their decision, and 22 of that group have obtained the 75 per cent majority which gets them lift upgrading.
The other 10 blocks have yet to vote a second time.
The remaining 22 blocks that failed to meet the 75 per cent threshold can still be re-offered the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), said Mr Mah, adding that grassroots advisers can work with the HDB to do so.
In wards held by the People's Action Party, the elected MPs are the grassroots advisers. In opposition-held wards, advisers are people appointed by the People's Association.
Said Mr Mah: 'The Government is committed to complete the LUP by 2014. Therefore, we urge residents to exercise their polling options carefully within this timeframe, taking into consideration the benefits that the LUP will bring to them and their families.'
The programme is heavily subsidised by the Government. Residents and town councils each pay between 5 per cent and 12.5 per cent of the cost, depending on flat size and configuration of the block.
A total of $3.8 billion has been earmarked for this programme.
The polling of residents usually takes place nine to 15 months after the HDB announces its selection of a precinct of several blocks for lift upgrading.
ST : Property market in Asia 'unlikely to crash'
Nov 24, 2010
Property market in Asia 'unlikely to crash'
By Cheryl Lim
THERE is little chance of a property market crash in Asia, says KPMG international real estate chairman Jonathan Thompson.
He also reckons that the recent move by the United States central bank to pump vast sums into the economy, in a policy known as quantitative easing, is likely to bode well for Asian commercial real estate.
Mr Thompson, who is based in London, was in Singapore recently as part of a visit to key markets in the region. His main interest is commercial real estate.
He observed that while there is a more obvious bubble in Asia's residential property sector, the region will probably not see a property crash.
Citing property collapses in the US and Europe as examples, Mr Thompson said either an economic crash or a withdrawal of credit by banks would be needed to trigger a similar situation in Asia.
He said that Asia has what it takes to sustain a stable and steadily growing real estate market.
This is thanks to the region's growing economies, financially strong banking sector and broadly balanced supply and demand of property.
'You have to be careful with it (real estate), when it gets over-enthusiastic. Because there's so much money involved, when you have a crash, people lose a lot of savings. If the banks overlend, you get a financial crisis.'
Mr Thompson added: 'It's really on the regulators' minds, they really don't want to have a real estate bubble cause another financial crash.'
He said real estate is now increasingly seen as a different asset class, with different diversification features as compared with equities and bonds.
He also predicted that more institutions and individuals will buy into both domestic and international residential and commercial property.
Quantitative easing will directly affect property in Asia, Mr Thompson added. '(The weak dollar) will add inflationary pressure in markets like Singapore and Hong Kong...This is very positive for commercial real estate, because it is perceived to be a quite good hedge against inflation.'
Property market in Asia 'unlikely to crash'
By Cheryl Lim
THERE is little chance of a property market crash in Asia, says KPMG international real estate chairman Jonathan Thompson.
He also reckons that the recent move by the United States central bank to pump vast sums into the economy, in a policy known as quantitative easing, is likely to bode well for Asian commercial real estate.
Mr Thompson, who is based in London, was in Singapore recently as part of a visit to key markets in the region. His main interest is commercial real estate.
He observed that while there is a more obvious bubble in Asia's residential property sector, the region will probably not see a property crash.
Citing property collapses in the US and Europe as examples, Mr Thompson said either an economic crash or a withdrawal of credit by banks would be needed to trigger a similar situation in Asia.
He said that Asia has what it takes to sustain a stable and steadily growing real estate market.
This is thanks to the region's growing economies, financially strong banking sector and broadly balanced supply and demand of property.
'You have to be careful with it (real estate), when it gets over-enthusiastic. Because there's so much money involved, when you have a crash, people lose a lot of savings. If the banks overlend, you get a financial crisis.'
Mr Thompson added: 'It's really on the regulators' minds, they really don't want to have a real estate bubble cause another financial crash.'
He said real estate is now increasingly seen as a different asset class, with different diversification features as compared with equities and bonds.
He also predicted that more institutions and individuals will buy into both domestic and international residential and commercial property.
Quantitative easing will directly affect property in Asia, Mr Thompson added. '(The weak dollar) will add inflationary pressure in markets like Singapore and Hong Kong...This is very positive for commercial real estate, because it is perceived to be a quite good hedge against inflation.'
ST : Rental flat scheme has helped over 1,300 families
Nov 24, 2010
Parliament
Rental flat scheme has helped over 1,300 families
A TOTAL of 1,318 families have benefited from the Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme since it was introduced in January last year to help citizens in financial difficulties.
Of these, 311 have since moved out of IRH flats. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan provided the update in a written answer to Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio GRC).
Dr Lam had asked about the demand for the scheme, which was designed to provide temporary accommodation for needy families while they worked out their housing issues or waited for more permanent housing.
The number of those who have benefited from the scheme has grown since March 31. Then, 611 families had been helped and 87 families had moved on.
Under the scheme, two families have to share a three-room flat. Dr Lam asked if that requirement could be waived for larger families.
Mr Mah explained that flat sharing was necessary 'to keep rents low for these families in financial difficulty'.
Each family is charged between $300 to $400 a month, which includes utilities and service and conservancy charges.
But in cases where a family's size is large, the appointed operator of the IRH flats can choose to rent out to the family a two-room flat, or two rooms in a four-room flat.
The IRH flats are located in places such as Toa Payoh, Havelock Road and Bedok South, where three-room flats are usually rented out for $1,200 a month.
When it was introduced last year, the IRH scheme was meant to help families that had run into financial difficulties and needed to downgrade quickly.
With the scheme, families could sell their flats immediately, and buy new smaller flats. While these were being built, they could live in rental flats priced below market rate.
This was then part of a series of measures to reduce the number of defaults on home loans.
TESSA WONG
Parliament
Rental flat scheme has helped over 1,300 families
A TOTAL of 1,318 families have benefited from the Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme since it was introduced in January last year to help citizens in financial difficulties.
Of these, 311 have since moved out of IRH flats. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan provided the update in a written answer to Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio GRC).
Dr Lam had asked about the demand for the scheme, which was designed to provide temporary accommodation for needy families while they worked out their housing issues or waited for more permanent housing.
The number of those who have benefited from the scheme has grown since March 31. Then, 611 families had been helped and 87 families had moved on.
Under the scheme, two families have to share a three-room flat. Dr Lam asked if that requirement could be waived for larger families.
Mr Mah explained that flat sharing was necessary 'to keep rents low for these families in financial difficulty'.
Each family is charged between $300 to $400 a month, which includes utilities and service and conservancy charges.
But in cases where a family's size is large, the appointed operator of the IRH flats can choose to rent out to the family a two-room flat, or two rooms in a four-room flat.
The IRH flats are located in places such as Toa Payoh, Havelock Road and Bedok South, where three-room flats are usually rented out for $1,200 a month.
When it was introduced last year, the IRH scheme was meant to help families that had run into financial difficulties and needed to downgrade quickly.
With the scheme, families could sell their flats immediately, and buy new smaller flats. While these were being built, they could live in rental flats priced below market rate.
This was then part of a series of measures to reduce the number of defaults on home loans.
TESSA WONG
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In business for over 30 years, success in providing real estate investment opportunities to clients around the world is a simple, yet effective separation of roles and responsibilites. The four pillars of strength guide the land from the research and acquisition, through to the exit, including the distribution of proceeds to our clients ......
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Please contact me Terence Tay @ (+65) 9387-5896 or email : terencetay.kh@gmail.com
To know more how this is really work for you and your clients....
Please contact me Terence Tay @ (+65) 9387-5896 or email : terencetay.kh@gmail.com
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