Singapore Housing Ranked 'Seriously Unaffordable'

The 12th annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey has ranked Singapore housing as seriously unaffordable with a grading index of 5.0.
Measuring the affordability of 87 metropolitan housing markets in 9 countries, the report found Hong Kong to be the least affordable at 19.0 in the housing affordability index.
The survey ranks affordability based on the “median multiple” in each housing market. 

Affordability Grading Index:
Score of 3.0 or below – deemed affordable;
3.1 to 4.0 – moderately unaffordable;
4.1 to 5.0 – seriously unaffordable;
5.1 and above - severely unaffordable.

Formulae for affordability assessment:– 
Median house price divided by gross annual median household income.

According to the report:

• Property cooling measures have successfully kept the prices of HDB flats and private homes in check in Singapore.
• Affordability for new homes have further improved owing specifically to a moderate reduction in homes prices and an elevated supply of public and private homes coming onstream currently.
• Singapore has by far been ‘more successful’ in its measures in governing housing affordability, as against other markets employing the British urban containment model.

Against this backdrop, markets with serious housing affordability issues include places like Hong Kong, topping the chart at 19.0, while Sydney, Vancouver, San Jose, Melbourne, Auckland, San Francisco and London reaching levels between 8.0 to 12.2, the report said.

Blue Street Lights To Combat Suicides and Crimes

Blue street lights are believed to be useful in preventing suicides and street crime, a finding that is encouraging an increasing number of railway companies to install blue-light-emitting apparatus at stations to prevent people from committing suicide by jumping in front of trains.

2000 - in Glasgow, Scotland, the number of street crimes in areas illuminated in blue noticeably decreased.

2005 - Nara prefecture, Japan, crime rates dropped about 9% in the blue-illuminated neighborhoods set up by the prefectural police in 2005.

According to the company, a few people attempt to commit suicide every year at the station. Since the blue lighting was introduced, no suicide attempts have occurred at the station.

Professor Tsuneo Suzuki at Keio University said: “There are a number of pieces of data to prove blue has a calming effect upon people. But It’s a little risky to believe that the color of lighting can prevent anything.”

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun

The Silver Lining In Trimming Prices

Leveraging on the buying momentum in recent launches, developers have succeeded in offloading a bunch of unsold units by trimming prices. 

Brief take up of unsold units

The Panorama moved 60 units of the 80 units released between Oct and November last year. The recent discount rate relative to launched prices is about 6% to 7%.

The Panorama by Wheelock Properties is a 99 yr leasehold project in Ang Mo Kio Ave 2. It sells close to 30 units a month on average. The average sales price for the Panorama is about $1,229 psf.

Sky Vue in Bishan by CapitaLand sold 80 units of 182 units released last November.

CapitaLand has dangled carrots of up to $150,000 discount for the rest of the units at Sky Vue across all unit types. The recent discount rate at Sky Vue is approximately 6%.

‘The Sky Collection’, Sky Vue’s premium units from 28th floor up is lauded as homes with a panoramic view.

Sky Vue is a 99 yr leasehold project along Bishan St. 15. Prices start from $821,000, $1.1 million and $1.6 million for a 1 / 2 and 3 bedroom respectively. The number of unsold units is down to about 100. 

The 694 unit Sky Vue development was first launched in September 2013. It sold 433 units during its first month at a median price of $1,401 psf.

According to The Edge, top sellers among existing launches were Sims Urban Oasis on Sims Drive and Lakeville in the Jurong Lake District, which recorded 94 and 38 caveats respectively in 4Q 2015. 

Launched in April 2014, Lakeville is close to Lakeside MRT station, Jurong Lake and the Canadian International School. The 38 caveats lodged averaged $1,260 psf.

At Sims Urban Oasis, a city-fringe project close to Aljunied MRT station, the 94 caveats averaged $1,337 psf.

Survival In The Singapore Property Market – Property Agents Go Uber

Survival - it’s a jungle out there, the numbers showed.

Singapore has over 30,000 registered real estate agents. Relative to the volume of deals, the number of agents is ten times the volume of monthly transactions, according to the Institute of Estate Agents. 

By comparison, in Australia’s New South Wales, 1,840 agents handle an average of 8,160 monthly transactions in Sydney, according to CoreLogic Inc.

Amidst cooling measures and fierce competition in a slowing property market, some property agents are going the Uber way to make ends meet in Singapore, according to a Bloomberg report.

"The market is slow because of the cooling measures. We have no choice, we have to come up with means to make ends meet," said Loh, who started out as a realtor in 2008 but turned to driving for Uber last October, to pay the bills. For Loh, his income has dwindled to an average monthly taking of S$3,000,  a far cry from the up to $30,000 commission he could get in a single deal during the peak of the property market boom.

Uber is an American international transportation network company that allows consumers to book a trip for a taxi or private car via smartphones through the Uber mobile app.

Though property agents often juggle between jobs in what is a notoriously cyclical business, things don’t look so good in Singapore, where home prices fell by the most among the world’s major markets last year. After seven years of government intervention to cool prices in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market, a plunge in sales volumes is hurting real estate agents even more than price declines.

Knight Frank Global House Price Index which tracks 55 global residential markets showed that home prices in Singapore declined 4.3% in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, more than in Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Australia, 

Since 2012, total property transaction volumes in Singapore have plummeted about 68% with developers managing about 7,000 new homes sales last year, according to SLP International Property Consultants. 

Institute of Estate Agents is offering training courses in other jobs, such as property management to help agents cope and supplement their income.

Chinese Stock Markets Halted In 1st 2016 Session

Trading was suspended on Chinese markets after stocks tumbled 7% in the first trading of the year. The Chinese are using this tool, designed to limit the fluctuations of securities, for the first time.  The fall from Asia led to a slump in European stocks as well.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 7 percent by the time the trading was halted, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 6.9 percent and the technology-driven Shenzhen Composite fell by more than 8 percent. 

Triggering Factors
The market plunge comes after an official manufacturing survey, focusing on larger, state-owned Chinese companies, showed a fifth month of contraction, and a similar private survey focusing on smaller firms, indicated a 10th consecutive month of shrinking manufacturing.

Another factor is the imminent removal of a ban on major shareholders from selling stakes, which was put in place during the summer stock crash and is expected to be lifted Friday. The ban was put in place in July as Chinese stocks were falling fast. They have since rebounded 20%.

"The slump apparently triggered intensified selling, while the triggering of the circuit breaker seems to have heightened panic, as liquidity was suddenly gone and this is something no one has experienced before. It was a stampede." said Gu Yongtao, a strategist at Cinda Securities.

The Chinese tumble and the accelerated depreciation of the yuan drove markets elsewhere in Asia into the red. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.7% and South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.2%.

European markets slumped Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down over 2.4% and Germany’s down over 4%. London’s FTSE 100 performed better, losing 2.4% while France’s CAC 40 was down over 2.6%.

Australia Property Boom Leaves Swath Of Empty Homes

A sustained three-year property boom in Australia is leaving Melbourne awash with empty homes. This is a naturally occurring phenomena wherever supply outstrips demand.

In a report by Prosper Australia, Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, growing numbers of local landlords and absentee overseas owners focusing on price gains and forgoing rental income have resulted in locked up homes.

Some 82,724 properties, or 4.8% of the city's total housing stock, appear to be unused, an estimated occupancy rates derived by gauging water usage. In the worst-hit areas, a quarter of all homes are empty, said Prosper.

The study assessed 1.7 million residential properties in and around Melbourne during 2014. Those using less than 50 litres of water a day - the rough equivalent of one shower and a flush of a toilet - were deemed vacant. 

Driven by a wave of Chinese buyers and record-low interest rates, average home prices have soared to about A$700,000 in Melbourne and around A$1 million in Sydney.
But with prices now cooling, the empty accommodation also masks a hidden glut of supply that could worsen any housing slump.

Sydney, where high-rise blocks have sprouted in the inner suburbs, is also likely to have a vacancy problem. Surging home prices triggered a boom in high-rise construction in Melbourne's inner-city suburbs, squashing rental yields and leaving landlords with little incentive to find a tenant, said Cashmore.
"There is a wall of money that is trying to get into Australia," Cashmore said. "To fight those forces is going to be very difficult."

Sudden property price declines or an economic slowdown could well unveil the vacant supply, when owners would start to sell up or look for rental income. 

Source: Bloomberg

US Developer Moinian Bets On Leasing Market

Strong leasing demand is garnering a bright spot in Manhattan housing market.

By year end, Manhattan luxury seekers will have more than 2,000 newly built rental apartments to pick from. 

Moinian Group's Sky, New York City’s largest rental tower will debut in just days ahead. Moinian is leveraging the leasing market in a bid for priced-out buyers. The 71-story tower is Moinian’s bet that leasing demand and prices will continue to rise as would-be buyers remain shut out of a sales market that offers few choices for residents who are not multimillionaires. 

The first tenants will move into luxury Sky Tower at 42nd Street and 11th Avenue next week. It's the borough’s largest, single multifamily building, with 1,175 units. It features two outdoor pools, a pet spa, and a regulation basketball court.

Leasing of some 300 apartments started in June with rents starting from $3K for a studio to $6.2K for a 2-bedder.

Sky's perks for a stand-alone city includes a hair and nail salon, a café offering three meals a day, a billiards lounge, a landscaped garden and concierge services.

“Sky is the most impressive rental building ever built in New York City, and we believe the market will continue to respond to that very well as they have since we opened for leasing.” Moinian said. About half of the tower’s currently available apartments have found tenants.

“It’s not easy to buy in New York, and that’s true more than ever today. That’s leading to a lot of renters. It’s a renter’s world,” according to Mitchell Moinian, senior vice president.
A growing pool of tenants has pushed Manhattan rents up more than 18% since the recession ended in June 2009. The November vacancy rate of 2.87% is the highest since August 2006, according to Jonathan Miller, president of appraiser Miller Samuel. 

Over 6,700 newly built rental apartments will come on stream at market rates next year, the most since 2005, according to Citi Habitats. Most of the units will be priced in the top 10%, or luxury tier of the market, said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats.

more

Source: Bloomberg

Rule Change for Luxury Tax On Indonesian Property

Indonesia has revised its tax system on luxury properties according to a new ministerial decree.
Luxury tax for properties in Indonesia is now ‘Value based’ rather than the old practice of ‘Size based’.

Illustration
New rule – A 20 billion rupiah residential property is subjected to 20% luxury tax.
Previous rule – Apartment and houses above 350 square metres (3,770 sq ft) is subject to 20% luxury tax.

The luxury tax is applicable to apartments priced at 10 billion rupiah or more, as opposed to the earlier threshold of 150 square metres minimum size.

Argument for rule change
The plan to change the threshold for luxury tax on properties were discussed  and reviewed for months prior to its introduction last week.

Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesia’s Finance Minister had repeatedly said the old rule was unfair because it left small but expensive apartments in the middle of Jakarta untaxed.

Source: Reuters

Capitaland Optimistic About China Properties

Singapore property developer CapitaLand is unfazed by a slowdown in Chinese economic growth. It is expecting record home sales for its China mainland projects this year.

Chief executive Lucas Loh of CapitaLand China is optimistic:
"We are still confident about China... The key thing underpinning our optimism in China is urbanisation trends and its large population. Even at about 6% to 7 % economic growth, China has good prospects for real estate over the next 10 to 20 years," 
"China is going through a major transformation and moving towards a service-oriented economy... Tier 1 and upper Tier 2 cities will continue to benefit from urbanisation trends which will create demand for real estate." 
"CapitaLand is in a unique position given our presence here, our understanding and team of people on the ground... It puts us in a strong position to ride the growth."
Indeed tenants at its malls in China have been notching up improved sales of about 9% year on year.

China accounts for about $21.4 billion or 46% of the group's total assets - more than the $17.4 billion or 37% in Singapore. It is comfortable if this proportion goes up to 50%, said president and group chief executive officer Lim Ming Yan.

CapitaLand's business is focused on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in five clusters: 
Beijing-Tianjin
Shanghai-Ningbo-Hangzhou-Suzhou
Guangdong- Shenzhen
Chengdu-Chongqing
Wuhan

It had racked up about 6,492 units or 11.6 billion yuan (S$2.6 billion) in home sales at the end of the third quarter and could hit about 8,000 units or about 14 billion yuan by the year end, a record for the company, said Mr Loh.

It aims to drive return on equity (ROE) for its homes by tapping into trends, including the recent liberalisation of capital markets, he said. For example, it is considering issuing onshore corporate bonds.

Other major Chinese developers have been doing so with attractive interest rates of mostly about 4.25% to 4.5% a year.

Other ROE drivers include enhancing project execution by, for example, managing costs. "Residential pricing growth rate has slowed down, so (we are focusing) on project execution to maintain project margins we have set for ourselves," said Mr Loh.

Replenishing the land bank is also key, although the company noted that prices have run up by as much as 30% year on year in Tier 1 cities, according to recent tenders.

Even as CapitaLand focuses on Tier 1 and major Tier 2 cities for residential sites, "it will be increasingly more competitive with many local developers refocusing their strategy back to these cities... having experienced difficulties in Tier 2, 3 or 4 cities in the past few years", he said.

Projects which have delivered better margins tend to be on land acquired through joint ventures, or mergers and acquisitions - which it will aim to do again. Urban renewal sites are also possible, such as its Datansha Island project in Guangzhou.

The company has also racked up a tidy slate of malls in China, having opened about 54, with 10 more on the way. Sales growth by tenants has been in the high single digits across all tiers of cities, said Mr Chan Kong Leong, CapitaLand Mall Asia head of regional investment, asset and fund management.

It could reconstitute its mall portfolio - as in CapitaLand Mall Trust's (CMT) acquisition of Bedok Mall last month, or CMT's sale of Rivervale Mall to a third party - especially as the group looks to focus on the five city clusters, though that depends on whether the opportunity is there.

Chinese mall operators have also been attempting to integrate online with offline, with partnerships announced this year between Intime and Alibaba, as well as Parkson and Dianping.com. Mr Chan said its malls will stay competitive as it engages shoppers online with platforms such as WeChat and its CapitaStar rewards programme. The group is also aiming to cross-sell products online eventually.

CapitaLand has several more Raffles City projects lined up till 2018, with phased openings of two developments in Hangzhou and Changning scheduled for next year. Oversupply is an issue in some cities. Raffles City Hangzhou is in a new central business district with three Grade A office projects handing over this half year. But Mr Loh said the firm is committed to holding its more premium prices for some offices it is strata-selling.

"While there are many office buildings, there is only one Raffles City... With the completion of the mall next year, and the leasing of the office building that we are keeping for the long term, that will enhance traffic and confidence. Eventually, the strata units will be able to find buyers at the pricing we want."

CapitaLand's serviced residence arm Ascott has been scaling up in China as well. It owns and manages 80 properties with more than 14,300 serviced residences there, and is set to meet its target of 20,000 units by 2020, said Ascott North Asia managing director Kevin Goh. Alliances, such as its joint venture with online apartment-sharing platform Tujia.com this year, will help growth. Since listing its Chinese properties in September, Ascott's revenue from the site has been doubling monthly, he said.

Mr Lim said, as a whole, the group is happy with the group's progress towards ROE targets of 8 to 12 per cent over the next few years. This is achievable for stabilised investment properties and trading properties, which can generally give that level of return - ROE can be double-digit for the Chinese residential market, for example, although the Singapore residential market has been more challenging.

Source: Straits Times

Jalan Besar Plaza To Enbloc For S$390M

The 53,043 sq ft Jalan Besar Plaza is up for collective sale. Estimated selling price is S$390M or S$2,451 psf for the 35-year-old, freehold property.

 The 16-storey commercial and residential building is zoned under Commercial and Residential with a plot ratio of 3.0, under the 2014 Master Plan.

The tender will close on Jan 21, 2016. 53,043 sq ft.

Eden Hall Land at Nassim Road Up For Sale

Since selling off a portion of land from Eden Hall plot in 2001, more land around the British High Commissioner's home in Nassim Road is on the market again.

The British government has carved out two freehold land plots from its Nassim Road garden land for wealthy buyers keen on owning some of the plummiest land in Singapore.

Image: Sraits Times

Plot A is indicatively priced at $40.964 million, or $2,200 psf. The plot is approximately 18,620 sq ft and has about 36m of Nassim Road frontage.

Plot B is about 15,634 sq ft. It comes with a Nassim Road frontage of about 8m and is prospectively priced at $31.268 million or $2,000 psf.

PRIME LAND
Land for Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) in the tree-lined boulevards of Nassim Road is tightly held and scarcely available. With Eden Hall steeped in history, the sale of the two plots present a landmark sale in the GCB market. The properties are selling on a vacant site basis.

Before the 2001 sale, the land plot was originally more than 200,000 sq ft. in area.

Recent Nassim Road GCB History
Roughly 109,000 sq ft of part of the Eden Hall land parcel were bought for $50.4 million in April 2001 by motoring tycoon Peter Kwee and "Popiah King" Sam Goi.

Kwee took the larger part of about 63,300 sq ft and subsequently resold it to the below buyers: 

• 39,383 sq ft of the plot (now 28M Nassim Road) went to Oei Siu Hoa for $25.5 million in 2003. 
• The other plot of 23,922 sq ft was sold to Tay Liam Wee for $47.84 million in 2012. 

Goi continues to own 28G Nassim Road, a 45,754 sq ft site.

After the two plots are sold, the Eden Hall site will retain a land size of about 63,893 sq ft.

Nassim Road has chalked up only three GCB sales over the last eight years.

In April 2013, a company controlled by Wing Tai chairman Cheng Wai Keung and his wife put up a GCB at 33 Nassim Road for sale for about $250 million to $300 million. The plot of 84,839 sq ft land site has yet to secure a buyer.

Source: Straits Times

Sentosa Cove Bungalow Transacts At S$2,775 psf

A golf-course fronting bungalow overlooking the sea  in Sentosa Cove has sold for S$23.8 million or S$2,775 psf.

The bungalow with a remaining lease term of 89 years at Lakeshore View sits on a 8,576 sq ft land plot.

This is the highest psf price achieved over the last 2 years and is only outperformed by 2 other villas transactions along the same stretch done in 2013 at S$2,922 psf and S$2,952 psf, before the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR).

The 3.5 storey bungalow inclusive of a roof terrace with a jacuzz has four bedrooms, a theatre room and a swimming pool with a built-up area of approximately 10,000 sq ft.

The buyer is a Chinese businesswoman. The sellers are three siblings from a Hong Kong family, two of whom are British citizens and the third, a Singapore citizen.

For the past 2 years, villas on Sentosa Cove were sold at a price range between S$1,386 psf and S$2,612 psf, based on URA records.

The relatively high pricing of S$2,775 psf achieved for the property confirms that premium property can command a good price, albeit slightly lower than the peak prices due to softening demand.

Most foreign buyers eyeing Sentosa Cove villas, an enclave with only 360-plus bungalows, are Asians. Further release of more land for villas in Sentosa Cove is not in the cards.

6 bungalows have changed hands for this year to date, doubling the three deals for 2014. The transaction figures for 2013 was 18 transactions and for 2012 is 23.

Back in 2009, there were 36 deals, followed by a record 54 transactions in 2010 before activity began slowing to just 24 deals in 2011 - due to the onset of property cooling measures.

On the rental scene in Sentosa Cove, the leasing market is more active. Tenants are typically western foreigners, taking a two to three-year lease. Rentals range from about S$20,000 to S$30,000 a month depending on the bungalow location, size and facing.
Tenants are mostly top-ranking executives.

Foreigners or Singapore permanent residents (PR) granted permission by the authorities to own a landed home on Sentosa Cove are not allowed to lease it out.

Source: Business Times

URA releases 2 residential sites for sale

Two land parcels were released for sale on Wednesday (Sept 30) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Source: URA

The parcel at Alexandra View is next to Redhill MRT station. Launched for sale under URA's ‘Confimed List,’ it can accommodate 400 units, with the first storey slated for commercial space.

Source: URA

The tender for the  8,400 sq m parcel with a maximum gross floor area of 41,153 sq m will close at 12 pm on Nov 12.

The other site located at Jalan Kandis, near Sembawang Park is made available for sale under the "Reserve List."  It will be put up for sale if a developer's indicated minimum price is acceptable to the Government.

The 7,047 sq m parcel with with a maximum gross floor area of 9,866 sq m can yield about 115 residential units.

Both sites, which come under the 2nd Half 2015 Government Land Sales Programme, have 99-year leases.

Source: Straits Times

High-End Home Sales Picks Up

Private homes sales above S$3 million line have picked up. Emerging value and currency movements paved the way to an upsurge in high-end home sales, rising 17.7% to 659 units for the first seven months of this year. Only 560 were done in the same period last year.

The pick-up in transactions above the S$3 million category cut across both the landed and non-landed segments. 

January to July Period
Sales of landed homes, 2015 - 318 transactions.
Sales of landed homes, 2014 - 280 transactions.

Non non-landed sales, 2015 - 341 transactions.
Non non-landed sales, 2014 - 280 transactions.
 

Contributing factors

Steeper drop in property prices in the high-end property market - the luxury non-landed private home prices have fallen 11.2% from its peak in Q1 2013.

Currency appreciation in the USD, Hong Kong dollars and the British pound against the Singapore dollar creates incentive for buyers.

The completion of new condo developments such as Leedon Residence in District 10.

Upsurge in landed property demand - 48% of private homes that changed hands at above S$3 million in the first seven months were landed homes.

Longer term view, owner occupation, upgrading of portfolio or positioning themselves for capital appreciation in landed properties in land-scarce Singapore.
 
Redevelopment – developers buying interest in old houses for redevelopment purposes.

Realistic pricing - developers of new landed projects have a certain timeframe to sell off their properties or pay a penalty.

Surge in number of landed properties bought by companies - totalling 30 units  from Jan-July 2015.

Transactions above the S$3 million price tag in the first seven months of 2015

Singaporeans bought 442 private homes - up 20.8%.
PRs bought 104 private homes - up 13%.
Companies bought 42 homes, up from 32 previously - up 31.3%.
Purchases by foreigners fall to 64 units - down from 69 previously in the S$3-4 million range but transactions shoot up above S$4 million mark.

In contrast, the number of private homes sold at prices below S$3 million mark is almost unchanged; the figure inched up 0.3% to 8,763 units in January-July 2015 from 8,736 in the same year-ago period.

Still, the latest sales volumes in the property market are some way off the peak levels of 2013, before the roll out of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) in June 2013.

Source - Business Times

Cluny Hill GCB Goes For S$21.52M

A 15,097 sq ft in the Cluny Hill Good Class Bungalow freehold site is being sold for S$21.52 million or S$1,425 psf on land area.

Standard Chemical Corporation is selling the property to Aston Holdings which is 90% owned by Tan Koo Chuan, who also controls developer Yi Kai Group.

Estimated cost to build and fit out a new bungalow of between 8,000-10,000 sq ft gross floor area (GFA) is around S$6-8 million.

The initial asking price is S$24 million earlier in the year.

The sole transaction in 2014 along Cluny Hill was transacted at S$1,976 psf. The freehold GCB at 33 Cluny Hill has a land area of 15,177 sq ft. It was sold for S$30M. 

In total, there were only 3 Cluny Hill transactions between 2010 to 2014 - two at $30M and one at $28M. Land prices were done between $1,533 psf to $1976 psf.

Buyers are on the lookout for GCBs in the S$20-25 million range these days.  The number of transactions is expected to pick up at these levels.

GCB buyers potentially come from those aspiring to upgrade from smaller bungalows and new citizens.

GCBs are the crème de la crème of landed housing in Singapore. Only 39 locations in Singapore are designated as Good Class Bungalow Areas with strict rules to preserve their exclusive identity.

Source: The Business Times

Le Nouvel Ardmore Penthouse S$51M Sale Sets New High Bar

Winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2008 and Wolf Prize in Arts 2005, Le Nouvel Ardmore's 13,875 sq ft penthouse was sold for an absolutely record price of $51M | S$3,676 psf, in April this year. This is a record absolute price quantum for a penthouse in Singapore.

Le Nouvel Ardmore by Wing Tai is a 33-storey single-tower luxurious freehold condominium along Ardmore Road, Singapore. It received Temporary Occupation Permit a year ago.

THE buyer of the S$51 million at Le Nouvel Ardmore penthouse is believed to be Sun Tongyu, one of the founders of Alibaba. He was the former president of Alibaba Group's consumer-focused e-commerce site Taobao. 

The penthouse unit sits on the top two levels of the 33-storey freehold project. Included in the 13,875 sq ft floor space is a roof terrace of 5,000 sq ft. Based on the brochure, there are five bedrooms, a family area and a study area on the lower deck, level 32. A private pool, private foyers, roof terrace, a gym and an entertainment area are on the upper deck, level 33.

On the assumption that the roof terrace is assigned a per square foot value equivalent to one-third that of the indoor area, the effective price is around S$5,000 psf.
Penthouses larger than 13,000 sq ft are rare in Singapore. 

Wing Tai has moved only four units in the 43-unit freehold condo, designed by Jean Nouvel, who clinched the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2008.

If this is anything to go by, it is a sure sign that the Singapore property market is biding time. Buyers are waiting on the sidelines and some may decide to take the plunge when conditions are right.

GCB Site At Windsor Park Up For Sale

A freehold Good Class Bungalow (GCB) site at 53 Windsor Park Road is up for the sale by public tender. The indicative price is S$27 million, or S$1,280 psf.

The part single storey and part double storey bungalow occupies a land area of 21,091 sq ft. Built in the 1950s, it sits on elevated grounds.

The tender closes at 3pm on Oct 21.

Around its vicinity are other landed housing and low-rise condominiums. The property enjoys proximity to Thomson Plaza, Sin Ming Plaza, and shop-houses along Upper Thomson Road.

There are only 34 GCB plots in the area. Rarely do any of these GCB come up for sale. In the past few years, only two recorded transactions in the area were recorded.

Past Transactions

January 2013 - A 22,481 sq ft site sold for S$25.3 million;

December 2012 - A 19,280 sq ft property sold for S$27 million.

Caveats for 25 GCB deals worth a total of S$543 million were lodged in 2014.

So far, 20 GCBs with a total value of S$485 million have been transacted this year. The numbers are expected to grow, given a rise in activity for this segment lately, on the back of more realistic asking prices from sellers.

Source: The Business Times

Queen Astrid GCB Site Up For Estate Sale

A freehold Good Class Bungalow (GCB) redevelopment site in Queen Astrid Park with an indicative price of S$49-51 million is up for estate sale by tender.

This works out to S$1,399 to S$1,456 psf.

The 35,011 sq ft site at the junction of Queen Astrid Park and Coronation Road West is currently occupied by a single-storey detached house.

The indicative price is relatively tempting when matched against the peak median price of S$1,749 per sq ft recorded in Q2 of 2014.

In Q2 of this year, the median price for detached houses with land area of 15,000 sq ft and above in District 9, 10 and 11 is S$1,410 psf.

GCBs are highly coveted here due to its scarcity, with only some 2,500 islandwide.

The GCB site at 2 Queen Astrid Park would not have been made available had it not been an estate sale.

The Queen Astrid Park site is appealing because of its exclusivity, elevated grounds, lush greenery, tranquil surroundings and easy accessibility to Holland Village and Orchard Road.

There is also the potential for sub-division into two smaller plots, a rare attribute. The GCB site enjoys wide double road frontages onto Queen Astrid Park and Coronation Road West.

The tender for the site closes on Nov 12.

Total transactions in GCB areas rise to at least 11 deals in Q2 of 2015, amounting to S$282.3 million.

Just four deals totalling S$95.3 million will transacted in Q1 of this year.

GCB Recent Transactions:

45 Belmont Road
Site: 31,125 sq ft
Sold at S$1,420 psf (June 2015)

26 Bin Tong Park
Site: 21,426 sq ft
Sold at S$1,400 psf (June 2015)

21, Queen Astrid Park
Site: 27,373 sq ft
Sold at S$1,169 psf (July 2015)
Transaction Price: S$32 million

Source: Business Times

CPF Building Sale Could Net $450m

The CPF Building in Robinson Road is up for sale and is expected to fetch around $450 million.

Completed in the 1970s, CPF Board initiated the sale of the building after it contracted a long-term lease agreement to rent space at Novena Square Towers A and B for its operations.

The tower with a frontage of 120m is located at the junction of Robinson and Maxwell Road. It enjoys unobstructed sea views and has a site area of about 47,056 sq ft, with net lettable area of about 324,000 sq ft.

The corner site is zoned commercial. It has a plot ratio of 12.88, inclusive of the bonus for land size and proximity to an MRT station. The height restriction is 50 storeys. This would mean a potential gross floor area (GFA) of over 600,000 sq ft, or over 24% more than the existing GFA.

The differential premium to maximise the GFA is about $75.5 million. The building's tenure is 99 years from 1968.

Nearby Developments

The immediate vicinity of Tanjong Pagar MRT station is currently undergoing rejuvenation. A good mix of new commercial, hotel and residential developments is being built.
A direct link from CPF Building to Tanjong Pagar MRT station is being envisaged by Urban Redevelopment Authority.

The area will continue to evolve. Imminent development of the Southern Waterfront City will commence when the container port is relocated.

Strong participation from local players and foreign developers are expected as the CPF Building is a rare opportunity to create a landmark development in an otherwise tightly held asset class.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is also envisaging a direct link from CPF Building to Tanjong Pagar MRT station, which would enhance the building's connectivity.
The area will continue to evolve with the imminent development of the Southern Waterfront City when the container port is relocated.

Strong participation is expected from local players and foreign developers, as the CPF Building is a rare opportunity to create a landmark development in an otherwise tightly held asset class.

Source: Straits Times

Sale of 2 Commercial Projects By Expression Of Interest

Two commercial projects are going for sale by expression of interest:
1.    The entertainment complex at 1 and 3 Yuan Ching Road - commonly referred to as SuperBowl Jurong. 
Indicative asking price is S$20 million.

2.    A row of 5 adjoining shophouses at 142 to 150 (even numbers) Joo Chiat Road.
It has a total land area of about 7,503.58 sq ft.
Tenure of land to be determined upon closure of expression of interest.

SuperBowl Jurong Complex
The SuperBowl Jurong complex with a site area of 234,152 sq ft is part 2-storey and part 3-storey block, plus a pair of 2-storey blocks. It has a total net floor area of about 111,000 sq ft. 

The JTC Complex 30 years lease  starts from Jan 1, 2002. Occupancy rate stands at 99.6%. Tenants in the complex include Sheng Siong supermarket, McDonald's, Subway, and SuperBowl.

For operators in the lifestyle, entertainment and recreational industries, SuperBowl Jurong comes as a good fit. When the transformation is complete under the Jurong Lake District development plans, businesses will thrive even more. Things to look forward to will be the Singapore-Kuala-Lumpur high-speed rail terminus, the edutainment clusters, as well as park connectors and pedestrian linkages to be flashed out within the next few years.

Under the 2014 Master Plan, the site is zoned for "commercial and residential use".

Shophouses in Joo Chiat
The five adjoining shophouses in Joo Chiat Road totals about 7,503.58 sq ft in land size and comes with a plot ratio of 3.0. This allows up to a maximum gross floor area of about 22,510.74 sq ft.

It is zoned "commercial" under the 2014 Master Plan.

The vendor, a privately held investment holding company is evaluating whether to sell the property in its freehold tenure or to sell it on a 99-year leasehold basis. 

On a freehold basis, bids are expected to be in excess of S$14 million. 

The vendor is soliciting bids on a freehold and 99-year basis from prospective investors and will decide the tenure disposal after closing the expression of interest process.

Source: Business Times