NEWS & VIEWS Monday, 16 June, 2014 RESIDENTIAL MARKET Price cuts at prime central private homes too The sale is on for private residential projects in the prime central region, following price cuts for city fringe and suburban projects which helped developers move more unsold units. Palms @ Sixth Avenue, a strata landed semi-detached project, is offering to absorb the 7 per cent additional buyers stamp duty which existing Singaporean home owners have to pay for a second residential property. With this, prices will go from $5.3 million to $4.9 million for a 4,510-sq-ft unit, and from $7 million to $6.5 million for a 5,834-sq-ft one. The discounted prices translate to a per square foot range of $1,086 to $1,114. The project will receive its temporary occupation permit (TOP) in the first quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, Hallmark Residences along Ewe Boon Road in Bukit Timah is offering a discount of more than 10 per cent for several of its units. A 969-sq-ft two-bedder, for instance, will cost $1.9 million, down from $2.1 million. Three-bedders will cost $2.8 million instead of $3.1 million, and four-bedders, $3.5 million instead of $4 million. An actual show unit will be open for a one-day-only viewing tomorrow, an agent told The Business Times. Two other condo projects in the city fringes are also re-launching units at lower prices. 8M Residences along Margate Road in the East Coast is offering an 8 per cent direct discount on its one to three-bedroom units. For instance, an 893-sq-ft three-bedder will now cost $1.6 million, from $1.8 million. Per-square-foot prices range from $1,832 to $2,015, a breather from the median $2,100 psf at which its units transacted until April 2014. Buyers may opt to take a 10 per cent rental guarantee package by purchasing at the current price and getting a 5 per cent cash-back from the developer annually for two years - even while renting out the unit and receiving actual rental income. One Eighties Residences is giving a 13 per cent discount on its two-bedroom units and penthouses, which will now start at $890,000 and at $1.4 million respectively. Source: Business Times – 14 June 2014 Homes sold as leasehold tenures on freehold sites Owners of The Shore Residences may be unaware that they are part of a small group to have bought units sold with leasehold tenures, though the developer owns a freehold land title. The 408-unit condominium in Marine Parade got its temporary occupation permit in January. Its developer Far East Organization in 2009 took the rare step of selling units with a 103-year lease even though the land is freehold - a scarce commodity in Singapore. Experts say the move allows a developer to retain the freehold land for redevelopment later, rather than selling away the title. Far East acquired the site of The Shore Residences through a collective sale of the former Rose Garden, which was freehold, for $169.8 million - or $423 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr) - in August 2006. The unusual approach to lease tenures is not the first such instance here, property consultants said, but it is not common. Experts estimated that freehold homes could command a premium of about 15 to 20 per cent over similar leasehold units, so developers who sell such homes do not get the lands full value. The units are more affordable, as a result. And as younger buyers become more receptive to properties with shorter leases, these units are attractive because their lower prices mean a higher rental yield compared with freehold units. Such a development strategy is preferred by family-owned businesses, who are less concerned with delivering results to shareholders, as opposed to listed firms. They can possess freehold land through collective sales or inheritance. Far East - owned by the Ng family - for instance, has also developed the 103-year leasehold Greenwood Mews in Greenwood Avenue and Cabana in Sunrise Terrace, which are similar cases. The firm is believed to be the first to develop leasehold properties on freehold sites that it owns. While there are no conclusive records on the number of leasehold properties on freehold land - or which was the first to be built - one such shophouse in 48 Arab Street started its 99-year lease as far back as March 1952. Similar properties that have been in the spotlight include the 99-year leasehold Spring Grove condo in Grange Road, which sits on the former residence of the American ambassador. Sim Lian Groups 99-year leasehold Rochelle at Newton in Keng Lee Road, which is on freehold land owned by the Chui Huay Lim Club, is a similar case. Source: The Straits Times – 14 June 2014 Bidadari home projects attract growing interest Interest in Housing Board flats in Bidadari is growing but investors have also been quick to buy private homes in the growing residential enclave. Of course, any mention of the quiet neighbourhood brings to mind the burial grounds of the former Bidadari Cemetery. But analysts say this will recede with the Governments efforts to transform it into a housing estate. The proliferation of upcoming mixed developments in the vicinity also means that residents will be well served by amenities, they said. The area is bounded by the Sennett Estate, Bartley, Upper Serangoon and Mount Vernon roads. The Housing Board earmarked the town for further development under its Master Plan 2014. As many as 10,000 public homes are expected to sprout up, with another 1,000 private homes to be built by the second half of 2015. Condominiums that have been launched in the area have seen brisk sales. Qingjian Realtys Nin Residence in Pheng Geck Avenue, for instance, has been fully sold. The 219 units at the 99-year leasehold project were sold at a median price of $1,218 per sq ft (psf). All 702 units at City Developments (CDL) 99-year leasehold Bartley Residences have also been shifted, at a median price of $1,246 psf. These developments, however, went on the market before the total debt servicing ratio loan guidelines were introduced in June last year. Though sales at recent launches have paled in comparison, units are still being purchased. About 56 units were sold at CDLs The Venue Residences in Tai Thong Crescent for a median price of $1,396 psf. A mixed public housing and commercial development called the Market Square will also add to the retail offerings in the area. Units at the 330-unit 8@Woodleigh have changed hands at about $1,200 psf to $1,400 psf, while resale prices of units at Woodsville 28 were about $1,200 psf to $1,300 psf, Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed. Rents have held firm in the past year, staying between $3.50 psf and $4 psf for three- or four-bedroom units in newer projects such as 8@Woodleigh and Blossoms@Woodleigh. But while the neighbourhood is being built up, investors might have to put up with soft demand. This also means that prices in the estate are lower than nearby mature estates like Bishan and Toa Payoh, so there is potential for gains in home values. Source: The Straits Times – 14 June 2014 Hougang Ave 7 HUDC estate goes private The Hougang Avenue 7 HUDC estate was successfully privatised yesterday, said the Housing Board (HDB), confirming an earlier report in The Straits Times. The estate, comprising 286 flats in Blocks 344 to 350 in Hougang Avenue 7, has been converted into a strata-titled property under the Land Titles (Strata) Act. It is the 16th of 18 such former public housing estates to go private, and the third since last month. That leaves Potong Pasir, which expects to complete its journey in under a months time, and Braddell View, which has just reached the required support level of at least 75 per cent. The privatisation means that the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) is no longer responsible for the management and maintenance of Hougang Avenue 7 estates common properties. Instead, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) Plan No. 4013 has been constituted to do this. Its members will be elected at an annual general meeting in three months time. The Straits Times understands that one issue to be discussed at the meeting is a proposed boundary fence around the estate. The pro-tem committee which oversaw the privatisation has proposed a fence with two gantries and six side gates. But this depends on how much of the sinking fund will be transferred to them from AHPETC. The pro-tem committee feels the current estimate of $328,000 is far too low, and will also table this issue at the meeting. Such boundary fence and sinking fund worries were also raised last weekend at a town hall meeting in the former HUDC estate of Serangoon North. Formerly under AHPETC, too, it was privatised on May 8. Meanwhile, the HDB is acting in a caretaker role as the management council of Hougang Avenue 7 estates MCST. It is working together with the pro-tem committee to find vendors to put up gantries, so as to prevent unauthorised or illegal parking. Pending their installation, the committee has proposed putting up Private Estate signs to discourage trespassers. Source: The Straits Times – 14 June 2014
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 02:34:10 +0000
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