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17-08-06, 17:09
Published January 26, 2006

Hoi Hup bags Kim Yam Mansion in $63m collective sale

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


PROPERTY developer Hoi Hup, part of Straits Construction Group, is understood to have bagged the 877-year leasehold Kim Yam Mansion, off River Valley Road, for about $63 million through a collective sale.

Windfall: Owners of Kim Yam Mansion's 40 apartments will receive more than $1.5 million each
The price works out to about $460 per square foot of potential floor area inclusive of a development charge of about $300,000.

Owners of Kim Yam Mansion's 40 apartments will receive more than $1.5 million each, or up to three times the $500,000-$600,000 the units would have fetched if they were sold individually.

This premium is one of the highest since en bloc sales began in Singapore in 1994. Sellers in most deals these days see collective premiums of about 30-50 per cent.

Jones Lang LaSalle brokered Kim Yam Mansion's sale.

The four-storey development is about 40 years old.

It has a land area of 49,080 square feet and the site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

Based on its purchase price, Hoi Hup's breakeven cost for a new condo on the site will be about $670-$700 psf, say analysts.

Kim Yam Mansion is the first collective sale to benefit from a new law that took effect last month, facilitating en bloc sales of estates where the original landowner/developer retains the freehold title despite giving flat owners leases ranging from 850 to just under 999 years.

In such estates, strata titles were not issued under an old law, so the developer issued long leases instead. In the past, some of these landowners demanded hefty payments - amounting to millions of dollars - before they would consent to an en bloc sale.

This ate into proceeds for the flat owners, sometimes effectively blocking an en bloc deal.

Jones Lang LaSalle, Kim Yam's marketing agent, worked with real estate lawyer S K Phang to highlight the anomaly in the law to the authorities.

This was fixed through an amendment to the Land Titles (Strata) Act that took effect on Dec 1, under which such landowners lose all rights to the land upon an en bloc sale.

The Singapore Land Authority has said that in all, 24 sites will be affected by the rule change - but did not identify them to protect the privacy of the present unit owners.

mr funny
17-08-06, 18:05
SC Global to pay $266m for Paterson Tower

20 Mar 06

SC Global Developments will pay $266 million or $1,064 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for 8 Paterson Hill, Paterson Tower.

In a press release yesterday, SC Global said that its offer, made by wholly owned subsidiary Grandon Pte Ltd, for the en-bloc purchase of all 72 units at Paterson Tower, had been accepted by a majority of unit owners.

Paterson Tower was put on the market in February and its marketing consultant United Premas had indicated an asking price of $280 million. The failure to achieve this price suggests that prices for such prime redevelopment sites may have plateaued.

Prices for prime redevelopment sites had been rising steadily this year. In February, Far East Organization paid $120 million or $1,058 psf ppr for Angullia Mansion, the highest price achieved since 1997. Then, earlier this month, Hasetrale Holdings paid $138 million or $1,218 psf ppr for Eng Lok Mansions, an all-time high for a collective sale site. Both properties are within a stone's throw of Paterson Tower.

The price for Paterson Tower may not have broken any records but owners will still walk away with about double the market price for their homes. The current market price is about $1.85-1.9 million per unit.

The $266 million price tag includes the price for a 6,459 sq ft adjoining plot of state land. The combined land area is 121,006 sq ft and the plot ratio is 2.1. This will give the new development on the site a potential gross floor area of 254,112 sq ft and a building height of 24 storeys.

In line with SC Global's niche development strategy, a high-end luxury residential development will be built.

The Boulevard Residences around the corner, which was also developed by SC Global, made the headlines last year when a three-bedroom unit sold for $2,200 psf in October, a record high.

By ARTHUR SIM

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:08
Property
Published March 23, 2006


Paterson Lodge's answer to en bloc blues
Instead of cash for their homes, owners get a unit in new project


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


A COMMON bugbear for property owners selling en bloc is the difficulty they have finding a replacement property of the same size in the same location with their proceeds.


http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7210/bt374915822032006bn2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Of one mind: (From left) Dr Phang, Mr Cunningham, Mr Quah, Mr Lim (executive director of Ace Dynamics) and Larry Koh (senior sales manager at KF Property Network)


But the 20 owners of the freehold Paterson Lodge unanimously agreed on an answer. In a unique deal with a subsidiary of listed holding company Ace Dynamics, they will not be paid in cash for their units. Instead, they will get a new unit in the project that will go up on their land.

What's more, it will be slightly bigger than their old unit, on the same floor and facing the same view.

What makes the deal different from a handful of similar cases in the 1990s - like Eng Kong Green and Char Yong Gardens - is that the land on which Paterson Lodge stands will not be transferred to the developer until the new project is completed and the existing owners have received titles to their new apartments.

This is to protect the owners in case the developer goes bust.

In the meantime, the owners have given the developer power of attorney so it can proceed with the 35-unit project.

Apart from the 20 exchange units that Ace Dynamics must give the owners, it can sell the remaining 15 units.

It took the existing owners of Paterson Lodge almost two years to iron out the deal, working with Ace Dynamics, property agent Knight Frank and real estate lawyer SK Phang of Phang & Co.

'An exchange like this requires the unanimous consent of owners,' said Knight Frank executive director Foo Suan Peng.

'This means it is easier to replicate this collective exchange in estates with a smaller number of units, and very importantly, where owners are very comfortable with one another and cooperative. This isn't a mere financial deal where owners walk away and need not see their neighbours again.'

Ace Dynamics executive director Lim How Boon said: 'Not a single cent changed hands. And the owners get back the chance to stay in their units.'

Paterson Lodge sales committee chairman Quah Soo Gee said that the collective sale exchange allows all the owners to keep their prestigious address, besides significantly improving the value of their units.

Although three-quarters of the owners do not live in the development, they liked the deal as the rental value of the new apartments will be higher than that of the old ones they're giving up, said Mr Quah, an architect by training.

Agreeing with this, fellow sales committee member John Cunningham, who has owned his unit for about five years, described the collective exchange as an 'entrepreneurial solution' for owners who like living in the same area after they've done an en bloc sale.

'It is a nice exchange. We're getting back much nicer apartments than the units we exchanged in a nicer environment and with facilities,' said Mr Cunningham, creative director of ACTs of Life, which conducts speech, dance and arts classes and workshops.

'If I don't do an exchange, it (my apartment) is going to be sold out from under me and I won't be able to live in this area - even if I screamed all the way to the STB (Strata Titles Board). This is the better of two evils.'

This is how the deal was structured. The existing 20 units in six-storey Paterson Lodge comprise 10 apartments of 743 sq ft and 10 others of 926 sq ft. The new Paterson Lodge that Ace Dynamics will build will be a 10-storey development with 35 units ranging in size from 861 sq ft to 1,033 sq ft.

Ace Dynamics will have to pay a development charge of about $4 million for the right to enhance the use of the site by building a new project with a gross floor area (GFA) of 32,472 sq ft - about 57 per cent more than the existing GFA.

On the top floor will be three penthouses. The project will also have a swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym and BBQ pits - none of which are present at today's Paterson Lodge.

The current values of the existing apartments range from $630,000 to $800,000. The new units, assuming a price of $1,200 psf on average currently, will be worth about $1 million to $1.24 million.

Assuming prime district residential property prices escalate to $1,700 psf in two to three years, when units in the redeveloped project are handed over to the owners, the replacement units could be worth $1.5 million to $1.8 million, says Knight Frank.

'This works out to a collective exchange premium of at least 100 per cent for the owners,' said Mr Foo.

The advantage to the developer is that it does not have to fork out a large amount of money to buy the land upfront, thus saving on finance costs and cash flow.

It basically only pays for the construction cost and fees.

Lawyer SK Phang said the Paterson Lodge deal is the first collective exchange since en bloc rules were amended in late 1999 to allow collective sales without unanimous approval. 'However, for a deal like this to go through, you have to get unanimous approval, otherwise it gets messy.'

Current en bloc sale legislation provides that minority owners who object to a collective sale must be given a cash payment option. To determine the cash price, the most transparent method is to hold a tender and use the highest bid as the basis. However, the top bidder may not want to do an exchange, and may be unhappy if his bid is used only to serve as a pricing peg for another developer to do an exchange, Dr Phang explained.

Hence, collective exchanges are best in developments with a relatively small number of like-minded owners.

Ace Dynamics' Mr Lim said his company is looking at other such deals in prime areas.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:20
Published April 1, 2006


Thomson en bloc sale fetches $156.3m

By ALEXANDRA HO


THE collective sale fever continues, this time outside the downtown prime areas.


Owners of three properties in the Thomson area - Lock Cho Apartment, Comfort Mansion and a 4-storey walk-up apartment - fetched $156.3 million after they joined forces to collectively sell their properties by tender.

At that price tag, the freehold land works out to be about $344 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in the purchase price of a plot of state land next to it for about $14.8 million and half a million dollars in development charge.

The price fetched is a tad lower than the $160 million, or around $350 psf ppr, that the owners had hoped for.

Property heavyweight City Developments (CityDev) beat two other developers to win the site in a tender, said Credo Real Estate, which handled the deal.

The three developments, at Jalan Datoh and Jalan Raja Udang, currently have a total of 165 units.


They have a combined land area of about 137,479 sq ft and 40,526 sq ft of state land. With a plot ratio of 2.8, it could yield about half a million sq ft of gross floor area (GFA), with a height control of up to 36 storeys - making it one of the largest collective sale projects launched this year in terms of GFA.

Credo reckons that CityDev could break even at around $600 psf and expects around 400 condominium units, each about 1,200 sq ft.

'These three adjoining sites were extremely attractive because collectively, it will provide us with the opportunity to amalgamate the sites to create a sizable land area for redevelopment.

'Such collective en bloc opportunities are rare,' said CityDev's group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong in a statement.

Each seller stands to get between $840,000 and $1.3 million, Credo said, which is a 60 to 90 per cent premium over their current market values.

Credo's executive director Tan Hong Boon said that including this sale, the total collective sale tally for the first quarter of this year is $1.2 billion, with 17 projects sold. Mr Tan said that figure is already more than half of 2005's total of $2.26 billion.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:41
Evan Lim & Co beats three other bidders for prime site in en bloc sale


By ALEXANDRA HO


ANOTHER prime property has gone for collective sale - for $32 million - showing that momentum is continuing to pick up in real-estate en-bloc deals.



This time, it is The Esquire, an 11-storey, 30-unit apartment block on Mount Elizabeth, near the famed hospital and behind The Paragon Shopping Centre. Its owners - both investors and owner-occupiers - had failed in earlier attempts to sell the entire block.

Evan Lim & Co, a general building contractor and property developer, beat three other bidders with its $32 million offer.

The price buys a building on a land area of about 16,067 sq ft and a gross plot ratio of 2.8.

The present structure can be replaced by a building of up to a maximum of 36 storeys.

In addition to the $32 million, a $3.59 million development charge is payable. Taking that into account, Evan Lim's purchase price is about $791 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

'This is the highest residential land rate achieved in the Mount Elizabeth/Emerald/Cairnhill location in recent years, and is the third highest in the vicinity of Orchard Road, just after the recent sales of the larger Angullia Mansion and Habitat II,' said Tan Hong Boon, executive director of Credo Real Estate, which brokered the deal.


Angullia Mansion went to Far East Organization for a land cost of $1,058 psf ppr inclusive of development charges earlier this month, while Habitat II was sold to Wheelock Properties last year for $876 psf ppr.

Mr Tan said Evan Lim could build 20 luxury apartment units with an average 2,000 sq ft size, or 60 boutique units of 700 sq ft each.

He added that each of the 30 apartment owners will get about $1.07 million from the sale, representing a 65 per cent premium over what the apartments would have fetched individually.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:42
Published February 9, 2006

MCL Land buys Waterfall Gardens
Price works out to $550 psf ppr, inclusive of charges, premium

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

MCL Land has bought the freehold Waterfall Gardens in Farrer Road and two smaller adjoining sites for $131.75 million. The price works out to $550 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of development charges and a development premium payable to the state to maximise the site's redevelopment potential.

New 12-storey condo coming up: MCL Land could build about 200 units averaging 1,800 sq ft each and is expected to get the project launch-ready by the fourth quarter of this year
MCL Land's breakeven cost for a new 12-storey condo could be about $800 to $850 psf. The total land area is 160,932 sq ft.

The group is buying the property through an en bloc deal from its owner Farfor Investments, controlled by members of a family with Indonesian and Hongkong connections, although some family members are now Singapore citizens.

The family members go by two surnames - Tan and Lim.

This is the same family that developed the Shearesville project in Holt Road and bought one block of Cuscaden Residences for $1,028 psf in early 1999 from Hotel Properties - and later sold it to the Hong Leong Group and Japan's Mitsui group for $1,380 psf in August 2000.

Waterfall Gardens was sold through a private tender handled by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. It closed late last month and attracted a handful of bids. Farfor's offer was the highest.

Farfor originally bought Waterfall Gardens, with a site area of 138,016 sq ft, in 1999 for $102 million. It later bought a remnant strip of private land next door for a couple of million dollars, sources say. And it recently purchased an adjoining state site of 20,602 sq ft for about $7 million.

These three parcels, involved in the latest sale to MCL Land, add up to 160,932 sq ft. The site is zoned residential with a 1.6 plot ratio - ratio of potential gross floor area to land area - and has a 12-storey height restriction.

MCL Land could build about 200 units averaging 1,800 sq ft each and is expected to get the project launch-ready by the fourth quarter of this year.

This weekend MCL is officially launching its Esta freehold condo in Katong. It has sold about 250 units in the 21-storey development since last month and is expected to raise the average price from $700 psf to $710 psf. Another MCL project that is expected to hit the market later this year is an exclusive low-rise condo comprising fewer than 50 units in Fernhill Road.

For Waterfall marketing agent DTZ, this is the second major investment sale deal it has announced in as many days. It also handled the $120 million collective sale of Angullia Mansion to Far East Organization.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:46
Published December 28, 2005

PROPERTY REVIVAL
Bt Sembawang bags Holland site for $49m
Including estimated $6.1m development charge, price works out to $541 psf per plot ratio

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

IN yet more evidence of the pick-up in the property market, Bukit Sembawang has just bought its third residential development site this year - Carlton Terrace along Holland Road, near the Botanic Gardens.

Carlton Terrace along Holland Road: Purchase of this development site is Bukit Sembawang's third this year
The listed property group, linked to the Lee family of OCBC, yesterday announced it clinched the freehold property through a $49 million collective sale.

Including an estimated development charge (DC) of about $6.1 million, Bukit Sembawang's purchase price for Carlton Terrace works out to a land cost of $541 psf of potential gross floor area. A new condo on the 72,718 sq ft site may breakeven at around $800 psf, say market watchers.

The Carlton Terrace site is zoned for five-storey residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area). Knight Frank brokered the sale. Bukit Sembawang is planning to redevelop the property into a new condo with about 85 units averaging 1,200 sq ft on the site.

Bukit Sembawang's two earlier land purchases this year were the Woodleigh Grove plot in the Upper Serangoon area and a site at Lengkok Angsa just off Paterson Road. Like the latest Carlton Terrace purchase, the two earlier acquisitions involved collective sales.

The collective sale market has been hotting up this year, reflecting developers' appetite for prime freehold sites.

The group's July purchase of Woodleigh Grove for $29.8 million was its first property acquisition since 1998. The price for the 41,694 sq ft freehold site worked out to $280 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of a nearly $3 million DC. That site has a 2.8 plot ratio, and Bukit Sembawang is expected to build on it a 17-storey condominium with about 100 units.

The Lengkok Angsa site - comprising 32 landed houses - which Bukit Sembawang clinched for $117.2 million translates to a land price of about $650 psf ppr including DC, a substation on the site and an adjoining road strip. The site has a 2.1 plot ratio, and Bukit Sembawang is planning to build on it a 24-storey luxury condo with about 100 mostly large units - three and four bedders with an average size of 1,500 sq ft or even bigger.

Bukit Sembawang is expected to launch the condos on the Lengkok Angsa and Woodleigh sites next year.

The group is dubbed the 'King of Seletar Hills', after its massive landbank in the location. After developing numerous projects in the area over the years, it still has about four million sq ft of freehold land - all designated for landed housing - in the Sembawang Hills area.

The collective sale market has been hotting up this year, reflecting developers' appetite for prime freehold sites following strong end-user demand from home buyers in the luxury residential segment.

More than 30 collective sales have been transacted so far this year, totalling over $1.9 billion, more than double the $722 million for 17 deals last year.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:47
Published December 29, 2005

Auric Pacific acquires Bukit Timah Mansions

AURIC Pacific, part of the Lippo Group, said yesterday it has bought Bukit Timah Mansions through a $15.4 million en bloc sale. Auric did not give the site area but sources say it is about 20,000 sq ft.

Factoring in an estimated development charge of about $6 million, the acquisition price works out to a land cost of about $510 per square foot of potential gross floor area. The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

It can be developed into a smallish apartment project with about 35 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.

Bukit Timah Mansions, at 327 Bukit Timah Road, is between Balmoral Road and Keng Chin Road. The existing property is a seven-storey block with 10 apartments. There are also car parking lots and a swimming pool.

Auric is expected to redevelop the site as soon as it receives the necessary approvals. The company said the acquisition is in line with its diversification plans.

The group's existing core business is in food manufacturing, wholesale distribution of food and allied fast-moving consumer goods and investment holding.

Auric has identified property investment, development, management and services and related activities in Singapore and abroad as an additional core business to boost profitability.

In May, Auric - which is perhaps best known for its Sunshine brand of bakery products - said it planned to buy Newton Heights, a freehold property.

Auric said then it would acquire a related company, HKCL Investments, which had signed an agreement in February to buy Newton Heights in a collective sale for $43.6 million.

The parent of HKCL is an associate of the Lippo Group, which in turn controls Auric.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:48
Published January 6, 2006

PROPERTY MARKET REVIVAL
Emerald Lodge sold to HK firm for $45.2m
The Esquire at Mt Elizabeth is on the market again for almost $32m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

EN BLOC activity continues to heat up in prime District 9, with the $45.2 million sale of Emerald Lodge in Emerald Hill Road and The Esquire at Mt Elizabeth again on the market, for almost $32 million.

Nod for sale: Emerald Lodge's sale is subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board
The buyer of freehold Emerald Lodge is understood to be a private investment company controlled by a low-profile Hong Kong family, reflecting renewed interest by Hong Kongers in Singapore property.

The sale is subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board as unanimous approval from Emerald Lodge's owners has yet to be secured, as well as to the purchase of an adjoining 3,339-sq-ft plot of state land. Knight Frank brokered the deal.

The $45.2 million purchase price works out to $803 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of development charge (DC). With the purchase of the state site, Emerald Lodge's buyer can potentially reduce its land price to $750 psf ppr.

A new apartment project on the site could break even at about $1,120 psf.

Emerald Lodge has a site area of 26,900 sq ft. The combined site - including the state land - of 30,239 sq ft can be redeveloped into a new project with about 50 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.

Under Master Plan 2003, the site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio - the ratio of potential gross floor area to land are. At $45.2 million, the owners of the 31 existing apartments stand to pocket in excess of 50 per cent more than the individual value of their units.

Over in the Mt Elizabeth area, the $32 million price indicated for The Esquire apartment block is identical to what the owners sought in May last year when they last offered their homes for collective sale.

'We received an offer that was close to what the owners were seeking, but sensing that the market was going to improve, the owners decided to wait for a while,' says Credo Real Estate executive director Tan Hong Boon, whose firm is handling the collective sale.

The $32 million price tag works out to $791 psf ppr including a $3.59 million DC. The break-even cost for a new project on the site could be about $1,150-$1,200 psf. The property has a 16,067-sq-ft freehold site area and is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio under Master Plan 2003, with a maximum height of 36 storeys.

The site should appeal to boutique developers. It can be redeveloped into a new project of some 36 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.

Credo suggests an alternative use for the property - redeveloping it into serviced apartments for long-stay guests or short-stay visitors who come to Singapore for treatment at Mt Elizabeth Hospital and Medical Centre. However, such a use would be subject to official approval.

mr funny
17-08-06, 19:59
Published January 27, 2006

SC Global buys site at Martin Rd for $17.8m

DEVELOPER SC Global, better known for its high-end residential projects, is paying $17.8 million for a Martin Road freehold property that can be redeveloped on a residential-cum-commercial basis.


Through its wholly owned subsidiary Kimmingston Pte Ltd, SC Global struck the deal with Hock Giap Company Pte Ltd for the 17,664 sq ft property at 38 Martin Road.

With an estimated development charge of $9.1 million and a gross plot ratio of 2.8, the cost works out to about $544 per sq ft per plot ratio.

An eight-storey warehouse building now sits on the site, with tenants. It has a zoning of residential, with commercial enterprises on the first floor.

SC Global owns a vacant freehold site next to it measuring 26,813 sq ft with a plot ratio of 2.8. It could combine that site with its newest acquisition, giving a land area of 44,477 sq ft.

That could be developed into a 15-storey residential and commercial development with a potential gross floor area of 124,536 sq ft.

Other residential developments near the site include CapitaLand's 43-storey Rivergate and City Development's The Pier at Robertson.

Kimmingston has put down 10 per cent of the purchase price for 38 Martin Road and is expected to pay the balance in 12 weeks. The acquisition is expected to be completed in April. Meanwhile, SC Global has called an EGM on Feb 15 for shareholders to vote on whether to allot and issue 5,754,000 placement shares to Mass Noble Ltd at an issue price of $1.35.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:02
UOL buys Akyab Rd site for $20.9m

7 Feb 06

New COO says it will be on the lookout for further acquisitions


UNITED Overseas Land is extending its buying spree into the new year with its latest acquisition of a residential redevelopment site in Akyab Road for $20.9 million.


And UOL's new chief operating officer Liam Wee Sin, who was previously group general manager and promoted yesterday, confirms that it is actively looking to expand its land bank.

The freehold Akyab Road site, which is in the Novena area, will be amalgamated with a smaller adjoining site in Minbu Road that it bought in October 2005. Last year, UOL made a slew of acquisitions which included Maryland Park, Eng Cheong Tower, Oasis Garden and Bo Bo Tan Mansion/Gardens.

Mr Liam said UOL expects to launch several projects this year, including one in Kuala Lumpur.

Indeed, of its new land bank, more may be expected to be overseas. 'For en-bloc sales sites especially, we are increasingly faced with fast escalating and unrealistic asking prices,' he added.

Saying that today's property market is 'highly competitive', Mr Liam noted that an 'immense amount of energy is spent on product development'. Some of UOL's better known products include the award winning One Moulmein Rise in Novena.

New niche products include its new economy condominium at One-North in Buona Vista, a joint venture project with Kheng Leong Company and Low Keng Huat. As COO, Mr Liam will oversee the investment, project, marketing and engineering divisions. UOL is also looking to expand its service apartment arm which will also fall under the COO's purview.

'We have just bought One Residency in Kuala Lumpur and we plan to operate it as service apartments. Locally, we will also be launching our proposed service suites at Somerset Road sometime next year,' he added.

Also promoted was general manager of finance Wellington Foo who will now serve as CFO of UOL.

Perhaps more indicative of UOL's expansion plans is the confirmation that Kam Tin Seah, former Centrepoint Properties' assistant general manager of development, has joined UOL and is now general manager of investments.

By ARTHUR SIM

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:03
Published February 8, 2006

Far East bags Angullia Mansion
$1,058 psf ppr land price, including devt charges, is highest since 1997

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Property tycoon Ng Teng Fong's Far East Organization continues to expand its presence in the prime Orchard Road belt. This time it has clinched the freehold Angullia Mansion, near the Four Seasons Park condo, through a $120 million collective sale, sources say.

Angullia Mansion: Marketing agent secured owners' unanimous approval, and called off the tender closing tomorrow.
The price works out to a land cost of $1,058 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of development charges (DC). This is 65 per cent higher than the $643 psf ppr including DC that Wheelock Properties paid in December 2004 for Angullia View just opposite the latest site, reflecting the dramatic recovery in sentiment in the high-end residential market over the past 15 months.

More importantly, Far East's $1,058 psf ppr unit land price for Angullia Mansion is the highest for a collective sale site here since the 1996-97 market peak, property consultants say.

The price is also just 3 per cent shy of the record unit land price for a collective sale which Far East itself set in January 1997 when it bought Scotts Tower through an auction for $1,093 psf ppr including DC.

During a subsequent wave of collective sales that began in 1999, the highest price fetched was for the freehold Kim Lin Mansion on Grange Road, which went for $996 psf ppr including DC.

But the highest-ever price for a freehold residential site in Singapore is $1,122 psf ppr that Hong Leong Group paid in April 1997 for Boulevard Hotel, which has been approved for redevelopment into a condo.

And the benchmark for an all-residential 99-year leasehold site is still held by Wing Tai with its June 1997 winning bid of $1,104 psf ppr for the Draycott Park site that it has since redeveloped into the Draycott 8 condo.

Angullia Mansion, located in Angullia Park, is on 44,730 sq ft of land that is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area). A new 36-storey condo on the site could break even at about $1,400 psf or even lower, based on Far East's acquisition cost, property consultants say. The site can be redeveloped into a project of about 60-plus apartments averaging 2,000 sq ft.

Far East's offer of $120 million is understood to have led the property's marketing agent DTZ Debenham Tie Leung to call off a tender last week ahead of the scheduled closing date of tomorrow.

Market sources say DTZ may also have called off the tender partly because it already had the unanimous agreement of owners of all 21 existing apartments at Angullia Mansion for an en bloc sale at a much lower reserve price, said to be about $106 million.

In short, Far East's $120 million offer on the table surpassed the owners' already-high expectations and there was no certainty that a tender would have resulted in a still-higher bid.

'A bird in hand is better than two in the bush, as they say,' said a market watcher.

This is the second Orchard Road property Far East has bagged this year. Last month, it clinched the former Glutton's Square plot next to Somerset MRT Station and Specialists' Shopping Centre for $421.1 million or $1,085 psf ppr in a state tender. Far East is expected to do an all-retail development on the 99-year leasehold plot.

In May last year, it bought Pacific Plaza on Scotts Road for $111 million. Far East also has stakes in Far East Plaza, Far East Shopping Centre, Lucky Plaza, Orchard Shopping Centre, Orchard Plaza and Orchard Parade Hotel, besides full ownership of Orchard Parksuites, Regency House and Elizabeth Hotel, among other properties - making it the biggest private property owner in the Orchard Road area.

The collective sale market has been hotting up since last year, as developers selectively replenish their landbanks in response to the strong recovery in home buying in the luxury segment.

Collective sales are a good source of the prime freehold sites that developers are keen to have.

More prime district properties are expected to hit the en bloc sale trail soon, including Habitat I and Ardmore Point along Ardmore Park, Beverly Mai in the Orchard Boulevard area and Casa Rosita along Bukit Timah Road.

However, property consultants say that with reports of higher land prices being achieved, it becomes more trying to do collective sales as owners' asking prices also rise.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:25
Property
Published April 20, 2006

Hoi Hup pays $52m for Cairnhill Gardens
More properties on River Valley, Thomson Rd, Robin Rd and Balmoral on en bloc market


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


THE collective sales train continues to chug along. Hoi Hup Realty is buying Cairnhill Gardens for $52.38 million, even as more properties in the River Valley, Thomson Road, Robin Road and Balmoral areas jump on the en bloc bandwagon.


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Cairnhill Gardens: The price for the 25,083 sq ft site works out to $795 psf of potential gross floor area


The price Hoi Hup is paying for the 25,083 sq ft freehold Cairnhill Gardens site works out to $795 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of development charges, BT understands.

Jones Lang LaSalle handled the sale of the site, which is zoned residential with a 2.8 plot ratio.

Unit land prices fetched for collective sales in the Cairnhill area have been creeping up. Last week, Chip Eng Seng announced that it paid $785 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) for Venus Mansion in Peck Hay Road. No DC is payable for the freehold Venus Mansion.

And last month, Bukit Sembawang bought a property in the vicinity, The Vermont, for $750 psf ppr including DC. In July last year, Wing Tai bagged Phoenix Mansion for $716 psf ppr.


Land prices for collective sales in the Cairnhill area have been creeping up. All eyes are now on Hilltops Apts tender which closed yesterday.

All eyes are now on the Hilltops Apartments tender, which closed yesterday.

Meanwhile, ERA yesterday announced the launch of a tender for the collective sale of 433-471B River Valley Road, with an asking price of $70.5 million. This works out to $387 psf ppr inclusive of a small DC.

The existing development on the site is a part freehold/part 999-year leasehold three-storey walk-up apartment. The site fronts River Valley Road and is a short walk from Great World City.

The long, rectangular plot, with a service road and back lane, totals 64,967 sq ft. It is zoned residential with a 2.8 plot ratio and a maximum height of only five storeys.

'Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's approval, a five-storey party-wall development abutting the road line is allowed,' ERA said yesterday. The developer can build about 120 unis averaging 1,200 sq ft, according to ERA.

CB Richard Ellis has launched an expression of interest exercise for Balmoral View with an asking price of $52 million or $733 psf ppr inclusive of an estimated $7.9 million DC.

The 51,080 sq ft site is zoned residential with a 1.6 plot ratio and height control of up to 12 storeys.

Credo Real Estate has also launched two collective sale sites this week - The Albany and No 1 Robin Road.

The Albany, a 41,688 sq ft freehold site diagonally opposite Thomson Medical Centre, is expected to fetch between $60 million and $65 million.

This reflects a unit land cost of $413 to $445 psf ppr inclusive of DC to maximise the site's redevelopment potential, as well as a land premium for adjoining state land of some 10,000 to 15,000 sq ft.

At No 1 Robin Road, the owners expect between $12 million and $12.5 million for their 15,070 sq ft freehold site. This works out to $482 to $498 psf ppr inclusive of an estimated $3.31 million DC.

The tender for No 1 Robin Rd closes on May 16, that for The Albany on May 18 and for the River Valley site on May 19. Expressions of interest for Balmoral View close on May 25.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:29
Singapore Companies
Published April 26, 2006

MCL Land buys Boon Teck Heights for $22.88m

By NANDE KHIN


MCL Land Ltd, through its wholly owned unit MCL Land Development, has bought the Boon Teck Heights property off Balestier Road for $22.88 million.


The en bloc purchase price for the freehold property was arrived at after taking into account various commercial factors including the development potential, location of the property and the recent transacted prices for properties in the vicinity, said MCL Land.

The $22.88 million price tag works out to be $300 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area inclusive of development charges for the freehold property, BT understands.

This is slightly lower than the $344 psf per plot ratio City Developments paid for a combined en bloc purchase of Lock Cho Apartment, Comfort Mansion and a four-storey walk-up apartment building earlier this month. The three adjoining properties are in nearby Thomson.

The collective sale of Boon Teck Heights was carried out through a private treaty brokered by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

The 27,368 sq ft site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area). Analysts estimate that MCL Land's break-even costs for a new apartment project on the site could be about $550 psf.

Boon Teck Heights, a 19-storey apartment building, is more than 10 years old and is located along Boon Teck Road, close to the Toa Payoh town centre and MRT station.

In a statement yesterday, MCL Land said that its offer for the site has been accepted by the majority of subsidiary proprietors holding not less than 80 per cent of the share value of the property.

MCL Land also said that the acquisition and development of the property will be financed by internal funds and/or bank borrowings.

The transaction is not expected to have any material effect on the consolidated earnings and net tangible assets per share of MCL Land for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2006.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:32
Singapore
Published April 26, 2006

Far East clinches Skyline Angullia site: sources
Top bid for Beverly Mai is saidto have been $1,184 psf ppr


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


DEVELOPERS are continuing to bid for prime residential sites.


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Hot property: Far East is understood to have bought Skyline Angullia for $100m, or $1,073 per sq ft of potential gross floor area


BT understands that Far East Organization has clinched the freehold Skyline Angullia for $100 million, or $1,073 per square foot of potential gross floor area.

A stone's throw away at Tomlinson Road, a tender that closed yesterday for the collective sale of Beverly Mai is understood to have attracted several bidders, among which are Hotel Properties, City Developments, Far East, SC Global and Wing Tai, sources suggest.

The top bid for the freehold Beverly Mai is understood to have come in at around $238 million, or $1,184 psf per plot ratio inclusive of development charges.

All the parties who reportedly bid for Beverly Mai have stakes in the area.

Hotel Properties, said to be a frontrunner for the site according to some sources, owns a huge chunk of properties there that add up to almost 220,000 sq ft.

Spanning Orchard Road, Cuscaden Road and Orchard Boulevard, the properties comprise the Hilton and Four Seasons hotels, the Forum and HPL House.

Far East, headed by property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, bought Angullia Mansion earlier this year.

SC Global bought Paterson Tower last month and developed The Boulevard Residence or BLVD at Cuscaden Walk.

City Developments is getting ready to launch its upmarket condo, St Regis Residences, in the Cuscaden/Tomlinson roads area.

The $1,073 psf ppr price that Far East is paying for the Skyline Angullia site is inclusive of a development charge (DC) of about $7.6 million.

This unit land price is slightly higher than the $1,060 psf ppr including DC that Far East paid for the Angullia Mansion site in February.

Market watchers reckon the breakeven cost for new apartment developments on both sites could come in at about $1,450 to $1,550 psf. Both deals were brokered by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

While Angullia Mansion involved a collective sale with multiple owners, Skyline Angullia is owned by a single party, Skyline Investment Holdings Pte Ltd, controlled by Kang Swee Liat and his wife.

They developed the property, completing it in 1992 and have kept it since for rental income.

The boutique property group also developed houses on Barker Road in the 1980s. The existing Angullia Skyline is a 14-storey tower comprising 22 apartments and two penthouses.

The 35,810 sq ft freehold site is zoned for 36-storey residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

The site may be redeveloped into a new project with about 45 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

Far East has been one of the most active and successful land buyers this year. Its earlier acquisitions include the Amberville site in Katong and the former Glutton's Square parcel on Orchard Road.

The Beverly Mai site, marketed by CB Richard Ellis, has a 76,888 sq ft site area. It also has a 2.8 plot ratio and 36-storey height limit.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:43
Property
Published April 27, 2006


HPL bags Beverly Mai for $238m
Price works out to $1,184 psf of potential gross floor area


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


HOTEL Properties Ltd (HPL) has clinched Beverly Mai on Tomlinson Road through a $238 million collective sale - $1,184 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $16.8 million.


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Millionaires' row: The owners of Beverly Mai's 50 apartments will receive about $4.4 million per apartment


Market watchers estimate HPL's breakeven cost for a new condo on the 76,888 sq ft freehold site could be about $1,600 psf. HPL can develop the site into a new 36-storey condominium with about 107 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

HPL officials were not available for commment yesterday. However, David Lawrence, CEO of Wheelock Properties (Singapore) which recently bought a 21 per cent stake in HPL, yesterday told BT: 'HPL has had big success in the area. Beverly Mai is next to Four Seasons Park condo and close to their Four Seasons Hotel. I'm sure they'll find ways to make money from this project. HPL has a reputation as a stylish developer and they have a good following. They will do very well.' HPL developed the Four Seasons Park condo and Four Seasons hotel in the 1990s.

Mr Lawrence said there were no plans for Wheelock to team up with HPL in redeveloping Beverly Mai, which he described as 'a very good freehold site'.

CB Richard Ellis brokered the sale. The tender for the site drew five bids when it closed on Tuesday - with HPL being the highest bidder. The other four bidders were said to be City Developments, Far East Organization, SC Global Developments and Wing Tai. The deal is subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board as unanimous approval from the owners has yet to be obtained.

The Beverly Mai site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

The owners of Beverly Mai's 50 apartments will receive slightly over $4.4 million per apartment while the two penthouse owners will walk away with double that amount - about $8.81 million per unit. These sums represent collective sale premiums of 76 per cent to 146 per cent - depending on which benchmark is used - in terms of what the apartments would have fetched on an individual basis. In March 2004, before Beverly Mai's collective sale was initiated, an apartment in the development changed hands for $1.8 million while in August last year, after the owners began signing for the en bloc sale, another apartment was sold for $2.5 million. Market watchers reckon the latter deal probably factored in some of the potential collective sale premium.

Analysts observed that the acquisition of Beverly Mai marks HPL's first major property acquisition in nine years. In July 1997, HPL led a consortium that bought The Forum, a retail and office property along Orchard Road, for $359 million.

Analysts said the last time the group bought a major development site was probably in September 1993 when it teamed up with MCL Land to buy the Scotts Road bungalow of Khoo Teck Puat, which has since been developed into the Scotts 28 condo.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:45
Singapore Companies
Published May 3, 2006

SingTel's Hillcrest site goes to MCL Land for $102.5m
Astoria Apts, meanwhile, launched for collective sale


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



MCL Land has clinched SingTel's Hillcrest Road site for $102.5 million, even as more prime residential sites continue to come on the market, including Astoria Apartments at Cairnhill Rise.


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Prime land: An advantage of the Hillcrest Road site is its proximity to well sought after schools, Raffles Girls' Primary School and Nanyang Girls' High


MCL Land's acquisition of the SingTel Academy site - at the corner of Hillcrest and Dunearn roads - is the listed property group's seventh residential land acquisition in Singapore over the past 12 months. This brings its total shopping bill to over $400 million.

'We're still on the lookout for more sites as long as there's value. We'll not be setting benchmark prices with our land purchases. There's probably more value in city-fringe locations now compared with the prime areas where prices have run up strongly in the past few months,' said Koh Teck Chuan, CEO of MCL Land, a subsidiary of Hongkong Land. As for the latest site that the group has bought from SingTel, MCL is probably looking at developing 172 cluster terrace and conventional terrace houses on the 256,483 sq ft site.

Jones Lang LaSalle, which brokered the deal, says this will bring MCL Land's average land cost per house to about $830,000, inclusive of an estimated $40 million payment to the state comprising a premium to top up the site's lease to 99 years and another to change its use from utility to residential. The breakeven cost could be about $1.43 million per terrace house.

JLL says that 99-year cluster terrace homes at The Teneriffe at Garlick Avenue are currently changing hands in the resale market at about $1.5 million upwards. 'A new terrace home project on the Hillcrest site, being near two highly sought after schools - Raffles Girls' Primary and Nanyang Girls' High - should be able to fetch prices above that level, may be say $1.75 million to $1.8 million per unit, if it were to come to the market next year,' said JLL's regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt. Freehold conventional terrace houses in the Greenwood area developed by Far East Organization are currently fetching about $2.1 million.

Jones Lang LaSalle said the tender for the Hillcrest site which closed on March 29 attracted a good response and was keenly contested. 'MCL Land was the highest bidder and its bid reflects the current sentiment towards prime properties,' Mr Lui said.

Sources say the other parties that bid in the tender included CapitaLand, Hong Leong group, SC Global, Frasers Centrepoint, Far East Organization and Kheng Leong.

Meanwhile DTZ Debenham Tie Leung has launched the collective sale of the freehold Astoria Apartments at Cairnhill Rise. The estimated price of $95 million works out to $946 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of a development charge of about $7.2 million.

The 38,615 sq ft freehold site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area). The tender for Astoria Apartments closes on May 30.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:48
Singapore
Published April 29, 2006

PROPERTY
Chip Eng Seng buys Westpeak for $206m
Metropole Hotel also changes hands; Hilton Towers' sale confirmed


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


CONSTRUCTION and property group Chip Eng Seng has clinched its second collective-sale site this month - Westpeak Condominium.


Its purchase price of $206.09 million reflects a unit land price of $348 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $21.5 million.

Westpeak has a site area of 311,829 sq ft, making it the biggest freehold collective property in terms of land area to be transacted in recent years.

If Chip Eng Seng decides to buy an adjoining state plot of 50,450 sq ft for an estimated $14.3 million, its unit land price will fall to $318 psf per plot ratio, according to Valuers & Property Consultants (S) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Savills Singapore which brokered the sale of Westpeak.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - and has a height limit of 24 storeys.

Savills estimates that Chip Eng Seng's breakeven cost will be below $550 psf and it should be able to market its new condo on the site for about $600-$650 psf.

Chip Eng Seng said yesterday it can redevelop the site into a new project with about 545 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.

It will finance Westpeak's purchase from internal sources and through bank borrowings.

Earlier this month, Chip Eng Seng bought Venus Mansion at Peck Hay Road in the Cairnhill area for $123 million or $785 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

Analysts reckon that Chip Eng Seng may either announce joint venture partners for the projects or do an equity raising to help fund the acquisition costs of the sites.

A possible partner is a Lehman Brothers fund that recently partnered Chip Eng Seng in its unsuccessful bid for a 99-year leasehold condominium site near Tanah Merah MRT Station, market watchers suggest.

The tender for Westpeak, which closed this week, also attracted bids from Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint, sources say.

Other property deals this week include the $18 million sale of Metropole Hotel at Seah Street in the Beach Road area to Surya Jhunjhnuwala, a member of the family that once controlled Hind Hotels, which owned the former Imperial Hotel at Jalan Rumbia.

The Metropole Hotel deal was brokered by Lee Hon Kiun of Landmark Property Advisors.

Mr Jhunjhnuwala plans to refurbish the hotel and convert the second and third floors, which are now used as food and beverage outlets, into additional hotel rooms. Metropole Hotel now has 54 hotel rooms. The property has a 999-year leasehold tenure.

The seller is Metropole Hotel Pte Ltd, controlled by members of a Lee family.

Also, Koh Brothers and Heeton have teamed up to buy Hilton Towers at Leonie Hill for $79.2 million or $880 psf ppr including development charges. They intend to redevelop the site into an 80-unit luxury apartment project.

Colliers International brokered the collective sale of the freehold Hilton Towers.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:52
Duchess Court sold en bloc for $104m

By MICHELLE QUAH


THE prime residential property of Duchess Court along Duchess Walk has been sold. Developer UOL Group said yesterday it has bought the District 10 site for $104 million.


That en bloc purchase price works out to an average of $2.8 million per residential unit, with Duchess Court comprising 36 townhouses and maisonettes.

It is also equivalent to $582 per square foot, per plot ratio, according to UOL Group's statement last night. That is inclusive of a development charge, earlier estimated at some $20 million.

UOL Group emerged the successful bidder after a tender that closed on April 18. It made the en bloc purchase with Low Keng Huat (Singapore) through their joint-venture company Ace Lead.

Ace will pay 10 per cent of the purchase price within seven days and the balance on completion of the sale.

UOL and Low Keng Huat say the purchase and subsequent redevelopment of the property will be financed by internal funds and bank borrowings - but did not elaborate on their redevelopment plans. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on UOL Group's net tangible assets or earnings per share for the current financial year.

Duchess Court is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio and a five-storey height limit. Its total land area is 152,250 sq ft - with each unit averaging 4,230 sq ft in size, almost the minimum size required to build one detached house.

It's third time lucky for the 999-year leasehold property, which went through two failed collective sale attempts in 1997 and 2000. Its owners put the development up for sale again in mid-March this year.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:53
Wing Tai bags Newton Meadows: sources
Collective sale price said to be about $73m or about $660 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

WING Tai is said to have clinched the freehold Newton Meadows through a collective sale for about $73 million or around $660 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of about $6.9 million.



Changing hands: Owners of the existing 28 units at Newton Meadows stand to reap collective sales premiums of more than 50 per cent
The mainboard-listed property group has developed two projects - Amaryllis Ville and the adjacent Newton 18 - just opposite Newton Meadows.

Newton Meadows' tender, which closed last week, was handled by Jones Lang LaSalle. The firm declined to comment on the winning bidder.

The 42,886 sq ft elevated site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

The plot can be redeveloped into a 36-storey condominium with about 95 units averaging 1,300 sq ft each.

Owners of the existing 28 units at Newton Meadows stand to reap collective sales premiums of more than 50 per cent.

The existing units in the 10-storey development range in size from about 1,200 to 3,600 sq ft.

Market watchers say the price for Newton Meadows is likely to be used as a benchmark for other impending collective sale launches in the area, including the nearby Elmira Heights which has a 108,500 sq ft land area.

That site, too, is zoned residential, with a 2.8 plot ratio and 36-storey maximum height. An estimated $18 million DC is payable to maximise the site's use.

Wing Tai has been busy restocking its residential land bank and has been featuring regularly in residential land tenders - both for 99-year leasehold site sold by the state as well as freehold sites sold by private owners.

Last month, Wing Tai teamed up with NTUC Choice Homes to place the winning bid for a 99-year leasehold condo site near Tanah Merah MRT Station. Their price was $210 million or $318.50 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).

In October last year, Wing Tai clinched Belle Vue at Oxley through a $227.3 million collective sale.

The unit land price works out to almost $666 psf ppr.

Wing Tai last year sold its stake in Park Mall to Suntec Reit for $230 million, which helped to release resources for the group's landbanking spree.

mr funny
17-08-06, 20:54
Koh Bros, Heeton to buy Hilton Towers for about $79m: sources

28 Apr 06

Price works out to be about $880 psf of potential gross floor area

DEVELOPERS continue to snap up collective sale sites in prime districts.

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Koh Brothers and Heeton are arranging a deal to buy the Hilton Towers site at Leonie Hill, at a price said to be about $79 million.

This works out to about $880 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge (DC) of about $3.9 million.

The 33,700 sq ft freehold site is zoned for residential use and has a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area).

Colliers International brokered the sale of the Hilton Towers site.

Koh Brothers and Heeton jointly developed and own Sun Plaza mall, next to Sembawang MRT Station.

Heeton is known for developing and operating wet markets and neighbourhood malls in the HDB heartlands, but it has also developed high-end residential projects like DLV and The Element @ Stevens - both in the Stevens Road area.

Koh Brothers' core businesses include construction and property.

Hilton Towers' sale price is likely to be used as a benchmark for another collective sale - Furama Tower at the nearby Leonie Hill Road - also being marketed by Colliers.

The indicative price for the 33,821 sq ft freehold Furama Tower site is $82 million, or $936 psf per plot ratio inclusive of a DC of about $6.6 million.

Meanwhile, over in the Serangoon area, United Premas and HSR have launched the collective sale of Mutual Court at Mar Thoma Road with a price expectation of about $23.3 million, which works out to about $275 psf per plot ratio including a DC of about $100,000.

The 30,331 sq ft, 999-year leasehold site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio and a 36 storey maximum height.

Based on the $23.3 million price tag, the owners of the 34 apartments at Mutual Court stand to reap a collective sale premium of more than 50 per cent.

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:01
Property
Published May 11, 2006

Soilbuild to buy Cashew Road site for $18-19m
Developer to pay for site by way of residential apartment units


By ARTHUR SIM


SOILBUILD Group Holdings will buy a 60,579 sq ft vacant site in Cashew Road from the Methodist Church in Singapore for an estimated $18-19 million.


In an unusual tie-up, the developer will pay for the site by way of completed residential apartment units.

Tang Wei Leng, a director of DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, which brokered the deal, said this will likely be 37 of the 78 units averaging about 1,200 sq ft each.

The estimated potential value of the new development is about $25 million, she said.

Ms Tang pointed out that even though such a tie-up is unusual, there are precedents. She highlighted Char Yong Gardens, owned by the Char Yong (Dabu) Association, as one example.

'This kind of tie-up is favoured by associations, clans and churches,' she said. It works well for Soilbuild as well.

'The developer will not have to pay any money up front,' said Ms Tang, making it a relatively 'low risk' venture.

The new development is expected to be launched in the second half of the year. The projected price of the remaining units is estimated to be $550-$600 psf - similar to prices for new developments nearby.

Soilbuild has also applied to buy an adjoining 4,200 sq ft plot of state land.

Based on a plot ratio of 1.4, the estimated development charge for the whole project is about $1.14 million.

Soilbuild said it hopes to raise up to $10.7 million, by undertaking a renounceable non-underwritten rights issue of up to 53,438,526 new ordinary shares at 20 cents each, on the basis of two rights shares for every existing ordinary share.

It said it plans to use up to $8 million to finance the Cashew Road project, its other project Eightrium @ Changi Business Park and future acquisitions.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:17
Far East, Frasers Centrepoint buy Waterfront View
$385m private treaty deal works out to land price of $241 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) In a move seen as reducing the risks of undertaking a massive development, Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint have set up their maiden joint venture, which has bagged Waterfront View, a privatised former HUDC estate facing Bedok Reservoir, for $385 million.

The price for the private treaty deal sealed late Tuesday night before the planned tender close for the property this Friday works out to a land price of $241 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated $102.2 million payment to the state for lifting title restriction to enhance the site's plot ratio, and upgrading the site's lease from a remaining 78 years to 99 years.

The 809,037 sq ft site can be developed into a new condominium with a whopping gross floor area of over two million sq ft - enough for a massive project with about 1,600 units.

This is the biggest residential collective sale to date in terms of number of units involved (there are 583 units in the existing development), land area as well as dollar quantum, says DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, which brokered the sale.

Far East's and Frasers Centrepoint's breakeven cost could be about $450 psf, say analysts. Currently, 99-year condos in the area are going for above $500 psf for units that face the reservoir and below $500 psf for those that don't.

Depending on how Far East and Frasers Centrepoint come up with their design scheme, about 80 per cent of units in the new development may face the reservoir.

Industry watchers reckon that instead of competing with each other for Waterfront View at the tender, Far East and Frasers Centrepoint figured it made more sense to team up.

This reduces their risks in terms of exposure to such a huge development - and eliminating at least one competitor in the process. The duo are said to have made their offer, good for only a day, late Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by a $19.25 million cheque (for a 5 per cent deposit).

The collective sale agreement signed by Waterfront View's owners give the sales committee the mandate to negotiate a private treaty deal as long as the reserve price is met. This is understood to have been $370 million.

'The sales committee could either take the offer on the table, good for only a day - or take the risk of waiting and hoping for a higher offer at the tender that may or may not come,' said a source.

Waterfront View's sales committee chairman Matthew Yu said: 'We are very happy. It's a good price. The outcome came earlier and is better than we expected.'

DTZ's director for investment advisory services Tang Wei Leng said: 'Given the size of the development, there were really only a few parties who have demonstrated genuine interest. The sales committee was decisive, having considered all the options carefully. We are very happy for the owners.'

The $385 million price is above an independent valuation for the property which DTZ did not disclose. Owners controlling 82.33 per cent of share values in Waterfront View have agreed to the collective sale, which will be subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board. Owners of the existing 583 apartments and maisonettes have equal share values, which means they will each receive about $660,377 per unit, which is over 60 per cent more than what the units would fetch if sold individually today.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.5 plot ratio.

While the deal involves the maiden tie-up between Far East and Frasers Centrepoint, it is not the first time that the men helming the two organisations have joined hands. Far East is headed by property magnate Ng Teng Fong while Frasers Centrepoint is the property arm of listed Fraser & Neave group, which is now headed by Han Cheng Fong who, during his days as group CEO of the former DBS Land, oversaw many tie-ups with Mr Ng's Singapore unit Far East and Hong Kong arm Sino Land.

Market watchers are wondering if the two sides will team up for other acquisitions, including the second Somerset site being offered by the state. Far East clinched the first Somerset plot, the former Glutton's Square site, in January.

Waterfront View is the fifth site Far East has bought here this year. The five total $1.2 billion.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:18
Lucky Tower tender tops $380m or $1,126 psf ppr
CityDev tipped to be top bidder for Grange Rd site

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) The collective sale of the freehold Lucky Tower in Grange Road closed yesterday, attracting a handful of bids, the highest of which is said to have met the asking price of $380 million.


Some industry observers tipped City Developments as the top bidder. The listed property group developed the award-winning Spring Grove condo next door and owns the Kim Lin Mansion site across the road.

Newman & Goh, the marketing agent for Lucky Tower, declined to comment but confirmed the $380 million asking price has been met.

This works out to $1,126 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $20.25 million.

BT understands that the top bid came with conditions, but the other bids are within close range of one another. In such circumstances, the bidders may be invited to adjust their offers, and it remains to be seen who eventually clinches the site.

Market sources say that Far East Organization also bid for Lucky Tower. It owns a penthouse and the mini-mart in the development and has consented to the estate's collective sale.

Lucky Towers has a land area of 169,188 sq ft and a 2.1 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area. The site can be redeveloped into a new 24-storey condo with about 175 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

The existing development has 91 units including the mini-mart. Owners controlling about 84 per cent of share values have consented to the sale.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:23
Property
Published May 30, 2006

CityDev snags Lucky Tower site for $383m
Another site, Habitat One, is expected to fetch no less than $188m


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



THE collective sale market for prime sites continues to sizzle.


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Hot property: Lucky Tower owners will receive $4.1-$4.4m per apartment, while penthouse owners will get $6m


Even as it was made official yesterday that City Developments Ltd (CDL) has been awarded the Lucky Tower site in Grange Road for $383 million, another prime site, Habitat One at Ardmore Park has been launched. The freehold site of 54,980 sq ft being marketed by Knight Frank, has an expected price of 'no less than $188 million'.

The sellers are seeking a record unit land price of $1,280 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $9.1 million.

If this price is achieved, each of the owners of Habitat One's 32 units will receive an average of nearly $5.9 million per unit - or over 70 per cent more than the last transaction in the estate, which was $3.3 million in August last year.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area) and 36-storey height limit. The tender for Habitat One closes on July 4.

Over at Grange Road, the sale of the Lucky Tower site to CDL confirms an earlier BT report.

The price comes out at $1,134 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of development charges. The only other bidder for the site is said to have been Far East Organization, the original developer of the project and which retains a penthouse and a minimart in the development.

Far East, which has consented to the collective sale, will walk away with about $7.5 million for its two units in the development.

Based on CDL's $1,134 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) unit land cost for Lucky Tower, its breakeven cost for a new luxury condo could be about $1,650 to $1,700 psf, say market watchers. Right next door is Spring Grove condo, an award-winning project also developed by CityDev.

CityDev has yet to develop the Kim Lin Mansion site diagonally across the road, which it snapped up for $996 psf ppr including development charge in late 1999 during the last collective sale boom.

The Lucky Tower site has a freehold land area of 169,189 sq ft and is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio and 24-storey height limit. The site can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 175 units averaging 2,000 sq ft each.

CityDev group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong described Lucky Tower as an 'exceptional quality site that will add outstanding value to CDL's landbank'.

The group's other sites in the area include the 130,535 sq ft former Boulevard Hotel site.

The existing Lucky Tower has 90 apartments and a minimart. Jeffrey Goh, head of investment sales at Newman & Goh, which brokered the sale of Lucky Tower, said that owners will receive $4.1 million to $4.4 million per apartment, while penthouse owners will get $6 million each.

These sums are at least 80 per cent more than what the apartments could have fetched if sold on an individual basis, he said. The minimart receives $1.5 million.

The $383 million price for Lucky Tower is shy of the record $385 million set last week for the collective sale of Waterfront View facing Bedok Reservoir, bought by a joint venture between Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization.

Nonetheless, Lucky Tower has achieved the highest absolute price for a freehold collective sale site. The Waterfront View site is on a site with a remaining lease of 78 years which its developers will seek to top up to the original 99 years.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:23
Property
Published May 30, 2006


Koh Brothers buys Bukit Timah site for $30m


KOH Brothers Development Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Koh Brothers Group Ltd, yesterday said it had bought the freehold Alocassia Apartment on Bukit Timah Road for $30 million.


Distinguished by its near trapezoidal, this commercial and residential site nestles between Robin Drive and Robin Lane in the popular Bukit Timah district. The purchase consists of 45 residential units with a strata floor area of 35,166 sq ft and seven commercial units with a strata floor area of 9,397 sq ft. The average per square feet of net sellable area is $673.

Francis Koh, executive director of Koh Brothers Development, said given its prime location, freehold status and easy accessibility to the city centre, the company is confident that the site will appeal to both local and foreign buyers. 'We look forward to receiving positive responses from buyers who appreciate the exclusivity and prestige offered by this prime site,' he said.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:28
Property
Published June 1, 2006


Simon Cheong pays $88m for Cairnhill houses
Cost is $32m lower than asking price; agents fear deal may cool area's en bloc fever


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



SIMON Cheong has just done a deal that's making some property agents fear it may set lower land prices and cool the current en bloc fever - at least in the Cairnhill area.


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Sizeable savings: The terrace houses, together with Hilltops Apartments (in the background), can be redeveloped into a new 20-storey project with about 220 units averaging about 2,000 sq


His SC Global Developments has bought 16 terrace houses at Cairnhill Circle for $88 million, a hefty knockback of the owners' $120 million asking price a few months ago when their site was being marketed together with the neighbouring Hilltops Apartments which SC Global bought in April.

In the process, the listed group has succeeded in lowering its average unit land cost in Cairnhill from $951 per square foot of potential gross floor area to $880 psf per plot ratio, achieving a saving of about $32 million.

The $88 million purchase price for the 16 terrace houses works out to $722 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr), including a $12.81 million development charge.

In contrast, the $120 million initial price tag worked out to $951 psf ppr, matching the unit land price that Hilltops' owners were seeking.

SC Global clinched the Hilltops site when the tender closed in April at the $951 psf ppr asking price but declined to buy the terrace houses at the time.

Mr Cheong's strategy has worked as it led the owners to lower their price expectations. They have agreed to sell to SC Global for $88 million when it emerged as the highest of three bidders when the second tender for the site closed on Tuesday this week.

This is below the owners' reserve price - reportedly about $100 million.

SC Global's chairman and chief executive Simon Cheong, who has a reputation as a savvy property investor, yesterday felt vindicated by his strategy of staggering the acquisitions, given the sizeable saving.

Still, the owners of the terrace houses will walk away with sums ranging from $3 million to $8.1 million per house - double what they would have got had they tried to sell their homes individually.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung's director for investment advisory services Tang Wei Leng said: 'The tender attracted a number of bids and we are happy that it presented owners with an offer that they have accepted unanimously.'

DTZ handled the tenders for the 16 terrace houses as well as for Hilltops Apartments.

The 16 terrace houses have a land area of 49,856 sq ft and together with the 67,308 sq ft Hilltops site sold earlier, SC Global will now have a combined freehold site of 117,164 sq ft occupying the highest point at Cairnhill.

The combined plot can be redeveloped into a new 20-storey project with a potential maximum gross floor area of 448,693 sq ft.

This is big enough for about 220 units averaging about 2,000 sq ft.

Market watchers estimate SC Global's breakeven cost for a new condo could be about $1,300 psf.

Assuming it manages to achieve an average selling price of, say, $2,000 psf, the project should yield a cool pretax profit of at least $300 million, say analysts.

SC Global is looking to launch the project in mid- to Q3 2007.

The Cairnhill site, together with the Paterson Tower site the group bought earlier this year and a site in the Martin Road area it has owned for sometime, means SC Global now has a prime district landbank of about 800,000 sq ft potential gross floor area.

The purchase price of the Paterson Tower, Hilltops and terrace house sites adds up to about $650 million and market watchers are wondering if SC Global is considering a share placement to potential investors.

But it just might be able to source for other ways to finance the acquisitions without doing an equity raising, they suggest. The group had about $92 million cash as at March 31 this year.

Meanwhile, there seems to be no let-up in new collective sale sites coming on the market.

Jones Lang LaSalle yesterday launched Gilstead Court in the Newton area with an asking price of $100 million.

This works out to $691 psf per plot ratio. No development charge is payable for the 75,479 sq ft freeehld site, which can be developed into a new project with a gross floor area of 144,668 sq ft. The site can be redeveloped into a new five-storey condo with about 111 units averaging 1,300 sq ft.

The tender for Gilstead Court closes on July 5.

mr funny
17-08-06, 21:51
Singapore Companies
Published June 5, 2006

Peck Hay Mansion close to $64m sale
Bukit Sembawang to pay $800 psf ppr for property next to Vermont Mansion


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


BUKIT Sembawang Estates, which bought The Vermont at Peck Hay Road in the Cairnhill area earlier this year, is close to sealing a deal to buy Peck Hay Mansion next door for about $64-66 million, sources say.


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The price works out to about $800 psf of potential gross floor area, inclusive of an estimated development charge of $8.3 million for the 32,277 sq ft freehold plot.

This unit land price is higher than the $755 psf per plot ratio including DC that Bukit Sembawang, which is linked to the Lee family of OCBC, paid for The Vermont in March based on its $75 million price.

Both sites are zoned for residential use with 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area).

The combined land area of about 72,653 sq ft can be redeveloped into a new condominium with about 100 units of an average size of 2,000 sq ft.

Peck Hay Mansion has been marketed by CB Richard Ellis and Credo Real Estate.

It had been put up for collective sale by expressions of interest together with a next-door property, Casa Novacrest which has a 12,163 sq ft freehold land area. It is also zoned for residential use with a 2.8 maximum plot ratio.

The Vermont is next to Peck Hay Mansion, which is adjacent to Casa Novacrest, which is in turn next to Venus Mansion.

In April, Chip Eng Seng group bought Venus Mansion for $123 million or $785 psf per plot ratio.

Market watchers reckon that with Bukit Sembawang buying Peck Hay Mansion, it makes sense for either Bukit Sembawang or Chip Eng Seng to buy Casa Novacrest.

Peck Hay Mansion will be Bukit Sembawang's sixth major residential purchase since it ended a seven-year hiatus on land buying in July last year when it bought Woodleigh Grove through a collective sale. It later also bought 32 houses at Lengkok Angsa in the Paterson Road area, Carlton Terrace in Holland Road, Chez Bright Apartments at St Thomas Walk and The Vermont.

mr funny
18-08-06, 15:45
Published June 7, 2006


Sinaran Drive site up for tender

By ARTHUR SIM


AN UNNAMED developer has committed to pay not less than $173.8 million for a 99-year leasehold residential site at Sinaran Drive near Novena MRT station.


The 1.25 hectare site, opposite Tan Tock Seng Hospital, is on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) reserve list, which means it will now be put up for sale by public tender in two weeks.

At $173.8 million, the cost would work out to $370 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). Earlier this year, two freehold en bloc redevelopment sites in the area went on the market.

The asking price for Suffolk Apartments is about $510 psf ppr, while the owners of Ultra Mansion are said to be asking $465 psf ppr.

In April, a URA reserve list residential site near Tanah Merah station was sold for $318.50 psf ppr.

Jones Lang LaSalle regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt said the trigger price of the Sinaran Drive site 'reflects the current market sentiment . . . It shows that developers are still keen on sites in District 9, 10 and 11'.

Mr Lui estimates the breakeven cost of a new development, which can have a gross floor area of 469,726 sq ft, to be about $700 psf. This is assuming the eventual developer builds a development that is completely residential.

Mr Lui said that because the site is close to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there might be an advantage in adding service apartments, depending on the developer's strategy.

In answer to a query by a developer - and posted on the URA website - URA said service apartment block/blocks are allowed within the development.

mr funny
18-08-06, 17:09
Property
Published June 15, 2006


Far East Mansion: Frasers Centrepoint top bidder
Its $256 million price works out to $674 psf ppr


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


FRASERS Centrepoint has emerged as the highest bidder for the freehold Far East Mansion at Kim Yam Road and has started inking a collective sale deal with the majority owners to buy their 136,194-sq-ft freehold site off River Valley Road for about $256 million, according to sources. This works out to $674 psf of potential gross floor area, including an estimated development charge of $885,689.


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Building plan: The Far East Mansion site may be redeveloped into a 36-storey condominium


The breakeven cost for a new condo on the site, which is near the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, could be around $1,050 psf, say market watchers. The site may be redeveloped into a new 36-storey condominium with about 280 units averaging 1,350 sq ft.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio and 36 storeys.

Far East Mansion was marketed through an expressions of interest exercise handled by CB Richard Ellis. It is understood to have drawn three bids when it closed at the end of last month, the highest from Frasers Centrepoint.

Based on the $256 million price, owners of Far East Mansion's existing 218 units will collect $1.17 million per unit - which is about 70 to 80 per cent more than what their homes would have fetched if sold individually.

Far East Mansion, which is more than 30 years old, comprises four 14-storey blocks.

It will be Frasers Centrepoint's second major property acquisition in the area over the past year.

In August 2005, the property arm of listed Fraser & Neave bought a 139,842-sq-ft site at St Thomas Walk from CK Tang chairman Tang Wee Sung and his younger brother Wee Kit.

Frasers Centrepoint paid $210 million for the freehold plot, which translates to a land price of $601 per sq ft of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $25.5 million.

The company's other major property acquisitions this year include SingTel's former warehouse site at West Coast Road and Waterfront View, facing Bedok Reservoir, which it is buying jointly with Far East Organization for $385 million.

mr funny
18-08-06, 17:26
Singapore Companies
Published June 22, 2006


Soilbuild beefs up Balestier presence
Group signs options to buy properties worth $44.5m


By CRYSTAL NEO


SOILBUILD Group Holdings is expanding its presence in the Balestier Road area. The group said yesterday that it has signed various options to purchase properties worth $44.5 million through its wholly owned subsidiary SB (Blueteak) Development Pte Ltd.

They include 24 units of apartments under a collective sale in Minbu Road and Martaban Road and adjacent terrace houses and apartments. The owners of the 24 units who have given their sale consent will get about 70 per cent more than what they will get if they sell their units individually, said property consultants Teakhwa Real Estate. Soilbuild said it will also be acquiring certain adjoining lots.

'Altogether, the total land size is about 4,498 sq metres and the total land cost is about $44.5 million,' said Soilbuild. 'Based on the approved plot ratio of 2.8 and an estimated development charge of $0.2 million, the cost of the land is about $329 psf per plot ratio.'

The combined freehold site can be re-developed into a condominium of maximum 36 storeys, with about 90-100 units assuming an average size of 1,500 sq ft per unit. The breakeven cost for the new condominium development on the freehold plot is estimated to be approximately $560 psf, said Teakhwa. This new project is expected to be launched by 2007.

'From our completed projects, we have also built up an extensive database of potential buyers and we are confident that there will be a strong demand for the new condominium units at Minbu/Mandalay Roads,' said Low Soon Sim, Soilbuild's executive director.

This is not the first time Soilbuild has had projects in the Balestier Road area. Its other projects include the 18-storey Pinnacle 16 and Mandale Heights. Including the new purchase, Soilbuild will have four new upcoming residential property projects, including One Tree Hill Residence, the site at Bright Apartments and the recently acquired site at Cashew Road. The latest acquisition will be funded by internal resources and bank borrowings.

mr funny
18-08-06, 17:44
Property
Published July 18, 2006

Furama Tower fetches $76m
Collective sales still hot in prime districts; 12-unit St Martin's Lodge priced at $30m


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


COLLECTIVE sales activity continues in Singapore's prime districts. Soilbuild Group Holdings has bought Furama Tower at Leonie Hill Road for $76 million or $872 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) including an estimated development charge (DC) of $6.6 million.


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Freehold sites: Buyer Soilbuild says the Furama Tower site can be redeveloped into a new condo of 45-50 units. Market watchers say St Martin's Lodge (above) should appeal to boutique developers


Over at St Martin's Drive, St Martin's Lodge has been put up for en bloc sale. The owners' asking price of $30 million for the 19,335 sq ft freehold site works out to $1,182 psf ppr including an estimated $2 million DC.

Both properties are freehold.

Soilbuild's purchase price for Furama Tower is close to the $880 psf ppr that Koh Brothers and Heeton paid in April this year for the nearby Hilton Towers at Leonie Hill.

Market watchers say the prices achieved for Furama Tower and Hilton Towers will serve to benchmark prices that developers are likely to pay for the collective sales of nearby properties like Futura, Grangeford Apartment and Horizon Towers. 'Of course, adjustments will have to be made for some factors like differing land areas of the respective properties. One could argue that the bigger sites have the potential to be redeveloped into condos with full facilities and hence, should command a premium over smallish plots,' a property consultant suggested.

Furama Tower has a freehold land area of 33,821 sq ft and is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area).

Colliers International, which handled the sale of Furama Tower, said owners of the 33 units in the existing development will receive sums ranging from $1.75 million to $2.78 million per apartment unit while the sole penthouse owner will pocket $4.64 million. These sums are nearly 100 per cent more than the owners would have received had their units been sold one by one.

Buyer Soilbuild says the Furama Tower site can be redeveloped into a new condo of 45 to 50 units. Development of the site and the marketing launch are expected to be next year. Soilbuild's pipeline of residential projects include the soon-to-be completed Cliften off Bukit Timah Road and the recently launched One Tree Hill Residence off Grange Road. Others include the Bright Apartments plot in Novena, a site at Cashew Road bought in May this year and various sites at Minbu/Martaban roads purchased last month.

Market watchers say the smallish land area of the freehold St Martin's Lodge, which is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis, should make the site appealing to boutique developers. The site is next to an old bungalow that BBR Holdings group bought earlier this year.

Garden Estates, part of Singapore's Hong Leong Group, developed the 12-unit St Martin's Lodge, which was completed only in 1994. The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio and a maximum height of five storeys.

mr funny
18-08-06, 18:05
Top Print Edition Stories
Published July 17, 2006

Habitat One sold at record $1,228 psf ppr
Wheelock said to be buyer; price is 40% higher than site it bought next door


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



(SINGAPORE) A new benchmark has been set for residential land in Singapore. The freehold Habitat One in the prime Ardmore Park location has been sold for $180 million or a unit land price of $1,228 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of development charges (DC).


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New benchmark: Market watchers suggest Wheelock may amalgamate Habitat One with its two earlier sites - Habitat II and Ardmore View - for a bigger project


This surpasses the previous benchmark of $1,218 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) set by the sale of Eng Lok Mansion in Napier Road earlier this year.

The buyer of Habitat One is understood to be Wheelock Properties (Singapore). The $1,228 psf ppr being paid by the mainboard-listed property group for Habitat One is 40 per cent more than the $876 psf ppr that it paid for the next-door Habitat II in September last year.

Wheelock had been preparing to launch a new 118-unit condo called Ardmore II on the amalgamated Ardmore View and Habitat II site in October this year.

Market watchers suggest Wheelock may now hold back the launch plans and put the project back on the drawing board if it decides to amalgamate the latest site, Habitat One, with its two earlier sites for a bigger project. Knight Frank, which handled the collective sale of Habitat One, declined to comment.

Market watchers also note with interest Wheelock's latest deal as it had seemed to abstain from participating in recent tenders. Some observers had lauded this as a wise decision given the toppish asking prices, especially for collective sale sites.

'Of course, they may have special reason to make an exception for Habitat One since they had bought the next-door site Habitat II earlier at a much lower price, which serves to average down the cost of the latest purchase,' said an industry observer.

Wheelock is said to have emerged as a last-minute surprise contender for Habitat One. It had not bid when the tender for the property closed on July 4, BT understands.

Habitat One has a freehold land area of 54,980 sq ft and is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a 36-storey maximum height. An estimated DC of $9.1 million is payable. Sources say Wheelock's acquisition is exactly at the reserve price set by owners of Habitat One.

Owners of the existing 32 units in the development will walk away with $5.625 million per unit on average, which is 70 per cent more than what the apartments would have fetched had they been sold individually.

Other high-priced residential land deals this year include Hotel Properties' purchase of Beverly Mai at Tomlinson Road for $1,184 psf ppr and City Developments' acquisition of Lucky Tower at Grange Road for $1,134 psf ppr.

mr funny
18-08-06, 18:31
Soilbuild buys Martaban Road site from Salvation Army for S$7.1m

10 Aug 06

By Loh Kim Chin, Channel NewsAsia

Soilbuild has acquired a 780 square metre site on Martaban Road from The Salvation Army for S$7.1 million.

The site is adjacent to various sites at Minbu, Martaban and Mandalay Roads in the Novena district which Soilbuild had bought in June for about S$45 million.

Soilbuild plans to amalgamate all the sites into a combined land area of 5,278 sq metres.

Based on the plot ratio of 2.8 and a maximum storey height of 36, the amalgamated site can now be redeveloped into about 100 to 120 residential units, assuming an average size of 1,500 square foot per unit.

The total acquisition cost for the various plots of land, including the development charge, works out to be S$51.6 million or S$325 per square foot per plot ratio.

mr funny
18-08-06, 19:27
Property
Published August 17, 2006


Kajima and UE pay $52m to buy Balmoral View
Kajima also eyeing more residential, office and retail projects in S'pore


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


KAJIMA Overseas Asia, which has about $1 billion property investments in Singapore through stakes in the Millenia Singapore development and The Regent Singapore hotel, has clinched its first residential development site here through the en bloc sale of Balmoral View.


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Project target: Kajima is looking for developments with an all-in investment cost of 'over a couple of hundred million Singapore dollars' per project, says Mr Hashimoto


The Asia (ex-Japan) arm of Japan's Kajima Corporation is also looking to expand its presence in the Singapore property market in the residential, office and retail sectors, Kajima Overseas Asia Pte Ltd vice-managing director Masao Hashimoto said in an interview.

Kajima teamed up with United Engineers (UE) to buy Balmoral View, located at Nos. 9-37 Balmoral Crescent, for $52 million or $733 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $7.9 million development charge. The 51,080-sq-ft freehold site is zoned for residential use with a 1.6 plot ratio and a 12-storey maximum height.

Kajima and UE could redevelop the site into a new condo with about 40 units with an average size of 2,000 sq ft each.

Mr Hashimoto estimates the breakeven cost for the UE-Kajima joint venture will be about $1,000 psf. The plan is to launch the project in the middle of next year.

'Leveraging on our international network to introduce new and chic ideas to the exclusive Balmoral residential enclave, we believe that this niche boutique residential development will be well received by potential buyers,' Mr Hashimoto said.

He describes UE as 'an old friend'. Kajima Overseas Asia was the main contractor for UE Square in the River Valley area.

UE group managing director and CEO Jackson Yap hopes the collaboration for Balmoral View will augur more joint projects. Mr Hashimoto echoed the sentiment.

In addition, Kajima is open to partnering other parties for projects in Singapore so long as they share Kajima's corporate aim of doing quality developments. Kajima is looking for developments with an all-in investment, including land cost, of 'over a couple of hundred million Singapore dollars' per project, Mr Hashimoto said.

Kajima Overseas Asia is involved in construction, property development and providing architectural and engineering services. 'This, together with our in-house design arm, makes us a unique player in the Singapore property market, providing a one-stop property development solution,' Mr Hashimoto observed.

The group's recent construction jobs in Singapore include the St Regis Residences and St Regis Hotel, the refurbishment of Clarke Quay and construction of Newton Suites.

Kajima Overseas Asia's Singapore office is its South-east Asia headquarters. Worldwide, Kajima's property portfolio stood at about US$5 billion as at the end of last year.

In Singapore, it has a 30 per cent stake in Millenia Singapore and a 25 per cent interest in The Regent Singapore hotel.

Kajima Overseas Asia also owns 70 per cent of Senayan Square in Jakarta. It also has a half stake in two Hong Kong properties - Allied Kajima Building and the 512-room Novotel Century Hong Kong - as well as a 645-room hotel in the Philippines boasting views of Manila Bay. In Thailand, the group has a controlling interest in Ramaland Building, an office and hotel complex.

Mr Hashimoto says Kajima also has a site in Phuket which it will begin developing soon into a resort, and it plans to develop additional office and mall space on some vacant land at the Senayan Square site in Jakarta. It is also looking for development sites in Hong Kong.

mr funny
18-08-06, 19:28
Property
Published August 17, 2006

UIC buys Upper Bukit Timah en bloc site for $82m

By ARTHUR SIM



UNITED Industrial Corporation (UIC) has bought a collective en bloc sale site in Upper Bukit Timah for $82.25 million, continuing its efforts to step up its residential developments.


The site, called HJ Heights, overlooks Bukit Batok Nature Park. At 207,134 sq ft it is thought to be one of the largest freehold collective sites in the area. The selling price, together with an estimated development charge of $5.73 million works out to be $303 per sq ft per plot ratio.

On Merbok Crescent, the site is zoned for residential use with a plot ratio of 1.4 and a five-storey building height. It can potentially accommodate about 230 units of 1,200 sq ft apartments. The breakeven price is expected to be $530-$540 psf on average.

UIC recently launched the 562-unit condominium, One Amber, in Katong. It also has interests in an upcoming 160-unit residential development in Tiong Bahru and a 138-unit residential development on St Patrick's Road in the east.

The latest acquisition was handled by United Premas which says that the sale has set a new benchmark for that area.

Suzie Mok, deputy director, asset management at United Premas, said: 'As reflected by the HJ Heights sale, collective sale sites with good development potential and priced correctly will continue to interest developers, though located outside the prime districts.'

mr funny
06-09-06, 21:14
Singapore Companies
Published August 31, 2006


Nassim Park sold to Park Developments for $380m
The JV company is owned by UOL and Kheng Leong subsidiary Russville


By LESLIE YEE


IN ANOTHER major collective sale transaction, a joint venture company owned by UOL Group and a subsidiary of Kheng Leong Co Pte Ltd has signed a deal to buy Nassim Park for $380 million.

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Prime location: Nassim Park sits in an exclusive residential area surrounded by embassies, good class bungalows and high-end developments


Including an estimated development charge of $8 million, the price works out to around $388 million or about $1,131 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area.

The breakeven cost for a new development on the Nassim Park site is estimated to be between $1,600 and $1,700 psf of gross floor area.

The joint venture company, Park Developments, is 70 per cent owned by UOL and 30 per cent owned by Kheng Leong's subsidiary, Russville.

Kheng Leong is considered as an associate of UOL's directors Wee Cho Yaw, Wee Ee Lim and Wee Ee Chao under the listing rules.

UOL and Russville are currently in negotiations with an unrelated third party for equity participation in Park Developments.

Completed in 1992, Nassim Park sits on a 245,135 square feet site which is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area) and a maximum height of four storeys under Master Plan 2003.

Market players note that the price psf for such a choice location would have been steeper if the height restriction was higher as developers can sell units on upper floors at a higher price psf.

Located along Nassim Road, Nassim Park sits in an exclusive residential area surrounded by embassies, good class bungalows and high-end developments. The site is the largest condominium site on Nassim Road.

Michael Ng, managing director of Savills Singapore, which brokered the sale of Nassim Park, said the sale price achieved 'reflects strong demand for quality sites in prime area'.

He added: 'Confidence in the luxury condominium segment is robust.'

The existing Nassim Park has 104 strata-titled apartments and townhouses. The conditional agreement to sell Nassim Park to Park Developments was entered into with subsidiary proprietors of strata lots with not less than 80 per cent of the share values in Nassim Park.

Singapore's residential property market is currently in the midst of an upcycle led by the high end of the market.

mr funny
06-09-06, 21:16
Property
Published August 31, 2006


Shing Kwan pays $29m for St Martin's Lodge
Price for the 19,335 sq ft freeholdsite works out to $1,154 ppr


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



FORMER Singapore Land chairman SP Tao's Shing Kwan Group has bought St Martin's Lodge in St Martin's Drive for $29.25 million in a collective sale.

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St Martin's Lodge: The site can be redeveloped into a new project with about 15 units averaging 1,800 sq ft


The unit land price of the 19,335 square feet freehold site works out to $1,154 per sq ft of potential gross floor area including an estimated $2 million development charge.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio and a maximum height of five storeys.

It can be redeveloped into a new project with about 15 units averaging 1,800 sq ft. Analysts estimate the breakeven cost could be $1,550 to $1,650 psf

A company owned by Mr Tao's Shing Kwan Group was the highest bidder in a tender closed on Aug 22. CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal.

Garden Estates, part of Singapore's Hong Leong Group, developed the 12-unit St Martin's Lodge, which was completed only in 1994. Owners of 11 of the 12 units have so far agreed to a collective sale.

They will walk away with handsome gains, receiving $2.3 million if they own a 1,248 sq ft apartment or $2.6 million for a 1,668 sq ft unit - between 60 per cent and 100 per cent more than the units would have fetched if sold individually.

Shing Kwan Group is looking primarily at boutique residential developments in Singapore with an all-up investment of about $50 million each.

Cosmopolitan Development - Shing Kwan's joint venture with Mackmoor Pte Ltd, which is controlled by parties linked to Indonesia's Metropolitan group - developed 11 Amber Road, a 40-unit apartment block in Katong that is fully sold. It also developed The Quayside apartments and retail outlets along the Singapore River, and Anson House.

Shing Kwan also has interests in China and Sri Lanka - including Shanghai Mart, Landmark Towers complex in Beijing, Mandarin Garden Hotel in Nanjing and The World Trade Center in Colombo.

mr funny
06-09-06, 21:23
Singapore Companies
Published September 1, 2006

Hiap Hoe buys District 9 site for $47m

By UMA SHANKARI


PROPERTY developer Hiap Hoe Limited said yesterday that it has bought a residential site at Cavenagh Road - which was put up for en-bloc sale in July - for $46.8 million.


The freehold site of some 43,100 square feet, which right now houses the five-storey Le Chateau consisting of 35 apartments and maisonettes, is in the prime District 9.

Provisional planning permission has been obtained for a residential development comprising three seven-storey and one five-storey blocks, with a total of 89 units.

'As the development is located in the city area, the directors believe that the development would have substantial development potential,' said Hiap Hoe in a statement to the Singapore Exchange.

Hiap Hoe bought the site through its wholly owned subsidiary Yong Hock Trading (S) Pte Ltd.

The purchase price was arrived at on a willing buyer-willing seller basis, said Hiap Hoe.

In addition to the purchase price paid, the site comes with a development charge (previously estimated to be $290,000) and state land alienation cost of $5.8 million.

Hiap Hoe's final cost is estimated to be about $462 per square feet per plot ratio, said Colliers International, which marketed the property.

Colliers said that the site had attracted 'keen interest' from a number of parties before it was sold to Hiap Hoe.

The site is next to a piece of state land of about 11,400 square feet, which Hiap Hoe could choose to buy for amalgamation.

Hiap Hoe said that the purchase will be fully funded through internal funds and/or bank borrowings. The transaction is also not expected to have any material effect on the net tangible assets per share or earnings per share of the company for the current financial year.

The purchase marks the second one made by Hiap Hoe in the city area recently. In February, the company said it bought a plot of vacant land at Oxford Road for $12.5 million - also for residential development.

Hiap Hoe's shares closed unchanged at 4.5 cents yesterday.

The company recently reported that revenue from the sales of residential development properties for the half year ended June 30 increased by 12.6 per cent to $15.2 million, up from $13.5 million in the same six months last year.

mr funny
06-09-06, 21:33
Singapore Companies
Published September 4, 2006

Chip Eng Seng tipped as buyer of Grange Tower
Site's reserve price of $1,200 psf ppr a new benchmark for area


By KALPANA RASHIWALA



CHIP Eng Seng is close to finalising a deal to buy Grange Tower through a collective sale, sources said.


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Freehold site: Grange Tower can be redeveloped into a 36-storey condo with over 80 units


The reserve price of the property - said to be about $180 million - has been met.

This works out to $1,200 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area. No development charge (DC) is payable.

'This will be a new high for the Grange Road location as prices like $1,200 psf per plot ratio are currently seen only in the super-prime Ardmore/Draycott location,' said a property market watcher.

The deal comes just a fortnight after news broke that the tender for the nearby Horizon Towers at Leonie Hill failed to attract bids that met the owners' reserve price - which works out to $835 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated $31 million land premium to top up the site's lease to 99 years from a remaining term of 72 years. Apparently, no DC is payable for Horizon Towers.

Market watchers had suggested that part of the reason for the failure of the Horizon Towers tender, handled by First Tree Properties, is the site's huge land area of 204,742 sq ft, which increases the business risk to any potential developer.

In contrast, the freehold Grange Tower has a smaller land area of 53,527 sq ft.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio and 36-storey maximum height.

This means the site can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 83 units averaging 1,800 sq ft.

CB Richard Ellis, which is brokering the deal, could not be contacted.

Once it clinches Grange Tower, Chip Eng Seng may approach the Singapore Land Authority to potentially acquire a 1,632-sq-ft strip of state land in front of the property.

Doing this will not only enhance the site's area but also lower the unit land price to the developer.

Grange Tower is a 20-storey development comprising 76 apartments and four penthouses, completed 23 years ago.

One of its units has an infamous owner - former Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) executive Chia Teck Leng, who is serving a 42-year jail term for using forged documents to borrow large sums in APB's name for massive gambling debts incurred overseas.

Sources say Chip Eng Seng's property arm Chip Eng Leong Enterprise - recently renamed CEL Development - is expected to team up with a property fund for the Grange Tower purchase.

CEL Development recently teamed up with Lehman Brothers to redevelop Venus Mansion in Cairnhill.

Chip Eng Seng also has a stake in Ritz Residences nearby at Devonshire Road, on the former Quelin Gardens and Parc Devon plots. Its partner in this project is Keppel Land.

Chip Eng Seng bought the Quelin Gardens plot in 2004 for $79 million or $491 psf per plot ratio inclusive of development charge.

Unregistered
08-09-06, 09:41
Chip Eng Seng ties up with Chicago's Citadel

8 Sep 06

Joint-venture company buys Grange Tower in $180m en bloc sale

CHIP Eng Seng Corporation has tied up with a fund of Chicago-headquartered Citadel Investment Group to acquire Grange Tower for $180 million through a collective sale. It will be Citadel's first property investment in Singapore.

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Chip Eng Seng's property arm CEL Development is taking a minority stake of 25 per cent in the joint venture, with Citadel Equity Fund holding the majority 75 per cent.

But the Chip Eng Seng group will be pretty much running the show as the joint venture redevelops the site into a 36-storey condo slated for launch in the second half of next year.

CEL will provide services relating to the day-to-day operations and business of the joint venture company, as well as project management and marketing. The joint venture company will also engage Chip Seng Contractors (1988), another wholly owned unit of Chip Eng Seng, as main contractor to design and build the project.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), which brokered the deal, says the $180 million price achieved for the 53,257 sq ft freehold Grange Tower site reflects a unit land cost of $1,207 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area. No development charge is payable.

If the CEL-Citadel JV buys an adjoining strip of state land of 1,623 sq ft, the unit land price will fall to $1,182 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). And if the JV taps a bonus 10 per cent gross floor area allowed for balcony space, the unit land price will be reduced further to $1,075 psf ppr.

Because of Grange Tower's high development baseline - which reflects a 3.7 plot ratio, or ratio of potential gross floor area to land area - no development charge is payable for the site, even including the additional 10 per cent gross floor area for balconies.

Analysts reckon the breakeven cost for a new condo could be around $1,450 psf.

The headline unit land price of $1,200 psf ppr achieved for Grange Tower appears to be a new benchmark for the area, compared with $872 psf ppr achieved earlier this year for Furama Tower in Leonie Hill Road and $880 psf ppr for Hilton Towers at Leonie Hill.

However, CBRE executive director Jeremy Lake says more appropriate comparisons for Grange Tower are Lucky Tower further down Grange Road and Beverly Mai in Tomlinson Road, which fetched $1,134 psf ppr and $1,184 psf ppr respectively this year.

Owners of units in developments around Grange Tower - including Futura, Grangeford Apartment and Grange Heights - have been eyeing the outcome of the latest deal for an indication of what they could get for their properties. But last month, these owners were disappointed when news broke that the tender for the nearby Horizon Towers at Leonie Hill failed to find a buyer when it closed.

The purchase of Grange Tower will be subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board because unanimous approval from the owners has yet to be secured.

Owners of Grange Tower's existing 80 units will receive between $1.8 million and $3.7 million per unit - at least 80 per cent more than what their units would have fetched if sold individually.

Citadel Investment Group was founded in 1990 by Ken Griffin, who was then just 22 years old. It has offices in Hong Kong, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and London.

Since 1998, it has generated more than US$6 billion in net profits and currently deploys about US$12 billion of investment capital around the world.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA

EN BLOC ACHIEVED!!!
12-09-06, 21:27
Property
Published September 12, 2006


Haig Gardens sold at 12% below target price
But owners of Futura confident of getting $295m in en bloc sale


By ARTHUR SIM


HAIG Gardens in Katong has been sold for $44 million, 12 per cent below the original asking price of $50 million, but owners of Futura at Leonie Hill remain confident of getting $295 million for their collective sale offering.


Tang Wei Leng, director (Investment Advisory Services) at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, which is the marketing agent for Futura, said: 'It has a good configuration and given its excellent location, it is highly suitable for either a luxurious residential development or serviced apartment.'

The asking price for Futura, a freehold site, is based on the recent benchmark price set by nearby Grange Tower which transacted last week at $180 million or $1,207 psf per plot ratio.

The Grange Tower price was slightly less than the original asking price of $188 million.

The collective sale of nearby Horizon Tower was withdrawn last month after the public tender failed to draw bids close to the asking price of $500 million, suggesting that 'en bloc fever' might be cooling or, as Ms Tang noted, possibly because of its 99-year leasehold status.

Another 99-year leasehold residential development in the neighbourhood, Grangeford Apartment, is expected to be put on the collective sale market soon at an asking price topping that of Horizon Tower. According to caveats lodged, the latest price for an apartment was $1.4 million or $798 psf for a 1,700 sq ft apartment on a high floor.

There are 69 units and three penthouses at Futura. The last transacted price for an apartment there was $2.28 million. Ms Tang says owners can expect a gain of up to 70 per cent through a collective sale.

The 87,034 sq ft site has a plot ratio of 2.8 and a maximum gross floor area of 243,695 sq ft. No development charge is payable and up to 137 units, 1,600 sq ft in size, can be built.

The breakeven cost for a new development is about $1,650 psf.

Grange Tower was bought by construction company Chip Eng Seng Corporation's property arm CEL Development, so there could be an upside from aligned operations.

Similarly in Katong, Straits Construction's property arm Hoi Hup has emerged as the buyer of Haig Gardens.

Tan Hong Boon, executive director at Credo Real Estate, which is the marketing agent for the 54-unit development, said the sale was done through a private-treaty deal after the owners' asking price was not realised at a public tender. The owners received a premium of between 35 and 40 per cent on market prices for their units.

The District 15 site is 53,093 sq ft and has a plot ratio of 2.8. It may be redeveloped into an 18-storey condominium with a potential gross floor area of about 148,660 sq ft with 118 units of 1,200 sq ft.

Including an estimated development charge of $10.3 million for the intensification of the site, the sale price comes to $365 psf per plot ratio and the breakeven price is about $620 psf.

guest
18-09-06, 18:25
Singapore
Published September 18, 2006

Far East splurges $145.5m on 3 sites
Apartment owners in the 3 freehold plots will get $1.3-5 million per unit


By KALPANA RASHIWALA


PROPERTY giant Far East Organization continues its landbanking spree. It has clinched three adjoining freehold plots at Keng Chin Road, just off Bukit Timah Road, for $145.5 million. This brings Far East's total land shopping bill this year to almost $1.4 billion.


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Landbanking spree: Far East can redevelop the adjoining sites where Century Ville, Le Marque and Villa Margaux sit at Keng Chin Rd, just off Bukit Timah Rd, into a new condo with about 160 units averaging 1,500 sq ft


The $145.5 million that Far East is paying for Century Ville, Le Marque and Villa Margaux works out to a unit land price of $665 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $17.7 million development charge (DC) based on Sept 1, 2006, DC rates.

Newman & Goh brokered the sale through a private treaty deal.

The three adjoining sites have a combined freehold land area of 116,861 sq ft.

The sites are zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and 24-storey maximum height.

Far East can redevelop the site into a new condo with about 160 units averaging 1,500 sq ft.

Property market watchers estimates the breakeven cost for a new condo could be about $1,000 to $1,100 psf. Newman & Goh head of investment sales Jeffrey Goh said the tender for the three sites drew three 'expressions of serious interest' when it closed on August 23. Far East was not among them but negotiated the deal on a private treaty basis.

Owners of the existing 84 apartments in the three developments will receive sums ranging from $1.3 million to $5 million per unit. These amounts are about 20 to 70 per cent higher than what the units would have fetched had they been sold individually, Mr Goh said. This is at least the eighth major property acquisition made this year by Far East, which is the private arm of Ng Teng Fong and family.

Last month, it signed a conditional deal to purchase the freehold Rose Garden in the Katong area for $169.8 million, or $423 psf per plot ratio. Its earlier property buys this year include Amberville in Katong, the former Glutton's Square site on Orchard Road, Angullia Mansion and Skyline Angullia both at Angullia Park, Pacific Court at Pasir Panjang Hill and Waterfront View in Bedok (this was a joint acquisition with Frasers Centrepoint).

HOT
22-09-06, 04:49
Top Print Edition Stories
Published September 22, 2006

Pontiac Land Group buys Pin Tjoe Court for $201m

Its bid of $1,358 psf ppr including DC sets new record for residential land

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) In its first residential land acquisition here in at least a decade, Pontiac Land Group has bought the freehold Pin Tjoe Court at Ardmore Park through a collective sale for $201 million or $1,358 per square foot of potential gross floor area.


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The Pin Tjoe Court sale clears the way for that of Ardmore Point next door and market watchers say Pontiac is a prime candidate.

The latter price includes an estimated $28 million development charge (DC) based on the latest Sept 1, 2006 DC rates and sets a new record for residential land in Singapore, toppling the $1,228 psf per plot ratio set for Habitat One, across the road, in July. Pontiac Land was the highest of three bidders for Pin Tjoe Court when the tender for the 60,224 sq ft site closed on Wednesday, said CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) executive director Jeremy Lake, whose firm brokered the deal. He declined to identify the other bidders. Sources suggest SC Global Developments was among them. The second-highest bid is understood to have been about $4-5 million below Pontiac's winning bid.

The sale of Pin Tjoe Court should clear the way for that of Ardmore Point next door. This is also being marketed by CBRE, through a tender that closed on Aug 8. Market watchers believe Pontiac itself could be a prime candidate to buy the freehold Ardmore Point, as the combined land area of 120,757 sq ft could yield a more substantial project of about 165 units averaging 2,000 sq ft in a prime location.

Both sites are zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - and a 36-storey height limit. 'We will study it (the Ardmore Point site),' a spokesman for Pontiac Land Group told BT yesterday.

The Pontiac name is synonymous with aesthetic developments designed by renowned architects - for instance, The Colonnade in Grange Road and the Millenia Singapore development. The Pontiac spokesman said the plan for the Pin Tjoe Court site is to create a 'premium development', adding: 'We believe the prime location, together with an innovative architecture and interior, will generate a good return on the investment.'

While the group is yet to determine the configuration of the project, 'the concept is to create a luxurious condominium for the new generation of premium buyers'.

Pontiac estimates the breakeven cost for the project to be around $1,700-1,750 psf. Some market watchers suggest the figure may be higher, at $1,800 psf or more, but Pontiac should still be able to make a profit given the buoyant luxury residential market.

'With the stronger outlook on the economy, we believe there is a sustainable interest in residential properties, especially in the prime area,' the Pontiac spokesman said.

Market watchers say the Pin Tjoe site on its own can be redeveloped into a new 36-storey condo with slightly over 80 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

Pontiac is expected to sell some of the new apartments and keep the rest for investment. 'In addition to our hotels, commercial and retail properties, the group has a portfolio of residential properties with a gross area of 500,000 sq ft,' the spokesman said. 'The Ardmore Park property will be a good addition to the portfolio.'

The group has retained all the apartments in The Colonnade and some units at Villa Delle Rose in the Holland Road area, which it developed jointly with Keck Seng.

After Pin Tjoe Court and Habitat One, the next highest prices fetched for residential land this year were for the collective sales of Eng Lok Mansion in Napier Road ($1,218 psf ppr) and Grange Tower in Grange Road ($1,207 psf ppr). Three of the four deals - the exception is Habitat One - were brokered by CBRE.

The existing Pin Tjoe Court comprises 32 apartments and two penthouses. The apartment owners will receive $5.5 million per unit and the penthouse owners $11 million per unit. These sums are about 75 per cent more than the units could fetch had they been sold individually.

Unregistered
26-09-06, 15:42
Sim Lian buys Olivio site

26 Sep 06

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MAINBOARD-LISTED Sim Lian group has acquired a residential development in Surrey Road for $29 million, or $750 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). No development charge is payable.


The four-year-old project, called Olivio, has a land area of 13,808 sq ft and is next to a site that Sim Lian bought last year. Olivio, made up of 33 apartments, was sold by private treaty through marketing agent Newman & Goh.

The agent's press release said that by combining the two sites, Sim Lian will have a much larger plot of 51,002 sq ft with a plot ratio of 2.8. This site can accommodate about 95 condominium units of about 1,500 sq ft each.

Separately, Sim Lian said yesterday it has so far sold 50 per cent of its latest condominium project, Bleu at East Coast. The 62-unit project was launched at the weekend at an average of $593 per sq ft. Sim Lian is offering a deferred payment scheme under which the first 5 per cent of the deposit is payable on booking and the second 5 per cent within eight weeks of booking. The next 10 per cent is payable in December 2007, along with other progress payments due.

Unregistered
29-09-06, 01:17
Property
Published September 28, 2006

Tong Eng bags 2 sites for $2.5m at auction


FEATURE Land, a member of the Tong Eng Group, yesterday snapped up two adjoining freehold sites in Sixth Avenue for $2.5 million at a Colliers International auction where three other properties - including a freehold walk-up maisonette at Tanglin Hill Condominium that fetched $2.5 million - were also sold.

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Tanglin Hill Condo: A foreign bidder clinched a maisonette here for $2.5m

The 7,565 sq ft site bought by Feature Land was put up for auction by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to recover unpaid property taxes.

And IRAS said yesterday it may put another two lots of property on the auction block later this year for the same reason.

One is a pre-war terrace house at 27 Onan Road, for which IRAS has been owed $12,832 in property tax since 1997.

The other comprises two pre-war houses at 19 and 21 Emerald Hill, for which the taxman is owed $25,212 in tax for the period July 2002 to December 2006.

In both cases, IRAS has not been paid tax despite numerous attempts to collect it.

On the Sixth Avenue site, Feature Land plans to build a pair of semi-detached houses it hopes to sell for about $2.5 million to $2.6 million each.

The property was sold after six bids.

But the most hotly-contested property at yesterday's auction was a walk-up maisonette at Tanglin Hill Condominium at 11A Tanglin Rise.

Bidding started at $1.7 million and raced up before the property was knocked down at $2.5 million. The unit attracted 16 bids in total and was picked up by a foreigner.

BT understands that a similar unit in the development changed hands for $1.665 million in March this year.

'In fact, similar-size units in the development were going for around $2.38 million in 1995, so the price for the latest deal has surpassed prices during the market peak,' a source told BT.

On selling or auctioning properties to recover outstanding tax, an IRAS spokeswoman stressed yesterday that the authority only does this as a last resort.

The same applies to property tax on HDB flats, although these make up a very small part of total property tax collections.

'We issue reminders, notices to pay, make phone calls and appoint banks as agents to try to recover the taxes due,' the spokeswoman said in a statement.

'We even visit the owners with the objective of helping them settle their taxes. It is only when all such attempts fail to get the taxes settled that we would resort to recovering outstanding property tax through the sale/auction of property.'

IRAS said total property tax arrears have hovered around 5 per cent of the total property tax collection and 0.4 per cent of total collections of all tax types for the past few years.

'The tax arrears attributable to HDB cases are not large since HDB property tax accounts for about 3.4 per cent of the property tax assessed,' it said.

Unregistered
03-10-06, 20:33
Singapore Companies
Published September 29, 2006

CapitaLand buys Cairnhill en bloc site for $161m

By ARTHUR SIM


CAPITALAND will buy Silver Tower in Cairnhill for $161 million, its second collective en bloc sale site in about a year.

Including an estimated development charge of $16.5 million, the price works out to $1,107 psf per plot ratio (ppr). Recent transactions in the same district include Orange Grove Condominium at $970 psf ppr and Grange Tower at $1,207 psf ppr.

In October 2005, CapitaLand bought Dragon View Park in River Valley for $128 million.

Patricia Chia, CEO of CapitaLand Residential Singapore, said that the company intends to build a 20-storey condominium with some 100 units.

CapitaLand's other prime developments like the Botanic on Lloyd, Tanglin Residences, The Imperial and The Loft are all fully sold, she said.

For its latest development, the 73-unit Scotts HighPark, 13 units have been sold so far at an average price of $1,800 psf.

The Silver Tower deal was brokered by Savills Singapore. Its director of investment sales, Steven Ming, said that owners of the 38 units in the building stand to receive an average premium of 70 per cent above current market prices.

'Strong interest for the site was received from both local and foreign developers,' he said.

The initial price objective set by the owners of $168 million is also close to the transacted price.

The breakeven price is expected to be between $1,600 and $1,700 psf. Currently, new developments in Cairnhill include Cairnhill Crest, The Light @ Cairnhill and The Edge @ Cairnhill.

Cairnhill Crest has even reportedly achieved prices of $2,000 psf.

There are likely to be more old apartments put on the market. Mr Ming believes that there could be five projects in the Cairnhill/Emerald Hill area that are at various stages of en bloc sale readiness.