Roxy-Pacific takes a wait-and-see attitude

http://www.todayonline.com/Business/...d-see-attitude

Roxy-Pacific takes a wait-and-see attitude

by Tan Hui Leng

05:55 AM Jul 16, 2009


The chief executive of property group Roxy-Pacific, Mr Teo Hong Lim, seems unmoved by the ongoing bull run in the property market. He is not in a hurry to join in the fray with new project launches. "It seems very strong and has caught many industry players off guard, I don't know when this window of opportunity will close," he told Today.

So although the developer's strategy is to buy a plot of land and launch the property on it in six to nine months so as to ride on buying trends, it is now taking a wait-and-see attitude to new projects.

In fact, the Mainboard-listed developer has no land bank after launching nine residential projects since Jan 2008.

Some of the company's revenue drivers are its latest projects, Nova 48 and Nova 88 in Balestier, which sold out recently five-and-a-half months following its launch. The developer's units usually sell out three months after launch.

Roxy-Pacific usually sets a 15-per-cent profit margin for its developments and in this case both projects, Nova 48 and Nova 88, sold for an average price of $888 per square foot. "We do not have phased launches, we always price them right to sell 100 per cent so that we can take the profit in cash," said Mr Teo.

A project that "drags on" into phases also risks the scenario of buyers losing interest, he added.

Despite its reservations about the property market, Roxy Pacific said it will continue to look and to buy land "if the price is right" and the firm is regularly in talks regarding several plots of land.