Qingjian Realty wants to become a 'local brand'

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...brand-20130628

Published June 28, 2013

Qingjian Realty wants to become a 'local brand'

Chinese developer focusing on mass market residential projects in S'pore

By Mindy Tan


WHILE its parent company is known for landmark buildings including the 2008 Olympic Sailing Centre and Liuting International Airport in China, Singapore-based Qingjian Realty is focusing on mass market residential projects in Singapore.

"We want to establish ourselves like a 'local brand' in Singapore, and we feel that executive condominiums (ECs) and mass market condominiums is the best way to familiarise locals with our brand," said Li Jun, general manager of Qingjian Realty (South Pacific) Group.

The group, which entered the Singapore market in 1999 as a construction company, has since launched and developed a range of developments including Natura Loft, a HDB design, build, and sell scheme in Bishan, River Isles, Nin Residence, and Waterbay executive condominium (EC).

Although it has developed its share of industrial projects through joint ventures, Qingjian said it is likely to focus on residential mass market (including ECs) projects. However, it is not averse to larger projects like mixed developments, provided the right joint venture partner comes along.

Indeed, market prospects still look bright despite talk that the EC market could be in for a shake-up.

"When we launched our first EC, the income ceiling for eligible homebuyers was $10,000 and now it's $12,000. Although the income ceiling has been raised, the price range for ECs is still relatively stable. This is why we see the EC market as being quite stable and healthy," said Mr Li.

The company is also taking its cue from the government. Based on the list of confirmed residential sites being rolled out in the government land sales programme over the next six months, five of the 10 residential sites are for ECs.

"No matter what the changes, the government must take into consideration the class of buyers ECs were originally designed for - they may not be eligible to buy a HDB flat, but are unable to buy a private home."

In that vein, Qingjian is rolling out the first EC to subscribe to the measures announced in January affecting the sale of dual-key units and private enclosed spaces at ECs.

Under the new rules, EC unit sizes are capped at 160 square metres or 1,722 square feet. In addition, sale of dual-key units are restricted to multi-generational families only.

The 512-unit Ecopolitan in Punggol features 8 blocks of 16 storeys, and offers a mix of three-bedroom, four bedroom, and five-bedroom configurations. A majority of the units are three-bedrooms.

The smallest, a three-bedroom apartment, ranges from 893 to 1,055 sq ft, while the largest, a five-bedroom CoSpace ranges from about 1,518-1,711 sq ft. The 893 sq ft three-bedroom unit and 1,141 sq ft four-bedroom unit will cost approximately $700,000 and $900,000 respectively.

The concept of CoSpace, which is featured in Ecopolitan, is part of Qingjian's "defining feature" said Mr Li.

By giving homebuyers the option to combine both the utility and study rooms, the developer is giving them an option to customise the living area.

CoSpace will be offered in 208 units.

Separately, Ecopolitan will be the first residential development in Singapore to offer Home LiveCam service. Provided in partnership with SingTel, the wireless broadband camera will be installed in the living or dining room to allow home owners to monitor activities of children or the elderly at home.

Applications for eligible EC buyers are open from June 28 to July 7. Bookings will open from August 3.

[suchard]

Qinjian tends to be very aggressive in bidding for land to build ECs and appears to want to be the EC King in the Singapore market. Chinese business people can tend to be very aggressive but frankly the fact that they bid higher is not relevant to me as a buyer. For instance, SPL agents marketing Ecopolitan EC for Qinjian, saying the developer bid ~ $50 psf higher for the land, but that is really the developer's problem that they overbid. Given their being a late entrant into the Singapore property development business, their track record is yet to be established.

What is relevant is what value the Ecopolitan has for a buyer, and comparing both the pros and cons of Ecopolitan vs. other projects nearby or those coming up. For instance, even though next to Twin Waterfalls, Ecopolitan is at least 3 - 5 minutes further away as it will not have a short cut to Punggol MRT station that Twin Waterfalls has. I walked from Punggol MRT to the site and it is 12 minutes walk average speed, not the 8 minutes they claimed. Also, I went up to the HDB block next to it and could hear the heavy traffic from the TPE which is not a problem Twin Waterfalls has. The agent told me that the block is set back from the edge of the land near to the TPE, but still the noise is very loud. There are lots of planes flying into and out of Seletar Airport, so the noise was loud for any projects in Punggol. Also, while all these eco-friendly features sounds good (mangroves in fresh water???), it could mean expensive maintenance expenses (or plants that don't adapt well) down the road that owners have to bear (by then, Qinjian is long gone and not responsible for their choices of plants for Ecopolitan landscape) has their profits secure in the bank. Think organic food being more expensive that ordinary food, and one can't easily verify if the food is organic.

Given that it is next to TPE, further away from MRT (12 minute in hot weather that is unsheltered is not pleasant in Singapore) , I think Ecopolitan is over-priced if their base price (for the lower floor units) is $660 or higher per sq foot. One has to be careful, especially in this climate when the government is pushing out more ECs to stop prices from increasing. Already it has been reported that private condos market has been weaker. So what if at the first weekend, the launch for some condos sell say 200 units, but what about the 300 units after that weekend - they can drag out over many months.