Enbloc News 1: Amber Towers sold for $161.6 million

As reported in the Straits Times today, Amber Towers – a 35-year-old freehold residential project in the Katong area – has been sold to Resource International Holdings, a unit of China Sonangol Land, for $161.6 million.

This works out to a price of $1,118psf ppr, said Savills Singapore, the agency that brokered the deal through a tender exercise that closed on March 28. Each owner will potentially receive up to $4.4 million, depending on the size of his unit.

The sale of Amber Towers is the biggest transacted residential collective sale site in dollar terms over the past 3 years.  While the final sale price is lower than the previous indicative guide price of $168 million to $172 million, it is higher than the owners’ reserve price.

The District 15 site, which currently contains 54 apartments, is 40,708sqft. It can be redeveloped into a high-rise condominium with a gross floor area of 145,813sqft. The plot could yield about 110 units, each about 1,200sqft in size.

Analysts say District 15 is now considered an alternative to the prime property districts of 9, 10 and 11, with some units at new project launches commanding prices of above $2,000psf.

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That dream condo for HDB upgrader is becoming just that… a dream?!

The Strait Times today ran a special report on the dilemma of HDB upgrader trying to buy that suburban condominium home: Standing in the way is the double whammy of record prices and cooling measures by the Government, which have made it more unaffordable and riskier for these buyers to leap into the private market.

The situation along Bedok Reservoir is perfect illustration of the problem facing HDB upgraders, given the rapidly rising condominium prices around the area.

Accordingly to property consultancy DTZ Research, seven in ten buyers of private homes in the first quarter of 2009 were HDB upgraders – the highest number since the 86% figure achieved in the second quarter of 2002.

But by last year, the number had halved to about 3.5 buyers out of 10. The proportion has remained about the same in January and February this year.

And if private property prices continue to climb in the following months, the figure may dip even lower…

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New Project Launch: Eight Courtyards

The wife and I have received word about the impending launch of another new project in the northern part of Singapore – Eight Courtyards, which is jointly developed by Frasers Centrepoint and Far East (yet again!).

Given the encouraging response for Canberra Residences, it will be interesting to see how this one will fare.

For those interested in this project, you know who to call…

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Emerald Garden: A gem within the CBD..?

Emerald Garden is probably one of the most overlooked residential properties in the CBD. Located amid conservation shophouses on Club Street near Chinatown, the 265-unit residential project completed in 1998 was probably the first downtown private apartment development. It is within walking distance of both Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar, and also the Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown and Raffles Place MRT stations.

The development could increasingly be on the radar screens of potential investors, with the upcoming Telok Ayer MRT station, also within walking distance, expected to be ready next year, says Darren Teo, a senior team director with ERA.

Teo reckons Emerald Garden has been eclipsed by the newer 99-year leasehold high-rise condominiums in Tanjong Pagar, for instance Icon on Gopeng Street, Lumiere at Mistri Road and 76 Shenton Way, and the shiny new towers at Marina Bay, also of the 99-year leasehold variety, such as One Shenton, The Sail @Marina Bay and Marina Bay Residences. As such, apartments at Emerald Garden have not been as actively traded as those in Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay.

What’s more, Emerald Garden, located in a conservation shophouse neighbourhood, has a 999-year leasehold status and is made up of six low-rise blocks, unlike the high rises found in Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay. “Many of the owners are perhaps aware that it’s the only property with 999-year leasehold status, which is equivalent to a freehold status, and are therefore holding on to their units,” adds Teo.

Based on the caveats lodged with URA, from March 8 to 15, two units at Emerald Garden changed hands at prices of $1,582 and $1,568psf. A 980sqft, two-bedroom unit on the 11th floor went for $1.55 million ($1,582psf), giving the seller a hefty 50.2% gain, as he had purchased the unit for $1.03 million ($1,053psf) from the developer a month after the project was launched, in April 1996.

The other transaction involved an 829sqft studio apartment on the second floor that went for $1.3 million ($1,568psf). This represents a 57.6% gain for the owner, who had also purchased the unit in 1996 for a mere $825,000 ($995psf).

In addition to their 999-year leasehold status, the units at Emerald Green are also larger than those in newer developments, with studio apartments sized at 721 to 829sqft; two-bedroom apartments, 926 to 1,119sqft; three-bedroom apartments,1227 to 1,346sqft; and four-bedroom units, 1,507 to 1,991sqft.

Emerald Garden’s monthly rental rate is around $4psf, while the latest asking prices are in the $1,600 to $1,700psf range. This compares with asking prices of above $1,800psf at the 646-unit Icon.

Even at the peak of the market, the highest price achieved at Emerald Garden was $1,731psf, when a 1,259sqft apartment changed hands for $2.18 million.

* Above is extracted from a report in this week’s TheEdge Singapore.

With the lower psf price (for the moment, at least) compared to newer projects around the area and the bigger-sized units, Emerald Garden does sound like a pretty good buy for those who enjoy living within the CBD. This is especially with Club Street enjoying a revival of sorts recently – you should check out the various new F&B joints along that stretch of road leading towards Ann Siang Hill. Most of these are crowded, even on weekday evenings!

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En Bloc News: Fortredale sold for $65 million

A collective sale is said to have been linked for the freehold Fortredale at Tanjong Rhu. The price is believed to be about $65 million, which works out to about $1,342psf ppr.

The buyer is a low-profile Chinese developer which is developing a project in the Balestier area.

The en bloc sale of Fortredale – which has a freehold land area of 23,020sqft – was brokered by CB Richard Ellis through a tender which closed on March 29.

Market watchers expect the transaction to provide a price benchmark and pave the way for the en bloc sale of Austral View next door, which is on a site of 30,540sqft and also being marketed by CBRE.

Analysts say they would not be too surprised if the same party that is buying Fortredale also emerges as the buyer of Austral View, as it would then be able to amalgamate the two sites into a combined freehold land area of about 53,560sqft.

The combined plot could then be potentially redeveloped into a new condominium project with a total gross floor area of about 112,476sqft. This would be sufficient for a project with about 108 units averaging 1,000sqft, say analysts.

Both the Fortredale and Austral View 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 under Master Plan 2008.

* Report courtesy of The Business Times today.

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URA Q1 2011 Flash Estimates

In a sign that the property cooling measures are taking effect, URA’s overall private residential price index posted a 2.1% quarter-on-quarter increase in Q1, compared with a q-on-q increase of 2.7% in Q4 last year, latest government flash estimates show.

“The rate of increase has moderated for 6 consecutive quarters since Q4 2009,” URA said in its release.

URA’s sub-index for prices of non-landed private homes posted a q-on-q gain in Q1 2011 of 0.9% for Core Central Region (which includes the prime districts 9, 10 and 11, as well as the financial district and Sentosa Cove) – a smaller hike than the 2.2% q-on-q rise for Q4 2010.

However, the index for the Rest of Central region (which covers places like Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Geylang, Toa Payoh and Katong) increased 2.2% in Q1 over the preceding quarter – a bigger gain than the 1.9% q-on-q gain in Q4 2010. The index for Outside Central Region (covering suburban mass-market locations like Woodlands, Clementi, Jurong, Hougang, Tampines and Bedok) posted a 3.1% q-on-q rise for the first three months of 2011, after rising 2.1% q-on-q in Q4 2010.

Credo Real Estate executive director Ong Teck Hui said: “The cooling measures did not affect genuine home buyers as much as they did investors and speculators. And demand for OCR is sustained by genuine buyers.” Some market watchers suggest there may be some diversion of investment demand from high-end property to lower-priced segments as the cooling measures stretched budgets.

However, some analysts point out that the rate of q-on-q price increases for OCR had moderated in Q3 and Q4 last year before rising again in Q1. And the Q1 flash estimate for the region reflected a year-on-year appreciation of 13.6%; this figure has been easing since peaking at 36.1% in Q2 last year.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho attributes the 3.1% rise in the Q1 flash estimate for OCR to projects like Waterfront Isle along Bedok Reservoir, The Lakefront Residences near Jurong Lake, and The Tennery in Bukit Panjang which registered strong take-up at median prices (in the first two months of this year) of about $990psf, $1050psf and $1200psf respectively. “These projects attracted home buyers mainly because of their proximity to an MRT station,” Mr Li said.

He attributed the 2.2% appreciation in the RCR’s price index to Spottiswoode 18 and The Cape – both transacted at a median price of about $2000psf – as well as projects with small-format units like Palmera East ($1225psf).

URA said that as at end-2010, there were about 33,000 yet-to-be-sold private homes in uncompleted projects with planning approval – of which 40% is in OCR. In addition, there were 1500 executive condominium units that were still unsold.

The above supply figures do not take into account new sites that were recently sold (which can generate about 8,100 units) or which will be made available for development through the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme in H1 2011 (which can generate about 5,360 units). Additional supply may also come from private land sources, such as enbloc sales.

*Above is extracted from a report in last weekend’s Business Times

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d’Leedon: Photos of 3-bedder showflat

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Below are photos that the wife and I took of the 1281sqft, 3-bedroom (Type C2) showflat.

We will try to post the review for d’Leedon by tomorrow soon.

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d’Leedon: Photos of the Garden House

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The wife and I were at the sales gallery of d’Leedon this morning.

And just like the project itself, the sales gallery is a humongous building that houses showflat types ranging from 1-bedder to the 4-bedroom unit.

But the showflat that really caught our eyes was the “Garden House” unit, which is an apartment consisting of THREE floors – basement, lower and upper levels.

And if you feel like you have just stepped into one of those futuristic home from the movies, join the club!

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Enbloc News: Strike #2 for Tulip Garden

* Below is extracted from the ST today

The final dateline for Tulip Garden collective sale came and went yesterday with no developer signing on the dotted line for the 164-unit Farrer Road condominium. The owners will need to relaunch the tender if they hope to pull off a sale.

The reserve price of $650 million, if achieved, would be the first collective sale of a freehold site of over $500 million in three years. It would also be the third-biggest collective sale in Singapore. Owners of the apartments, ranging from 1700sqft to 3400sqft, stood to get between $3.14 million and $5.45 million in gross proceeds.

Launched in December, the tender for the 316,708sqft site closed on Jan 20. Three parties were said to have expressed interest but no bids were made.

Under rules on collective sales, however, 10 weeks is allowed after the tender closes for private treaties to be ironed out. Yesterday was the end of the period.

But all is not yet lost even if no deal is struck. While the initial tender has now lapsed after 10 weeks, owners may launch a fresh tender within one year of obtaining the 80% consensus required to mount a sale attempt. The relaunch, however, has to be at the same reserve price. Tweaking the reserve price would mean having to obtain the 80% support all over again.

Tulip Garden was actually sold enbloc for $516 million in July 2007 – a consortium led by developer Bravo Building Construction – backed out in 2008, citing trouble raising funds for the purchase.

Experts say the steep asking price might be putting developers off, especially in the light of January’s property market cooling measures.

The large number of government land sale sites released – with a faster and fuss-free sale process – has also siphoned capital away from the enbloc market, they add.

Large sites also often come with hefty price tags. Developers may prefer a joint venture purchase so as to share the risk.

A quiet has also fallen on other tenders that have closed but are still in the 10-week period. These include Hawaii Tower, Holland Tower, Whitley Heights and Tanglin Shopping Centre.

Hawaii Tower’s marketing agent CB Richard Ellis says that it is “working with a few parties”. The development in Meyer with a $700 million reserve price received no bids when its tender closed in January, but had four parties express interest.

Ms Stella Hoh, head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle, who is marketing the $1.7 billion collective sale of Pine Grove – the tender for which closes on April 19 – said the outcome of mega collective sales should not be painted with a broad brush. “Each site has its own attributes and developers will evaluate based on their own criteria,” she said.                                                           

If only mega collective sales are concluded with brave words alone…
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