RESIDENTIAL MARKET
7,800 HDB flats reap $23m project benefits
Nearly 7,800 flats have benefited from a $23 million programme to make public housing estates more convenient for residents, said Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan.
In a blog post yesterday, Mr Khaw signalled the conclusion of the Barrier Free Accessibility (BFA) programme that began in 2006 and covered the common areas of Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates. BFA works have been fully implemented in all HDB estates, he said.
Upgrading works under the programme included the installation of ramps and railings, as well as unobstructed walkways that connect the housing blocks to surrounding facilities.
"Other than helping the elderly and physically disabled, the installation of ramps and handrails under the BFA brings daily convenience to many," Mr Khaw wrote. "Parents with baby strollers and housewives returning from marketing with trolleys will also find it a breeze moving around the estates."
The HDB said the masterplan for each town was drawn up by the town councils, which consulted grassroots groups and considered residents' feedback and requests.
Mr Khaw said last week that the town councils might continue to incorporate more BFA features if they wish to do so - as part of ongoing improvement works for instance.
Within each flat, Mr Khaw said the HDB has been incorporating universal designs since 2006 that make them user-friendly for all ages.
For example, new Built-to-Order flats now feature ramps at the main entrances and bathrooms, and wider doors for bedrooms and toilets to cater to the elderly on wheelchairs.
The HDB has also started to roll out the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme, an optional part of the HDB's Home Improvement Programme.
The government has set aside $260 million to help subsidise up to 95 per cent of the installation costs for the ramps, grab bars and non-slip tiles.
"Ageing of population is a definitive trend. The earlier we make HDB towns elderly-friendly, the more ready we will be in enriching the quality of life of our elderly residents," Mr Khaw wrote.
Source: Business Times –20 November 2012
Cooling measures deter foreign home buyers
Last December's cooling measures have continued to deter overseas buyers from the property market.
Foreign purchases made up just 7 per cent of the private market in the three months to Sept 30, well down from their 18 per cent share for the whole of last year.
The trend was equally evident over the first nine months of the year with only 6 per cent of purchases coming from foreigners.
There were just 504 purchases by non-permanent resident foreigners in the third quarter, with eight being for landed home sales.
Suburban project Bartley Residences topped the table with 18 sales to foreigners while city fringe development One Dusun Residences and V on Shenton, in the central business district, were tied for second with 14.
Other mass market projects also enjoyed keen interest from foreign buyers, including Hillsta in Choa Chu Kang, Parc Centros in Punggol, The Palette in Pasir Ris and My Manhattan in Simei.
While sales are down from a year earlier, interest from some nationalities seems to be creeping back with the market share of mainland Chinese buyers - including permanent residents (PRs) - climbing again.
After an initial sharp pullback in the first quarter as the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) of 10 per cent for all foreign purchases hit, mainland Chinese buyers overtook Indonesians in the third quarter to clinch second place after Malaysians.
Including PRs, Chinese buyers accounted for 22 per cent - or 397 units - of all purchases made by non-Singaporeans in the three months to Sept 30. This is below the 28 per cent recorded by this group for the whole of last year.
Purchases by Americans also received a boost after the ABSD was implemented as they are one of the five nationalities exempt from the extra 10 per cent tax.
Americans bought 10 homes in the exclusive Sentosa Cove estate this year - Chinese buyers snapped up eight - to become the top non-Singaporean buyers group there.
This is a striking increase from 2010 and last year when only four Sentosa Cove purchases were made in total by Americans.
The cooling measures last December slapped a 10 per cent ABSD on all home purchases by foreigners.
PRs had to fork out an extra 3 per cent on their second and subsequent home purchases, while Singaporeans had to do so only for their third home on.
There was increased demand for landed homes above $5 million, particularly in the $5 million to $10 million price band.
More good class bungalows and Sentosa Cove houses were bought in the third quarter compared with the three-month period before.
Source: The Straits Times –20 November 2012
Former St Joseph's Convent site put up for lease
Eleven Hillside Drive, the site of former CHIJ St Joseph's Convent School, has been put up for lease by its newest owner.
The 81,467-square-foot plot of land with a gross plot ratio of 1.4 has a 103-year lease and has been approved for residential use.
The site has been used as a training school by ACMI to train foreign domestic workers since 2002, after the secondary school's operations moved to its present premises in Sengkang in 2000.
The property is suitable for companies or organisations seeking a long-term lease. Potential lessee includes educational institutions, subject to approval by relevant authorities.
Most educational sites that have been put up for lease by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) usually have an initial three-year tenancy, with an option to renew for another two three-year terms.
Though the owner, who had recently acquired the site, is leasing out the premises for recurring income instead of redeveloping it.
Source: Business Times –20 November 2012
COMMERCIAL MARKET
The Index strata offices seen going for at least $2,400 psf
Investor interest in the strata office market is expected to go up a few notches in coming weeks as Far East Organization gets ready to release The Index at Robinson Road/Cecil Street. Talk in the market is that strata offices in the 99-year-leasehold project next to Capital Tower will start from around $2,400 per square foot (psf).
The Index will also have some medical suites on the lower floors and these are expected to be priced from $3,500 psf.
Far East and its listed unit, Far East Orchard Limited, are developing the project on a 99-year-leasehold site, which they clinched at a state tender in September last year. They paid $311.777 million or $882 per square foot per plot ratio. The project's total development cost including land has been previously reported as around $520 million. The Index is about 200 metres from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.
BT understands that the top eight levels of the 31-storey tower will offer larger whole-floor office units of 10,548 sq ft per floor. Levels 10 to 23 will house 136 smaller office units ranging from 592 sq ft to 1,442 sq ft.
Medical suites will be located on the third to fifth levels. In all, there will be 50 such units ranging from 613 sq ft to 1,345 sq ft. The medical suites will have a floor-to-floor height of 4.5 metres and the office units, five metres - higher than the three to 3.5 metres for typical offices.
Far East is also setting aside some space in The Index for civic and community institutional use, which will be exempted from the calculation of the building's maximum approved gross floor area.
At street level, there will be separate double-volume lobbies for the offices and medical suites, accessed through a fully sheltered plaza that will be landscaped. There will also be two food-and-beverage outlets with outdoor dining areas and a shop unit - which are expected to be made available for sale.
Far East group is dedicating three basement levels to car parking lots.
A Platinum Green Mark building, The Index will feature a roof garden and pool on the ninth floor.
During a weekend in March this year, Far East sold all 100 office units at PS100 at Peck Seah Street at an average price of $3,000 psf.
Office units in the 99-year-leasehold project have sizes of between 420 sq ft and 517 sq ft.
URA Realis caveats data shows that this year, office units at the 99-year Eon Shenton project have fetched an average price of $2,554 psf, while freehold offices at Oxley Tower in Robinson Road have sold for $3,197 psf on average.
SISV Realink caveats data shows that nine medical suites at the completed Novena Medical Centre, on a site with a remaining lease of about 89 years, have changed hands for an average $3,147 psf this year.
In Bencoolen Street, a Guthrie-Sun Venture tie-up which acquired 66 office units from a partnership between Wing Tai and City Developments earlier this year has resold 25 of these units over the past month at $1,782-$1,893 psf. The sold units are from a batch of 43 which Guthrie-Sun Venture released on the fifth to eighth levels of Burlington Square.
The 66 office units are between 549 sq ft and 1,066 sq ft. CBRE is the marketing agent.
Burlington Square is on a site with 82.5 years' remaining lease.
Source: Business Times –20 November 2012
More pressure seen on S'pore office rents
An estimated 7.2 million square feet of net lettable area (NLA) is expected to come onstream in Singapore's central business district (CBD) over the next five years amid softer economic conditions, exerting further pressure on rental rates.
Core projects include the Duo and Marina One, two mega mixed-used developments which will add nearly 2.5 million of prime commercial space when completed in 2017 by a joint venture involving Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional. Work on the Duo in Ophir and Marina One in Marina South is scheduled to start next year.
In the immediate term, recently completed or soon-to-be completed projects will add to price pressures given the additional supply in a climate of tepid economic growth. Following a slight 0.3 per cent year-on-year GDP expansion in the third quarter on stagnant global demand, full-year growth is projected at a modest 1.5 per cent and pegged at between one and 3 per cent in 2013.
There is increasingly keen competition in the commercial segment with the unveiling of Duo and Marina One.
Although completion for both is five years down the road, there are other prime Grade A buildings in the CBD area either under construction or to be finished over the next few years, with a combined offering of some 3.2 million sq ft.
These include the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3 and One Raffles Place Tower 2 - providing some 1.6 million sq ft this year - and South Beach Development which is scheduled to be finished in 2016.
Then there are the new commercial buildings outside of the CBD which will add another 2.1 million sq ft of NLA.
Khazanah's involvement, however, could see more Malaysian-based companies signing on as tenants in the projects, adding that in the case of the Duo, its newness might be attractive to prospective tenants given that the existing schemes in the area tend to be older Grade B buildings.
The Singapore government's strong involvement is seen as signalling its intent to catalyse the development of the Marina Bay Downtown and the Ophir-Rochor Corridor, ensuring a steady supply of premium office space, which in turn would keep occupation costs reasonable.
But in the immediate and shorter term, rental rates are likely to come under further challenge.
Source: Business Times –20 November 2012
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