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A MORTGAGEE sale of a unit in a development gunning for a collective sale fetched $6.12 million yesterday, well over its market valuation of about $4.5 million.

Market watchers said the buyer was probably counting on the collective sale going through, which could see him reap about $7 million or more for the unit at Silver Tower.

Savills Singapore said talks for the sale are ongoing.

The auction of the 5,995 sq ft unit at the freehold Cairnhill Road condo started with a bid of $5.2 million.

Four keen bidders drove the price up in increments of up to $100,000 to $6.12 million, said auctioneer Grace Ng of Colliers International.

The buyer was a foreign national from South-east Asia. The other bidders were Singaporeans.

His price for the three-level penthouse with a pool and five bedrooms works out to $1,020.85 per sq ft (psf).

The unit is tenanted at just $4,000 a month, said sources.

‘The price definitely took into account the possibility of a collective sale windfall and the probability of the deal going through,’ said Mr Colin Tan of property consultancy Chesterton International.

‘It was a real money-making opportunity. The only risk is whether the collective sale will go through.’

Mr Tan added that the risk was probably mitigated by the rosy outlook of the general property market and the likely uptrend in prices of Orchard Road properties.

The most recent deal at Silver Tower was done at $1.935 million, or about $821 psf, for a 2,357 sq ft unit in August last year.

Silver Tower is a 20-year development that joined the recent slate of prime collective sale launches, following record deals.

The owners asked for $168 million, or about $1,138 psf, inclusive of development charges. The tender closed on June 1, with four bids coming in, all just below the reserve price.

Owners of Hill Court condo and Char Yong Gardens, both flanking Silver Tower, are also believed to be in the early stages of working towards a collective sale.

If their sale works out, the buyer of Silver Tower could amalgamate the sites.

Source : Straits Times - 31 Aug 2006

Potential owners are expected to fork out $5m to $7m for each of the eight new sites

THE high prices fetched at last Friday’s auction of 12 vacant Sentosa Cove bungalow plots have prompted the developer to put eight more blocks up for sale at similar levels.

The plots are expected to fetch record prices comparable to those sold last week, meaning potential owners will have to pay between $5 million and $7 million each.

Five of the plots face the Tanjong Golf Course with the rest looking on to the canals.

Last week’s auction, which attracted a crowd of about 400, showed that plots facing the sea - with unrivalled views of the Southern Islands - attracted much higher bids than those facing the canals or golf course.

One buyer snapped up one such ocean-view plot, paying $8.15 million for it. This works out to an astonishing $1,039 per sq ft (psf) - a record for a bungalow plot in Singapore. He may have bid that high as he had already bought the adjoining plot for $6.68 million and had plans to build on both.

The auction prices ranged from $656 to $1,039 - all well above the previous Sentosa Cove record of $500 psf for a vacant bungalow plot.

And they almost all trumped the highest transacted price for a good class bungalow - the most prestigious type here - of $680 psf.

That was registered in the second quarter of this year for a 15,070 sq ft home in Bishopsgate which sold for an absolute price of $10.25 million.

The eight new Sentosa Cove plots, all on 99-year lease, should also surpass that old record with the prices set at between $670.05 psf and $802.81 psf.

They range in size from 6,584.34 sq ft to 8,727.45 sq ft, putting the absolute price range at $5.29 million to $7 million.

And they all come with free membership at the nearby One-degree 15 Marina Club, which costs $30,888 currently.

None of the plots have yet been sold but they have attracted a lot of interest, said the master developer, Sentosa Cove.

‘Those price levels make freehold good class bungalow prices look fairly attractive,’ said Mr Steven Ming of property consultancy Savills Singapore.

Prices of such bungalows have already risen by 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the past year and could climb by a further 10 per cent to 15 per cent in the next 12 months, he said.

However, the records set at Sentosa Cove could potentially accelerate the rise in prices of these high-end bungalows, Mr Ming added.

The 12 plots sold at last week’s auction and the eight newly released blocks are in South Cove, the southern precinct of Sentosa Cove.

The precinct will have 972 homes, of which 156 will be bungalows and the rest condominium units.

This represents one-third of the 2,500 homes earmarked for the exclusive residential enclave sitting on mostly reclaimed land in the eastern part of Sentosa island.

All the bungalow plots in the rest of Sentosa Cove - the North Cove - have been sold at up to $500 psf.

To market the South Cove, Sentosa Cove will be embarking on a series of roadshows, starting with Malaysia next month. Hong Kong could be next on the list.

HOMES WITH GREAT VIEWS

Among the eight vacant bungalow plots Sentosa Cove is selling are five that face the Tanjong Golf Course and three that look on to the canals

Source : Straits Times - 31 Aug 2006

UNITED Overseas Land (UOL) has bagged the prime Nassim Park site for a whopping $380 million, making the Nassim Road property one of the most expensive collective sale deals ever.

The record is held by the 99-year leasehold Waterfront View in Bedok, which was bought by Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint for $385 million in May. For freehold properties, Lucky Tower in Grange Road takes top spot. It cost City Developments $383 million earlier this year.

Nassim Park’s price tag works out to about $1,107 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area for the freehold site, which has a land area of 245,135 sq ft and a plot ratio of 1.4.

Each of the estate’s 104 owners will receive a premium of 70 per cent to 80 per cent over what their units would have fetched individually on the market. A flat of about 1,300 sq ft would fetch $2.2 million to $2.3 million. Savills Singapore handled the sale.

A new four-storey luxury development of about 130 units at 2,500 sq ft each can be built on the site, with an estimated breakeven price of between $1,700 psf and $1,800 psf, property consultants said.

UOL will also have to fork out at least $8 million in development charges for the plot, the first it has bought in a prime area in recent years.

It tied up with Low Keng Huat to purchase Duchess Court in Bukit Timah in May.

Source : Straits Times - 31 Aug 2006

Developer’s condos and landed homes islandwide up by 3% to as much as 20%

IN A daring move displaying its confidence in the property market recovery, Far East Organization is raising the prices of its unsold homes islandwide.

The property company, one of Singapore’s biggest developers, is upping the prices of its condominium units and landed properties across both the luxury and mass-market segments.

Its bold decision surprised market watchers as the property recovery has so far been confined to the luxury segment.

Far East is raising prices for both condominiums and landed homes by at least 3 per cent and up to 20 per cent, sources told The Straits Times.

For instance, the price of a three-bedroom home at 99-year leasehold Dunman View condo in Katong rose by $80,000, or almost 10 per cent, to more than $800,000 on Monday.

Some popular Far East landed homes will also cost 10 per cent more, with at least one project set to rise by up to 20 per cent.

Far East could not be contacted for comment yesterday but a check with more than 10 sales offices of its developments yesterday found that all had either upped prices on Monday or were planning to do so over the next week.

The price hikes appear to apply to Far East’s projects - some of them under construction - regardless of whether they are more desirable freehold properties in prime districts or 99-year leasehold suburban homes.

Far East will even increase prices of already-completed projects which most developers will try to sell as fast as they can.

Property consultants yesterday said Far East may be testing the strength of a property market recovery that has not yet lifted mass market prices.

If it succeeds, other developers may follow suit, market watchers say.

‘The mid-tier and high-end segments have some room for price expansion, but the mass market is still rather price-sensitive,’ said Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

Other Far East projects where prices were upped on Monday include Meadow Lodge in Upper Bukit Timah, a 99-year leasehold condo that was completed last year. Prices of its seven remaining units rose by 3 per cent to about $768,000.

The Straits Times understands that tomorrow, prices of landed projects in Yio Chu Kang such as Florida Park and Banyan Villas will rise by 3 to 5 per cent and up to 20 per cent respectively.

Prices at Bukit Villas in Woodlands will similarly climb by about 10 per cent.

Some property developers have recently raised the prices of their projects to take advantage of the booming luxury home market, but these price hikes have been limited to specific areas, if not individual developments.

Mr Joseph Tan, residential director at property consultancy CB Richard Ellis told The Straits Times that he ‘can’t recall any such move by a developer in the past’ to increase prices for its projects across the board.

He described Far East’s move as ’somewhat optimistic’ and said it was likely ‘in anticipation of increased property values’.

Home prices have been creeping up slowly since 2004, rising 3.8 per cent last year and 3.3 per cent in the first half of this year.

But this has largely been driven by the stellar performance of the high-end home segment - comprising freehold homes in prime areas - while prices of ‘mass-market’ 99-year leasehold suburban homes have remained flat.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

Costlier homes

PRICES of these homes have gone up or are going to be raised soon:

Dunman View in Katong

Price of a three-bedroom condo unit up by $80,000, or almost 10 per cent, to more than $800,000.

Meadow Lodge in Upper Bukit Timah

Prices of its seven remaining units rose by 3 per cent to $768,000.

Florida Park and Banyan Villas in Yio Chu Kang

Prices for landed projects at the former will go up by 3 to 5 per cent tomorrow, while those for homes at the latter will rise by up to 20 per cent.

Bukit Villas in Woodlands

Prices will climb about 10 per cent.

Source : Straits Times - 31 Aug 2006

1,020 psf price reflects premium for condo’s en bloc potential: analysts

THE collective sale of Silver Tower has yet to be concluded, but a penthouse in the freehold development in Cairnhill Road was sold yesterday for $6.12 million at an auction by Colliers International.

The price works out to $1,020 per square foot based on the 5,995 sq ft strata area of the three-level penthouse - a price market watchers said reflects a premium for the property’s en bloc potential.

A source suggested that based on its individual sale value, without factoring in potential for an en bloc deal, the penthouse could have fetched about $4.5 million or $750 psf. Silver Tower is about 20 years old.

BT understands the penthouse had been on the auction circuit for at least three years. It was sold by its mortgagee, understood to be Hong Leong Finance. Three years ago, the mortgagee was said to be asking for $3.8 million for the unit.

The buyer is said to be a Chinese individual from the region. The unit, #08-04, has a private pool and is tenanted until May 2007 at $4,000 a month.

BT understands that despite paying a hefty premium for the penthouse, the new owner stands to reap a further $1 million or so if an en bloc sale of Silver Tower proceeds at the target price of $168 million. Based on this price, the owner would be able to collect about $7 million-plus for his unit.

Savills Singapore, which is marketing the en bloc sale of Silver Tower, declined to comment yesterday except to say the collective deal is still under negotiation.

Colliers also sold three other properties at yesterday’s auction. One was a single-storey, freehold detached house with a land area of 6,183 sq ft in Sommerville Road off Upper Serangoon Road. It fetched $1.7 million. Another was a third-storey walk-up apartment in Lorong 15 Geylang. The 999,999-year leasehold property with 1,517 sq ft strata area fetched $310,000.

Colliers also sold a three-storey JTC detached factory at 6 Woodlands Loop for $4.88 million. The property is on a site with 30 years’ lease starting September 1994 with an option to renew for 30 years. All four properties sold yesterday were mortgagee sales.

Source : Business Times - 31 Aug 2006