SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

This makes The Metropolitan one of best-selling condos in a single weekend this year

DEMAND for a new condominium in Alexandra Road was so strong that a queue of more than 100 home-buyers started forming at 3am on Saturday.

Developers CapitaLand and Lippo Group saw 188 units at The Metropolitan snapped up during the weekend preview - more than the 180 units they had originally intended to release at this stage.

This makes the 99-year leasehold condominium one of the best-selling in a single weekend this year, beating The Centris in Jurong, which saw about 150 units sold in its three-day preview weekend in September.

Although it still ranks behind The Sail @ Marina Bay, which sold 250 units in a single day last year, the intense interest in The Metropolitan is seen as the latest sign that property fever is mounting in Singapore.

The high level of demand led CapitaLand to open the condominium’s sales office an hour early at 9am on Saturday.

It also means that almost half of The Metropolitan’s 382 units have been snapped up, even before its official launch this weekend.

CapitaLand said the overwhelming response led it to offer a second batch of 70 units on Sunday on top of the original 180 units slated for preview sale.

Prices at the project range from $511,000 for a 778 sq ft two-bedder on the fifth floor to $1.45 million for a 1,700 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 42nd floor.

This works out to an average of $780 per sq ft (psf), compared with about $750 psf for nearby Tanglin View, a 99-year leasehold condominium by Far East Organization that was launched in 1997 and still has 30 of its 384 units unsold.

But The Metropolitan’s 11 penthouses, which have not yet been released for sale, are likely to have higher prices on a psf basis.

They will range from 2,454 sq ft to 3,412 sq ft and their prices will start at $2.5 million, CapitaLand said.

This confirms a trend noted by The Straits Times last Friday of bigger apartments fetching higher psf prices than smaller ones, as tight supply and strong demand from foreigners and large families push up the prices of such units.

About 30 per cent of The Metropolitan buyers were foreigners, mostly from China and Australia, said Ms Patricia Chia, CapitaLand Residential’s chief executive.

The development caters specifically to large families, offering buyers options such as subdividing a three- or four-bedroom apartment or combining two two-bedroom units.

As well, its city-fringe location next to Redhill MRT Station, satisfies ‘pent-up demand’ in the market, added Ms Chia.

‘In the last few years we haven’t seen a project of this scale that is so near to the city,’ she said.

Part of The Metropolitan’s appeal may lie in an unusual discount that its developers are offering to buyers looking to upgrade from more remote suburban areas to the city-fringe.

Buyers who are currently living in districts such as Woodlands, Punggol and Pasir Ris get a 1 per cent ‘moving closer’ discount if they buy a unit. About 30 per cent of The Metropolitan buyers have taken advantage of the discount so far.

The Metropolitan is the latest in a series of condominiums drawing keen interest even before they are officially launched. As home prices climb and buyers try to get in on the action early, several condominiums across the board have seen successful pre-launch previews this year.

They range from high-end developments like Tate Residences in Claymore Road to entry-level projects such as The Centris.

Home prices in Singapore rose 6 per cent in the first nine months of this year. CapitaLand’s Ms Chia expects this figure to reach close to 10 per cent by year-end and prices to climb by 10 per cent to 15 per cent next year.

Source : Straits Times - 7 Nov 2006

OWNERS of the freehold Bellerive at Keng Chin Road in the Bukit Timah area are teaming up to sell their homes.

Their asking price of about $40 million works out to a unit land price of about $750 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $6.6 million development charge (DC), says marketing agent Newman & Goh. This is 13 per cent higher than the $665 psf ppr, including DC that Far East paid for three freehold adjoining collective sale properties across the road in September - Century Ville, Le Marque and Villa Margaux. Newman & Goh also brokered the earlier deal.

The firm’s head of investment sales Jeffrey Goh said yesterday he is confident of achieving the higher unit land price. ‘The market has continued to move north since September. And regular-shaped sites in prime districts continue to be in demand by developers.’

Bellerive currently comprises 31 apartments and owners of units controlling more than 80 per cent of share values have consented to a collective sale. Assuming the owners get the $40 million they are asking for, they stand to walk away with sums ranging from slightly over $1 million to $1.5 million a unit - or about 45 per cent more than what they would have received had they sold their apartments individually. The 29,439 sq ft, squarish site site in District 10 is designated for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area) and 24-storey maximum height. The site can be redeveloped into a new project with 47 units averaging 1,300 sq ft. The site is close to Anglo- Chinese School (Barker Rd) and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School.

Source :  Business Times - 7 Nov 2006

CAPITALAND is planning to launch three freehold condos next year with a total of about 700 units even as it catches its breath after selling 188 units over the weekend at the 99-year leasehold The Metropolitan Condominium next to Redhill MRT Station.

‘My view is that next year will be good. We’re marketing Singapore as a global gateway city. Home prices will continue to do well next year,’ CapitaLand Residential Singapore CEO Patricia Chia said.

She expects overall private home prices to rise by about 10-15 per cent next year.

The official Urban Redevelopment Authority’s private home price index has risen 6.1 per cent in the first nine months of this year since end-2005, and Ms Chia estimates the year will close nearly 10 per cent higher.

Despite the steep increase in luxury home prices (21 per cent in the first nine months of the year according to some property consultants), Ms Chia believes there’s still room for further price growth for well-located projects with good design in this market segment.

The $780 psf average price (after discounts) achieved for the 45-storey Metropolitan is higher than the average of around $750 psf for Tanglin View and around $700 psf for Tanglin Regency fetched between April and August this year, according to The Metropolitan’s marketing agent ERA Realty Network president Jack Chua.

The two completed 99-year developments are opposite The Metropolitan but are lower, at just 20 storeys.

Generally, apartments on higher floors fetch higher prices which means that taller condos tend to command a higher average per square foot price on a project basis.

However, The Metropolitan’s average price of $780 psf is shy of the over-$800 psf that Tanglin View recorded when it was launched in 1997.

ERA’s Mr Chua predicts net rental yields in excess of 4 per cent for units at The Metropolitan Condominium.

Analysts reckon CapitaLand could book a pre-tax profit of about $60 million or even more from its half-share in The Metropolitan Condo.

The other half in the project is held by Lippo Group. The two teamed up to bid for the site at a state tender which closed last November.

Their winning bid reflected a unit land cost of about $350 psf per plot ratio.

CapitaLand said buyers started to queue at The Metropolitan’s showflat from 3 am Saturday morning. The showflat opened for sales at 9 am.

The condo, which is expected to be completed in 2010, comprises a total of 382 units, of which 250 have been launched so far.

Of these, 188 had been sold by Sunday evening. Absolute prices range from about $511,000 for a two-bedroom unit on the fifth level to $1.45 million for a four-bedroom unit on the 42nd storey. The development has 11 penthouses, which have yet to be released. Their prices start from $2.5 million.

The Metropolitan is being developed on the last of CapitaLand’s 99-year leasehold site.

Another of the group’s earlier 99-year projects, CityLights near the Lavender MRT Station, is over 70 per cent sold, Ms Chia revealed.

The average price CapitaLand is selling units in the condo has appreciated around 16 per cent, from an initial $600 psf in November 2004, to about $700 psf currently.

The three condos which CapitaLand is likely to launch next year will be developed on the Silver Tower site in Cairnhill which it bought this year, at Meyer Road and at Jalan Mutiara.

The group will release its financial results for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2006, on Thursday this week.

Source : Business Times - 7 Nov 2006

Q I UNDERSTAND that only two types of nominations for beneficiaries are valid for life insurance policies.

The first type: Nominations made for NTUC Income policies as they are governed by the Cooperative Societies Act, which allows its policyholders to nominate beneficiaries.

The second type: Nominations made in favour of an insured’s spouse and/or children.

Under Section 73 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, when a person purchases a life insurance policy and nominates the spouse or children as the beneficiaries of the policy, a trust is automatically created in their favour.

I have 10 life insurance policies bought mainly in the 1990s. None were from NTUC Income.

I have named several members of my family as beneficiaries of some of the policies.

Take for example a policy for which my parents, wife and sister are the nominated beneficiaries.

Must all the nominees be wife and/or children before a Section 73 trust is created?

If the nominees are my parents, sister and wife, does it mean:

All the nominations are 100 per cent invalid; or

A Section 73 trust is created for my wife and only a portion of the insurance proceeds will go to her; or

A Section 73 trust is created for my wife for 100 per cent of the proceeds?

What if my father has died? Does it just mean his share will go to the remaining nominees?

If I prepare a will now, can I override all the nominations I have made for the insurance policies?

A In order for a policy to be deemed a trust policy under Section 73 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, all the beneficiaries must be a spouse and/or children.

Any payout from these policies are for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Thus, even if the insured were to suffer from total and permanent disability, the insurance payout is legally for the benefit of the beneficiaries, not the insured.

Similarly, if the insured were to surrender the policy, the payout will be in his name - unless he has appointed a trustee - but legally it is for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

If the beneficiaries of some of your policies are your parents, sister and wife, your nominations are valid.

However, the policies would not come under Section 73.

If your father has died, his share of your policy proceeds will go to his estate.

If you write a will to override all your policy beneficiary arrangements, it will not apply to NTUC Income policies where a nomination has been made, or to policies deemed to be Section 73 policies.

To avoid complications, and to expedite the payment of claim proceeds, you should speak to your insurer and, wherever possible, make the necessary changes to all your policies to reflect your wishes.

Leong Sze Hian

President

Society of Financial Service Professionals

Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensivevprofessional advice.

Source : Sunday Times - 5 Nov 2006

Prices have shot up in last 10 months to an average of $515 psf, compared to last year’s average of $399 psf

THE supply of good-class bungalows may be strictly limited but strong demand has meant more of Singapore’s most coveted homes are going on the market.

This week alone, four such bungalows, each about 15,000 sq ft, were put up for sale by tender - three at White House Park and another off Holland Road.

The White House Park properties are part of Glencaird Residences, developed by Wheelock Properties about seven years ago, and carry a price tag of $15.8 million each.

This works out to about $1,053 per sq ft (psf) - almost 35 per cent more than the $783 psf fetched for a 16,598 sq ft White House Park bungalow in April.

This unit price also ranks them among the most expensive good-class bungalows in Singapore to date.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is handling the tender for the three bungalows, which closes on Dec 6.

The fourth bungalow, at East Sussex Lane, is being marketed by Colliers International in a tender that closes on Nov 30.

Colliers associate director of residential sales Vincent Chong said that while no fixed asking price has been set for the property, it will probably fetch ‘over $11 million’, or at least $733 psf.

The good-class bungalow market here has been soaring this year amid skyrocketing demand for luxury residences from both foreigners and locals.

To date, 74 such properties have changed hands this year to the tune of $763.4 million, and this figure is likely to reach $850 million by the end of the year, according to new estimates by property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

This is compared with 86 bungalow deals for a total of $725.7 million last year, and 66 transactions amounting to $539.5 million in 2004, said CBRE.

JLL’s regional director and head of investments, Mr Lui Seng Fatt, also expects ‘new records’ for the good-class bungalow market to be set in the coming year.

These are likely to be in ultra-posh locations such as Nassim, White House Park and Chatsworth.

Bungalows in these areas have risen more in value than those in other areas based on transactions in the last two years, added Mr Lui.

Data from CBRE shows that an 18,493 sq ft bungalow in Dalvey Road near White House Park was transacted for $8.3 million in February and resold for $10 million in July - up 20 per cent.

Another in nearby Margoliouth Road was ‘flipped’ for a 27 per cent profit between January and September.

In contrast, a 15,898 sq ft bungalow in Ford Avenue off Holland Road was bought in April for $10.6 million and changed hands the following month for $10.8 million.

Prices even seem to be dipping in the Gallop Road and Ridout Road areas.

A 15,780 sq ft bungalow at Gallop Road fetched $9 million, or $569 psf, in April while its slightly larger neighbour was sold for $8 million, or $504 psf, in September.

At Ridout Road, a 40,677 sq ft property fetched $25 million in April for $615 psf, but a 18,762 sq ft bungalow down the road sold for only $8 million, or $426 psf, in September.

In general, however, property consultants say good-class bungalows are still hot property, with the market seeing a spectacular rise in prices on a per square foot basis in the last 10 months.

The average per square foot price for bungalows transacted so far this year is about $515 psf, almost 30 per cent higher than the average $399 psf last year, according to figures from CBRE.

Good-class bungalows generally command a premium because of their scarcity. There are only about 2,500 of them in Singapore due to restrictions such as allocated locations and a minimum size.

Such properties, which are allowed only in selected prime locations, must sit on at least 15,000 sq ft of land.

Source : Sunday Times - 5 Nov 2006