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The Singapore government said on Wednesday that it will release sand from its stockpiles to ensure that the construction industry has a steady supply, after Indonesia banned all sand exports to Singapore last week.

Singapore’s property market is booming, giving a boost to the construction sector which has slumped for several years. However, Indonesia’s ban on sand exports is expected to lead to higher costs as Singapore will need to find new suppliers.

‘The Building and Construction Authority expects the price of sand to rise due to higher transportation cost involved in shipping sand from distant sources,’ the Ministry of National Development said in a statement, adding that the release of sand from government stockpiles would help to stabilise sand prices.

Singapore said last week that Indonesia had decided to ban all sand exports due to environmental concerns and the need to protect its borders. The ban in sand exports has hit Singapore-listed construction stocks on fears of a slowdown in the construction sector, which is recovering after years in the doldrums. — REUTERS

Source : Business Times - 31 Jan 2007

Those left out complain of unfairness, poor handling of launches

The strong buying at recent luxury property launches may have been welcomed by developers, but some would-be buyers and agents are unhappy at being left out in the cold.

They complain that the principle of first-come first-served was thrown out the window at some hot launches.

There was also ambiguity over the so-called ‘VIP’ list for sought-after projects like Marina Bay Residences, City Developments’ One Shenton and BS Capital’s Lumiere.

The agents told BT that being on the list was crucial to secure a choice unit, as all the three developments were launched to private invitees first.

They said that at certain launches, priority was given to agents holding the greatest number of cheques. For example, an agent with 10 blank cheques from prospective buyers would be allowed into the showflat to book units before an agent with one or two cheques - regardless of who got there first. Agents collected blank cheques ahead of launches so they could book units quickly for clients once they were let into the showflats.

City Developments told BT it strove to ensure fairness and order at the launch of One Shenton. ‘Under overwhelming and unrelenting crowd conditions, we did our best to maintain crowd control in an orderly fashion and we will continue to make improvements to best serve the needs of our customers,’ a spokeswoman said.

The way some launches were handled also came under fire.

BT understands that in one extreme case, a potential buyer who failed to clinch two units at Marina Bay Residences during the launch in December last year has sent lawyer’s letters to developer BFC Development - a consortium comprising Cheung Kong Holdings, Hong Kong Land and Keppel Land - and marketing agent CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

The thwarted buyer alleges that the CBRE associate agent marketing the project asked for a commission in return for securing two units. Industry practice - aimed at preventing conflict of interest - is that agents only receive commission from sellers.

Asked about the alleged incident, a CBRE spokesman said: ‘There was a lot of activity at the Marina Bay Residences sales office during the launch, and in the process, a prospective buyer mistakenly thought she was entitled to buy two units. ‘Subsequently, we received a complaint from her stating that the two units were not sold to her because she was unwilling to pay our agents any commission. We have responded to her, stating that her complaint is without basis.’

On the flip side of the buyer’s claim, market watchers say some overeager buyers at some projects were willing to pay agents to get units.

In the CBRE case, all units in the 428-unit 99-year leasehold project were snapped up while the disgruntled buyer was negotiating with an agent.

Market watchers say that with the luxury property segment so buoyant, further charges of unfairness could arise as the atmosphere is like that at the Great Singapore Sale where everyone is out to get the best bargain.

Source : Business Times - 30 Jan 2007

Super-luxury units should hit more than $3,000 psf: Hong Leong

SINGAPORE’S high-end property segment is developing into a two-tier market of traditional high-end developments and a new ’super luxury’ category that could see average prices rise to $3,000 per square foot (psf) by the end of this year, says CapitaLand Residential Singapore CEO Patricia Chia.

Artist Impression of Orchard Turn

And Ms Chia believes prices for prime units in super-luxury developments could be even higher than that. ‘For some units to cost above $3,000 psf is nothing new because this has been achieved in 2006,’ she said.

St Regis Residences by City Developments Ltd (CDL) was the first development to cross the $3,000 psf price here, and its associate company, Hong Leong Holdings, will soon launch two ultra-luxury penthouses for sale at Tate Residences for about $3,300 psf each - or around $21 million.

On luxury home prices, a spokesman for Hong Leong Group said: ‘If one uses the benchmark of high-end projects such as Ardmore Park which was sold at $2,000 psf 10 years ago, and assuming a yield of 6 per cent, the price tag should be at $3,500 psf today at 6 per cent yield compounded annually.

‘The project Ardmore Park II launched last year was priced at only $2,300 psf. Therefore it may not be unrealistic to expect prices of luxury homes to exceed $3,000 psf.’

CapitaLand has yet to hit the $3,000 psf price for a development. Recent transactions include a penthouse at Scotts High Park for $15.2 million, or about $2,340 psf.

Still, Ms Chia believes there is room for prices for super-luxury homes to go up.

‘If you look at some of the recent launches, there was one unit that cost $3,400 psf, but the average price for that development was $1,900 psf. When we talk about the two-tier market, we believe the average price for the super-luxury segment will be $3,000 psf. This will only be for very special projects,’ she said.

CapitaLand has two potential super-luxury developments coming up, at Orchard Turn and the former ANA Hotel site.

Attributes that a super-luxury development must have include ‘location and uniqueness of product’, says Ms Chia.

Dates for the launch of the Orchard Turn and the ANA Hotel site developments have not been confirmed, but the former could be launched as early as this quarter. Both developments will comprise large units and are expected to have only around 100 homes each.

CapitaLand plans to launch 1,000-1,200 units for sale this year, but not all will be in the super-luxury category.

Other upcoming developments include projects at Jalan Mutiara (formerly Dragon View Park), Meyer Road (formerly Meyer Tower/First Mansion) and Cairnhill (formerly Silver Tower).

Ms Chia did not put these projects in any particular category but she did say that the ‘bulk’ of redeveloped projects on collective sale sites in the prime districts - an estimated 8,000 in the next three years - will sell for $1,800-$2,500 psf, the latest price bracket for traditional high-end developments.

Until this year, high-end developments were those with a selling price of around $1,500 psf. New prices suggests increases of at least 20 per cent.

Ms Chia notes that even though the price index for non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) registered an year-on-year increase of 17 per cent ’some developments increased by as much as 50, 60, 70 per cent’.

CDL’s The Sail @ Marina Bay registered some of the highest resale prices since it was launched in late-2004.

CapitaLand still has projects like Scotts High Park, Citylights, RiverGate, RiverEdge and The Metropolitan on the market.

As at the end of last year, only 423 (11.6 per cent) of units in developments still on the market were left unsold.

Hong Leong Group will also launch new developments including Quayside Collection at Sentosa Cove and Kim Lin Mansions on Grange Road.

Source : Business Times - 30 Jan 2007

Sky@eleven achieved average price of $975 psf, with the highest price paid at $1,200 psf

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has sold all 273 units at its freehold condo Sky@eleven off Thomson Road.

Sky@Eleven

The media group said in a statement that the four-tower luxury project was snapped up within 30 hours after its soft launch on Sunday evening. It achieved an average price of $975 per square foot (psf), with the highest price recorded at $1,200 psf.

SPH said one major selling point of its maiden condo development was the attractive pricing.

‘Buyers who turned up at the showsuites were also drawn to the spaciousness of the units, which range from 1,851 square feet to 2,820 square feet. The apartment types include mostly four-bedroom and three bedroom + study,’ the SPH statement said.

The condominium is being developed by wholly owned subsidiary Times Development Pte Ltd. Times Development chairman Sum Soon Lim said: Sky@eleven truly offers value for money given the luxury lifestyle concepts it offers.’

In its statement, SPH also noted that the overwhelming response to Sky@eleven was not unexpected given the current bullish property sector, ‘particularly the popular demand for luxury homes in prestigious districts’. SPH said the number of staff who bought units in the project was not significant compared to the number of buyers from the public. ‘There is no discount for SPH staff and SPH board of directors,’ it added.

Located at Thomson Lane, the 43-storey Sky@eleven will be the tallest development in the area, offering views of the reservoirs and the city skyline.

The project, which could be completed as early as end-2009, was marketed by Knight Frank.

Source : Business Times - 30 Jan 2007

We refer to the article ‘SGX cautions developers about price projections’ (BT, Jan 29) and wish to express our strong objection to, and disagreement with, the following statements in the article and the context in which these statements appear:

‘Two weeks ago, upmarket developer SC Global told the media it hoped to set a new benchmark with the launch of its latest luxury project, the marQ on Paterson Hill, which is expected to fetch prices upwards of $2,800 per square foot (psf). Just a week later, SC Global said in another media interview that it planned to price the project ‘north of $3,000 psf’.’.

‘It is little wonder then that SC Global’s shares have surged some 70 per cent since the start of the year and it is the best performer on the Singapore property index.’

These statements suggest that SC Global deliberately released information about the selling prices for The Marq for the purpose of causing its share price to increase. This is totally inaccurate and we categorically reject any such suggestion.

First, the statements in the article contain inaccuracies. SC Global did not state that the selling price of The Marq would be $2,800 per square foot and upwards in its press release on Jan 17, 2007. This press release was posted on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) website on the same date. In that press release, SC Global stated clearly that ‘the price and the launch date will be announced at a later date’ and ‘the Marq is expected to set a benchmark in the high-end luxury residential market’. The price of $2,800 per square foot and upwards is what property consultants - not SC Global - believe The Marq would fetch. (Please see The Straits Times article on of Jan 18, 2007, quoting Ku Swee Yang, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore).

Second, SC Global’s share price rose approximately 31 per cent, from a closing price of $3.12 on Jan 17, 2007 (before our press release that day and The Straits Times article on Jan 18) to $4.10 on Jan 26. SC Global’s share price rose only 9 per cent, from a closing price of $3.90 on Jan 19, 2007 to $4.26 on Jan 22 (the day of a Bloomberg interview, referred to in BT’s article as the media interview in which SC Global said it planned to price the project ‘north of $3,000 psf’). In fact, SC Global’s share price fell approximately 4 per cent to close at $4.10 on Jan 26, 2007, from $4.26.

Therefore, any suggestion that SC Global released its selling price for The Marq to increase its own share price is totally unwarranted and strongly refuted by us.

In addition, statements in the BT article discussed SGX disclosure rules on material information and how they would apply to property developers. The references in the article to SC Global - and to SC Global only in this context - were wholly inappropriate as they conveyed the wrong impression to BT’s readers that SC Global is in breach of the relevant SGX listing rules.

Author: Simon Cheong Chairman & chief executive officer SC Global Developments Ltd

Source : Business Times - 30 Jan 2007