SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

Some buyers, who paid between $1,500 and $2,200 psf, already trying to sell their units for $200 psf more

ONE Shenton, the latest condominium at residential hot spot Marina Bay, is all but sold out and some buyers are said to have already started putting up their units for sale in hopes of making a quick buck.

As at 5pm yesterday - about 30 hours after the soft launch on Friday - just five of the 330 units up for grabs were left. Another 11 penthouse units at the 341-unit project have not been released for sale.

The 99-year leasehold condo, located at 1 Shenton Way and overlooking the upcoming Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, achieved prices of between $1,500 and $2,200 per sq ft (psf), said developer City Developments (CDL) in a statement yesterday.

This was slightly higher than its original price range of $1,500 to $2,000 psf, and works out to about $1 million for the smaller units and more than $4 million for some four-bedroom units.

Agents also told The Sunday Times that a few units have already been put on the resale market.

These resellers are believed to be asking for up to $200 psf more than their purchase price, which translates into tidy profits of at least $100,000.

Demand for One Shenton was so overwhelming on Friday that CDL kept its showflats and sales office open until 2am yesterday.

‘Large crowds of hundreds were seen queueing since Friday afternoon and over a thousand have thronged the showsuites,’ CDL said in its statement.

Sales resumed at 9am yesterday and by 5pm, only five four-bedroom units on the top floors were left.

CDL said it is now compiling the ‘expressions of interest’ it has received for the 11 penthouses it has not released and will decide later whether to put them up for public sale or to sell them via auction.

The remaining four-bedroom units are priced at $2,200 psf, while the penthouses are likely to be more expensive on a per sq ft basis.

One Shenton’s sale prices compare favourably with those of the nearby Marina Bay Residences, which sold out in two days last month at average prices of almost $2,000 psf.

All eyes are now on what One Shenton’s penthouses will fetch, given that a penthouse unit at Marina Bay Residences had sold for a whopping $3,400 psf to set a record high for Singapore homes.

About 65 per cent of One Shenton’s buyers are local, CDL said.

The rest are from countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain and Russia.

Source : Sunday Times - 7 Jan 2007

Q MY WIFE and I bought a private house about nine years ago.

I was declared a bankrupt about three years ago because I was a guarantor for loans in my previous company amounting to more than $1 million.

We are still living in the house as my wife is still servicing the mortgage, which is currently less than $30,000.

I think the reason that the Official Assignee (OA) has not required me to sell the house is that the market value of the house is much less than the Central Provident Fund savings we have used to buy the house.

I will be turning 55 in five years’ time and do not see myself being discharged from bankruptcy.

Will the OA force me to sell my house when I reach 55?

If I am forced to sell, will the proceeds go back to my CPF account or will they be used to settle with my creditors?

Is it wise for my wife to buy my share of my house now as she has the means?

A The OA will not force you to sell your house when you reach 55.

Only your mortgagee bank can foreclose on your house if you default on your housing loan.

Your CPF monies are protected from all other creditors under section 24 of the CPF Act.

For foreclosure by your mortgagee bank, your CPF monies are protected as your housing loan was taken before Sept 1, 2002.

Prior to this date, the first charge on all private property mortgages was the CPF Board.

However, if you have re-financed your housing loan after this date, the first charge will have been changed to the mortgagee bank.

If this is the case, your CPF monies plus accrued interest utilised for the property will not be protected from the mortgagee bank, but will be protected from all other creditors.

If at the time of foreclosure, your spouse is below age 55, her CPF savings used for the mortgage and accrued interest will be returned to her CPF account if your loan was taken before Sept 1, 2002.

Since Sept 1, 2002, banks have the first charge on private property, and since Jan 1, 2003, banks also have the first charge on HDB bank loans.

If your wife buys your share of the house, your CPF monies used for the mortgage and accrued interest will be returned to your CPF account.

However, any surplus amount will form part of your assets, which will be subject to the OA’s consideration with regard to your bankruptcy and subsequent discharge.

Leong Sze HianPresidentSociety of Financial Service Professionals

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

Source : Sunday Times - 7 Jan 2007

Q IF A husband and wife have only a joint alternate bank account of $1.4 million and the husband dies, what is the estate duty payable?

And can the wife continue to withdraw money from this joint account?

Another question: Are capital gains from a CPF investment account liable for estate duty?

A The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) usually treats a joint account held by a husband and wife as being shared equally between them.

So only a half share - $700,000 - would be considered part of the deceased husband’s estate for estate duty purposes.

After the non-dwelling house exemption of $600,000 is deducted from his $700,000 share, the balance of $100,000 would be taxed at 5 per cent as this is the only asset in the estate.

The estate duty payable on the husband’s half share of the $1.4 million joint bank account would be $5,000.

When the bank becomes aware of the death of a joint account holder, the account will be frozen until a grant of representation (probate or letters of administration) is obtained from the court.

Unfortunately, this process is likely to take a few months, but the wife will want access to her money immediately.

To solve the problem, she should close the account or transfer the funds to another account in her sole name before informing the bank of her husband’s death.

If she does that, she can continue to withdraw money without interruption and she need not apply for a grant of representation at all as this is the only asset.

If the wife opts to not apply to the court for a grant of representation, she should complete a simple estate duty form called a Form of Account at Iras as soon as possible - but within six months of her husband’s death.

She should also pay the estate duty at the same time, or as soon as it is assessed, to avoid interest charges for late payment.

Since estate duty is only payable on the value of a person’s estate as at the time of death, there is no duty payable on a capital gain when it arises during a person’s lifetime nor on one arising after his death - that is, between the date of death and liquidation of the asset.

However, the assets in the CPF Investment Account at the time of the member’s death - including any capital gain accrued by those assets at that time - are part of the deceased’s estate for estate duty purposes.

Source : Sunday Times - 7 Jan 2007

Entire floors of the two towers bought for $1,500 to over $2,000 psf

City Developments Ltd (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng remains bullish about the high-end property market and expects prices to rise 10-20 per cent this year.

One Shenton

Mr Kwek was speaking at the soft launch of CDL’s latest residential development - One Shenton - where at least 70 per cent of the 341 apartments were snapped up at a preview last night, mainly by investors who purchased entire floors, sources said.

Units were sold for ‘$1,500 to over $2,000 psf’. The rest will no doubt move fast as long queues were seen outside the development’s showflat even late into the night.

Mr Kwek also said that he does not believe the projected slowdown in the economy this year will clip property prices.

Believing market sentiment will ‘filter through’ to all segments, Mr Kwek also said that he expects mass-market prices to increase 6-10 per cent in 2007.

It is this confidence that perhaps prompted him to turn down offers from institutional investors to buy One Shenton en bloc.

Two institutional investors whom he described only as ‘Western’ approached CDL, with the highest offer close to $1,700 per square foot, he said. This would have made the sale price in excess of $714 million, based on the development’s 420,000 sq ft of sellable floor area.

Instead, Mr Kwek said that he would rather sell the two-tower development to individuals for between ‘$1,500 to over $2,000 psf’ because ‘they have been queuing up and knocking on our doors . . it wouldn’t be nice’.

He revealed that up to 30 per cent of CDL’s customers are repeat buyers and it would also be a matter of ‘goodwill’. CDL also expects between 60 and 70 per cent of the buyers to be Singaporean.

The 99-year leasehold development will have 142 one-bedroom units, with or without study. There will be 113 two-bedroom units, 54 three-bedroom units, 21 four-bedroom units and 11 Sky Suites and Sky Villas.

The development will consist of a 50-storey tower and a 43-storey tower joined by a podium block with 11 retail units. CDL has no plans to sell the retail units.

One Shenton is being launched in a price slightly lower than that of Marina Bay Residences, which were launched last month at $1,550-$2,150 psf, with the highest priced unit going for a record $3,400 psf.

One Shenton cannot command the same views as Marina Bay Residences so records may not be broken this time. Still, Mr Kwek revealed that he has ambitious plans to buy the whole urban block that One Shenton sits on, which includes Shenton House and UIC Building.

He is interested in the Government Land Sales white site to be launched in the first half of this year next to One Shenton.

Source : Business Times - 6 Jan 2007

At least 14 whole floors of leasehold condo sold; Western funds offer to buy entire blocks

HOME-BUYERS snapped up almost three-quarters of the units at eagerly anticipated One Shenton, the latest condominium in the red-hot Marina Bay area, at its soft launch yesterday.

About 70 per cent of the 341-unit project was sold by 10pm, with hundreds of buyers still queueing up despite the rain last night, sources said.

With sales still going strong, the sales office was expected to stay open through the night, they added.

One source said that at least 14 whole floors of the condo, located on the fringes of the financial district, had been bought by 6pm.

Developer City Developments (CDL) had originally planned to release only 100 units yesterday, priced between $1,500 and $2,000 per sq ft (psf), but the overwhelming interest prompted it to put more units on sale.

The 99-year leasehold condo’s 11 penthouses, however, are being held back from public sale for now and might be sold via a tender process, depending on demand.

CDL said they will be priced higher than the other units on a psf basis, but declined to give indicative prices.

A 200-strong crowd of interested buyers gathered yesterday afternoon on the ground floor of 1 Shenton Way, formerly Robina House, waiting their turn to be taken up to the show-flat and sales office on the 22nd floor.

CDL’s VIP customers and those purchasing whole floors were entertained first, so other buyers of individual units prepared to camp out in the queue overnight.

Many came armed with bags of groceries, bottles of water and even portable deck chairs. The crowd did not disperse even when it started to rain, leading CDL to set up marquees outside the building for shelter.

But the strong demand for One Shenton had started long before yesterday. CDL chairman Kwek Leng Beng said he had already received offers from two ‘Western funds’ to buy entire blocks in the two-tower project, One tower is 50 storeys high and the other has 42 floors.

One fund asked for a single tower while the other requested both blocks, Mr Kwek told reporters at a media preview of One Shenton yesterday.

The funds offered an average of $1,692 psf for the units, but he turned them down. The transaction would have taken too long to process, and he preferred to sell the units to Singaporeans individually, he said.

Property consultants attributed the demand for One Shenton yesterday to CDL pricing the project at the lower end of expectations.

Market watchers had predicted prices of up to $2,500 psf, after the blistering success of nearby Marina Bay Residences, where all 422 units were sold out in two days last month.

Prices averaged almost $2,000 psf there as buyers fed on the frenzy of the upcoming integrated resort in the area. They even skyrocketed to record highs of $3,400 psf for the penthouses, which were also sold via tender.

‘It’s possible that the competitive early-bird pricing for One Shenton helped to move units quite quickly,’ said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International.

‘Purchasers would compare its prices with the high prices eventually achieved for Marina Bay Residences, so they might think that, comparatively, One Shenton is value for money.’

The demand for One Shenton, the first condo launch of the year, comes despite the Government’s withdrawal of deferred stamp duty last month.

Home-buyers now have to fork out 3 per cent of the property’s purchase price within 14 days, on top of the down payment. Previously they could defer stamp duty on uncompleted projects for up to a few years.

But the changes in stamp duty rules are unlikely to have ‘an adverse impact on buyer activity in the high-end segment’, which includes One Shenton, said Ms Tay.

This is because buyers of luxury homes tend to be more cash-rich and can afford to pay stamp duty upfront. However, some potential speculators might be deterred, she added.

Source : Straits Times - 6 Jan 2007