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Analysts looking to see effect of scrapping of deferred payment.

UIC Ltd is launching its 192-unit Park Natura development across from Bukit Batok Nature Park, and market watchers will be eager to see how sales will be affected by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis or by the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme (DPS).

So far, sales look good. Priced at the higher end for a suburban condominium at an average of $1,000 psf, more than 100 units have already been sold at the private soft launch. UIC group general manager Vito Koh said: ‘The demand shows that the pricing is right.’

Mr Koh said he did not have a breakdown of the profile of buyers but added that Park Natura was not the type of development to attract speculators.

UIC received approval to offer deferred payment to buyers before the end of the DPS, but whether this alone is attracting buyers is hard to say.

Still, Mr Koh said that the withdrawal of DPS from future developments could affect buyers’ confidence, especially for HDB upgraders hoping to enter the private property market.

Mr Koh also pointed out that the withdrawal of the DPS has come at a time when prices in the high-end segment appeared to have levelled off. ‘Market prices have already adjusted themselves so withdrawing DPS is not necessary,’ he said.

Another development that was recently launched is the CGH Group’s 72-unit Esta Ruby in the Katong area. Already, 25 per cent of the units have been sold at an average price of $1,160 psf.

CGH sales director Alex Chng said that recent events have affected the property market, with some potential buyers changing their minds. ‘But our feeling is that the buyers are still there.’ The good news seems to be that more foreigners and Singapore permanent residents appear to be buying units in suburban developments.

At Esta Ruby, Mr Chng estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of the buyers were non-Singaporean. ‘What is interesting is that the buyers are mainly from China, Indonesia and even Vietnam,’ he added. The remaining buyers are mainly those displaced by en-bloc sales, with 20 to 30 per cent of buyers being HDB upgraders.

Another development that has been selling through private previews is the 196-unit Aalto in the East Coast by Hong Leong Holdings. Units there are also selling fast with about 60 per cent - about 120 units - sold so far.

A spokesman for Hong Leong also said that transacted prices ranged from $1,500 to more than $2,500, or roughly the transacted prices for new developments in the area even before the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007

Chancery Court, Thomson View tenders likely to close in early Dec.

Chancery Court and Thomson View Condo, both 99-year leasehold properties, are being put up for collective sale, with respective guide prices of $468 million and $550 million.

Chancery Court, a privatised HUDC estate on a choice location along Dunearn Road, has been launched for tender.

The guide price of $468 million indicated by its marketing agent CB Richard Ellis works out to about $1,614 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of two payments to the state.

These are a differential premium of about $65.5 million (for intensifying the site’s use) and a lease upgrading premium of $52 million for topping up the site’s lease to 99 years from a remaining term of about 73 years.

The breakeven cost for a new condo on the site will work out to around $2,075 psf based on the guide price, according to CBRE.

Chancery Court has a 259,137 square feet land area and can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 242 units with an average size of 1,500 sq ft. Chancery Court, which is near Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), is designated a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a five-storey height limit.

Owners controlling more than 87 per cent of share values in the development have signed the collective sale agreement, before the latest en bloc legislation kicked in on Oct 4. Chancery Court’s tender closes on Dec 5.

Thomson View Condo, along Upper Thomson Road, is being marketed by First Tree Properties and Huttons Real Estate. The indicative price for the 540,314 sq ft site is $550 million, which works out to $652 psf per plot ratio inclusive of an estimated differential premium of $110 million and a lease-upgrading premium of about $80 million. First Tree managing director Alvin Er said that it may be possible to amalgamate the site with a strip of state land of about 39,000 sq ft along Bright Hill Drive subject to approval for its sale by the authorities.

‘If this is allowed, then the total unit land price to the buyer of Thomson View will be lowered to $620 psf ppr,’ he said.

The Thomson View site is designated for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio and 24-storey maximum height. The plot can be redeveloped into a new condo with about 950 units averaging 1,200 sq ft. ‘Because the property is on elevated ground, the new project will boast 270-degree views of MacRitchie Reservoir, surrounding nature reserve as well as Singapore Island Country Club,’ Mr Er said.

Thomson View’s collective sale agreement has received approval from owners controlling at least 82 per cent of share values before the new en bloc laws kicked in. The tender is expected to be launched next week and is likely to close in early December, Mr Er added.

Source : Business Times - 1 Nov 2007