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A TOTAL of eight awards and four certificates of merit have been given out under this year’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Construction Excellence Awards, out of a total of 16 nominations.

The competition, introduced in 1986, principally recognises builders’ workmanship, focusing on downstream post-design implementation - specifically, project management, technical capability and quality of the completed project.

Of the 12 winners, nine were private residential developments. Among these, there was notable improvement in the performance of BCA Quality Mark for Good Workmanship holders.

The Quality Mark, which had its debut in July 2002, seeks to ensure the consistent delivery of quality homes. It is particularly stringent because it assesses the internal finish of every single apartment unit within a residential project, including watertightness tests in all bathrooms. Each unit must attain a minimum score and have no major defects in order for the project to receive the mark.

Where last year five Quality Mark holders took the merit certificate and just one achieved the more prestigious award, this year six Quality Mark holders bagged the award, with one more managing a merit.

About 34 per cent of units launched last year were committed to the Quality Mark scheme, and to date some 21,000 residential units have been committed or assessed.

The scheme has found potential defects and leakages in about 5 per cent of all units assessed thus far, resulting in their rectification before units were handed over to homeowners.

Source : Business Times - 17 May 2008

CAPITALAND unveiled a green mascot called Capitafrog as it launched its Building a Greener Future programme at Raffles City on Thursday. The property group is looking at making the mascot into a soft toy and will unveil further green initiatives in the coming months.

To drive home the green message, some 100,000 green shopping bags will be distributed to shoppers via CapitaLand mall tenants. Shoppers get one stamp on a loyalty card each time they use the bag. They can exchange three stamps for a limited edition Building a Greener Future umbrella adorned with Capitafrog. In addition, 168 customised recycling bins for paper, metal and plastics will be strategically placed in CapitaLand malls, offices and Ascott service residences to encourage the green habit.

The company will also invite architectural students in China to participate in a design competition for a Green CapitaLand Hope Foundation school as part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green campaign.

Source : Business Times - 17 May 2008

One of Singapore’s most unusual collective sale disputes, over Regent Garden, is now headed for the Court of Appeal even though the sale was completed yesterday.

Last month, the High Court ruled that the $34 million sale of the West Coast Road condo to Allgreen Properties must go ahead.

But now, the owners of 23 out of the 31 Regent Garden apartments have filed papers to take the case to Singapore’s highest court - the Court of Appeal.

They cannot overturn the sale now that it has been completed, but they want the court to rule on certain ‘burning’ questions, and they might seek remedies if they succeed.

They say other people involved in collective sales might be interested in getting answers to these questions.

These majority owners, including owners of two units who did not join the appeal, had earlier sought to overturn the $34 million deal, claiming among other things that their condo had been undervalued.

In a statement, the sale committee said: ‘These questions include whether, in a situation where a minority of owners object to a proposed collective sale, an intending buyer is permitted to go behind the backs of the majority owners and reach a side deal with the minority owners.’

A spokesman for the majority owners said the ’side deal’ referred to the fact that six of the owners who had opposed the sale had received an extra $2 million, divided between them, in return for withdrawing their objections.

Those appealing also want to know whether these minority owners are entitled to retain the extra payments without sharing the sum with the majority owners in accordance with the distribution arrangements in the sale agreement.

Yesterday, all the owners at Regent Garden completed their sale, which means they would each have pocketed a large part of their proceeds, which range from slightly over $700,000 to $1.4 million.

The remaining 5 per cent of their proceeds is due to be released to them when they vacate their homes.

In a statement released yesterday evening, Allgreen described the appeal as ‘curious’, given that the sale and purchase of Regent Garden had been completed earlier yesterday.

‘Allgreen intends to vigorously contest the appeal, and all claims and allegations made by the appellants,’ it said.

Source : Straits Times - 17 May 2008

…hit by pullout of many S’pore buyers
Two-thirds backed out after US sub-prime crisis took a turn for the worse

Local condominiums are not the only ones suffering from the recent sharp downturn in property market sentiment.

Two-thirds of Singapore buyers have backed out of their purchases of units in the much-hyped Chicago Spire in the United States, The Straits Times understands.

The iconic condo in Chicago was well-received when it was launched in Singapore in early March. More than 800 people attended the exhibition at the Four Seasons Hotel, and almost 40 buyers were said to have reserved units.

But more than 20 of them withdrew from their deals subsequently, after the US sub-prime crisis threatened to take a turn for the worse in the weeks following the launch, sources said.

The 150-storey Chicago Spire is touted as the world’s tallest condo, and boasts a unique spiral-shaped design.

But this was not enough to hook buyers. A number were apparently spooked by the near-collapse of US investment bank Bear Stearns, which took place a week after the Chicago Spire was launched in Singapore.

Many of the buyers who changed their minds may have been first-time punters who got cold feet, property experts suggested.

These buyers paid a US$2,000 (S$2,762) reservation fee for the units, but were refunded this amount in full, thanks to a cooling-off period that is the standard for US home sales.

Mr Colin Tan, the head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, said it made sense for the buyers to pull out of their deals.

‘Housing prices in the US are coming down, and while some properties may look like a good investment now, you can probably get it cheaper later,’ he said.

‘It doesn’t make sense to buy and hold on to US properties when there are still sub-prime problems.’

Experts said those who had seen their purchases through are likely to be more serious buyers who may, for example, have children studying in Chicago.

Most of the units that were sold were reported to be one- or two-bedroom apartments that averaged US$1 million each, or US$1,000 per sq ft.

About half the buyers were said to be Singaporeans or permanent residents, and the rest were expatriates.

It is understood that to date, about 10 of the Singapore buyers have inked their purchase agreements. At least two of them are believed to be Indonesians.

Sources said the Chicago Spire’s exhibitions in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which followed its launch in Singapore, received a lukewarm response as the turmoil in the US financial markets deepened in March.

IT PAYS TO WAIT

‘Housing prices in the US are coming down, and while some properties may look like a good investment now, you can probably get them cheaper later.’
MR COLIN TAN, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, who said it made sense for Chicago Spire buyers to pull out of their deals

Source : Straits Times - 17 May 2008

As the market for listed property trusts in Singapore matures, it is likely that some will merge or go private.

There has been ‘a lot of speculation’ that such movements will take place soon, said experts on real estate investment trusts (Reits) at a regional property conference this week.

There are ‘three to five Reits in Singapore that seem obvious’ for acquisitions or privatisations, said Mr Mark Pawley, the chief executive officer of Oxley Capital.

‘It’s somewhat surprising that we haven’t seen more obvious transactions’ in that direction, he added.

Oxley is a Singapore-based private investment house that focuses on real estate and private equity. It has a stake in the manager of the Cambridge Industrial Trust, an industrial property Reit.

Mr Pawley suggested that one reason the Singapore Reit market has yet to consolidate is that private equity funds, which could help engineer some of these deals, might be ‘all cashed out’.

He was speaking to property players as part of a panel on Reits at the annual Financial Times Asia Property Summit, held at the St Regis Singapore on Thursday.

The topic was ‘Reits: Still a good bet?’ and the answer was, for the most part, yes.

Asian Reit markets reached a peak last October, before they started to feel the effects of the fallout from the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis, said Mr Daniel Ekins, the head of Asia-Pacific real estate securities at Deutsche Bank’s property arm, RREEF.

That was followed by a general sell-off of property trusts until mid-March, which pushed values down by 25 to 35 per cent in each country, he added. Since then, the values of Reits have rebounded by about 10 per cent.

While retail investors are still reluctant to re-enter the market, institutional investors have already started buying Reits, Mr Ekins noted.

‘The turnaround has already started. We’ve seen people coming to our funds who were reluctant to do so in the fourth quarter of last year,’ he said.

‘But retail investors will want to see prices rise 20 per cent before coming in,’ he added.

REASON FOR DELAY IN CONSOLIDATION

Mr Mark Pawley, the CEO of Oxley Capital, said it was ’somewhat surprising’ that there have not been more acquisitions or privatisations of Reits in Singapore.

He suggested that one reason the Reit market here has yet to consolidate is that private equity funds, which could help engineer some of these deals, might be ‘all cashed out’.

Source : Straits Times - 17 May 2008