Developers’ chips are down, but launches go ahead

Source : Business Times – 16 Sep 2009

Property counters hit, but several projects primed for launching

Some developers are proceeding with plans to launch their projects despite measures announced by the government on Monday to cool an overheating private housing market.

CapitaLand Residential yesterday began previewing at its office the Interlace condo to former owners of Gillman Heights from whom it bought the site for the 99-year leasehold project. Prices of units range from $850 to $1,150 per square foot, a CapitaLand spokeswoman told BT.

Likewise, GuocoLand is proceeding to preview its freehold Elliot at the East Coast project this weekend at an average price of about $950 psf. Prices of a typical three-bedroom apartment in the development will start from about $1.2 million. The low-rise condo, with a total 119 units, comprises eight blocks which will be five storeys high and a three-storey block.

City Developments is also understood to be rushing to get its showflat ready for a possible preview next weekend of its Hundred Trees condo on the former Hong Leong Gardens site in the West Coast area.

The government’s cooling measures include scrapping the interest absorption scheme (IAS) and restarting confirmed list land sales in first half 2010.

‘Knowing that the government is coming up with more land, developers who have even marginally profitable projects may want to clear the decks and launch their projects this year,’ said Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng.

A developer said: ‘Most of us feel the impact on demand from the removal of IAS will be more psychological than real as only a minority of buyers have been opting for it in recent months in projects where we charge a price premium for the scheme.’

‘Yes, buyers may now take a longer time to make a decision but they will bite if they like the product and if it’s priced right,’ he added.

Agreeing, Mr Tan said: ‘Ultimately if the intention is to sell, they cannot fight the market impression that there must be a price adjustment.’

While removal of IAS will suck out some of the speculative demand from the market, developers remain confident of the fundamentals in the property market, and its attraction to investors in the current low-interest rate environment.

There is also consensus among analysts in stockbroking houses that the government measures will not derail the recovery in the property market. ‘(The) measures may dampen speculative sentiment but may not stop genuine private home demand if the trajectory of economic recovery continues,’ Citigroup noted in a report.

Analysts also observed yesterday that while the increase in private home prices seen in the past few months may have come to a standstill, developers are unlikely to cut prices by much either.

‘We believe that developers, buffeted by strong start-of-year sales, are unlikely to cut prices aggressively,’ noted DBS Vickers analyst Adrian Chua. ‘The key impact would be a slowdown in sales as speculative buying gets flushed out of the market.’

However, property counters such as City Developments Ltd (CDL), CapitaLand and Ho Bee were downgraded by a few analysts. As of yesterday’s market closing, CDL has lost 9.4 per cent from its closing price last week. Over the same period, Wing Tai and Allgreen have shed 9.5 per cent, Keppel Land 8.1 per cent, GuocoLand 7.4 per cent, and CapitaLand 4.1 per cent.

The Interlace comprises a total 1,040 units. For the preview that began yesterday, five blocks with 153 units were released. ‘The units comprise a selection from a full spectrum of unit types, from two-, three-, three plus study, four-bedroom apartments, townhouses and penthouses. The units range from 807 sq ft to 5,877 sq ft in size.

‘These units, located on different levels in the development, also offer various facings – towards the pool, towards the sea, and towards the greenery at HortPark,’ a CapitaLand spokeswoman said.

BT understands that the appointed agents for Interlace will begin marketing the project on Friday from a temporary showflat at the corner of Kim Seng and River Valley roads.