Malls in a jam

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

Many Singaporeans are all too happy to join a queue, be it for food, flats or freebies.

One queue they unanimously hate, though, is the ubiquitous one waiting to enter or exit the carpark of popular malls.

The latest shopping centre to suffer from traffic problems is Ion Orchard, which opened two weeks ago.

The first couple of days, motorists griped about the nightmare of getting in and out of its multi-storey carpark.

Some motorists had to wait up to 30 minutes to enter.

The situation compounds the gridlock along Orchard Turn, which serves Ion Orchard, Wisma Atria as well as Ngee Ann City.

It does not help that taxis exiting Ion Orchard into Orchard Turn have to contend with incoming traffic from the side of Wisma Atria on the left as well as motorists entering from Orchard Boulevard on the right, creating a bottleneck.

The situation is made worse by motorists exiting Ion Orchard’s carpark into Orchard Turn.

Ion Orchard is not the only new mall to experience motoring woes.

When suburban shopping centre Tampines 1 opened in April, shoppers complained about having to wait 45 minutes before they could park their cars because there were not enough carpark lots – the mall has only 203 lots.

Frustrated shopper Leanne Wee, 26, who drives, says: ‘It appears that malls don’t give much thought to parking and traffic problems.’

Indeed, when it comes to designing a shopping mall, it appears as if carparks and their accessibility are an afterthought.

Architect John Ting, a former president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, says that retail space and the flow of the internal space in the mall is usually a primary concern.

‘Carparks are usually the last thing to consider and only because mall developers are required by the authorities to include them,’ he says.

But mall developers and their architects say this is not so.

Mr Simon Chua, divisional director at Benoy, the architectural firm that designed Ion Orchard, says: ‘Traffic and circulation are key factors in retail planning.’

Benoy’s director, Mr David Buffonge, the architect who led the design team for Ion Orchard, says that when planning a carpark ‘it is important to always think of the customer’.

He adds that ensuring that the carpark is easy to find, has simple colour coding, clear sight lines and good visibility to the lift and escalator lobbies were some of the things that the firm considered in its design for Ion Orchard’s carpark.

Mr Chua points out that the Ion Orchard site was a challenge as Orchard MRT station is underneath it and ‘only Orchard Boulevard was best for carparking access and the Orchard Road side was for pedestrians’.

Such long carpark queues are found not only at new malls. Even older ones such as Ngee Ann City, VivoCity and Plaza Singapura are plagued by them.

Freelance public relations consultant May Gwee, 38, who goes to Ngee Ann City at least once a month, has been caught in many a jam there.

Suburban malls are not spared the problem, either.

Housewife Lynn Lee, 38, was once stuck in the carpark of IMM in Jurong East for 30 minutes. When the cars on the way out had filled up the exit ramp all the way down and out of the building, others like hers that were just entering the carpark ended up joining the exit queue.

‘There were just too many cars, beyond the capacity of the carpark,’ she says. IMM has 1,313 lots.

VivoCity’s general manager, Mr Chang Yeng Cheong, says one of the key considerations when planning the mall was the carpark design and servicing points.

‘It was definitely not an afterthought as we view the carpark as an integral part of the overall mall experience when shopping at VivoCity,’ he says.

Art of carpark planning

He adds that because there is only one main road, Telok Blangah Road, serving the area, the mall had initially planned for three entrances and exits into and out of the mall, at Telok Blangah Road, HarbourFront Walk and Sentosa Gateway.

The Sentosa Gateway carpark entrance has since been closed as the area was acquired by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to facilitate the road expansion works along Sentosa Gateway and Gateway Avenue.

Mr Chang says that the mall also had to consider other external restrictions such as the bus bay, maintaining safe distances from traffic junctions and traffic contributed by the Cruise Centre nearby. ‘To achieve better traffic flow, we separated the carpark entry and exit points from those of the taxi and servicing,’ he says.

LTA says it works closely with malls on traffic situations even before they are built. During the planning stage of a development, it works with each developer to ensure that the traffic needs of both the development users and the surrounding users are catered for.

These include assessing the traffic impact of the development on the surroundings and its arrangement of access points, pick-up/drop-off bays or driveways for cars and taxis, says an LTA spokesman.

Where necessary, the developers will also be required to bear the cost of making improvements to and widening the roads and junctions surrounding the mall.

LTA continues to monitor the traffic situation when the development is completed. Should the need arise, the spokesman adds, ‘LTA works with the traffic police and the building management to implement improvement measures to smoothen out localised issues, such as long queues outside carparks’.

Malls are also doing their bit to ease carpark jams, even if they are done only on an ad-hoc basis and are not long-term solutions. For instance, during peak periods, Ion Orchard and Plaza Singapura deploy traffic controllers.

Mr Chang says VivoCity has been ‘actively monitoring the situation and has been working with LTA on several ongoing project works to improve the road and traffic conditions along Telok Blangah Road and Sentosa Gateway’.

The mall gets especially congested on weekends. While a queue of cars along Telok Blangah Road wait to enter the carpark, taxis entering the mall and buses stopping at bus-stops along the same road make the situation worse.

Mr Chang adds that the mall will have a ‘parking guidance system’ before year-end. Electronic boards will indicate real-time information on parking spaces available in the various carparks within the HarbourFront Precinct, including VivoCity, HarbourFront Centre, Sentosa and Resorts World.

‘This will help to reduce circulating traffic and facilitate drivers in finding available carpark lots more efficiently,’ he says.

Another popular mall with parking woes is the 25-year-old Parkway Parade. Ms Michelle Lee, marketing and communications manager of Lend Lease, which manages the mall, says that as Parkway Parade is the oldest suburban shopping mall, it faces constraints on improving the old design.

‘We provide a shuttle service to and from nearby MRT stations not only to ease the traffic flow but also to encourage visitors to utilise public transport to the centre,’ she says.

Despite what malls do to cater to their shoppers’ driving needs and the best efforts of LTA and architects, at least one shopper is not convinced they are enough. ‘There will still be a jam especially during the festive period,’ says housewife Tan Yi Ling, 45. She now takes public transport when she goes shopping.

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‘It appears that malls don’t give much thought to parking and traffic problems’ – Leanne Wee, 26, a frustrated shopper who drives to the malls

Malls in a jam

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

Many Singaporeans are all too happy to join a queue, be it for food, flats or freebies.

One queue they unanimously hate, though, is the ubiquitous one waiting to enter or exit the carpark of popular malls.

The latest shopping centre to suffer from traffic problems is Ion Orchard, which opened two weeks ago.

The first couple of days, motorists griped about the nightmare of getting in and out of its multi-storey carpark.

Some motorists had to wait up to 30 minutes to enter.

The situation compounds the gridlock along Orchard Turn, which serves Ion Orchard, Wisma Atria as well as Ngee Ann City.

It does not help that taxis exiting Ion Orchard into Orchard Turn have to contend with incoming traffic from the side of Wisma Atria on the left as well as motorists entering from Orchard Boulevard on the right, creating a bottleneck.

The situation is made worse by motorists exiting Ion Orchard’s carpark into Orchard Turn.

Ion Orchard is not the only new mall to experience motoring woes.

When suburban shopping centre Tampines 1 opened in April, shoppers complained about having to wait 45 minutes before they could park their cars because there were not enough carpark lots – the mall has only 203 lots.

Frustrated shopper Leanne Wee, 26, who drives, says: ‘It appears that malls don’t give much thought to parking and traffic problems.’

Indeed, when it comes to designing a shopping mall, it appears as if carparks and their accessibility are an afterthought.

Architect John Ting, a former president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, says that retail space and the flow of the internal space in the mall is usually a primary concern.

‘Carparks are usually the last thing to consider and only because mall developers are required by the authorities to include them,’ he says.

But mall developers and their architects say this is not so.

Mr Simon Chua, divisional director at Benoy, the architectural firm that designed Ion Orchard, says: ‘Traffic and circulation are key factors in retail planning.’

Benoy’s director, Mr David Buffonge, the architect who led the design team for Ion Orchard, says that when planning a carpark ‘it is important to always think of the customer’.

He adds that ensuring that the carpark is easy to find, has simple colour coding, clear sight lines and good visibility to the lift and escalator lobbies were some of the things that the firm considered in its design for Ion Orchard’s carpark.

Mr Chua points out that the Ion Orchard site was a challenge as Orchard MRT station is underneath it and ‘only Orchard Boulevard was best for carparking access and the Orchard Road side was for pedestrians’.

Such long carpark queues are found not only at new malls. Even older ones such as Ngee Ann City, VivoCity and Plaza Singapura are plagued by them.

Freelance public relations consultant May Gwee, 38, who goes to Ngee Ann City at least once a month, has been caught in many a jam there.

Suburban malls are not spared the problem, either.

Housewife Lynn Lee, 38, was once stuck in the carpark of IMM in Jurong East for 30 minutes. When the cars on the way out had filled up the exit ramp all the way down and out of the building, others like hers that were just entering the carpark ended up joining the exit queue.

‘There were just too many cars, beyond the capacity of the carpark,’ she says. IMM has 1,313 lots.

VivoCity’s general manager, Mr Chang Yeng Cheong, says one of the key considerations when planning the mall was the carpark design and servicing points.

‘It was definitely not an afterthought as we view the carpark as an integral part of the overall mall experience when shopping at VivoCity,’ he says.

Art of carpark planning

He adds that because there is only one main road, Telok Blangah Road, serving the area, the mall had initially planned for three entrances and exits into and out of the mall, at Telok Blangah Road, HarbourFront Walk and Sentosa Gateway.

The Sentosa Gateway carpark entrance has since been closed as the area was acquired by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to facilitate the road expansion works along Sentosa Gateway and Gateway Avenue.

Mr Chang says that the mall also had to consider other external restrictions such as the bus bay, maintaining safe distances from traffic junctions and traffic contributed by the Cruise Centre nearby. ‘To achieve better traffic flow, we separated the carpark entry and exit points from those of the taxi and servicing,’ he says.

LTA says it works closely with malls on traffic situations even before they are built. During the planning stage of a development, it works with each developer to ensure that the traffic needs of both the development users and the surrounding users are catered for.

These include assessing the traffic impact of the development on the surroundings and its arrangement of access points, pick-up/drop-off bays or driveways for cars and taxis, says an LTA spokesman.

Where necessary, the developers will also be required to bear the cost of making improvements to and widening the roads and junctions surrounding the mall.

LTA continues to monitor the traffic situation when the development is completed. Should the need arise, the spokesman adds, ‘LTA works with the traffic police and the building management to implement improvement measures to smoothen out localised issues, such as long queues outside carparks’.

Malls are also doing their bit to ease carpark jams, even if they are done only on an ad-hoc basis and are not long-term solutions. For instance, during peak periods, Ion Orchard and Plaza Singapura deploy traffic controllers.

Mr Chang says VivoCity has been ‘actively monitoring the situation and has been working with LTA on several ongoing project works to improve the road and traffic conditions along Telok Blangah Road and Sentosa Gateway’.

The mall gets especially congested on weekends. While a queue of cars along Telok Blangah Road wait to enter the carpark, taxis entering the mall and buses stopping at bus-stops along the same road make the situation worse.

Mr Chang adds that the mall will have a ‘parking guidance system’ before year-end. Electronic boards will indicate real-time information on parking spaces available in the various carparks within the HarbourFront Precinct, including VivoCity, HarbourFront Centre, Sentosa and Resorts World.

‘This will help to reduce circulating traffic and facilitate drivers in finding available carpark lots more efficiently,’ he says.

Another popular mall with parking woes is the 25-year-old Parkway Parade. Ms Michelle Lee, marketing and communications manager of Lend Lease, which manages the mall, says that as Parkway Parade is the oldest suburban shopping mall, it faces constraints on improving the old design.

‘We provide a shuttle service to and from nearby MRT stations not only to ease the traffic flow but also to encourage visitors to utilise public transport to the centre,’ she says.

Despite what malls do to cater to their shoppers’ driving needs and the best efforts of LTA and architects, at least one shopper is not convinced they are enough. ‘There will still be a jam especially during the festive period,’ says housewife Tan Yi Ling, 45. She now takes public transport when she goes shopping.

---

‘It appears that malls don’t give much thought to parking and traffic problems’ – Leanne Wee, 26, a frustrated shopper who drives to the malls

Singapore property: Did you know?

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

Number of condos and private apartments

1999: 118,575

2004: 148,265

2009 (1st quarter): 174,243

Number of strata-titled (or multi-unit) residential developments

About 1,900. Most of them are apartments and condominiums.

The oldest strata-titled homes

Beng Tong Mansion, at 241-259 Tanjong Katong Road. Built in the late 1960s, this three-storey mixed development has shops on the ground floor.

Some of the oldest condos here

~ Grange Heights: a 120-unit freehold condo at Grange Road.
~ Mandalay Towers: a 56-unit freehold condo at Mandalay Road.

Both were built in 1976.

One of the newest condos

The Metropolitan, a 382-unit, 99-year leasehold condo in Alexandra Road. It was completed this year.

Required number of security guards

The rule of the thumb is the more exits and entrances, the more guards that are needed. But CCTVs and card entry systems can help reduce manpower needs.

For a 200-unit suburban condo with one front gate and a CCTV trained on the back gate, four guards would be needed at any one time, says Mr Albert Leo, the local director of property management at Jones Lang LaSalle. Security guards work 12-hour shifts and cost $2,500 to $2,800 a month to hire.

How much do condo managers get paid and what level of qualifications should they have?

Generally bigger estates with 200 units or more need a full-time condo manager. Mr Poh Teng Ban, director of estate management firm Ace Body Corporate Management, estimates a condo manager with a diploma in building services and three to four years of experience would cost about $3,000 a month to hire.

Usually, bigger estates also require an administrative assistant and a technician. An administrative assistant with 0-level qualifications would expect to be paid $1,300 to $1,500 per month. A technician would cost about $1,800 to $2,400 per month.

Are residents allowed to rent to foreign workers?

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

PRIVATE apartments cannot be used as workers’ dormitories. However, to be classified as a dormitory, a unit needs to accommodate more than eight workers. So it is perfectly legal for a private apartment owner to rent to foreign workers, as long as there are no more than eight of them.

The management corporation, says Mr Chan Kok Hong, managing director of CKH Strata Management, cannot restrict owners from doing this.

But Mr Teo Poh Siang, who runs estate management firm Wisely 98, says: ‘Units rented to foreign workers are usually very badly maintained and overcrowding is a prevailing issue.’

Common property may be damaged as a result. ‘The value of the property may be affected if foreign workers occupy more and more units,’ he says.

A recent case involving the illegal partitioning of apartments at The Grangeford condo in Leonie Hill has raised questions about this contentious issue. The estate was sold en bloc in 2007, but leased out by its buyer to a company called Ideal Accommodation. The master tenant illegally partitioned the 140 apartments into 600 smaller units to earn more rent from tenants, who included expatriates, local professionals and students.

The authorities are clear on this, however, and draw the line at partitions put up for commercial purposes in condos. Ideal has been told to remove its partitions.

Some common terms in condo management

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

Management Corporation

Automatically formed for every condominium or multi-unit private development. All condo homeowners are automatically members of the management corporation. It is a legal entity that may sue other parties, and can itself be sued by other parties.

Subsidiary Proprietor

The technical term for a homeowner on an estate.

Share Value

This reflects the share that an owner has in the common property of an estate. If a unit’s share value is five out of 100, then 100 represents all the shares of all the units in the condominium and five represents the shares allotted to that unit. The share value is used to determine the homeowner’s maintenance contributions as well as his voting rights. The higher his share value, the more maintenance contributions he has to pay and the more voting rights he has. In the case of residential properties, an apartment of up to 50 sq m is allotted five share values, and an additional share value is allotted for every additional 50 sq m of floor area.

Management Council

A representative body of homeowners or their nominees elected to run an estate. The council can have up to 14 members, including a chairman, secretary and treasurer.

Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act

This piece of legislation deals with the roles and responsibilities of various parties in a private estate. It can be found online at http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/

Strata Roll

A register of owners of each unit in the development. The information includes the share value of each lot, and the name and address of each lot’s mortgagee.

By-laws

These are prescribed in existing regulations and can also be put in place by the management corporation. Generally, they are created to control and manage the use of common property. Homeowners and tenants living in the estate are obliged to comply with by-laws.

Initial Period

This is the period between the time the management corporation is formed and the first annual general meeting. The gap between the two cannot exceed 12 months. During this period, the developer plays the role of the management council and is required to collect maintenance fees on behalf of the estate and keep proper accounts. The initial period can be shorter if homeowners from at least 10 per cent of the estate’s apartments submit a request to hold an annual general meeting (AGM) to elect a management council.

Some estate management professionals, such as Mr Chan Kok Hong from CKH Strata Management, suggest residents take over the running of their estates as soon as possible. This is because developers are obliged to fix the defects of a new condo within the first year. Having control of the estate would help homeowners identify possible problems early.

Management Fund

This is the fund for the day-to-day recurrent expenses of maintaining the development. It is used for items like cleaning, insurance and the salaries of staff.

Sinking Fund

This is collected for cyclical repairs or major works. It can be used for repainting the estate, waterproofing the roof and replacing the lifts.

The sinking fund tends to be neglected in many developments. When there are not enough sinking funds for major repairs, the management corporation has to raise extra funds through a special levy.

There are mixed views on special levies. While savvy investors prefer the special levy approach, as they would rather invest their sinking fund contributions elsewhere for better returns, others feel the levy is too onerous.

Homeowners who are thinking of selling their property in the short run tend to prefer sinking fund contributions kept to the minimum as they may not enjoy the rewards of that upgrading work.

Managing Agent

This is a professional estate management firm that is hired by a management corporation to run the estate. A managing agent can be appointed for a term of up to three years, but its performance must be reviewed at every AGM.

Some parts have been adapted from Strata Living in Singapore by the Building and Construction Authority (http://www.bca.gov.sg /BMSM/others/strata_living.pdf)

Comparing the merits of a managing agent and an in-house team

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

SHOULD private home owners directly employ staff to run their estate or should they delegate the job to a managing agent? Associate Professor Alice Christudason from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Real Estate says both approaches have their merits.

POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN HIRING A MANAGING AGENT (MA)

~ In general, you have greater assurance of professionalism, although there is no guarantee of minimum standards since there is no licensing requirement for MAs in Singapore.

~ There will be a better chance of up-to-date technology being used, as property management firms invest heavily in computer hardware and software.

~ The condo can draw from the MA’s entire pool of manpower and resource expertise. The firm, for example, can dispatch at short notice additional staff to any of its clients when it is required.

~ When the MA makes bulk purchases of items, the condos can benefit from economies of scale.

~ Management corporations have to pay a monthly recurring MA fee that ranges from $750 to $5,000. This fee is over and above all other costs and fees necessary for the proper maintenance of the condo.

~ As the MA is the go-between for home owners and the staff based at the condo, communicating and dealing with the condo’s staff can be a problem.

~ As an MA looks after many different condos at a time, there may be times when its resources are stretched and diverted elsewhere to meet the more pressing needs of other estates.

POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN HIRING AN IN-HOUSE MANAGEMENT TEAM

~ There is usually greater continuity with an in-house team.

Each MA can be appointed for up to three years at a time. If the home owners decide to hire a different MA instead of renewing the contract of the previous firm, there could be a chance that the entire system of management will be overhauled.

~ The council has better and more direct control over the maintenance team as there is no third-party involvement.

~ Management corporations may have to expect comparatively lower standards of performance from the in-house staff.

MA firms have a policy of rotating staff, exposing them to different issues and building up their experience. The staff of an in-house team are confined to one estate, which limits their work experience.

~ If the in-house staff are negligent, the management council directly employing the in-house team may be liable for their actions. The risk is lower if the council hires an MA.

The trouble in condos

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

More people are buying private homes, but few seem to know or care about what it really takes to look after their estate. Lulled into complacency by the efficiency of government services, they prefer to leave the job of running their condominium to someone else. But a lot can go wrong.

HOME owner in The 101 complex in Beach Road complained to the property’s manager earlier this year that the water pressure in her unit was low. The water pump, it seemed, had broken down.

But the residential and commercial building had no money to fix it, says its property manager Vijayen Nair. It was deep in debt of more than $200,000 after messy lawsuits involving disputes over its common area, and some of its apartment owners were withholding maintenance payments.

The home owner herself owed about $2,500 in maintenance fees. She paid up almost immediately to get the pump fixed.

Mr Nair, 52, whose firm Philip Motha Property Management runs about 30 condominiums and commercial buildings, says it is an example of how bad things can get if people do not care about their estates. ‘Generally, people do not know what is going on,’ he says.

The 101’s problems are far from uncommon in Singapore.

The Strata Titles Board, which handles disputes involving private properties, is having to deal with an increasing number of cases these days. The number of disputes not related to collective sale issues has steadily risen from 46 in 2006, to 56 in 2007 and to 66 last year.

While the majority involve neighbours tussling over inter-floor leaks, there are also wrangles over a host of other issues from car parking to financial management.

Four years after the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act was introduced to nudge private home owners into taking proper collective care of their estates, not much progress seems to have been made in this area.

Veteran management council members and estate management professionals all cite the same root problem – Singaporeans, desensitised by the quiet efficiency of government services, turn a blind eye to the needs of their own private estates.

Mr Arthur Ngiam, president of the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (Amcis) which represents about 300 private estates in Singapore, blames it on apathy.

‘The biggest problem is apathetic owners. They don’t come for meetings until there is an en bloc sale, or a substantial increase in their maintenance contribution.’

It is feared that this problem could worsen, with more and more individuals trading up from Housing Board flats to condominium apartments.

These upgraders, shut out by sky-high prices during the 2007 boom, are snapping up homes in the current downturn. They helped push condo sales to a record high of 1,825 last month.

Their migration is part of a longer- term trend, with the proportion of private apartments in Singapore growing from 9.4 per cent to 14.9 per cent between 1998 and last year.

Although increasing numbers hanker after the private pools, 24-hour security, well-maintained gardens and the status of a condominium, they seem to be pretty clueless about what it takes to run these developments successfully.

Amazingly, says Mr Ngiam, ’some people even think that the management council is run by the Government’.

Small-scale democracy

UNLIKE public housing estates, where common areas are managed by quasi-government town councils, private condominiums are managed by the owners’ collective, called the management corporation. Every year, the collective holds a meeting to elect a management council from among the owners. But with attendance often at the bare minimum, residents are sometimes reduced to voting for neighbours who are not necessarily the most qualified for the role.

Glendale Park chairman Wee Yew Beng, 47, quips: ‘If you speak loud, speak fast, make a lot of noise, then by default you are the chairman.’

The often haphazard nature of such elections does not do justice to the power that elected councils wield. The selected group of home owners calls the shots on house rules, the contractors hired and upgrading work. It also manages funds that invariably run into millions of dollars.

For this reason, 80 per cent of 1,900 private residential developments here hire professional managing agents to oversee the day-to-day management of their estates.

This arrangement comes with its own set of risks though, given that managing agents are not regulated. Four condominiums – including three in the upmarket Mount Sophia Road area – found out the hard way how appointing a managing agent can be far from risk-free.

In 2007, at least $200,000 was reported missing from their accounts in total, and the person in charge of managing all four condos disappeared.

Other incidents involving smaller sums have gone unreported.

The managing director of management firm Knight Frank Estate Management, Mr Jordan Neo, who oversees about 100 condos in Singapore, admits that the incidence of theft in this industry is very high, with the bigger firms working harder to police it.

This is despite the fact that the Association of Property and Facility Managers – a trade body for such professionals – runs a voluntary accreditation programme with the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers. But only 29 of the estimated 200 managing agents here have signed up to the programme, which ties them to a code of conduct.

Lawyer Lim Tat, 46, chairman of Yong An Park, a condominium in River Valley Road, believes councils are not inquisitive enough. ‘Most councils rely on their managing agents to bring them the cheques to sign, to tell about areas (which need looking into). Not many bother getting their hands dirty, to ask the right questions.’

Such lax attitudes leave condos open to questionable conduct on the part of managing agents, contractors and even developers.

According to Mr Teo Poh Siang, who heads estate management firm Wisely 98, the owners of a new 300-unit condo discovered some years ago that the developer had used close to $100,000 of the maintenance fund to buy poolside chairs and tables for the estate. But the furniture was to have been provided by the developer as part of the original sale agreement. The developer repaid the sum after the discrepancy was uncovered.

When expectations clash

ADDED to the complexities involved in running a condo are home owners’ expectations about condo living.

According to Mr Chan Kok Hong, managing director of CKH Strata Management which looks after 95 condos, the moment people move into a condo, they become less tolerant of bad behaviour, more demanding, and very protective of their rights.

Clashes of lifestyle are harder to mitigate and the hanging of laundry is a case in point. Under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, home owners are not allowed to hang their laundry in public view, as this could be unsightly and possibly devalue the property. But try telling that to HDB upgraders long used to the freedom of drying their linen on bamboo poles hung outside their homes.

The council of a Simei condominium was forced to send a legal letter to a property owner whose tenant hung laundry from the window ledge. The owner had to pay the management corporation back hundreds of dollars in legal fees and later decided to evict his tenant.

CKH Strata Management’s Mr Chan recalls an occasion when he had to make a housecall to a laundry offender.

‘The woman was adamant that was the only way to dry clothes. And she said she would face court action if necessary.’

Such tensions can skew the make-up of management councils.

Mr Poh Teng Ban, director of managing firm Ace Body Corporate Management, thinks that one of the weaknesses of the management corporation system is that a small number of people can hold a whole group to ransom.

The home owner with an axe to grind is always more motivated to canvass for support than those who do not have one.

With low turnouts a common feature at annual general meetings, a disgruntled and organised group can easily hijack proceedings and throw out a council so that things are done their way.

Residents who attend such meetings can also find themselves electing those with personal agendas.

Knight Frank’s Mr Neo says: ‘Some council members come in with the intention to do good, some come because they are a nobody at the workplace and think ‘this is my castle and I want to be king’.’

Ms Julie Yeo, a businesswoman in her 60s who sat on the council of a small condo in the central area for three years, recalls how a fellow council member refused to pay the monthly $65 fee levied on those who park their second car in the estate. ‘Word got around and the other owners, who were not on the council, refused to pay the fee as well,’ she says.

There is still a stalemate, with the only people paying the fee being the condo’s tenants.

Lawyer Amolat Singh, 53, who was a council member of Kentish Green in Oxford Road for six years, recounts how a council member gave guards trouble because they did not greet him whenever he went in and out of the estate.

He adds: ‘There was another council member who wanted to store his spare furniture in the electrical room and, when told that he could not, blurted out ‘then what is the point of being in the council?’.’

Creating awareness

ONE way to counter apathy and abuse is to clearly flag any emerging issues.

National University of Singapore real estate associate professor Alice Christudason suggests councils issue bi-monthly newsletters detailing problems on an estate and what they are doing about them.

‘In this way, the home owners can gain a better understanding about the way the estate is being managed. They will be then more cooperative in relation to the actions being taken by the council,’ she adds.

Given the diversity of opinions within each council, members could also appoint an individual spokesman from their ranks, suggests Mr Albert Cheng, 56, chairman of The Serenade@Holland condo council. This would mean only one person giving instructions to the managing agent, so that it can better deal with the contractors providing services to the estate.

This approach is best when it comes to balancing competing interests.

Take the case of The Tropica in Tampines. In recent years, residents of ground-floor units have erected trellises over their patios, citing safety concerns about litter dropped from higher floors. But this worried second-floor residents who felt the trellises could help intruders break into their units.

According to chairman Kenny Khoo, 40, the management council found the trellises could be deemed to breach building guidelines. But rather than force the removal of the trellises immediately, the council set up a question-and-answer session last week with a lawyer present, allowing residents to have their questions addressed.

Another suggestion being looked at is to get councils to share information more so that, for example, rogue contractors have fewer places to hide and best practices can be more widely adopted.

There has been limited progress made in this area though.

Amcis was formed in 2002 by a group of 200 estates banding together for economies of scale. And by 2006, it has about 300 estates.

The same year, however, it became entangled in an ugly dispute over its own financial management. Founder Francis Zhan, 65, was eventually fined $2,000 over forged signatures on cheques. Another council member, Mrs Constance Ames, suggests something more radical – that council duty be rotated among all home owners.

The retiree in her 50s is a council member of St Martin’s Apartments off Orchard Road and also a council member of a Hong Kong development. The Hong Kong condo requires all home owners to take turns running the council for two years at a time.

‘That is fair. It’d be good for smaller developments. They get to know one another, and also what problems the estate faces,’ she says.

With few willing to step forward, council members have no choice but to stay on. The job, almost all say, is a thankless one.

Parc Oasis chairman Lim Taik Leong, 50, acts like a talent scout, seeking out neighbours to persuade them to try for a council post. Stepping down is out of the question until the condo is in safe hands.

‘The council members have all known one another for a long time. We are friends. If you step down, it’s like letting your friends down,’ says Mr Lim.

‘And if you step down, other people will step down.’

Singapore most popular city for meetings

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

SINGAPORE has been crowned the most popular city for international meetings for the second consecutive time by the Union of International Associations.

In the ‘country’ category, the Republic moved up a notch to third place, behind the United States and France. Regionally, it is still Asia’s top spot for meetings, a position it has held for 25 years.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran thanked industry players for putting Singapore at the top when he addressed them at a dinner held to mark the 30th anniversary of the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (Saceos) last night.

Saceos chief Edward Liu said the industry has come up with a nine-initiative plan to keep the Singapore flag flying.

He told The Straits Times that the industry will work with government and other groups to focus on training new talent, promoting Singapore as a venue for business events and lowering business costs.

Industry players estimate that business costs have gone up nearly 20 per cent in five years, although the current recession has softened this somewhat.

‘Saceos must work with all strategic stakeholders…to help create an ecosystem that can support and sustain the growth and development of the industry in the challenging years ahead,’ he said.

The industry has suffered a drop in business of between 20 and 30 per cent with the downturn, he noted, but added that he foresees a recovery by the middle of next year.

Should balloting replace queueing?

Source : Straits Times – 1 Aug 2009

AN ALTERNATIVE to queues and the ‘first come, first served’ principle at property launches is emerging as developers turn to ballots to allocate flats in an increasingly active market.

A ballot was used amid tumultuous scenes at the Optima condo on Thursday night when buyers swamped the Tanah Merah showflat a day before it was due to open.

It was also employed when two-room flats were released at Somerset condo One Devonshire in June. And Boon Keng condo Airstream is set to launch on Wednesday with balloting.

The process – essentially buyers’ names are drawn out of a box – is getting backing from developers and buyers and may become increasingly common as activity gathers pace.

Mr Gerry de Silva, the head of group corporate affairs at Hong Leong, a partner in the Optima project, said balloting is fairer and stops people from trying tactics like selling places in a queue.

‘Balloting is more transparent and the crowd can be dissipated faster,’ Mr de Silva said. ‘We wanted to ensure that genuine buyers come in and that they are not held up for too long.’

In Optima’s first balloting round on Thursday night, about 300 buyers vied for the 120 released units that were going for an average of $790 per square foot. All units were allocated.

Buyers in the ballot had to submit one cheque for an individual unit. The most popular unit attracted over 40 ballots.

Yesterday, a further 156 units were released in the second ballot round. Optima has 297 units.

Buyers also seem to prefer balloting to queueing, although the reactions were mixed.

‘Balloting is quite fair, whereas queueing is not; whoever gets there first gets the flat,’ said prospective buyer S.B. Chung, an engineering firm owner, who entered Optima’s second ballot yesterday.

But some felt balloting was not completely fair. Ms Christina Lee, who managed to get a three-room Optima unit in the first round, said: ‘If five people are balloting for one unit, then the other four who don’t get it have to re-do everything. If they still cannot get a unit on their second try, they have to keep repeating the process.

‘Nobody wants to queue. But if you want to do a ballot, you should say so from the start,’ added the manager, who took time off work to line up for nearly four hours on Thursday.

‘I was upset that they switched to a ballot at the last minute; I felt that they had no proper system.’

She added that ‘developers should let those who did not get a unit have priority to choose a unit before the second ballot”, because they would have wasted a lot of time queueing.

Mr de Silva said that those who miss out in the first ballot do not get preference if they enter the second round.

‘Each round is a fresh chance for interested buyers,’ he said.

Property consultants said that neither system was absolutely fairer or better than the other.

Ms Tay Huey Ying of Colliers International told The Straits Times: ‘In queueing, time will be wasted, but there are ways to overcome the inefficiencies.

‘For example, if developers know that there are 100 units, then they can give out 100 queue numbers. Whereas balloting very much depends on your chances so it can be deemed as unfair.’

Dr Chua Yang Liang of Jones Lang LaSalle noted that both systems were suited to different market conditions.

‘Queueing is simpler to execute and is more manageable when the demand is within a certain threshold. But once it is too large, it becomes hard to manage – that’s when ballots have to come in, or other alternatives,’ he said.

Mr Eric Cheng, executive director of HSR Property Group, said that up to a quarter of properties were sold via balloting during the market boom of 2007.

But he noted that there had been ‘a couple of complaints’ in the past about agents and officials selecting friends and relatives.

‘Developers can use balloting to beef up numbers for different segments because balloting goes by phases and the developer decides which units to release,’ he added.

Pricier units making up bigger share of home sales

Source : Business Times – 1 Aug 2009

Proportion of private homes sold at over $1.5m rise by six percentage points in 2 months

REFLECTING larger buying appetites and more mid- to high-end launches in the market, the proportion of private homes sold at over $1.5 million has risen by six percentage points in two months.

Analysing 10,583 caveats captured by the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Realis system from January to June, property consultancy DTZ found that 18 per cent lodged were for apartments in this price range.

From January to April, private homes costing more than $1.5 million accounted for a smaller 12 per cent of the 4,401 caveats lodged. There has been a ’spillover of buying momentum from the mass market to the mid and upper-tiers’, said DTZ head of South-east Asia research Chua Chor Hoon.

Chesterton Suntec International head of research and consultancy Colin Tan also said that more centrally located properties were introduced. ‘By virtue of the location, prices will go up.’

According to earlier data from URA, 72 per cent of the 1,637 units launched by developers in June were from the core central region and rest of central region. This proportion exceeded that in April, which was 59 per cent.

In June, for instance, Allgreen Properties launched the freehold One Devonshire near Killiney Road. A caveat was lodged for a unit costing $2.02 million or $1,690 per square foot. Sim Lian also launched Rochelle at Newton in May. Several caveats were lodged for units above $1.5 million, with one going for $1.83 million or $983 psf.

More buyers also went for luxury projects already in the market in May and June. A unit at The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove changed hands at $11.5 million or $1,922 psf. Seven units at Ardmore Park were also sold at $6 million or more each, with the highest at $7.25 million or $2,513 psf.

As pricier properties took up a greater share of transactions, the most affordable ones occupied a smaller share. Units going for $600,000 or less accounted for 13 per cent of caveats in January to June, down from 19 per cent in January to April.

Homes at $600,000-plus to $800,000 retained their popularity with most buyers. The bulk – or 30 per cent – of caveats lodged from January to June was for apartments in this price range.

Recent launches, such as Frasers Centrepoint’s fully sold 8@Woodleigh and Chip Eng Seng’s Oasis@Elias largely catered to this market segment.

With affordability still on the back of most buyers’ minds, resistance continued to hover at the $1.5 million level. Units going for less than this price accounted for 82 per cent of all caveats lodged. ‘Most of the units sold are small and in the affordable range as they cater to HDB upgraders and local investors, where most of the demand is coming from,’ said Ms Chua.

The launch momentum appears to be going strong, even as the government cautioned buyers against over-committing in property on Wednesday. Agents are ascertaining interest for several projects, such as the freehold 235-unit Viva in Novena and NTUC Choice Homes’ condominium in Toa Payoh (Trevista).

Over at Optima, a new launch in Tanah Merah, another 156 units were allocated through balloting yesterday evening.

Property rents in Dubai seen falling less

Source : Business Times – 1 Aug 2009

RENTS for residential and commercial properties in Dubai will fall for the rest of this year, but declines will be marginal compared with the first half of the year, CB Richard Ellis said on Thursday.

The Gulf emirate’s once-booming property sector has suffered sharply as a result of the global financial crisis, as prices fall, developers slow or cancel projects and jobs are cut.

‘A period of minimal negative growth over the next 3-6 months could see some stability achieved and the market bottom called before year-end,’ said Matt Green, associate director, Research & Consultancy at the real estate services firm.

Rents in Dubai are seen declining by 40 per cent for the whole of this year, and a further 10 per cent in 2010, before recovering in 2011, a Reuters poll showed in June.

Expats leaving Dubai, coupled with an increase in property supply, has led to a sharp drop in apartment prices.

Newer residential areas have been the worst affected with rents for one-bedroom apartments falling as much as 40 per cent year-on-year to 60,000 dirhams (S$23,608), the report said.

Office supply will increase substantially over the next six months with many projects in the latter stages of completion, it said.

Several projects expected to enter the market in the first half of the year are being pushed back further, while slowdown in business activity has led to a slump in demand for office space.

In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, weak demand and low levels of sales activity are expected to shape the market in the second half of the year, the report said.

The property sector of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, home to most of the country’s oil, has been more resilient than Dubai to the global economic downturn.

Sales prices declines are likely to level off as more investors choose to hold property due to low prices while rents are expected to fall further as more supply enters the market.

‘Distressed sales are starting to clear with more investors choosing to hold on to units.’

Prime office rents in Abu Dhabi have fallen as much as 40 per cent to as low as 3,000 dirhams per square metre over the last three quarters, the report said.

‘Despite comparatively sound macro fundamentals, slowdown in rents is inevitable as demand weakened markedly. The outlook remains uncertain.’

Signs of speculation in private property market

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Jul 2009

The government is seeing some signs of speculation in the Singapore property market, according to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

Speaking on the sidelines of the topping out ceremony of the Marina Bay Financial Centre on Wednesday morning, Mr Mah said the government is monitoring the situation.

It is uncertain if the buying momentum seen in recent months can be sustained, he added.

“The forecast is still for negative growth this year. Although it’s not as negative as it was in the beginning of the year, I think there is still uncertainty… But what is important really is for all of us, all the players in the market, to make sure that the market remains healthy,” said Mr Mah.

According to latest data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), sales of uncompleted private homes reached a record high of 1,825 units in June as improving sentiment in the market spurred homebuyers to snap up more units.

Mr Mah assured that there is adequate supply of units in the market for now and the government is prepared to release more land for sale if necessary.

On the Marina Bay Financial Centre, Mr Mah noted that it has already attracted over S$20 billion of private real estate investments from both local and international investors. About 61 per cent of space in the centre has been pre-leased.

Mr Mah also reiterated the government’s commitment to the project, saying another S$1 billion in infrastructure works will be invested over the next 10 to 15 years. The figure is on top of the S$7.5 billion already invested in Marina Bay.

Rolls-Royce to build new factory in Singapore

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Jul 2009

Engine maker Rolls-Royce plans to build a new factory in Singapore making wide chord fan blades (WCFBs) used in military and commercial aircraft engines.

The plant will be located at its Seletar Campus site alongside a previously announced facility, which will test and assemble Trent aero engines.

Total investment in the Seletar Campus, including the new factory, will exceed S$700 million or 300 million pounds.

The new plant will create 500 new jobs, bringing the total number of people employed in Singapore by Rolls-Royce to about 2,000.

It will be the first factory outside the United Kingdom to manufacture Rolls-Royce hollow titanium WCFBs.

Construction of the facilities at the Seletar Campus will begin in the first quarter of next year.

Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rose said the latest investment “reflects our continuing confidence in Singapore as a place to locate high value-added manufacturing.”

The investment adds further depth to Singapore’s aerospace industry, complementing Singapore’s status as an aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) expects the Rolls-Royce campus to attract other aerospace companies and suppliers to undertake component manufacturing in Singapore.

Leo Yip, chairman of EDB said: “The Rolls-Royce campus taking shape at Seletar is testament to the very strong partnership between Rolls-Royce and Singapore.

“The campus underlines the attractiveness of Seletar Aerospace Park as a cradle for new opportunities in the aerospace sector, where synergies arise from the clustering and integration of activities across the supply chain.

“Rolls-Royce’s latest investments also reflect how companies can leverage on Singapore’s position as a leading global aerospace hub to drive business growth, especially in Asia.”

US May home prices up

Source : Business Times – 28 Jul 2009

US single-family home prices rose in May from April, the first monthly increase in nearly three years, suggesting prices may be stabilising, according to Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller home price indexes on Tuesday.

The annual rate of decline for the 10- and 20-city indexes improved for the fourth straight month, though prices have still tumbled by more than 32 per cent from the peaks in the second quarter of 2006.

The index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.5 per cent in May from April, after a 0.6 per cent decline the month before, in contrast with the 0.5 per cent drop forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

The May monthly rise resulted in an annual downturn of 17.1 per cent, although this was the fourth straight month that the rate of decline slowed. This follows a 16-month string of record annual declines starting in October 2007 and ending in January.

S&P said its index of 10 metropolitan areas rose 0.4 per cent in May after a 0.7 per cent drop in April, for an 16.8 per cent year-over-year drop.

‘To put it in perspective, this is the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months,’ David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, said in a statement. ‘This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilising’.

The 10 and 20-city indexes reported positive returns for the first time since summer of 2006.

Centre to help mall set service benchmark

Source : Business Times – 28 Jul 2009

SERVICE levels in Singapore are set to reach new heights as Lend Lease launched its $1 million 313@Somerset Training and Career Centre yesterday. The training centre was officially opened by Simon Crean, the Australian Minister for Trade, and will provide free service training to all employees of its retailers, its own mall staff and even members of the public who wish to pursue a career in the retail industry.

‘The is an excellent example of commercial collaboration between Australia and Singapore. The substantial investment by Lend Lease in the 313@Somerset Retail Mall and the new Training Centre reaffirmed the importance of Singapore as Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in Asean,’ said Mr Crean.

This is the first time a mall in Singapore has received the Singapore Workforce Development Agency’s Accredited Training Organisation (ATO) status, allowing it to conduct training.

The centre is also a first for Lend Lease globally and is expected to redefine standards for its malls around the world. The courses offered are funded by Lend Lease and Spring Singapore.

Since the announcement of the new training centre last year, response has been ‘extremely enthusiastic, with more than 120 of the mall’s retailers intending to put their employees through the courses,’ said Lend Lease development director Michael Kenderes.

A total of 1,000 are expected to be trained in the centre’s first year. Three hundred of them are expected to be matched to the employment needs of 313@Somerset retailers.

For a start, the centre will offer courses to help retail staff gain a clear understanding of the retail environment, the importance of retail service excellence, business etiquette and how to interact with customers.

The first two classes which commence on Aug 3 are already full.

It will also offer other courses that are not accredited and this will focus on retail tourism, centre brand induction and the 313 service factor.

These opportunities for training have been extended to retailers and staff in other Lend Lease malls, including Parkway Parade and PoMo. The centre will also help with job matching for those seeking employment within the centre.

The Training and Career Centre is expected to ’save the retail industry some $3million in training and hiring costs, and downtime when a staff member goes for training’, said Mr Kenderes.

Metro, Isetan setting up new heartland outlets

Source : Straits Times – 31 Jul 2009

RETAIL veterans Isetan and Metro will expand in the coming year, at a time when many of their counterparts around the world are biting the dust.

The two department stores, each with three outlets, are setting up new outlets in the heartland – after years of standing pat.

Japanese chain store Isetan will open its first outlet in 14 years at Nex, an upcoming mall in Serangoon Central, next year. Locally owned Metro will have a 56,000 sq ft outlet in City Square, the mall in Little India, by September – this coming after it closed two stores in the last four years.

The moves fly in the face of what is happening elsewhere, where department stores are doing anything but expanding. The recession has already felled the weaker players in the United States, Japan and parts of western Europe.

American chains that have gone belly up include Gottschalks and Mervyn’s, while premium stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus are offering more lower-priced products to reel in the crowds, noted Australia-based retail consultant Michael Baker.

In Japan, chains like Mitsukoshi and Daimaru have downsized or merged with others on the back of a three-year decline in takings.

Here, names like Sogo and Seiyu, big in the 1990s, are now a distant memory for a new generation of shoppers. In its heyday in the 1980s, Metro had eight outlets, five in Orchard Road alone. Today, it has only one outlet on the strip, with the other two in Woodlands and Sengkang.

Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei noted that department stores are no longer considered the must-have anchor tenant. The newest temples to shopping – 313@Somerset, Ion Orchard, Orchard Central and Tampines 1 – either have supermarkets or flagship stores of well-known brands to draw crowds. Shoppers have also changed their habits, said Mr Baker. They find browsing in department stores too inconvenient and prefer patronising speciality stores.

Department stores are also facing competition from hypermarkets and fast-fashion brands muscling in on their ‘one-stop shop’ concept. Carrefour, for example, has gone beyond foodstuff and household sundries to sports equipment, clothing and make-up, while clothing brands like Zara now also stock shoes, accessories and bags.

To survive, therefore, the department stores are staking a claim on heartland turf.

Metro is doing one other thing – tweaking its offerings to attract younger shoppers: It will bring in new cosmetic brands, create a special Estee Lauder beauty treatment room and introduce the first Barbie shop here, modelled after the one in Shanghai.

But some young consumers like civil servant Prashant Somosundram, 29, say department stores need to reinvent themselves, not just tweak their formula. He lives across from City Square mall, and hopes the Metro outlet there will ‘bring in unique fashion labels or food products’. He also suggested that stores create a unique shopping experience with interactive digital media.

HDB launches 769 new flats in Punggol

Source : Straits Times – 31 Jul 2009

THE Housing Board has launched a premium project offering 769 new flats in Punggol in a bid to build up critical mass in the estate.

The new project, called Punggol Residences, offers 615 four-roomers and 154 five-room flats in a central location just five minutes from Punggol MRT station.

HDB is launching the project under its build-to-order (BTO) scheme – flats are built only when certain demand is reached.

It has so far offered about 6,500 new flats in Punggol since it unveiled grand plans for the former fishing village to become the only waterfront public housing project in August 2007.

This is in line with the board’s commitment to build up the population in the estate to attract and support new facilities, it said.

Punggol Residences is a premium development with enhanced architectural designs, interior fittings and landscaping, said HDB.

Four-room flats of 91 to 96 sq m are going for $264,000 to $322,000, while five-roomers of 114 sq m are on sale from $344,000 to $409,000.

According to HDB, premium resale flats in the vicinity are selling for a pricier $330,000 to $350,000 for four-roomers and $380,000 to $439,888 for five-roomers.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that, despite the higher prices, resale flats might still be more attractive given that buyers can enjoy a CPF housing grant of up to $80,000 depending on their income, and do not have to wait three years for new flats to be built.

On the other hand, buying new flats direct from HDB will attract those who prefer not to fork out any cash for resale flats.

This amount, known as cash-over-valuation, has started creeping up for premium resale flats in Punggol to about $15,000 to $20,000, noted Mr Ismail.

As of 5pm yesterday – the latest update from HDB – 593 applications for the 769 flats have been received.

Applications for the new flats can be submitted online at HDB’s website www.hdb.gov.sg until Aug 12.

No property bubble forming, say developers

Source : Straits Times – 31 Jul 2009

PROPERTY developers are enjoying the surge in interest from buyers but they do not believe that speculation has reached a stage where the Government needs to step in.

They also maintain that the prevailing economic conditions will begin to cool the buying frenzy and stop a bubble forming in its tracks.

‘It’s not a bubble, it’s just a blister after the pain we experienced in the global financial crisis and it comes before a recovery,’ said Cushman and Wakefield managing director Donald Han.

But some developers and industry insiders acknowledge that the comments from National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan this week are timely.

Mr Mah cautioned about a bubble forming, hinted at intervention if speculation got out of hand and advised buyers to tread carefully and not charge headlong into the market.

‘The Government’s message is quite clear: Don’t rush as there is a lot of supply coming onstream,’ said Sing Holdings chief executive Lee Sze Hao.

‘It’s good as a reminder so that people do not over-buy, over-chew. Developers do not want irrational exuberance,’ said Mr Han.

A property consultant who declined to be named told The Straits Times: ‘There shouldn’t be panic-buying. Buyers may pull back a bit, not knowing whether the Government will step in or not. The fact is that the Government has opened its mouth; it can do things indirectly.

‘But if the market hype continues to rise, they will have to do something.’

Many feel the hype, which centres on several condominiums, will likely be short-lived amid a recession.

‘Inevitably, there will be speculative buyers, but they are for the smaller units…If the market is too speculative, you build up a bubble and that’s not real demand,’ said Mr Lee.

The market is seeing cashed-up investors ready to spend, which is different from speculators looking to buy another apartment to make a quick buck, he said.

The Government will do something only if there is a queue at every project and every unit is snapped up, he added.

The Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (Redas) pointed out on Wednesday that only a selected few launches have been highly successful for various reasons.

Buyers have certainly been out in droves visiting the new showflats and buying new homes off the plan. Queues have been forming and developers have raised prices in response.

The interest was evident last night at Tanah Merah, where crowds gathered at the 297-unit Optima showflat although the public launch is scheduled for today.

The response was so strong that the developer TID held a ballot at midnight for about 300 genuine buyers who were queueing outside the showflat earlier so they did not have to stay overnight.

They had submitted cheques together with their application form by 9.30pm for the 120 units on offer at an average early-bird price of $790 per sq ft (psf), said a spokesman.

Another suburban launch, the 329-unit Centro Residences in Ang Mo Kio apparently attracted more than 80 buyers, even though it is priced at $1,150 psf and above – levels more suitable for prime or city-fringe projects.

Such enthusiasm for new projects, which is reminiscent of boom times, and the sudden spike in prices are likely causes for concern, said a developer who declined to be named.

Prices of some new mass market projects have gone above the peak 2007 levels, he said. ‘But can the market sell 1,500 units every month in the next 12 months? I don’t think so.

‘The Government is observing, but it will cease to be overly concerned when things return to normal.’

CapitaLand chief executive Liew Mun Leong said at its results briefing yesterday that there is ‘exuberance’ in the market but no bubble. ‘If it’s investment driven, you could call it a bubble…but in our case, it is demand driven.’

He also said he would be the first to be worried if this frenzy is being driven by speculative demand.

He said there are buyers flushed with cash from collective sales in the recent property boom.

Mr Liew estimated there were about 13,000 home owners displaced by en-bloc deals from 2005 to 2007 and these buyers have ready cash of anywhere between $1million and $2 million each to spend.

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TIMELY ADVICE

‘It’s good as a reminder so that people do not over-buy, over-chew. Developers do not want irrational exuberance.’ – Cushman and Wakefield managing director Donald Han

INDIRECT ACTION

‘There shouldn’t be panic-buying. Buyers may pull back a bit, not knowing whether the Government will step in or not. The fact is that the Government has opened its mouth; it can do things indirectly. But if the market hype continues to rise, they will have to do something.’ – A property consultant who declined to be named

A late night property ballot … is this a sign of the times?

Source : Today – 31 Jul 2009

The showflat was only due to open today.

But on Monday, some, mostly property agents, were already lining up for units at the Optima condominium at Tanah Merah. They went home after developer TID made it clear the queue would not be recognised.

However, this did not stop hundreds from turning up early yesterday – leading to a massive queue and the occasional ugly spat over queue-jumping. The result? TID decided, at about 8pm, to open the showflat doors and, unusually, kick off open balloting.

The process began after 11pm last night and carried on well into the wee hours of the morning. Successful applicants paid the 5-per-cent deposit on the spot.

This came just a day after National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had warned the Government would take action should property market speculation get excessive. Yet, it was apparent many aiming for a unit at the 99-year leasehold project yesterday were buying for investment.

For instance, a 62-year-old woman, who beat six other bids to snag a unit, told Today she was likely to rent it out.

Other buyers and property agents also said they or their clients were looking at a good investment, as the development was near the Changi Business Park, next to an MRT station, likely near the future fourth university, and was affordable – prices averaged $790 per square foot.

In all, 120 units were allocated yesterday, including some in the morning at a preview for staff and guests. Today understands that another 100 will be released today.

Asked why TID – a tie-up between Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan and Hong Leong Group – did not simply stick to the original launch today, Mr Gerry de Silva, spokesman for Hong Leong, said the big crowd was a factor, as was feedback from agents that they had “very interested” buyers with cheques ready.

“If we stick to our word, it may be good, but is it practical?” he told Today.

And the balloting, he said, was to “differentiate the genuine buyers” from the browsers. TID had earlier been pondering alternatives to the first-come-first-served system, he added.

S’pore named world’s most preferred city for business meetings in 2008

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 31 Jul 2009

Singapore is the world’s most preferred city for business meetings for the second year running.

The city-state is named the “Top International Meeting City” in the Union of International Associations 2008 Global Rankings.

Singapore edged out cities like Paris, London and Tokyo.

The country also moved up one notch up from 2007 to third position as one of the top three preferred countries for international meetings, after the US and France.

The lion city beat countries like the UK, Japan and Germany.

This makes Singapore the top Asian country and city for meetings for the 25th consecutive year.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the country hosted 637 meetings last year, a significant 36 per cent growth compared to 2007.

As a destination, Singapore accounted for 26.5 per cent of the meetings held in the Asian continent last year, up from 22.5 per cent in 2007.

STB said from 2010, business events organisers will have more options with new and exciting developments like the two new Integrated Resorts and Gardens by the Bay.

Sale of Optima@Tanah Merah brought forward due to queues

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 31 Jul 2009

Developers of Optima@Tanah Merah have brought forward the launch of the condominium, which was to have taken place on Friday.

However, queues formed as early as 4pm on Thursday, prompting the developers to start selling the units.

120 units were sold yesterday with another 150 units to be balloted on Friday.

The 99 year leasehold development has 297 units.

The condo’s developers said they feel that genuine buyers will have a higher chance of getting the units through balloting, as some people have been seen selling their queue numbers.

The first 120 units were sold at about S$790 per square foot.

About 300 potential buyers waited until midnight for the balloting results on Thursday.

One observer said buyers should think through thoroughly before they get into the market.

Said Dennis Ng, property advisor and director of Leverage Holdings: “What we see in 2009, Singapore is in a recession the unemployment figure is about five per cent, people are getting pay cuts some people are getting retrenched.

“So the overall economic situation is not actually very healthy. But if we look at the red hot property market we may actually think that Singapore is in very good times. So I think there is a mismatch in the economic fundamentals and some of the property prices in Singapore.”

A bubble that’s a gleam in specuvestors’ eyes

Source : Business Times – 31 Jul 2009

Mah Bow Tan’s caution aimed at averting pain later, property market watchers say

Better to suck out the froth now than to burst the bubble later – that was what market watchers saw as the government’s intention in warning against rash property purchases.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said on Wednesday that there are signs of speculation in the property market, and the government will act if it overheats. He also urged home seekers to buy only within their means.

On the surface, the message may seem puzzling. By most accounts, speculators from the boom years – those who ‘flipped’ their freshly bought units in the subsale market for a quick profit – have yet to make a huge comeback. Price increases have surfaced only at some projects, while several others still registered price falls.

At CapitaLand’s results briefing yesterday, group president and CEO Liew Mun Leong also observed that home demand is ‘healthy’, supported partly by home seekers whose estates were sold en bloc.

But dig deeper and the cause for concern becomes more apparent. Some industry watchers acknowledge that a group of ’specuvestors’ is emerging. These are buyers who are prepared to keep and lease out their properties over the longer term, but are also open to selling them for capital gains if the opportunity comes along.

Although Singapore’s economy is shrinking, several factors are working in specuvestors’ favour. Notably, interest rates on bank loans are low, and more small apartments going for less than $1 million have become available. Many of them are also lucky enough to still have jobs, and some could have made a killing from the recent stockmarket rally.

These investors, together with genuine homebuyers, have raised market activity to a level that authorities feel is out-of-sync with weak economic fundamentals. The fear? That some would not be able to repay their loans if they lost their jobs, or if banks raised mortgage rates in the future.

‘I have seen sufficient cases in my Meet-the-People sessions, where people have over-committed and now find themselves in difficulty,’ Mr Mah recounted on Wednesday.

CIMB economist Song Seng Wun said in a note on Wednesday that Singapore’s Q2 09 jobless rate is expected to cross 5 per cent. The unemployment rate for Singaporeans and permanent residents rose to 4.8 per cent in Q1.

Falling rentals would also test buyers’ ability to support home loans, said Chesterton Suntec International’s research and consultancy director Colin Tan.

So to several industry watchers, the government is sounding a note of caution, just in case. As a developer told BT: ‘What if the green shoots turn brown?’ The formation of a bubble – particularly on shaky ground – would require overt intervention and the consequences are unlikely to be pretty.

Take a look back at 1996, when the government introduced a surprise anti-speculation package to curb sharp spikes in private home prices. Tighter credit, a tax on gains and higher stamp duty caused sentiment to sink and transaction volumes to plunge. This is history that most would not want to see repeat itself.

The key is whether the government’s words will help calm the buying frenzy at this stage. Here, views are mixed.

Some people may cool off, said Wheelock Properties (Singapore) CEO David Lawrence. ‘I think (Mr Mah is) more focusing on the greedy people who overgeared, took on too many liabilities, and he’s just saying ‘be careful’ . . . I think that’s a reasonable message to the market.’

But some also think the buying will continue as long as money from savings, banks or stockmarket winnings is around. A developer also suggested that a few people might bring forward their purchases in anticipation of anti-speculation measures coming on. ‘Singaporeans are a bit ‘gan cheong’ (panicky),’ he joked.

At Optima, where people started queuing days before the showflat was due to open, developer TID has conducted a ballot for the 120 units planned for release. All units have been tentatively accounted for with prices starting from $790 per square foot. TID is a tie-up between Hong Leong Group and Mitsui Fudosan. A Hong Leong spokesman said that the balloting process helps to sieve out genuine buyers and the crowds have thinned. BT understands that there were already plans to conduct a ballot when a queue first formed, before Mr Mah spoke to the press on Wednesday.

Market sources also say that around 80 units have been sold at Centro Residences, out of around 110 released.

Costa Del Sol apartments breach $1,000 psf mark

Source : The Edge – 27 Jul 2009

There was a flurry of transactions for condominiums in the neighbourhood of Bayshore Road and Upper East Coast Road, with at least half a dozen apartments changing hands in the week of June 26 to July 3, according to the URA Realis database of caveats lodged.

Property agents say the heightened activity is partly due to the euphoria surrounding URA’s new home sales figures for June, which, at 1,825 units, beats even the record achieved during the peak in August 2007. Another reason cited by property agents is the recent new launches and re-launches along Upper East Coast Road, which include Tong Eng Brothers’ Balcon East, UOL Group’s Breeze by the East, and Crescendas Group’s East Coast Residences.

As at end-March, around half the units at the 88-unit freehold boutique development Breeze by the East were sold at the average selling price of $940 psf. The project was launched in May 2008. Since May this year, units have been sold at prices ranging from $695 to $862 psf, according to caveats lodged. Most recently, a 2,077 sq ft fourth-level apartment was sold for $1.74 million or $837 psf. The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2011.

Expected to be completed soon and just a few doors away is the 59-unit East Coast Residences. Units were sold in the first five months of 2008 at prices ranging from $1,185 to $1,370 psf. Subsequently since April this year, units were sold at prices ranging from $692 to $864 psf.

Meanwhile, the 37-unit Balcon East was fully sold within two weekends at prices averaging $780 psf for three-bedroom apartments and $850 psf for one- and two-bedroom units.

The most active condominium in the resale market in the Bayshore area is Costa Del Sol, with three of the four transactions done in early July — all in the $1,000 psf range. That’s the kind of price level seen at the development a year ago. One of the transactions that crossed the $1,000 psf mark was a 13th-storey apartment that was sold for $1.32 million or $1,005 psf, according to URA Realis. The last time the same property changed hands was in October — just nine months ago — when it sold for $1.18 million or $899 psf.

Another unit that changed hands on the secondary market was one on the 29th storey — the 1,475 sq ft apartment was sold for $1.48 million or $1,000 psf. The owner bought the property when it was launched nine years ago and paid $1.5 million or $1,019 psf for the apartment.

The 906-unit, 99-year leasehold Costa Del Sol was completed in 2003, and is one of the most significant developments in the neighbourhood, comprising seven 30-storey towers. The developer is Hong Kong billionaire Li Kashing’s Cheung Kong Holdings.

Units at Costa del Sol are able to fetch higher prices because they are newer than those in other developments in the Bayshore area. As an added bonus, units from the 12th floor and above enjoy unblocked sea views.

Directly behind Costa del Sol is the massive The Bayshore, developed by Far East Organization and completed 10 years ago. The 99-year leasehold project has 1,038 units, and the most recent transaction was for a 16th-storey apartment with a 1,238 sq ft area. It changed hands on the resale market for $740,000 or $598 psf.

Bayshore Park located next door to The Bayshore is an even older 99-year leasehold 1,093-unit project completed in 1986. The most recent transaction there was for an eighth level 936 sq ft apartment that changed hands for $670,000 or $715 psf in a resale last month.

Around the corner from Bayshore Road along Upper East Coast Road is the freehold 242- unit The Summit. Perched on a hilly slope, the project was built 15 years ago by Ban Hin Leong, a niche developer of quality homes that ran into financial difficulties in the late 1990s. A third level, 1,249 sq ft apartment here was recently sold for $918,000 or $735 psf.

Given the level of activity, it sure looks like the Bayshore and Upper East Coast areas continue to be a popular residential neighbourhood for people who want the East Coast lifestyle — proximity to the beach, smell of sea breeze and great food.

HDB demand gathers steam on a dream

Source : Today – 31 Jul 2009

WHEN the original Punggol 21 vision was unveiled 13 years ago, enthusiasts who bought homes in the sleepy estate became disillusioned when the model waterfront living failed to materialised and facilities were slow to appear.

But then the dream was revived with a bang two years ago – and since then, interest has been strong, with recent HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) projects seeing robust demand.

Yesterday was a case in point: The HDB launched 769 new Premium units under its BTO system, and by 5pm there were already 408 applications for the 615 four-room flats, and 185 applications for 154 five-room flats.

At previous BTO launches, such as Punggol Regalia in January and Punggol Arcadia last November, units were roughly three times oversubscribed.

ERA Singapore says Punggol features among its top five choice locations for resale five-room flats.

“The main draw is that the flats are affordable and (fairly) new,” said its Asia-Pacific associate director, Eugene Lim.

He noted that five-room flats in the estate were “struggling” with a selling price of $300,000 before Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement of the Punggol 21+ plan in 2007.

Now, those flats “easily” sell for $400,000 each, said Mr Lim. But even so, they are easier on the pocket than flats in mature estates.

According to data from Dennis Wee Group, a five-room resale flat at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 is valued at $520,000 – while a five-room resale flat at Punggol is valued at $390,000 to $410,000.

Much of the demand for Punggol resale flats is from permanent residents (PR), making up 40 per cent of PropNex’s sales in the estate, said chief executive Mohamed Ismail. “PRs don’t mind its (far-flung) location and they realise the benefits of a new estate,” he told Today. “They also don’t have any emotional attachment to mature estates, unlike Singaporeans.”

Not far from resale prices

But with the Government pushing out new flats in Punggol, would this put a downward pressure on resale flat prices in the area?

The supply at Punggol Residences launched yesterday brings total new flat supply in the estate to 6,500 since the unveiling of estate revitalisation plans in Aug 2007.

Property agents do not seem to think so, as BTO projects are targeted at first-time flat-buyers who can wait a few years for completion. Many who buy resale flats are looking to move in within three to four months.

Mr Mohamed Ismail further notes, the prices at Punggol Residences are just “marginally” lower than those of resale flats in the estate. He cited recent valuation figures of four-room resale premium units going for some $320,000, and five-room resale premium units going for up to $420,000.

Punggol Residences flats are priced at $264,000 to $322,000 for four-room and $344,000 to $409,000 for five-room units.

If market anticipation of the Punggol 21+ concept is anything to go by, prices are expected to remain steady, the analysts told Today.

“Punggol is basically a blank sheet of paper, it doesn’t have the clutter of mature estates so there’s a lot of scope for planners and Government to do many things as they bring about the waterways and so on,” said ERA’s Mr Lim. “I am sure it will be a very happening place in the future.”

Punggol resident Faith Toh is holding out hope for that vision. She and her husband bought into the original Punggol 21 idea when they shelled out for their executive flat seven years ago.

Launched in 1996 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Punggol was to have been a model waterfront town with modern amenities such as watersport centres, clubs and libraries. But the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and construction industry problems in 2003 put a crimp on plans.

“We thought when it becomes like East Coast or Tampines, it’ll be like living in town without having to go downtown,” said Ms Toh. Even now, she said, going home to Punggol’s “pretty” landscaping “feels like you’re staying in a resort”.

Next year may not see oversupply of homes

Source : Straits Times – 25 Jul 2009

GLUT? What glut? Fears of an oversupply of private homes next year have eased – in fact there could even be a shortage.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) second quarter real estate statistics, released yesterday, suggest any potential oversupply has been pushed back to 2011 or even later as private property developers delay and cut down on projects.

The number of private homes slated for completion for the whole of next year has fallen sharply to just 5,394.

That is down about 70 per cent from an estimated 17,454 early last year at the height of the last boom.

Just as developers have cut back on building, home buying has shot back up to boom-time levels.

For the past three months, more than 1,000 private homes have been sold each month. An average of 8,000 private homes have been sold each year since 2000.

This means that private home prices and rents could rise next year, as the supply of private property units in 2010 may not meet demand, especially if the current strong sales streak keeps up.

Caveats apply, of course, market watchers say. URA’s statistics rely on figures that developers have provided, and dramatic changes from quarter to quarter have occurred before.

Also, the number of completed units could differ from the number sold, as developers could sell uncompleted units or be unable to sell completed units.

According to URA statistics, during the last boom in 2007 and last year, developers – confident that people would snap up private homes – obtained licences to sell 11,150 private homes set to be finished this year, and 9,188 homes in 2010.

But the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September and the resulting recession triggered fears last year that there would be too many private homes on the market next year amid an economic slowdown.

Concerned that units would not sell, developers have since slashed some projects and pushed back the completion dates of others. As a result, URA’s figure for the total planned units slated for completion this year and beyond has fallen by 6,000 – from over 68,000 in the first quarter of 2008 to the current 62,350.

But although almost all of URA’s projected completion figures have declined gradually over the period from the third quarter of last year to the first quarter this year, the slide shows signs of having just bottomed out.

In the third quarter of last year it was projected that around 13,400-16,000 units would be completed every year after 2010. This fell to a range of 12,100-13,900 in the fourth quarter and then to 10,900-13,800 last quarter.

Although it still remains below pre-recession levels, this range has risen slightly in the last quarter to 11,200-13,600 units every year from 2011 onwards.

The bulk of project completions has been shifted from next year to 2011 and later, with project completion figures increasing by an average of 350 for each year from last quarter’s figures.

To date, 5,158 private units have been finished in the first half of this year, and URA expects 1,051 more units to be ready within the next six months.

HDB flats not for making money

Source : Sunday Times – 26 Jul 2009

Home-seekers may be snapping up HDB flats amid this recession as well, but don’t dream of making a killing by investing in a public flat.

For one thing, HDB flats are meant to provide basic housing for the masses, which means they are not investment-grade properties.

‘If you’re looking to make capital appreciation or good rental income, then it is still the private condominiums because people who rent look for facilities,’ said Mr Eugene Lim, associate director at property firm ERA Asia Pacific.

‘The highest you can fetch in rent for an HDB flat in a good location is probably $2,000 plus. Any higher, people will go to condos,’ he added.

HDB figures show that a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio, Jurong West or Serangoon typically fetched rent of about $1,400 a month in the second quarter of this year.

Forget about making huge gains from selling your HDB property either.

‘HDB is not a market that swings very widely. It is a gradual market,’ said Mr Lim.

Strict HDB rules make it hard for anyone to profit from renting or selling his flat.

The board imposes a minimum occupation period on a home owner before he can sell his flat on the open market. This period depends on the mode of purchase, financing and the flat type.

Those who bought subsidised flats from the HDB would need to hold on to them for five years.

A flat owner who bought a resale flat without subsidy can sell it after 21/2 years if he has taken a loan from the HDB.

If he has not, or has taken a loan from a bank to finance his purchase, he can sell his flat after one year.

When it comes to renting out flats, those who bought resale flats without a housing grant from the government are allowed to sublet their entire flat only after three years of occupation.

Those who bought their flats from the HDB or from the open market with a housing grant will have to occupy their flats for at least five years before they are allowed to sublet their entire flat.

To sublet the whole flat, prior approval from the HDB is needed, and it is usually given if you have already fulfilled the minimum occupation period requirement.

Home owners do not need to seek permission from the HDB if they want to sublet just rooms in their flat, but they must continue to live in the flat during the period of subletting.

Only those who own a three-room or bigger flat are allowed to sublet a room.

Since the beginning of this year, the HDB has taken action against 12 flat owners who sublet their entire flat without prior approval. Last year, it caught 28 such flat owners.

It is understood that some got away with a warning and some were fined, but the most severe penalty could be having your flat taken away by the HDB.

The agency relies on tip-offs from the community and combs through the classifieds section of newspapers to sniff out those who illegally sublet their flats.

It also conducts half-yearly flat inspections for approved subletting cases.

Subletting rules for entire flats have been gradually relaxed since 2003 to allow flat owners to make some supplementary income and provide more rental options to those who do not own a home.

The maximum number of subtenants allowed per flat is four persons for one- and two-room flats, six persons for three-room flats, and eight persons for four-room and bigger flats.

Flat owners who own a private property can sublet their flat if they have met the minimum occupation period – three years for non-subsidised resale flats and five years for subsidised flats bought from the HDB.

But again, they must get written approval from the HDB first.