The Sail @ Marina Bay hits $2,800 psf

December 3, 2009

The completion of the upcoming Marina Bay Sands integrated resort next year and the VIP private preview of the 221-unit Marina Bay Suites have put the spotlight back on The Sail @ Marina Bay. Sales activity at the 1,111 unit The Sail has picked up pace in recent weeks. Nine transactions were done in the first week of November alone — versus 10 deals achieved for all of October. Prices achieved in the week of Oct 30 to Nov 6 ranged from $1,744 to $2,800 psf.

The Sail was the first residential project to be launched and completed in Marina Bay, and was jointly developed by City Developments and AIG. Tower 1 (the 70-storey Marina Bay Tower with the address 6 Marina Boulevard) was launched in September 2004, followed by Tower 2 (the 63-storey Central Park Tower with the address 2 Marina Boulevard) a year later. Both towers were completed in 4Q2008, in the wake of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Since hitting a low of $1,146 psf in April this year, transaction prices at The Sail have been on a steady uptrend. The record-high achieved in terms of price psf was in April last year, when a 1,033 sq ft unit on the 60th floor of Tower 1 went for $3.5 million, or $3,387 psf.

Most recently, a 688 sq ft unit on the 58th floor of Tower 1 changed hands at $1.9 million, or $2,800 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. This is close to the highest price psf achieved so far this year: $2,849 psf in September, when a 936 sq ft unit on the 61st floor of the same tower was sold for $2.67 million.

According to a caveat lodged in early November, a larger unit of 1,033 sq ft on the 31st floor of Tower 1 changed hands for $2.63 million, or $2,549 psf. The owner made a quick flip, after purchasing it for $2.6 mil-lion, or $2,516 psf, in August.

Just a block away is another luxury waterfront condominium — the 428 unit Marina Bay Residences, which is expected to be completed in mid-2010. The residential tower is part of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, a mixed development by the consortium of Hongkong Land, Keppel Land and Cheung Kong (Holdings). When the luxury condominium project was first previewed in December 2006, all the units were sold out at an average price of $1,850 psf within three days.

Prices have since surged, hitting a high of $2,700 psf in May last year. The latest transaction at Marina Bay Residences was a 753 sq ft unit on the 18th floor, which went for $1.65 million, or $2,199 psf. The original owner had purchased it for $1.53 million, or $2,031 psf, in July, translating into a gain of 8%.

Market expectation is that the luxury segment has room for further price growth, as prices are estimated to be 15% to 20% below the peak level in 4Q2007. Thus, it is no surprise that the consortium held the private preview of the Marina Bay Suites near the end of the year.

80 units sold at Marina Bay Suites preview

Source : Business Times – 26 Nov 2009

Developer not expected to release more units in the condo until 2010

ABOUT 80 of the 90 units previewed at Marina Bay Suites yesterday have been sold, at an average price understood to be slightly above $2,300 per square foot.

However, the consortium developing the project said that the ‘average price range was between $2,200 psf and $2,500 psf’. Only three and four-bedroom units on the low to mid- floors at the 66-storey development were released for yesterday’s preview.

‘Unit sizes range from 1,572 to 2,691 sq ft for the three to four-bedroom units,’ said a spokesman for Raffles Quay Asset Management, the asset manager for Marina Bay Suites.

BT understands that the consortium developing the 221-unit, 99-year leasehold condo, does not plan to offer any more units in the development until next year. The show suite for the condo will be completed in the first half of next year and housed in an office tower in the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC).

The condo, MBFC and an earlier condo project, Marina Bay Residences, are being developed on a 99-year leasehold plot sold by the Singapore government in 2005 to a consortium controlled by Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hongkong Land Holdings.

Yesterday’s preview was held on the mezzanine level of One Raffles Quay, which was also developed earlier by the three partners. The project is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis and DTZ.

‘There are no immediate plans to officially launch Marina Bay Suites (MBS). This private preview was for invited clients, business associates, registered prospects, staff and directors. We will launch MBS at the appropriate time,’ the spokesman said.

Initially, the consortium had planned to release only 50 units but decided to add 40 more due to keen demand from potential buyers.

BT understands that at least a third of the buyers were foreigners (including permanent residents) and companies, with Indonesians being the predominant foreign buyers. Well-heeled Singaporeans also bought units in the condo.

Prices of three-bedders start from $3 million or about $1,908 psf, BT understands.

The least expensive four-bedder (a 2,045 sq ft unit) cost $4.3 million or $2,103 psf. For the larger four-bedroom apartments of 2,680 sq ft, prices start from $6.1 million or $2,276 psf.

Strong sales at Marina Bay Suites preview

Source : Straits Times – 26 Nov 2009

Buyers snap up most of the 90 units released for sale yesterday

A one-day preview at the upmarket Marina Bay Suites development saw invited buyers snap up most of the 90 units released for sale at average prices ranging from $2,200 to $2,500 per sq ft (psf).

At least 81 units were bought yesterday at the 99-year leasehold, 221-unit condominium in Marina Bay, whose launch had been delayed by almost two years, said a spokesman for Raffles Quay Asset Management, which manages Marina Bay Financial Centre. The centre has two residential towers – Marina Bay Residences, which sold out in late 2006, and Marina Bay Suites.

Prices achieved were below the expectations the developers had early last year, before the property market slumped as the global crisis took hold.

It was then thought that the condo could be priced around $3,000 psf, given that the most expensive units in Marina Bay Residences and The Sail @ Marina Bay had then traded beyond that price level.

The invited group of buyers yesterday consisted of registered clients, directors and staff working for the developers – a consortium comprising Keppel Land, Hongkong Land and Cheung Kong Holdings.

The condo has units of three- to four-bedrooms ranging in size from 1,572 sq ft to 2,691 sq ft, as well as three larger penthouses.

Yesterday, the three-bedroom units went for between $3 million and $3.7 million.

The smaller four-bedroom units sold for around $4.3 million to $5 million, while the larger four-bedroom units achieved prices of $6.1 million to a shade below $7 million.

About two-thirds of the Marina Bay Suites buyers were Singaporeans, with the balance made up of foreigners, permanent residents and a few companies, said Mr Joseph Tan, executive director for residential properties at one of the marketing agents, CBRE.

Marina Bay Suites had been slated for launch early last year when there was talk that the three-bedroom units would command a price of $4 million to $5 million.

But the market downturn prompted the postponement and, said Mr Tan, the preview had to be pitched at today’s prices.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han agreed that in today’s high-end market, ‘you need to provide a discount from the peak levels’.

‘The value proposition is there for investors keen on luxury properties,’ he said.

‘Generally, there may be more upside as prices in the high-end to luxury markets are still about 20 per cent to 25 per cent from the peak levels in early 2008.’

Mr Han said the market is seeing demand slowly returning in the $2,000 psf to $3,000 psf range, but not yet for those priced above these prices.

Experts also said Marina Bay Suites’ location is a major selling point.

‘The lure factor of Marina Bay properties is the proximity to the integrated resort, and the finite supply of homes there,’ said Mr Han.

Caveats lodged for The Sail @ Marina Bay this month showed deals done at between $1,744 psf and $2,800 psf, while Marina Bay Residences deals were done at $2,170 psf to $2,420 psf last month.

Sellers are hoping that values in the area will rise by the time the integrated resort in Marina Bay is completed, he said.

Indeed, Mr Tan said the plan was to launch the condo at ‘better prices’ in the first half of next year when the integrated resort opens.

The showflat would be ready by then.

Marina Bay Residences hits $2,500 psf

Source : The Edge – 14 Sep 2009

In the Marina Bay area, transactions at Marina Bay Residences have once again reached stratospheric levels, with prices returning to levels seen in 2H2007. Sub-sales of units at Marina Bay Residences have steadily crept up from a low of $1,433 psf in April to a high of $2,500 psf last month. This is the highest price per square foot achieved not just in 2009 but since May last year, when a 3,961 sq ft penthouse on the 52nd floor changed hands for $10.7 million, or $2,700 psf.

The 55-storey, 428-unit luxury residential tower is part of the first phase of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC), a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use development jointly built by the consortium of Keppel Land, Hongkong Land and Cheung Kong (Holdings). When the 99-year upmarket condominium first previewed in December 2006, all the units were snapped up at an average price of $1,850 psf within days without the need for an official launch.

Marina Bay Residences is scheduled to be completed in mid-2010, and as the completion of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort nears, and interest mounts, prices have naturally also increased.

Most recently, a 1,227 sq ft, 50th level unit at the condominium was sold for $3.07 million, or $2,500 psf. According to caveats lodged with URA Realis, the seller of the apartment had purchased the two bedroom unit at the launch three years ago and paid $2.71 million ($2,205 psf) for it.

On the 51st level, a 1,130 sq ft apartment was recently sold for $2.71 million ($2,400 psf). This is the second time the unit has changed hands in a sub-sale. The last time it happened was in July 2007, when it was sold for $2.49 million ($2,200 psf). The original buyer of the unit paid $2.07 million ($1,835 psf) when the project was first rolled out.

Another unit that has been flipped twice in the last few years is a 710 sq ft unit on the 49th floor that recently changed hands for $1.63 million ($2,299 psf). The previous owner bought the unit in a sub-sale for $1.53 million ($2,149 psf) in June 2007, while the original buyer paid $1.29 million ($1,817 psf) in December 2006.

On the 21st floor, a 1,636 sq ft three-bedroom apartment changed hands for $3.76 million ($2,300 psf). The previous owner had purchased the unit when the project was first launched, for $3.03 million ($1,851 psf). Meanwhile, a similarsized apartment on the 44th floor was recently sold for $3.89 million ($2,380 psf). The previous owner purchased the unit in June 2007 in a sub-sale for $3.78 million, or $2,310 psf.

With residential sales having picked up strongly in recent months, the consortium is reviewing plans to launch its second residential tower, the 66-storey Marina Bay Suites. The project was shelved early last year when the global financial crisis hit. The 221- unit Marina Bay Suites was supposed to offer mainly three- and four-bedroom apartments of 1,600 to 2,700 sq ft. However, according to industry sources, given the strong demand for small one- and two-bedroom apartments in the Central Business District, the consortium is considering reconfiguring some of the larger units.

Just a block away from Marina Bay Residences is an even more actively traded residential project, and the first residential development in the Marina Bay area: the 1,111-unit The Sail @ Marina Bay developed by City Developments Ltd and AIG. The 99-year leasehold twin-tower development was completed in 4Q2008. Most recently, an 861 sq ft apartment on the 39th floor of the 70-storey Tower One was sold for $1.81 million ($2,100 psf), which represents a 79% gain for the seller, as the unit was first purchased for $1.01 million ($1,174 psf) in November 2005 when the tower was first launched.

Earlier, in August, a 50th floor, 1,184 sq ft apartment unit in the 63-storey Tower Two also hit the $2,000 psf level when it changed hands in a resale for $2.55 million ($2,154 psf). It was first purchased in November 2004 for $1.17 million ($984 psf), when the tower was first launched.

In June and July, three units at Tower One of The Sail had been transacted for around $2,500 psf. A 1,776 sq ft, 67th-floor apartment was sold in July for $4.53 million, or $2,549 psf, which was the highest price psf achieved this year. The other two transactions were in June: a 936 sq ft apartment went for $2.34 million, or $2,499 psf, and a 2,174 sq ft unit changed hands for close to $5.48 million, or $2,520 psf. This is in stark contrast to early this year when sentiment was still weak and transactions from February to April saw the prices of some units plummeting to levels below $1,200 psf.

Marina Bay Sands opening delayed to early next year

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 8 Jul 2009

The opening of Singapore’s first casino has been put back several months due to shortages of labour and materials, the chairman of developer Las Vegas Sands said Wednesday.

Sheldon Adelson said Marina Bay Sands will open early next year for its initial phase, after being originally slotted to welcome its first visitors by the end of this year.

“The opening date we seriously anticipate will be in January or February,” Adelson told journalists and guests at a ceremony marking the finishing of construction of the development’s three 55-storey hotel towers.

“We can’t control the flow of sand to make concrete with, we can’t control the availability of steel… and we can’t control the availability of labour due to other projects that are in the market,” he said.

Las Vegas Sands said in March that at least half of the casino complex, located in Singapore’s financial district, would start commercial operations by the end of this year.

Adelson on Wednesday put the total cost of the development at S$8.0 billion (US$5.5 billion).

Marina Bay Sands is Singapore’s first casino project to be awarded, in 2006. As well as gaming, the complex will include hotel, convention, luxury retail and performing arts facilities.

A second casino, Resorts World at Sentosa, is scheduled to open in phases also starting early 2010 and will feature the world’s biggest oceanarium with 700,000 fish and a Universal Studios theme park.

Singapore in 2005 gave the approval for casinos to be developed in a bid to draw more visitors to the city-state, whose main attractions are shopping, dining, night life and animal parks.

Renewal of interest in Marina Bay apartments

Source : The Edge – 8 Jun 2009

As market sentiment picks up, not only has the number of transactions increased, but prices have also firmed up across the board. The clearest evidence of this is at Marina Bay, where apartments have seen a spike in the number of transactions in the secondary market.

At the 1,111-unit The Sail, which was completed in 4Q 2008, the most recent transaction was a 50th floor, 2,174 sq ft apartment that changed hands in the resale market for $4.1 million, or $1,886 psf. The initial owner bought the property at launch in 2004 for over $2.385 million, or $1,097 psf, so he has seen a 72% capital appreciation on the apartment in about five years.

There are signs that specu-investors have also returned and, if anything, this marks a return of optimism to the property market.

In late April, a 657 sq ft apartment on the 52nd floor was sold for $951,200, or $1,449 psf. The same unit changed hands a month earlier at $867,240 ($1,321 psf), according to a caveat lodged in early March. The last time the unit changed hands in a sub-sale was in early 2007, when it went for $952,650, or $1,451 psf. The original owner had purchased the unit in early 2005 for $576,180,or $878 psf.

“There is a relatively strong buying interest in the market recently,” says Jack Chua, president and executive director of ERA Realty. “Confidence is back in the market; investors who are cash-rich are looking again at property as a form of investment.”

At the 428-unit Marina Bay Residences expected to be completed by mid-2010, there were four transactions ranging from $1,581 to $1,880 psf for caveats lodged from May 1 to 15. The highest price achieved in terms of price psf at the upscale condominium in that timeframe was for a 44th floor, 1,959 sq ft apartment that changed hands in the sub-sale market for $1,880 psf, or a total of $3.68 million.

According to caveats lodged earlier, this unit was one of 10 on the same floor scooped up en bloc by a single party for a total of $23 million, or an average of $1,830 psf. The original transaction was when the development was launched in December 2006.

The first of the 10 units to change hands in a sub-sale was a 1,636 sq ft unit that went for $3.779 million, or $2,310 psf, in June 2007, according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis. The second was the following month — a 1,130 sq ft unit sold for $2.46 million, or $2,180 psf. Subsequently, in August, a third unit was resold — a 732 sq ft unit that went for $1.79 million, or $2,450 psf. The seller pretty much rode the crest of the property boom, with most of the sub-sale prices achieved above $2,000 psf.

There was a lull for about a year before the next transaction in September 2008, when a 710 sq ft apartment changed hands in a sub-sale for $1.25 million, or $1,760 psf. In January this year, a 1,055 sq ft unit was sold for $1.728 million, or $1,638 psf; in April, a 1,227 sq ft apartment was sold for $1.94 million, or $1.580 psf; while the most recent transactions were in the first two weeks of May, as mentioned above.

You’ve got a home… but does your car?

Source : Straits Times - 8 Sep 2008

Carparks at newer condos smaller; some even have fewer lots than units

Home owners looking to buy a condominium within the next few years may soon find themselves in a squeeze when it comes to parking their cars at home.

A Straits Times survey of 26 condominiums launched or built after 2005 showed carparks are getting smaller, with some even falling below a government standard of at least one lot per unit.

About 50 per cent of the condominiums surveyed will have just one lot for each unit - plus not more than 5 per cent of extra lots - when completed.

The situation is more pronounced in the city. At least three new developments - The Sail @ Marina Bay, Marina Bay Residences and Icon in Tanjong Pagar - have between 20 per cent and 40 per cent fewer lots than units.

In comparison, a survey of about 10 condos built between 1980 and 2000 showed they were more generous, with over 50 per cent of them giving at least 15 per cent more leeway for lots.

For instance, Kembangan’s Windy Heights, which was completed around 1978, has 274 lots to its 202 units - about 36 per cent more lots than units.

In comparison, The Sail @ Marina Bay will have 700 lots for its 1,111 units - but only because it has ‘direct access to MRT stations, Raffles Place and is within walking distance to many workplaces and amenities’, said a spokesman for the developer CDL.

The upcoming Dakota Residences in Mountbatten, when completed in 2010, will have one lot for each of the 348 units while Reflections at Keppel Bay, when ready in 2013, will have about 1,200 lots for its 1,129 apartments - just 6 per cent more lots than units.

While many of these condos have not yet been completed, and the problem has not quite set in, there have been a few rumblings.

For instance, a handful of retailers at the mostly sold Icon - a retail-cum-residential development - said a few customers have complained how hard it can be to find a lot during the peak hours of lunchtime and 5pm to 8pm.

Investor Hengky Oeni, 54, who has bought a unit at The Sail @ Marina Bay, believes visitors may face problems finding a spot at certain times if forced to park outside at nearby office buildings. ‘On weekdays when employees are around, parking spaces in these buildings will be difficult to find and expensive.’

Real-estate firm Knight Frank’s director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak pointed out that home owners-to-be would not feel the effects now.

‘But once they move in, for instance when they throw a house-warming party, they will realise there may not be enough parking lots,’ he said.

During festive seasons such as Chinese New Year, visitors who take up spaces meant for residents may cause spats in the estate too, he said.

Management consultant Ong Tee Jin, 46, complained he often had to park in HDB estates and walk over when visiting friends in some of the new developments, ‘because their carparks are so crowded’.

‘Some of my friends regretted buying these condos after they found out about the parking problems,’ he said.

He also said condo owners who can afford these homes are likely to have more than one car.

Reasons for the downward trend vary: Some say it is the sheer cost of land and construction, and the smaller plots of land for sale these days.

Also, basement carparks, while ideal solutions for narrow land plots, cost three times as much as above-ground carparks to construct, said Mr Mak.

Assistant Professor Erwin Viray from the National University of Singapore’s architecture faculty told The Straits Times that the authorities or developers may want to ‘encourage a green urban lifestyle, where people…live healthy lives by walking and using public transport’.

He described how the well-off in cities such as Manhattan and Tokyo often ditch their cars to walk, and have ‘created a sort of healthy trend’. ‘It could be a sign of things to come in Singapore,’ he said.

A rule change in 2005 meant that developers no longer have to provide as many parking spots, if the condo falls in the Central Business District or is near an MRT station. But it is largely still up to developers to decide what works for them.

Mr Mak said: ‘People usually take parking for granted. When choosing a condo to buy…parking is one essential that often gets neglected.’

The exception is usually super deluxe condos, which sell for about $3,000 or more per sq ft. For example, the upcoming Boulevard Vue will provide up to four lots for each penthouse unit.

He came, hs saw, he bought for a cool $15m

Source : Sunday Times - 7 Sep 2008

Whole-floor penthouse on 63rd storey is the most expensive buy so far at Marina Bay condo

Even as the wind is being taken out of the sails in the high-end property market, one deal worth nearly $15.5 million was inked recently.

Dr Bhupendra Kumar Modi, global chairman and founder of Indian conglomerate Spice Corp, bought a whole-floor penthouse unit at The Sail@Marina Bay for a cool $15.463 million last month.

The US$1.5 billion (S$2.2 billion) Spice Corp group makes cellphones and operates a chain of cellphone retail outlets and entertainment plazas in India.

Last month’s deal makes the 5,834 sq ft penthouse - atop the 63-storey second tower of The Sail - the most expensive in the 1,111-unit condo, though not in Singapore.

The price for the 99-year leasehold apartment works out to $2,650 per sq ft (psf). Next door, a bigger penthouse in the 99-year leasehol Marina Bay Residences was sold for $26.9 million, or $2,446 psf in late 2006.

In Singapore, the record price is $5,600 psf for a 53rd-storey private apartment in The Orchard Residences. This works out to $28.27 million for the 5,048 sq ft, 99-year leasehold unit.

On an absolute basis, a freehold apartment on the 19th storey of The Marq on Paterson Hill was sold for a whopping $31 million, but at a lower psf price of $5,100. Both deals were done during last year’s boom.

Price was never an issue for Dr Modi, 59. It was love at first sight when he viewed the penthouse at The Sail, which is the size of nearly six four-room HDB flats.

‘You either like or don’t like it,’ he said of his property buy. ‘The deal was closed in two hours. Even my wife didn’t look at it.’

It comes with a lap pool, a private terrace, four bedrooms and sweeping views of the Marina Bay area.

Designed by architect Peter Pran, The Sail will be the tallest residential development in Singapore when completed this year. Its other tower has 70 storeys.

‘I have a lot of global guests…I want to show them the best of Singapore and this flat allows me to do that,’ said Dr Modi, who became a permanent resident here on Aug 15, India’s Independence Day.

He has just relocated the global headquarters of the Mumbai-based Spice Corp here.

When renovation work at his penthouse is completed by the start of next year, he will move from his current base in Beverly Hills in the United States to Singapore.

Over there, Dr Modi has an 8,000 sq ft house with five bedrooms and a pool.

‘There, I had my family with me. Here, my son wants to live separately,’ he said.

His son Dilip, 32, is the group president for global operations at Spice Corp. One of his daughters Divya, 26, is its global director of finance.

His son will set up home at one of his two older properties here - a $12.5 million unit at The Claymore, bought six years ago, and a $10.5 million Ardmore Park unit bought in 2006.

Dr Modi has a fourth personal property in Singapore, a $10.5 million penthouse of around 5,000 sq ft in Sentosa Cove. He will use the unit, ‘right by the sea’, as a weekend home to get away from the madding crowd, ‘to read and to meditate’.

All the four homes were bought in his personal capacity.

He has three other company-owned properties in Singapore: an office property and two small residential properties in East Coast used as company guesthouses.

Dr Modi said he will create an ‘environment’ in The Sail penthouse that is similar to that of his Beverly Hills house.

That means turning The Sail penthouse into a swish ‘24/7′ entertainment zone.

‘I like to be with people all the time,’ said the man who led the world’s largest delegation of spiritual leaders to The Millennium World Peace Summit held at the United Nations General Assembly, and who is also president of the Maha Bodhi Society of India, an organisation aimed at reviving Buddhism in India.

Dr Modi, a Buddhist, has reportedly demanded Indian citizenship for the Dalai Lama. He has a film-making firm called Buddha Films.

He has also announced his plans to help revive the shopping and entertainment scene here.

During Spice Corp’s opening here in the middle of last month, he said his group will invest US$200 million in a 24-hour entertainment and shopping complex, as well as a cellphone software development centre here.

His purchase of The Sail has netted the seller, Dr Sudhir Gupta, $6.6 million.

Dr Gupta, 50, is the New Delhi-born, Moscow-educated Singaporean businessman who made headlines when he bought the same unit in late 2005 for $8.8 million or $1,508 psf - then above the condo’s average price of $1,080 psf.

Dr Gupta, who became a Singaporean in 1997, had also bought 21 other units at The Sail for an average price of $1,150 psf around that time.

He was born into a middle-class family in New Delhi but went on to start a tyre company in Moscow. He later acquired a Dutch tyre-maker and listed the merged entity in London in 2005.

Dr Modi, on the other hand, is the son of Mr Gujar Mal Modi, who founded one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates, the Modi Group.

Dr Modi parted ways with his family in the early 1980s and, with the money from the split, started a series of joint ventures with global corporations, the first with Xerox.

‘He is from Delhi city so he knows us for a long time,’ said Dr Modi of Dr Gupta. Still, he bought his penthouse through a broker.

‘I never use my personal relationship. He didn’t know I bought it until later.’

Market watchers say the $15.463 million price tag is high given today’s weak property market.

‘This penthouse is unique as it’s on a whole floor, offering a 360-degree view and on a very high 63rd floor,’ said Knight Frank’s director of research and consultancy, Mr Nicholas Mak, explaining its high price.

‘But such transactions are rare and getting more so these days because the market has turned more cautious.’

There are many potential landlords at The Sail but few takers for now, market watchers said. Apart from possibly high asking rents, there is also construction work going on near the development.

Dr Modi now has 13 properties all over the world. Apart from the four here, the rest are in Bangalore, Beijing, Beverly Hills, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, London, New Delhi, New York and Shenzhen.

On his latest buy here, he said: ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is a location I like very much…It’s not something I bought to sell. I never sell my houses.’

360-degree view

‘I have a lot of global guests… I want to show them the best of Singapore and this flat allows me to do that.’ - DR BHUPENDRA KUMAR MODI, global chairman and founder of Indian conglomerate Spice Corp

Marina Bay Suites may be delayed

Source : Today - 19 Aug 2008

Maintaining target price of $3000 psf, project may only launch in 2012

IF THE market for luxury homes fails to pick up, the launch of Marina Bay Suites may be held off until 2012 when the project is completed, Mr Wilson Kwong, the general manager of Raffles Quay Asset Management said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao yesterday.

Marina Bay Suites was scheduled for launch during Chinese New Year this year but the date has since been put off indefinitely amid softening property market sentiment in the wake of the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis that has sent markets plunging worldwide.

Marina Bay Suites, located near One Raffles Quay, will feature 218 three- and four-bedroom apartments, and three penthouse units.

The project, which is part of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, is a joint venture between three developers — Cheung Kong/Hutchison Whampoa, Hongkong Land and Keppel Land.

Raffles Quay Asset Management oversees the asset management aspects of the project.

Mr Kwong said it would not be lowering prices in order to boost sales. Maintaining its target price of $3,000 or more per square foot for Marina Bay Suites, it will wait for the most opportune time to launch the project.

At present, it is keeping all options open, and these include launching the development after it is completed.

Mr Nicholas Mak, consultancy and research director of property firm Knight Frank, said: “It is a wise and prudent move. The market is going through a period of uncertainty now, but the chances of the market picking up in the next four years is quite high.”

Mr Kwong said the three joint developers have a robust capital base that will allow them to hold back the launch until market sentiment improves.

“They certainly have the capacity to wait it out and the four years gives them the option of working out the best possible strategy,” Mr Mak said.

Marina Bay Suites’ sister project Marina Bay Residences attracted strong interest when it was launched towards the end of 2006 in the midst of the property market boom, with all units sold within three days.

Although some property analysts expect the luxury segment of the market to fall by as much as 40 per cent from its highs last year, Raffles Quay Asset Management points out that there are only three luxury developments — Marina Bay Suites, Marina Bay Residences and The Sail @ Marina Bay — in the area.

So, compared to Districts 9, 10 and 11, prices will remain relatively firm in the foreseeable future.

Units in the Marina Bay Residences and The Sail achieved prices exceeding $3,000 psf at the peak of the market but have since retreated to around $2,000 psf in recent months.

Subsales carve out bigger slice of home deals

Source : Business Times - 24 Jun 2008

In some popular projects, average subsale prices slipped by up to 5% in the first five months

SUBSALE volumes are down amidst a quieter property market, but a new study by Jones Lang LaSalle shows that in most parts of Singapore, subsales actually rose as a percentage of total private apartment and condo sales in the first five months compared with last year.

Driving the trend have been players who bought properties from developers on deferred payment schemes (DPS) but who are seeking to exit the market as projects near completion.

In some popular projects such as Icon, Marina Bay Residences, 8 @ Mt Sophia, Park Infinia at Wee Nam, The Grange, One Amber and The Sea View, average subsale prices have slipped between one and 5 per cent in the first five months of 2008 (5M 2008 ) compared with levels scaled in H2 2007. However, in some projects, prices are still much higher than H1 2007 levels, the study shows.

Subsales are secondary market transactions involving projects that have yet to receive a Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) and are often used as a gauge of speculative activity.

JLL’s head of research (SE Asia) Chua Yang Liang expects the percentage of subsales to continue to increase till end-2008 before some high-profile projects receive their Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP). Property market watchers are keeping tabs on the potential unwinding of positions by speculators and specuvestors as the scale of such transactions could lead to a much-predicted slide in subsale prices that could ripple through the broader market.

JLL’s study showed that in the prime districts 9, 10 and 11, subsales made up 23 per cent of non-landed private home sales in 5M 2008, up from a 17 per cent share in H1 2007 and an 18 per cent share for the whole of 2007.

In the east coast (districts 15 and 16), the proportion of subsales rose from 8 per cent in H1 2007 to 11 per cent in 5M 2008. In mass-market areas (defined as all districts falling outside prime, central and east coast), the subsale share went up from 9 per cent to 14 per cent over the same period.

However, in the central districts 1 to 4 (which include places like Marina Bay, Harbourfront and Sentosa Cove), the subsale percentage dipped from 35 per cent in H1 2007 to 33 per cent in 5M 2008, although the latest share remains the highest in the four submarkets in JLL’s study.

‘Going by the relatively high subsales proportion in the Central district, this location has a higher probability of future consolidation in subsale prices given that a number of projects in the area are reaching completion,’ Dr Chua says.

Savills Singapore director (marketing and business development) Ku Swee Yong says that agents have a long list of units in high-profile condos available for the subsale market. ‘But asking prices have yet to come down to a level that would be attractive to potential buyers. So we’re not seeing that many subsale transactions,’ he says.

Mr Ku says that things may not be so bad. ‘Some of them bought their units a few years ago from developers at pretty low prices, so they should be able to get bank loans when the project gets TOP and the DPS runs out. Others bought their units in the subsale market and the developers would not have extended DPS to them; so they’ve already got their housing loans in place. For these owners, it’s more the fear of prices falling that may drive them to put their units on the market.’

JLL’s Dr Chua argues that the rising proportion of subsales this year is ‘not a bad phenomenon as it may suggest a transfer of ownership from speculators to potentially long-term occupiers or investors with stronger investment stamina’.

‘The danger for the market lies with short-term speculators who decide to hold back in anticipation of a higher gain but only to be caught up by insufficient investment breath. This could result in a later surge in fire sales by these speculators, or in their returning units back to developers, who in turn may be hard put to find buyers at a time when sentiment may be weak,’ he argues.

Says Knight Frank executive director (residential) Peter Ow: ‘If I’m not a long-term player and I bought my unit sometime ago when prices were lower than today, it would be more prudent to let go and take some profit first. Property can be very illiquid in a weak market. By the time you want to sell, everybody may also want to do the same thing.’

The level of subsales, and the prices at which such deals are done, is being watched closely by market players as a slew of condos launched earlier and sold on DPS approach their physical completion. The Sail @ Marina Bay (Tower 2) received TOP this month, while Tower 1 is expected to be completed by Q3 2008. The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove is expected to be completed in Q1 2009.

A project usually gets its CSC three to 12 months after obtaining TOP. Hence deals in a project that has obtained TOP but not CSC are still classified as subsales.

Typically, the deferred payment expires when the project gets TOP, which is when buyers have to pay the developer a huge portion of the purchase price. ‘Those who bought on DPS and have not exited the market yet, will have to make a call as to whether to secure a loan or begin to release their holdings back into the market now,’ JLL says.

The government stopped granting DPS approvals in October last year.