Private home sales in S’pore this year could be higher than 14,800 units: DTZ

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Sep 2009

Property consultant DTZ said sales of private homes here this year are likely to be higher than the record of 14,800 units sold in 2007.

In a report, DTZ said there was a “frenzied” level of activity seen in the third quarter this year.

That led to a record number of more than 2,700 homes sold in July.

DTZ is forecasting that the record of some 5,100 units sold in the second quarter of 2007 will be surpassed in the current quarter on the back of the strong momentum.

It added that the average private home prices continued on the uptrend in the third quarter this year.

In addition, DTZ said rental values found some stability in the third quarter after four consecutive quarters of decline.

For the rest of the year, DTZ said sales volume in the private residential market is likely to ease due to fewer projects in the pipeline.

Recent measures by the government to cool the market, like the removal of the interest absorption scheme, may dampen sales too.

Lights! Action! Selegie’s the draw

Source : Straits Times – 28 Sep 2009

SINGAPORE’S entertainment strip stretching from Orchard Road to Bugis, home to cinemas and malls with glittering facades, could have a shiny new addition by the end of next year.

An $8 million entertainment space, complete with a 14m-wide LED, or light emitting diode, screen is being planned for Selegie Road, adding to the current media landscape, said Mr Gary Hong, 37, who is heading the project.

Themed as a boutique events hub, the 12-storey facility, which includes an outdoor stage and rooftop garden, will be a venue for musical performances, art exhibitions and sports shows, said Mr Hong, one of four brothers who own the exotic car dealer Autobahn Motors.

The 60m structure will tower above the junction of Short Street and Selegie Road. There is now a three-storey building leased as office retail space on the site.

Dubbed 10 Square – a name derived from its address at 100 Selegie Road – it will leverage on, among other things, being located on the outskirts of Orchard Road, as well as being within walking distance of five MRT stations in the area, said Mr Hong.

‘We felt that this development has three definite strengths – location, location, location,’ he added.

Mr Colin Tan of real estate consultancy Chesterton Suntec International said the facility’s location in the heritage district and near art schools makes it a prime hot spot.

‘There is a greater demand among the cosmopolitan tourist of today for the arts and culture, so this is a niche area to cater to,’ he said.

The new development is near Lasalle College of the Arts and the newly opened Wilkie Edge, which already features its own $3.5-million facade of high- and low-resolution LED display screens.

The rise of these LED-studded facades is in line with the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Lighting Masterplan, which was announced in 2006, targeting the Civic District, Central Business District and Marina Bay areas, and sees the incorporation of light into building designs.

Mr Hong said construction of the project is expected to commence next year.

Professor Rolf Buschmann, director of EnEd Asia, a company offering clean technology solutions for the project, said it is exploring the test bedding of alternative energy features such as solar cooling and heat recovery systems within the building’s design.

But Chesterton Suntec’s Mr Tan cautioned that the long-term sustainability of this burgeoning arts and entertainment quarter will depend, to a large extent, on government support in reaching out to customers.