AsianPrime Properties | Your Finest Property Experience

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 [SINGAPORE] Residents in the northern region of Singapore can expect the announcement of the upcoming Thomson MRT Line to boost property prices almost immediately, say consultants, although they differ on the extent of the rise. Savills research head, Alan Cheong expects residents living in the Springleaf, Seletar, and Lentor area to see the most benefit from the Thomson Line given that they are currently underserved by the public transport system. "Homes in the Springleaf/Springside area will see prices rise by 10 per cent at least. Prices will move, starting now; we do not have to wait until the line is completed before prices go up. They will usually move for a few months and then stabilise," said Mr Cheong. Broadly speaking, consultants BT spoke with expect home prices to spike closer to the completion of the line. According to HSR's senior manager for investment sales, Gabriel Goh, properties near the planned MRT stat

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 FAST cars, sleek yachts and luxury apartments are fairly typical wish-list items for anyone in search of the good life, and owning one or more of these big-ticket status symbols is likely to be a source of some satisfaction. For Ong Chih Ching, however, it's a little different: for her, it's just another day at the office. As the CEO of high-end real estate development and lifestyle group KOP - which she co-founded in 2006 with business partner Leny Suparman, who heads KOP's property arm - Ong, 43, has played a significant role in helping to redefine the type of luxury home that people of means might want to live in, whether it's a highrise apartment building with drive-in "sky garages" (Hamilton Scotts), a family-style getaway (Montigo Resorts in Batam), recently introduced as an option in the affordable luxury category, or posh digs in District 9 attached to a recognisable brand name (Ritz-Carlton Residences). KOP is

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 A STATE tender for a 30-year leasehold industrial site at Yishun Avenue 9 has attracted a higher-than-expected top bid of $51.388 million, or $95.13 per square foot per plot ratio, (psf ppr) from Soon Hock Tuas Development. This was 12.7 per cent above the second highest offer of $84.41 psf ppr by a partnership between Capital Development and ZACD Investments. In third position was Soilbuild Group Holdings, which priced the site at $71.06 psf ppr. In all, the Urban Redevelopment Authority tender yesterday drew eight bids. The 2-hectare plot (parcel 5) is across the road from a 1.2-hectare site (parcel 6) - also on 30-year tenure - that was recently triggered for launch from the government's reserve list, with an undertaking from the successful applicant to bid at least $14.2 million (or $45.03 psf ppr). Both sites are zoned for Business 1 use, with a 2.5 plot ratio (ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area) and can be strata subdi

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 [SINGAPORE] Consultants peg the market value of the strata-titled Pearls Centre in Chinatown between $450 million and $600 million. One consultant suggested that the government compensation may fall within this range, or 5 to 10 per cent either side of the valuation. According to Dennis Chiu, managing director of the Tang Group of Companies, talk of launching the property onto the collective sale market was floated about three months ago, and a sales committee was formed recently. Discussions were at a preliminary stage, and the committee was supposed to select a valuer yesterday, said Mr Chiu, whose family controls the Far East Consortium International Limited group in Hong Kong. Tang Group, which is developing Dorsett Regency Hotel and Dorsett Residence near Chinatown, owns about 47 per cent of Pearls Centre, which spans some 47,000 sqm (about 505,903.3 sq ft). Of this, about 17 per cent is office space, 43 per cent is shopping space,

Straits Times: Fri, Aug 31 HONG KONG - A controversial proposal to bar foreigners from buying some private-sector homes in Hong Kong, the world's freest economy, is going ahead, with the government in the process of hammering out the details. Together with 150,000 housing units that will enter the market over the next five years, the measure is likely to stabilise soaring housing prices in Hong Kong - which last week saw Asia's most expensive apartment sold for HK$470 million (S$76 million). The city built 18,000 flats last year. Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying, whose popularity is at a low as his rivals snipe that he has not fulfilled his promise to alleviate the housing shortage since taking office two months ago, yesterday made the announcement himself. Flanked by his housing and development secretaries, Mr Leung said that runaway housing prices in Hong Kong have far outstripped income growth. "The problem is acute," he said at the briefing. &

Straits Times: Fri, Aug 31 PRICES of homes near the newly announced Thomson Line MRT stations are set to get a lift, especially as completion draws closer. However, as Singapore grows increasingly connected, the boost to prices may be more muted than for earlier MRT lines, experts say. They say residential projects within a 500m radius of stations will benefit. But prices are not expected to rise immediately as the line is due to be fully ready only in 2021. Certain homes badly hit by construction works might also see a temporary dip in prices of between 5 to 15 per cent, some experts say. Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International's director of Research and Advisory, said homes close to the new stations could enjoy a premium of about 10 to 30 per cent, depending on how close they are, and market conditions. "The MRT station effect on prices is expected to be more significant for homes located further away from town, in areas where... public transport

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 SAIZEN Real Estate Investment Trust has divested its property Rise Kojo Horibata in Kumamoto, Japan for 86.0 million yen (S$1.4 million). The Reit, through Yugen Kaisha Shinzan, entered into and completed the sale and purchase agreement with an independent private investor yesterday. A valuation by Le Futur Corporation on June 30, 2012, pegged the property's value at 73.3 million yen using the direct capitalisation and discounted cash flow analysis method. The sale consideration reflects a 17.3 per cent premium over the valuation. Built in March 2004, Rise Kojo Horibata houses 12 residential units and six car parking units. The group does not expect the sale to have any material impact on its financial position. The property contributed about 0.2 per cent of Saizen Reit's unaudited annual revenue for the financial year ended June 30, 2012. Manager of Saizen Reit, Japan Residential Assets Manager Ltd, says the divestment offers &

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 SINGAPORE is thirsty for water, but not to drink. Whether they live in housing board flats, luxurious condominiums or landed properties, home owners are now even keener than before to splash out on anything from potted water features and ponds to lap and dipping pools. Architects and interior designers that BT spoke to say that the popularity of water features and pools is rising as Singaporeans, having holidayed in resorts overseas, decide they like the calming effects of water so much they want to incorporate it in their homes. Said Eugene Ooi, founder of interior architectural design firm Vantage Design: "Singaporeans these days are becoming even more well-travelled than before, oftentimes paying top dollar to stay in 5-star resorts where water features are almost guaranteed. "And when they do up their homes, they instantly recollect the relaxing, feel-good feeling of those visits and try to bring back a little of the magic to

Business Times: Fri, Aug 31 THE next round of quantitative easing (QE) appears closer than ever - and this time China may welcome it. When the US Federal Reserve first embarked on the strategy two years ago to kickstart growth, it unleashed a cascade of hot money that created an asset bubble in China. QE was seen as bad news as the Chinese government fought to deflate the bubble. Now QE3 - the next round of monetary stimulus - seems to be on its way, and Chicago Federal Reserve Bank president Charles Evans can expect a more receptive audience in Beijing. He spent the last week in China touting the merits of QE3 to Chinese officials, and it's obvious things have changed on the ground. Mr Evans spoke to BT against the backdrop of talk that the benefits of QE3 to China outweigh its shortcomings. Earlier this week, Peng Wensheng, chief economist at China International Capital Corporation, the country's top investment bank, argued in a report that the overall i

Business Times: Thu, Aug 30 [SINGAPORE] As property investors turn their attention to the industrial segment following the introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty late last year, they would do well to note the differences between investing in industrial property and residential property. Several potential buyers may have misunderstood the pricing at some new industrial property launches, BT has learnt. Said one such buyer, Giri Agarwal: "The price that was advertised was $750 per square foot (psf) for a freehold property. I found that attractive and made a deal by giving a cheque to the agent. However, when I went into greater detail about the property that I intended to purchase and the exact size of the unit, the agents turned evasive and tried to avoid my questions. "This triggered in me a desire to dig further and I discovered that the area they (the developer) intended to charge me for was twice the size of the actual unit. So, for instanc

Business Times: Thu, Aug 30 CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) and an unlisted sister company in the privately held Hong Leong Group are understood to have inked a deal to sell their nearly 500,000 sq ft freehold tract of industrial land in Kranji for $240 million. The buyers are believed to be linked to property development group BS Capital. A market watcher said it was rare to find such a large freehold industrial site on the island. The land, along Jalan Lam Huat, off Kranji Road, is near SMRT's Kranji depot and across a canal from Kranji Industrial Estate in the Sungei Kadut location. The property is currently used as an open-yard storage area under a lease which is expected to run out in a year. The new owners are expected to redevelop the site - most likely into strata industrial facilities, and possibly some landed factories. The site is zoned for Business 2, which means it can be used for a range of uses, such as light industry, general industry, warehous

Straits Times: Thu, Aug 30 TENANTS living in colonial-era "black and white" houses can no longer lease them indefinitely, under new rules introduced by the Government. The aim is to prevent existing occupants from hogging the spacious, highly sought-after homes and give more people the chance to experience a slice of history. Under the fresh rules, tenants can rent black and white landed property from the state for up to nine years. After that, they have to reapply for it. While some new occupants said the change was fair, others who have made the mock Tudor-style properties their permanent homes are upset at the prospect of having to move out. Commercial pilot Srihari Vaidun, 39, who has lived in a house in Seletar for more than two decades, said: "It's a very peaceful and green area with friendly neighbours, and I have never found a reason to leave." Built by the British between the late 19th century and World War II, the government-o

Business Times: Thu, Aug 30 [SINGAPORE] The $18 billion Thomson Line will see its first phase commencing in 2019, one year later than originally expected under the 2008 Land Transport Masterplan. To make way for the line, the government will have to acquire four full lots of land - which will affect Pearls Centre on Eu Tong Sen Street, a post office at Upper Thomson Road and two landed properties along Stevens Road and Robin Close - as well as five other part lots of land. Singapore's sixth MRT line will span a total of 30km, some 3km longer than initially planned, and at 22 stations it will offer four more stations. Starting in the Woodlands North area, the line will pass through industrial estate Sin Ming, then Thomson, Orchard and Marina before ending at the Gardens by the Bay - essentially running through the north-south corridor. "We have decided that the Thomson Line would be a four-car system, instead of a three-car system, to give us additional capaci

Straits Times: Thu, Aug 30 NEWS of the Government's impending acquisition of Pearls Centre yesterday took tenants and residents by surprise. Neither shopowners, residents nor the building's management saw the move coming, with most of them saying they have no choice but to accept it. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it would acquire the centre in Eu Tong Sen Street to build the new Thomson Line. The Chinatown complex will be torn down and a high-density, mixed-use development built in its place. A Thomson Line tunnel will run under part of the building, said the LTA. That new development will be integrated with Outram Park station, an interchange station for the East-West Line, North-East Line and Thomson Line. Pearls Centre's 243 tenants have two years to move out. The Singapore Land Authority said they will be compensated according to the market value of their properties. TCM Chinese Medicines managing director Lim Chin Kiat, 81, said