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The Business Times Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 SINGAPORE - A new record price in terms of per square foot of land area is believed to have been set for a bungalow on Sentosa Cove. According to caveats evidence, a bungalow on Ocean Drive with views of the Pulau Brani container terminal was recently sold for $32.5 million, which works out to $3,214 psf on land area of 10,111 sq ft. This busts the record set in late 2010 for a property just a few doors away that fetched $2,989 psf on land area of 9,436 sq ft, amounting to $28.2 million. In the latest deal, the seller is a seasoned Singaporean bungalow investor, while the buyer is understood to be a Malaysia citizen. Homes on Sentosa Cove have a 99-year leasehold tenure. Some market watchers point out that the property was last transacted in November last year at $24.5 million, which means the seller would be forking out the maximum 16 per cent seller's stamp duty (SSD) payable for the sale of properties invol

The Business Times Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 SINGAPORE - The introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) last December has had its intended effect of shrinking non-permanent resident foreigners' share of total private-home purchases in the first three quarters of this year. Conversely, Singaporeans have seen a 10.6-percentage point jump in their share of the home-buying pie. PRs' share has risen slightly. According to Knight Frank's analysis of URA Realis caveats data, foreigners who were not Singapore PRs accounted for just 6.2 per cent of the 23,312 caveats lodged for private homes excluding executive condos in the first nine months - down from their 17.5 per cent share in full-year 2011. In 2010, they accounted for 11.9 per cent of home purchases. PRs' share has risen slightly in Jan-Sept this year to 15.6 per cent from 13.4 per cent in 2011 and 13.1 per cent in 2010. PRs pay 3 per cent ABSD when buying their second and subsequent

The Business Times Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 SINGAPORE - The number of private homes in Singapore bought by Chinese citizens in the first nine months of this year has fallen to half the figure for the same period last year. Malaysians and Indonesians - the other two major groups of foreign home buyers - have seen smaller declines. Knight Frank's analysis, based on URA Realis caveats data on Oct 19, shows that, in all, Chinese citizens picked up 1,066 private homes in Singapore in the first nine months of 2012, down 48 per cent from 2,046 units in the same period last year. Along with the smaller Chinese contingent in the Singapore property market, their buying patterns have also changed. "Chinese buyers used to be more active in the prime districts 9, 10 and 11 prior to the introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) - with 17 per cent of the total number of homes picked up by China buyers (comprising both Singapore permanent residents and

SINGAPORE: The recent property cooling measures introduced in Hong Kong will not have an impact on Singapore property prices. Experts said foreign property investors are unlikely to switch their portfolio from Hong Kong to Singapore. Besides being leading international financial centres, both Singapore and Hong Kong hold some of the world's most expensive homes. Hong Kong tops the list, according to research from real estate agency Savills, while Singapore -- the fourth most expensive in the world -- continue to see private home prices soaring to new highs. Both cities have introduced a series of cooling measures to dampen prices. Hong Kong introduced its third set of measures in two months last Friday, requiring foreign buyers to pay 15 per cent tax. This is more than Singapore's Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty of 10 per cent - introduced in December 2011. Analysts said the move will unlikely cause foreign investors to move to Singapore and boost its

WASHINGTON: The United States will hit its statutory borrowing limit near the end of 2012, just as a new Congress gears up to battle the country's huge debt burden and fiscal deficits. The country's current debt is around US$16.2 trillion, and continued borrowing needs to finance the budget shortfall will send the government past the fixed US$16.39 trillion sometime in the final days of the year. The limit will be struck between the November 6 presidential and congressional elections and the time when the new Congress is sworn in in early January. If Republican Mitt Romney defeats President Barack Obama in the White House race, it would also come while Obama serves as a lame duck president before his successor takes office on January 20. That raises the prospect of a possible political battle spanning both the old, outgoing Congress and a possibly reshaped new legislature, over how to finance the deficit, which hit US$1.1 trillion in the fiscal year that jus

This 6-BR good class bungalow is up for sale for a cool $30M. Click on images to enlarge. Location:  Old Holland Road (D10) Land Area:  20350 sqft / 1890 sqm Built-Up Area:  14750 sqft / 1370 sqm Bedrooms :  6 Beds 9 Baths Price:  $30M (negotiable) Key features Located in exclusive District 10, Brizay Park area. Quiet area with lots of greenery yet 5 minutes walk to main road and facilities eg supermarkets, restaurants/food outlets. Also near prestigious schools (within 5 mins drive)  - MGS, Henry Park, RGPS, Chinese High School, Nanyang High School, National Junior College, Hwa Chong Junior College and international schools such as Swiss School, Dutch School, German School. Within 10 mins drive - United World College, International Preparatory School, Anglo Chinese School (Independent), ACJC etc. Land is 20,350 square feet with about 14,750 square feet built-up.  Californian Style house. It is great for entertainment. It is in move-in condition. The fit

The acquisition is worth S$163 million. LVND Development Pte Ltd has exercised an option to purchase Hotel Windsor located at 401 MacPherson Road Singapore 368125. Hotel Windsor has 225 hotel rooms with an accompanying commercial retail podium block. It was completed in 1980s and upgraded in 2007. The property sits on a freehold site with an estimated land area of 54,418 sq ft. LVND Development together with joint venture partners and consultants are evaluating possible development options. Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C Senior Sales Director Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G) | www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com | | www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com | www.newagents.sg |

04:45 AM Oct 31, 2012 SINGAPORE - Heron Bay, the deluxe Executive Condominium located at Upper Serangoon View, opened for sale over the weekend and some 90 per cent of the units have been snapped up. The project by Serangoon EC, a joint venture company between CNH Investment, Evia Real Estate Management, Ho Lee Group and See Hup Seng, received more than four times the number of e-applicants for its 394 units. Units in the project - which is expected to obtain a temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 2016 - sold for an average selling price of S$725 per square foot. Mr Leslie Lim, Managing Partner of EVIA Real Estate Management, attributed Heron Bay's popularity to its product differentiation, saying it added "luxury touches" to mass housing. The development has roomy five-bedroom units and features such as ensuite private pool-cum-jacuzzis or gardens and fish ponds for ground-floor units and complimentary fibre broadband service for the first year of

The 0.6% rise drags a lot of disadvantages. According to CIMB, physical completions in the pipeline rose, while completion estimates for 2013 were raised yet again. We see policy risk and rising vacancy rates as negatives for 2013. Here's more from CIMB: Private residential prices in 3Q12 inched up 0.6% qoq. Resale prices inched up, along with HDB’s median COVs. Vacancy rates increased to 6.1% from 5.9% last quarter, on the back of more physical completions. Pipeline supply continued to increase, with physical completion estimated for 2013 raised by >2000 units. Resale volumes saw a slight dip from last quarter. Rental index was up 0.9% qoq (2Q12: 0.2%). CCR saw the smallest increase. Rents in CCR weakened as projects entered the rental market. 3Q’s elevated home prices and strong sales volumes point towards a resilient physical market. We do not expect this to change in the near term while interest rates remain low. Upgraders’ demand for mass mar

There were 14,029 recorded leases. According to Savills, leasing volume reached a historical high of 14,029 leases in Q3. This has beaten the previous record of 13,028 leases inked in Q3/2011 by 8%. There were 37,668 leases inked in the first three quarters of this year. Being about 7,400 leases short of last year’s full-year record of 45,062, 2012 is poised to reach another historical high. Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C Senior Sales Director Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G) | www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com | | www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com | www.newagents.sg |

40%+ annual growth needs some curbing. The BBVA comment came as the Singapore government revealed that the price of factory space has rocketed 10% on a quarter-on-quarter basis in Q3. Investors are rushing into commercial property as the government clamps down on residential sales, with industrial property prices particularly spiking and on course for growth of more than 40% this year. This upward trend "could prompt similar curbs by the government to cool prices. It comes at a time when manufacturing output is weakening – it shrank 2.5% in September," said BBVA. Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C Senior Sales Director Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G) | www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com | | www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com | www.newagents.sg |

Thanks to impressive development projects. According to a release, CapitaLand Limited achieved 85.1% year-on-year increase in net profit to S$148.5 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2012. Group revenue grew 12.9% to S$686.9 million, driven by higher revenue recognised from development projects in Singapore, China and Australia as well as strong contribution from the Group’s shopping mall and fee-based income businesses. Revenue from the Group’s Singapore development projects increased 7.0% to S$220.1 million, mainly from The Interlace and Urban Resort Condominium. Revenue from China accounted for S$67.9 million, up 67% from the same period last year, with revenue contribution from the sale of Ascott Guangzhou, Metropolis, Riverside Ville and Beau Residences. Sales from development projects were also higher in Australia this quarter. This year, revenue from the shopping mall business has been on the rise, due mainly to the acquisition of four malls in Ja

Your guess is as good as ours. According to Savills, with the latest Ministry of Manpower statistics showing that Employment Pass holders having declined by 700 between Dec-2011 and June-2012, the 8.2% rise in lease transactions for the first 3 quarters of this year to 37,668, must appear puzzling. There are some reasons behind this. One is that the statistics are gross numbers, capturing both new leases and renewals. Also, the statistics also capture leases that broke before their due date and were subsequently re-let by the landlord. Given that a standard tenancy agreement is for two years, we have to revisit 2010 to find the size of the market. For that year, there was a net increase of 29,000 Employment Passes over 2009. If all these renewed in 2 years, it forms a strong base for 2012. Increasingly, there are tenants, particularly those renewal cases, taking up short term leases less than the standard 2-year tenure. These could be as short as a few months. The r

Another 10,070 units are expected to be added soon. The Urban Redevelopment Authority reported: As at the end of 3rd Quarter 2012, there was a total supply of 83,975 uncompleted private residential units from projects in the pipeline, higher than the 83,251 units in 2nd Quarter 2012. Of the supply in the pipeline, 36,606 units remained unsold as at 3rd Quarter 2012. There was an additional supply of 9,824 EC units in the pipeline. In total, the pipeline supply of 93,799 units, including ECs, was the highest ever recorded since such data were first available in 2001. In addition, another 10,070 units are expected to be added to the pipeline supply soon. These units are from Government Land Sales sites that had been awarded to developers, but for which planning approvals had not been obtained yet as at 3rd Quarter 2012, as well as from Confirmed List sites from the 2H2012 GLS Programme that have not been awarded yet. If these units are included, there will be clos

Non-landed rents at S$3.74 psf pm surpassed previous record. Savills Research reported: Median rents reached historical highs (since 2000) for both landed ($2.79 psf pm) and non-land homes ($3.67 psf pm) in Q3. Non-landed rents continued to inch higher in September to S$3.74 psf pm, surpassing last’s month historical high of S$3.67 psf pm. Landed rents however fell m-o-m in September by 7% to S$2.66 psf pm. Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C Senior Sales Director Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G) | www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com | | www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com | www.newagents.sg |

And profit rose an impressive 22.9%. According to OCBC, 9M12 DPU grew 23.1% YoY, representing the highest rate of growth in the REIT’s nine-year history. The results are in line with our expectations, with 9M12 DPU of 23.98 HK cents forming 74% of FY12 DPU estimate. Here's more from OCBC: 3Q12 revenue climbed by 22.6% YoY to HK$284.7m and NPI rose 22.9% YoY to HK$199.3m. 9M12 revenue increased by 21.1% to HK$822.1m. The 20.7% increase in 9M12 NPI to HK$581.4m can be broken down into an 11.6% increase from the two new properties acquired in mid-Feb and a 9.1% increase from the original portfolio due to strong reversion and AEI. Despite AEI at Fortune City One and Jubilee Square, portfolio occupancy only declined slightly from 96.5% as of 30 Jun to 96.1% as of 30 Sep. The average rental reversion clocked was impressive at 20.1%, among the highest level in years. The fraction of tenant’s trade mix attributable to non-discretionary retail sector remains constant a

Because it hit lower RevPAR. According to Maybank Kim Eng, 3Q12 revenue at SGD36.1m (-1% QoQ, -1% YoY), was 24% of ours and consensus estimate. 9M12 revenue at SGD111.2m (+8% YoY), was 74% of ours but only 68% of consensus estimate. Here's more from Maybank Kim Eng: Management attribute this to slightly lower RevPAR (SGD209 in 3Q12, -4% QoQ, -1% YoY) achieved by the Singapore Hotels, as a result of the weaker macroeconomic environment impacting Singapore’s economy and hospitality sector. 3Q12 DPU at 2.72 SG-cts (-7% QoQ, -2% YoY) was 23% of ours and consensus estimates. 9M12 DPU at 8.42 SGcts (+4% YoY) was 72% of ours and 68% of consensus estimates Singapore 3Q12 hotel occupancy (excluding Studio M Hotel) at 88.6% was down 1.1ppt QoQ and 0.9ppt YoY. Average Room Rate (ARR) at SGD236 was down 2.5% QoQ and flat YoY. The corporate market, in particular the meetings and conference business, was affected by the economic malaise, leading to the relatively flat per