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The Straits Times  | MAY 4, 2013 Major condo projects, upcoming MRT station will transform area ABUNDANT nature reserves and water catchment areas have made the Upper Thomson district better known for greenery than as a residential hot spot, but that is set to change. The area's transformation is coming on two fronts - major condominium projects that are taking shape and the upcoming Upper Thomson MRT station. This station, located near Thomson Plaza, is part of the $18 billion Thomson Line, which is slated for completion in 2019. The Upper Thomson district consists mainly of landed housing, with clusters of condos and apartments around Bright Hill Drive and Sin Ming estate. There are few options for home buyers but the low housing supply augurs well for owners, said Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore research director Ong Teck Hui. He expects demand to pick up once the area becomes more accessible, saying: "The stretch from Long House to Thomson Plaza, wit

The Straits Times  | MAY 7, 2013 They will boost recurring income stream and provide higher yield than mall: UOL THE former Furniture Mall at Beach Road has been turned into 180 serviced residences by owner UOL Group at a construction cost of $65 million. The 20-storey Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Beach Road, which opens today, will boost recurring income stream and provide a higher yield than the mall, UOL Group president of property Liam Wee Sin told The Straits Times. Noting that Furniture Mall yields were below 4 per cent, Mr Liam added that serviced residences, which typically have more stable occupancy rates than hotels, were also cheaper to operate than hotels. He said UOL had considered turning the site into additional hotel rooms or a budget hotel but eventually chose serviced apartments because the serviced residence market here was still unsaturated. An OCBC Investment Research report last December estimated that serviced residences account for about 9

The Business Times  | MAY 10, 2013 ERA brand said to be on market with $150m price tag [SINGAPORE] Harry Chua, a key figure in Singapore's real estate agency industry, is looking to sell his baby - ERA Realty Network - for about $150 million. Mr Chua's Hersing Corporation is understood to have put the group's master franchise rights to the ERA brand on the market. Hersing's rights to the US brand covers Asia-Pacific and are perpetual renewal rights, renewable every 30 years. ERA has about 9,000 agents across the Asia-Pacific in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia and China. Most are located in Singapore, where ERA has 5,103 agents, according to data from the Council for Estate Agencies. The agency is currently led by Richard Tynes, who took over as chief executive officer in January this year. Running the show previously was Jack Chua, who has been with Hersing for over 20 years and is widely regarded as a key

The Business Times  | M AY 11, 2013 Non-landed home resales plunge 53.9% year-on-year in April; last month also sees 0.4% drop in prices from March RESALE volumes of private homes have continued their downward trajectory, even as prices island-wide continued to soften. A total of 572 resale non-landed homes changed hands last month, going by flash figures released by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange yesterday. While comparable to March's 614 units sold, this is a 53.9 per cent drop from the 1,240 transactions recorded in April last year. DTZ's head of Singapore research Lee Lay Keng suggested that the fall in demand could have come from a mismatch in the expectations of buyers and sellers. "Singaporeans who already own two or more properties will now have to pay an an additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) of 7 per cent or 10 per cent if they were to purchase another property after selling their secondary properties. "As the replacement cos

The Business Times  | M AY 11, 2013 IP Global's Tim Murphy says although the market has gone up a lot, there is also more affordability - which bodes well for the next 10 years REAL estate will continue to be rewarding over a 10-year horizon, even in Singapore and Hong Kong where cooling measures are expected to induce a lull over the next couple of years. Tim Murphy, chief executive of real estate firm IP Global, says Kuala Lumpur is among the most attractive real estate markets at the moment. There are also selected opportunities in London and New York even though both markets have appreciated considerably over the last year or two. "Asians love real estate just like the British. If they can invest, they will. In the last 10 to 15 years, although the market has gone up a lot, there is also more affordability . . . "In the developed markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, you have two types of buyers: the newly wealthy make money on prope

The Straits Times  | M AY 11, 2013 Prices, transaction volumes down as buyers favour new properties THE recent cooling measures continue to inflict pain on the resale private home market with prices down and transaction volumes hammered last month. Analysts say the tough steps imposed in January are prompting buyers to turn their backs on resale units and look to new properties where discounts are being dangled. The effect has been a slow-motion price slump. They dipped 0.4 per cent last month from levels in March, which in turn were down 2 per cent from February's values. The plunge in transaction volumes has been far more dramatic. Only 572 resales were recorded in April, down 54 per cent from the 1,240 in the same month last year. It was also fewer than the 614 units resold in March this year. Around half of April's resales were in suburban regions, the Singapore Real Estate Exchange said yesterday. Transactions were not concentrated in any

The Straits Times  | M AY 11, 2013 Projects in the two areas are 'most searched for' on STProperty website GOING by recent searches on the STProperty website, the Pasir Ris and Punggol areas are attracting the most interest from potential home buyers. The most searched project on the site in the week ended May 5, based on page views, was the Waterbay executive condominium (EC) in Punggol, which was launched last October. Ripple Bay condominium in Pasir Ris was next, followed by Bartley Residences, next to Bartley MRT Station. Knight Frank consultancy and research head Alice Tan said rising private home prices, especially for mass market units, are prompting home buyers to look at ECs as an affordable alternative. Waterbay is the only EC in the top 10 so its popularity could be linked to growing interest in the Punggol area. "Waterbay EC could be attractive to budget-conscious home buyers, for its lower price points and location attributes with

To take advantage of the private housing market rebound in March, developers are launching a slew of new projects set to come on to the market this month. Launches include The Siena, Ferra, Hallmark Residences, The Flow@East Coast, Cluny Park Residence, KAP & KAP Residences, Whitehaven@Pasir Panjang and Midtown & Midtown Residences (pictured). Located at the former GRTH building site at 66 East Coast Road, the Flow@East Coast comprises 56 commercial units including clinics, shops, a food court and restaurant. The freehold commercial site was acquired by Oxley Holdings for S$76.1 million or S$1,298 psf ppr, inclusive of development charges. Hallmark Residences is located at 21 Ewe Boon Road on the site of the former Nob Hill Condominium and two adjacent bungalows which were purchased by MCL Land for S$95 million or S$1,100 psf. Over at the former Westvale condominium site in Pasir Panjang, Roxy-Pacific is developing Whitehaven@Pasir