cornelia accumulator: Singapore Property News This Week #81

Residential

Changes made to restrictions on redevelopment of en bloc sites

In response to feedback from the industry, there have been changes made to the regulations of the redevelopment of en bloc sites. Currently, foreign developers buying residential en bloc sale sites are given a five-year project completion period (PCP) which starts ?from the date of the issue of a Qualifying Certificate (QC), which foreign developers must obtain from the authorities to buy private residential land in Singapore. Now, for QCs issued on or after July 1, 2012, the PCP will start from the date of the collective sale order. Similarly, for the ABSD, the start date of the five-year period to qualify for the ABSD remission for en bloc sales will start from the date of the collective sale order.

Separately, developers who had rented out the units in the existing development of en bloc sale sites instead of redeveloping them in response to the government?s call in 2008 will be granted a one-time extension of the PCP upon application and without charge.

(Source: Business Times)

CityLife@Tampines units in high demand

The 514-unit CityLife@ Tampines with a luxury hotel- style home concept over three times subscribed at the close of its e-applications period, having received a record 1,800 applications. The most popular units were the dual-key and larger-sized units. The development features? an infinity pool and ?skysuite? and penthouse units. Two-bedroom units range from 753 to 807 sq ft while the penthouses range from 1,356 to 4,370 sq ft.

(Source: Business Times)

Punggol EC site attracts $162.1m top bid

The 99-year leasehold 153,999 sq ft site located at the junction of Punggol Field Walk and Punggol East attracted a total of seven bids with the top bid of $162.1 million or $350.87 psf ppr from Sing Holdings Ltd. Sing Holdings plans to develop six blocks of 17-storey buildings with full condominium facilities on the site with a 461,997 sq ft GFA can yield 435 units. The top bid exceeded the expectations just as the high bids were surprising, since the site is located away from Punggol MRT station and the town centre.

(Source: Business Times)

Prices of resale non-landed private homes hit record average of $1,222 psf in Oct and Nov

This was driven by the increase in resale private home prices in all regions, with prices in the OCR increasing by 4.5% from Q3 to $959 psf, prices in the RCR increasing by 3.3% to $1,224 psf, and prices in the CCR increasing by 2.8% to $1,778 psf. Resale transaction volumes also saw a 6% increase to 2,483 transactions in this period compared to the first two months of Q3.? With the 1% fall of average unit monthly rents to $3.84 psf in the first two months of Q4 from $3.88 psf in Q3 (result of the 2.5% decline in the RCR to $3.91 psf, since rents in other regions remained relatively stable), the overall gross rental yields fell to a six-year low of 3.77% in this period.

Meanwhile, the 1,328 contracts signed for rental of shoebox units reflects the high demand for such units. The year-to-date transaction volume for resale shoebox units currently stands at 198. The average unit monthly rental of shoebox units remained high in Q4 at $6.65 psf, a 0.6% climb from Q3?s $6.61 psf.

The overall COV in the HDB resale market hit $34,000 in October and November, with the $33,000 in October increasing to $35,000 in November, which results in a 1.1% higher overall HDB median resale price of $455,000 compared to Q3 prices. The overall HDB median monthly rents remained at $2,400.

(Source: Business Times)

Commercial

Industrial rents expected to climb

With more investors turning to the industrial property market after the introduction of the ABSD, prices of industrial properties have increased by 27% this year. Residential property developers are also moving into the industrial property market. The increasing shop rents have also led store owners to shift their retail operations to light industrial parks. While the increase in industrial property prices have yet to affect the rents in such properties, with a 6% increase this year, this may change when leases are renegotiated. Businesses may also choose to buy industrial properties instead of merely renting, driving up prices as a result of higher demand.

(Source: Business Times)

Muis sells four 199-year properties

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) are selling four properties on 199-year leases by public tender. These include two intermediate terrace houses located along Duku Road with an approximate land area of 2,000 sq ft and inter-terrace conserved shophouses located at Rowell Road and Upper Weld Road. The two shophouses have an approximate land area and an approximate built up area of 1,100 sq ft and 2,100 sq ft respectively. They are zoned for commercial use within the Little India conservation area. The 199-year lease promises more investment returns for the owner and has a potentially 15% higher value than that of a 99-year leasehold property.

(Source: Business Times)

URA launches F&B site in Punggol

URA has launched a commercial site zoned specifically for food and beverage (F&B) use at Punggol Point for public tender. The 11,606.6 sq m site will be sold with a lease term of 15 years. There is also a height restriction of two storeys for the site. It will have a maximum permissible GFA of 3,000 sq m including outdoor refreshment area. It is likely to attract both F&B operators and developers with a top bid of $35-40 million.

(Source: Business Times)

Novena white site attracts record high bid of $492.5m

The 0.66-hectare white site located at the junction of Thomson Road and Irrawaddy Road which has a 301,852 sq ft GFA attracted a top bid of $492.5 million or $1,631.59 psf ppr, beating out eight other bidders.? It was a joint-bid from Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd, Sunway Developments Pte Ltd and Hoi Hup JV Development Pte Ltd. The high bid is attributed to the high selling prices of some strata retail and office space. The site can be put to commercial, residential or hotel use though a minimum 30 per cent of the GFA must be set aside for hotel use. The interest for the site is expected, since it is near Novena MRT station and several medical centres such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Novena Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and existing commercial developments, such as Velocity @ Novena Square. The developer plans to build a 3.5 to 4-star hotel with the remaining 70% of the GFA for commercial facilities and medical suites. While the commercial space is expected to be largely medical suites, the ground floor and a linkway between Novena MRT and the basement will likely be taken up by shops.

(Source: Business Times)

Defu Industrial Estate to be transformed modern industrial park

This will be done over the next 15-20 years with existing factories being replaced by modern complexes. There will be six-storey buildings in the new Defu Industrial Park, which will include the Defu City Centre and the Defu Industrial City. The Defu Industrial City and Bedok Food City will be built to facilitate the relocation of the existing factories in Defu Industrial Estate, with factories in the food industry being relocated to Bedok Food City and factories in general industries relocated to Defu Industrial City, a 13-hectare site next to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway. There are currently 1,046 factories in the estate, of which 219 factories (87 land-based factories on 30-year leases and 42 land-based factories and 90 terrace workshops on fixed-term tenancies) will be involved in the first phase of the redevelopment which will comprises three phases. Once the Defu Industrial City is completed in 2017, the new Defu City Centre will be developed next to it. The Defu City Centre will house food-and-beverage outlets, convenience stores, medical clinics and childcare centres.

The new industrial park will have a five-time increase in the total amount of factory floor space to 2.1 million sq m of industrial space. It will consist of three key zones, with the northern and central zones for strategic industries such as logistics, precision engineering, infocommunications and media, electronics, clean energy and biomedical and the southern zone for modern industrial complexes to house existing industrialists.

While some welcome the redevelopments, others worry about the oversupply of industrial factory units in the area, or the potential increase in rents.

(Source: Business Times)

RB Capital buys 16 The Quayside retail units at $69m

The 16 ground-floor riverfronting retail units which comprises The Quayside?s retail podium were bought at $69 million or $2,110 psf based on the 33,000 sq ft total leaseable area. The units are part of a mixed development The Quayside located in the Robertson Quay area which also includes 79 apartments. The fully leased units generates an average monthly rent of about $6 psf or a net yield of 3%, half the current signing rents of similar units. Retail units have 80 carpark lots in the basement while residents are entitled to separate carparking facilities on the second and third levels.

(Source: Business Times)

The Index at Robinson Rd now SBF Center

With the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) becoming a major occupier at the 99-year mixed development, The Index at Robinson Road has been renamed the SBF Center. SBF currently occupies 20,000 sq ft of space at Keppel Towers and will likely take up the same or more at SBF Center, which has a 353, 000 sq ft GFA. The SBF Center, which is expected to be launched in January, will comprise offices, medical suites and food-and-beverage outlets, and has space set aside for civic and community institutional use. There will be 197 offices for sale, with 192 smaller strata units ranging from 592 sq ft to 1,442 sq ft, and five 10,549 sq ft floor plate offices. In addition, there are also 48 medical suites ranging from 614 to 1,345 sq ft up for sale. Prices start from $2,400 psf for the offices and $3,500 psf for the medical suites. Despite the interest shown in its F&B space, the developer is considering not selling.

(Source: Business Times)

Narrowed rental gap between Grade A and B office islandwide to widen next year

With the predicted 13.5% fall in 2012?s average monthly rental of Grade A office space, to $9.51 psf from$11 psf in Q4 last year, and the expected slower rental decline of 2.3% of Grade B office space from $7.34 psf in Q4 2011 to $7.17 psf in Q4 this year, the rental gap had narrowed to a $2.34 psf compared to $3.66 psf last year. The relatively better performance in Grade B office space is due to the expansion of existing tenants, while the poorer performance of Grade A office is attributed to the increased vacancy rates caused by completion of major new developments. However, this is expected to change as Grade A rents is expected to remain flat at an average of $9.50 psf in Q4 2013, while Grade B rents fall by 5-10% to $6.45 psf resulting in a $3.05 psf gap.

(Source: Business Times)

YCH Group building Supply Chain City, a $200m logistics hub in Jurong West

The new facility will include 1.5 million sq ft of warehousing space and 0.5 million sq ft of office space, allowing its customers to integrate their front and back-end operations to maximise efficiency. Despite being smaller than the 7.8ha Tuas premises, the 6.5 ha upcoming YCH premise will have 2.5 times the capacity.? It will also house YCH?s headquarters, research activities, a training academy to promote the sharing of best practices in the logistics industry, as well as amenities such as landscaping, alfresco dining and possibly medical and childcare facilities.

(Source: Business Times)