Recent Collective Sales in Feb 2018

1. City Towers (SGD $401.9M). District 10

The freehold condominium development in District 10 was sold for $401.9M in early Feb 2018. Each unit’s owner was to receive between $2.78M – 11.5M. The project consists of 77 units and sold 13% above reserve price. The rate was $1,847 psf ppr (including a $3.5M development charge). The site has a land area of about 104,531 sq ft (with a plot ratio of 2.1), and can be redeveloped to 24 storeys of 190 new units (average size of 1098 sqft). JAPURA Development, linked to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong empire, is the party that clinched City Towers.

2. Pearl Bank (SGD $728M), Outram Park Vicinity

The iconic Pearl Bank Apartments was recently sold to Capitaland at $728M in mid Feb 2018. The price matches the reserve price of the owners, which translates to $1psf. ,515 psf ppr after factoring a $201.4M premium for a lease top-up to a fresh 99-year lease. The site has a land size of 82,376 sqft of existing plot ratio of 7.45. There are plans to redevelop the site into a 800-unit condo project of total GFA of 613,530 sqft. Break even prices are expected to be $2,000-2,250 psf. The project is located near to the Outram Park MRT interchange and Chinatown, and future units are likely priced to be between $2,400 – $2,600 psf.

3. Brookvale Park (SGD $530M), Sunset Way

Brookvale Park, a 160-unit development in Sunset Way, has been sold to Hoi Hup Sunway, a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments, for $530 million. The sprawling 999-year leasehold land is in a central yet lush setting. The sale price reflects a land rate of about $932 per sq ft per plot ratio, after factoring in an estimated development charge of about $26 million. Each owner would expect to receive gross sales proceeds of between $2.5 million and $4.4 million per unit. The site is a short drive away from Holland Village and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and near reputable tertiary and international education institutions such as Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Social Sciences and Canadian International School.

4. Riviera Point (SGD $72M), River Valley area

Riviera Point in Kim Yam Road was sold to Macly Group, a Singapore property developer in Mid Feb for $72M. Riviera Point’s site area stands at 14,579 sq ft. The use of the land has been zoned as “residential” with a plot ratio of 2.8 and a height control of 36 storeys. The verified existing gross floor area is about 49,265 sq ft, which translates to a plot ratio of 3.379.

5. Cairnhill Mansion (SGD $362M), Cairnhill Road at District 9

The development in Cairnhill Road was sold to Singapore-listed property developer Low Keng Huat for SGD $362M. Cairnhill Mansions, an 18-storey block comprising 61 apartments, sits on a land area of about 43,103 sq ft. The price tag works out to $2,311 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

 

 

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Raffles Place commercial building seeking new owner

Chevron House, a commercial building located near the entrances to the Raffles Place MRT station, is reportedly available for sale. The building owner, Deka Immobilien GmbH — a unit of DekaBank Group of Germany — bought the premises in 2010 for around S$420M. The previous owner was a Goldman SachGroup-managed property fund.

The market price was understood to be S$700M based on anonymous sources. Recent prominent completed commercial deals includes:
– S$2.6B bid led by Malaysian IOI on a Marina Bay white site
– Sale of Sime Darby Centre in Bt Timah area by Blackstone to Tuan Sing
– Purchase of Wilkie Edge from Capitaland by Lian Beng Group

Chevron House is a skyscraper building in CBD housing Chevron Corp. The 262,650 sqft building consists of a 4-storey retail podium with a basement as well as a 29-storey office block.

Top Japanese Shipping lines taking up Marina One space bigly

OCEAN Network Express is said to be taking up some 50,000 sq ft of office space at Marina One. The joint-venture company of Japan’s “Big Three” shipping lines, is a consolidation of the container shipping businesses of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line). It includes their worldwide terminal operation businesses, except those in Japan. Ocean Network Express is planning to use the new office spanning 1½ floors as its regional and global headquarters.

Macquarie Bank, which is now at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2, is also said to be in advanced negotiations for some 50,000 sq ft of office space at Marina One.

The two new office towers at Marina One, an integrated development in downtown Marina Bay, are due to be completed soon. Developed by M+S, Marina One’s 1.88 million sq ft Grade-A office space is said to be about 70 per cent pre-leased ahead of its completion.

The first-half of 2017 saw a good volume of pre-committed space in the upcoming premium developments such as Marina One and UIC Building in the CBD.

At Guoco Tower of Tanjong Pagar Centre, which is already 90 % committed, Thai rubber group Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company is moving into close to 6,000 sq ft of office space on the 25th floor in early December, letting go of its existing 5,100 sq ft office at One Raffles Place where it has been operating for more than 10 years.

Grade-A CBD rents rose by 1.7 % in Q2 2017 to about S$8.51 psf pm, the first increase in nine quarters, led by a 5.8 % rise in premium office rents in Marina Bay.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is slated to release the second-quarter real estate statistics on July 28.

Super Penthouse in Singapore for S$100M

Who will be buying the most expensive apartment or “bungalow in the sky” in Singapore? The asking price for a new three-storey Singapore penthouse, complete with a private pool on the 64th floor, has reached more than $100 million. This amount of money can well easily buy one a few good-class bungalows (GCBs) in District 9/10.

The Wallich Residence’s penthouse is in the tallest building in Singapore, the island of well-heeled stability that attracts the super-rich from its less-developed South-east Asian neighbours, as well as multi-millionaires from mainland China.

It will test the endurance of demand for luxury property in the city-state – the part of the market that has taken the biggest hit from measures aimed at cooling down prices in recent years.

Prices for luxury homes in Singapore have fallen 15-20 % from a 2013 peak. However the recent events has cause optimism among market insiders to foresee a turnaround – at least at the top end of the market – and is forecasting a 3-5 % increase in luxury prices this year, citing demand from both locals and foreigners who feel the market is bottoming out.

The volume of transactions in the first four months of the year in Singapore’s core central region was 35% higher than in the same period last year. The Core Central Region includes the popular areas among wealthy foreigners — the Orchard Road shopping area and Sentosa island.

Buying by foreigners has picked up since the start of the year at the developer’s high-end Leedon Residence project, near the 150-year-old Singapore Botanic Gardens. GuocoLand is part of Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong Group, headed by billionaire Quek Leng Chan.

The recent tightening of property market controls in places like Hong Kong and Australia played a part in attracting foreign demand to Singapore’s luxury property this year. While prices in Hong Kong tripled and Sydney’s doubled over the past decade, Singapore prices rose just 29 %.

City Developments (CDL), one of the largest Singapore developers, also said the average sales price at its high-end Gramercy Park project has risen to more than $2,800 per sq ft in recent months, up 8 % from a year ago, and foreign buyers accounted for three-quarters of the project so far.

One may note though that the Singapore’s residential market has fallen for 15 straight quarters to log its longest losing streak since official records began in 1975. Analysts expect a bottoming of prices in the year 2017.

Singapore introduced property price cooling measures to curb speculation for the past 7 years. Some measures were relaxed slightly this year but the authorities announced that there would be no more rolling back of the remaining measures for now.

More information of the Penthouse can be found at the following link.

Click to access Wallich_PentHse.pdf

Golden Shoe Carpark’s billion-dollar redevelopment plan finally unveiled

A highly anticipated redevelopment project in Raffles Place, touted for years, was finally unveiled over the week by the press. A 51-storey mixed-use development – slated for completion in the first half of 2021 – will be built on the site. It will comprise office space, serviced residences, a multi-storey carpark, a food centre and shops.

The redevelopment will be led by CapitaLand in a joint venture (JV) for an estimated cost of $1.82 billion. The JV partners are: CapitaLand, CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) and Mitsubishi Estate Co (MEC).

Of the $1.82 billion development cost, about 52.6 %, or $957.8 million, was attributed to charges for the intensification of land use and other land-related costs.

At 280m high, it will be among the tallest buildings in the heart of the Central Business District. The other highlights of the plan include:

– 635,000 sq ft of net lettable area
– 29 floors of Grade A office space
– 299 serviced residences over eight storeys managed by CapitaLand’s The Ascott – five floors of carpark space
– 12,000 sq ft of retail space at ground level
– a shared four-storey-high “Green Oasis”, where tenants can hold meetings or other activities amid lush greenery
– a new food centre owned by the government, which will house former stallholders of Market Street Food Centre in Golden Shoe Car Park on the second and third levels of the new building’s podium. In the meantime, starting from 1 Aug, the stallholders will be at an interim centre next to Telok Ayer MRT station
– flexible offices and co-working spaces.

Robertson Quay’s newest “garden in the city”

Robertson Quay is having its the first large-scale launch in eight years: Martin Modern. The new condo project will comprise 450 residential units set within a botanic garden. It will offer a range of two, two plus study, three and four-bedroom apartments with sizes spanning 764 sq ft to 1,798 sq ft. Prices start from S$1.8 million.

Residents will be able to enjoy lush greenery in this development, more than 80% of the land area set aside for a beautiful botanic garden with over 200 species of plants and more than 50 species of trees and palms.

The project highlights includes:

– 2 Towers of 450 units (up to 30 storeys)
– Low site-coverage with Extensive Botanical Landscape
– Bespoke concierge services
– Panoramic Views of gardens / city / the Singapore River
– 2 to 4 Bedrooms (2BR, 2+S sizes from 800-880sqft / 3BR, 3+S sizes from 1,000-1,300sqft/ 4BR with private lift 1,800sqft ) on average price of $2300psf  (prices and sizes subject to change)

This next masterpiece by renowned Guocoland Singapore in District 9 Orchard/River Valley is slated for launch on 22 July 2017. There is a preview period prior to the official launch. Due to overwhelming response for the past 2 days, Martin Modern show suite operating hour is extended to this coming weekend 10 – 14 July (10am – 1pm)

Call +65-94772121 or email davidking.property@hotmail.com for preview and launch details.

Rents bottomed for CBD offices?

Based on recent estimates from JLL, the average rental values for its overall CBD Grade A and Marina Bay offices rose for the first time in Q2 2017 since 2 years ago. The area of concern, which includes Raffles Place, Marina Bay, Tanjong Pagar/Shenton Way and Marina Centre, rose 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2017, at $8.49 psf. The major signings include FAcebook’s takeup of more than 250,000 sqft in Marina One, and Uber’s 55,000 sqft in Guoco Tower. The space at Asia Square vacated by Google last year has also been filled. Microsoft signed up 125,000 sqft in Frasers Tower which is due for completion in 2018.

Beach Road site with former Police Station going for public tender

A Beach Road commercial site hits the market on sale with some stiff competition expected. The 2ha plot can be developed for office and retail use, as well as hotel, service apartments and residential options. The reserve list site was put up for sale by public tender by the Urban Redevelopment Authority after a developer committed to bid at least $1.138 billion for the 99-year leasehold parcel.Under the reserve list system, a site goes up for tender when a developer lodges an acceptable minimum bid.

The URA says the plot, which will have a maximum permissible gross floor area of 88,313 sq m, includes the former Beach Road Police Station. At least 70 per cent or 61,820 sq m of the GFA must be for office use, while a maximum of 3,000 sq m can be use for retail. The Beach Road commercial site comes with the condition that the former station be conserved.

Keen competition for the site is expected from both local and foreign developers. The “trophy asset” developed on the Beach Road site could hit the market around 2022 – when there is limited supply of prime office space.

The Beach Road plot will have a maximum permissible gross floor area of 950,592 sq ft. At least 70 per cent – or 665,424 sq ft – must be used for offices, with a maximum of 32,292 sq ft for retail space.

Nearby South Beach was commanding “achievable rents of $9 per sq ft (psf)” – close to the average Marina Bay rent of $9.48 psf. Thus the winning bid is likely to be in the range of $1,400 to $1,700 psf per plot ratio (ppr), translating into a total bid quantum of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion, and possibly match the $1,689 psf ppr paid for the Central Boulevard site.

The tenant profile of the commercial space in the area has evolved with the completion of mammoth mixed-use development Duo in Bugis and South Beach, a joint venture between CDL and Malaysia’s IOI Group. These have brought firms such as pharmaceutical group Sanofi, Rabobank and Mastercard into the area, he said, adding that the makeover of the Kampong Bugis area will also boost development.

https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/land-sales-repository/sites-available/beach-rd-ma.aspx

Raffles Place among the latest to be affected from retail slump

One Raffles Place are hit harder by the retail slump than those in Orchard Road because of office workers’ limited shopping hours and minimal tourist traffic.

Travel products store Tumi, watch brand Swatch, jeweller Pandora and shoe brand Melissa have decided not to renew their leases and will shut soon.

The bigger tenants, which take up prime space on the ground floor, are leaving, upsetting smaller tenants, which claimed they were not told of the moves prior to them renewing their leases.

The Body Shop outlet on level three, which is moving out on Thursday next week, has not been making a profit. Other tenants moving out include Evergreen Stationery, Yami Yogurt and Blow + Bar hair salon.

3 years after its opening in 2014, most of these crowd-pullers have shut or will move out by next month, as the retail slump claims yet another casualty. Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, fashion retailer Uniqlo and cafe Paris Baguette have already closed their stores at the six-storey mall next to Raffles Place MRT station.

Its anchor tenant, Swedish clothing retailer H&M, has not confirmed if it will be moving out when its lease ends, providing some respite for the mall.

Samsung Hub Office sold at S$3280 psf

The 20th floor of the 999-year-leasehold Samsung Hub office tower is sold at S$43.07 million or S$3,280 psf based on the strata area of 13,132 sq ft. Standard Commodity Trade Centre Pte Ltd is selling the space on a vacant possession basis to Lei Shing Hong Properties (Singapore). The buyer plans to occupy the space for its own use.

The company is part of Hong Kong-based Lei Shing Hong group, which is involved in businesses ranging from retailing premium cars, trading and securities brokerage, to property development and investment. The S$3,280 psf fetched for the 20th floor is identical to that for the 21st level back in 2014.