Property News!

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Jan 28, 2010
En bloc sale panels already have a lifespan
I REFER to the letters on Monday by Ms Susan Prior ('Save owners from sword of Damocles') and Mr Augustine Cheah ('Loopholes in law').

Ms Prior suggests that a collective sale committee should have a limited lifespan. This is already provided for in the Land Titles (Strata) Act. The committee will automatically dissolve on expiry of the collective sale agreement. The agreement will expire if the requisite consent level is not attained within 12 months from the date of the first signatory.

The committee can also be dissolved by an ordinary resolution at a general meeting. Further, if no one has signed the agreement, the owners can dissolve the committee at any general meeting.

Mr Cheah claims that there had been no clarification or reply from the Ministry of Law to letters by many, including him, on purported loopholes in collective sale legislation.

Mr Cheah should know that what he says is inaccurate. The ministry has regularly responded to various letters on the matter.

The ministry has also previously responded to a Forum letter from one Mr Augustine Cheah (who is probably the same writer). The ministry's reply to Mr Cheah ('En bloc sales: Rights of all owners adequately protected') was published on Aug 21 last year.

As for Mr Cheah's call to tighten the legislation, the public is assured that the ministry has always actively considered feedback received, consulted industry experts and introduced amendments where appropriate. The ministry will continue to do so.

Chong Wan Yieng (Ms)
Head, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Law

 

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Feb 8, 2010
More caught running illegal dorms
Private homes illegally converted to house foreign workers
By Melissa Sim & Mou Zongxiao
MORE people were taken to task last year for illegally converting their private homes into dormitories, hostels and boarding houses as accommodation for foreign workers and students.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) investigated about 700 private residential properties and is still forcing boarders to vacate the premises of 140 owners. Overcrowding is common, making safety an issue.

The other 560 owners have since stopped taking in lodgers illegally.

In 2008, the URA investigated just 400 cases.

In particular, there was an 18 per cent increase in the number of unauthorised worker dormitories over the previous year, though figures were not available.

The illegal dormitories are being exposed as more people write in to the URA with their complaints, and tip-offs are provided by the public and other government agencies.

The URA said that private apartments and landed homes are meant for residential use and should not be converted into workers' dormitories, which need permission to operate.

Under the Planning Act, illegal conversion of premises can result in a maximum fine of $200,000 and a year in jail. If the offence continues after conviction, a fine of $10,000 a day may be imposed.

Despite URA efforts, checks by The Straits Times showed that illegal workers' dormitories are still prevalent, especially in Little India and Tiong Bahru.

Along Marne Road off Petain Road, The Straits Times found at least two terrace houses housing more than 10 workers each.

In Tiong Bahru, there were at least three such apartments. In other units, there were workers from China and Malaysia who refused entry to The Straits Times. But shoes outside the main door and the drying laundry were signs of the multiple occupants inside.

At three units, occupants said there were eight people living inside. One said the boss had obtained the flat for them.

One landlord, who wanted to be known only as Ms Huang, said she had rented her three-room unit in Kai Fook Mansion in Tiong Bahru Road to eight Malaysians at $1,700 a month.

She said she had nine tenants at first but was told by the URA in December that she could have only eight. Ms Huang said she had not made modifications to her flat.

Private homes as ad hoc accommodation have sprung up over the last few years because of a shortage of dormitories and boarding houses.

A single worker renting a room in one of these converted homes pays about $200 compared with $160 to $180 each month for a workers' dorm in Jurong.

In the middle of last year, the URA found that 140 units in Grangeford condominium in Leonie Hill had been subdivided into 600 units. The developer was taken to action to recover the units.

The Ministry of Manpower warned employers of foreign workers that they are responsible for the well-being of their workers, including providing acceptable accommodation while they are employed.

Employers who fail to provide acceptable accommodation for their foreign workers are in breach of the work permit conditions and may be fined up to $5,000 and jailed up to six months. Such employers could also be barred from hiring foreign workers in future.

Tiong Bahru residents interviewed said they were fine with foreign workers in their midst, but were concerned about the overcrowding in the walk-up apartments, which are about 800 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft and usually have two or three bedrooms.

Interior designer Jo Turner, 31, claimed that her ceiling sprang a leak because there were 10 workers sharing a toilet in the flat above hers.

Ms Turner, like advertising executive Eugene Yip, 38, was mostly worried about the workers cooking over an open flame. About a month and a half ago, unit 1P in Yong Siak Street, housing Chinese national workers, caught fire.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said the fire was accidental and from an electrical source. This could have been caused by a short circuit or overloading of power outlets.

 

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Feb 7, 2010
Collective-sale fervour returning
More estates forming committees to start or re-start process
By Joyce Teo

Last Wednesday, Credo Real Estate sealed the first collective sale of the year.

Four owners of a Balestier industrial plot benefited when they sold their Jalan Ampas site - which can be converted into residential use - for $27.5 million.

More such deals are likely to be inked this year, after a dry year when just one collective sale was done. That was Block 18 of Dragon Mansion, completed in early December.

But the success rate will depend a lot on the market and owners' expectations, consultants said.

Already, property consultants say many owners are again placing their hopes on hitting the collective-sale jackpot, in line with the improved property market and brighter economic outlook.

'More estates are now forming sales committees to either start the sale process or re-start the process for those that had not been transacted successfully previously,' said CKS Property Consultants' investment manager Chia Mein Mein.

An industry observer pointed out that most developers are running out of land for mass market projects, so they are very keen to buy.

'But prime land is another story. They still have quite a lot of it.'

Credo Real Estate's deputy managing director Tan Hong Boon said: 'We should see more activities towards the end of this year as many owners are keen to start the collective-sale process now.'

With more inquiries coming in, property consultants are busy pitching for jobs.

Many keen estates are those that had tried to sell en bloc but failed in the previous peak in 2007, the consultants said.

These include Pender Court off West Coast Highway, Royalville in Bukit Timah and Hawaii Tower in Meyer Road.

Collective-sale launches so far this year include the 11-unit Holland Hill Lodge, which was put up for sale en bloc last month at an indicative price range of $15 million to $16 million, or $1,038 to $1,107 per sq ft per plot ratio.

More launches can be expected from the second quarter, said Mr Tan.

A total of 116 collective sales were done at the peak of the property boom of 2007.

This figure slipped to only eight in 2008 amid the global financial crisis.

This year, there will certainly be more sales, consultants predict. However, some owners of prime or mid-end projects continue to hope for prices that are above the previous peak, they said.

Now that resale prices are moving up, more people are worried that they cannot get a similar replacement property, explained a consultant who declined to be named.

Still, the problem is the gap between buyers and sellers' expectations.

'There's still a great mismatch in prices. Developers are quite cautious,' he said.

 

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Feb 7, 2010
Rental disputes on the rise
More tenants have been filing claims against landlords over contract issues
By Teh Joo Lin

Mr Ashirafur, 37, and his wife Hushne ana Bagum, 30, in a room at a friend's flat. They were forced to leave their rental flat in Yishun last week. -- PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA

Vacate the flat at once, project supervisor Ashirafur Rahaman Khan said he was told by a group of six people just before midnight.

It happened more than a week ago, the 37-year-old said. He was with his wife in their rented flat's corridor in Yishun Street 81.

His wife, eight months pregnant and who had recently flown in from Bangladesh, was exercising in the corridor.

The group of six men and women who confronted the couple included the landlord and his son.

'One of the men said I didn't pay my rent, so I had to move out. But I had already paid for the month and even gave some advance payment,' said the permanent resident, who rented the flat for $1,400 a month with a fellow tenant who was not present during the encounter.

Part of the group then entered the flat, saying they were removing the furniture.

Seeing his wife agitated, Mr Ashirafur then agreed to leave. 'I said, 'Don't touch the furniture. We'll move it ourselves',' he said.

So in the wee hours of the morning, the flat's occupants scrambled to find lodging with friends, Mr Ashirafur said.

When contacted, the landlord's son, who did not give his name, said it was his father who had decided on the course of action.

But he said: 'Let's say you rented a house. If anyone else comes (to stay), the owner should be informed.'

Mr Ashirafur told The Sunday Times his wife and his sister had flown in from Bangladesh. His sister had come along to take care of her.

He said his next move is to go to the Small Claims Tribunal, taking along his tenancy agreement, which states that one month's notice is required for a mutually agreed termination of tenancy.

In recent years, more tenants - and to a lesser extent, landlords - have approached the tribunal for help to settle rental disputes.

This increase took place after it extended its jurisdiction in February 2006 to include disagreements on contracts for homes rented out for two years or less.

The tribunal was set up in 1985 to resolve small claims between consumers and suppliers.

Last year, 1,349 rental disagreement claims were lodged, more than three times the 401 claims filed in 2006. In 2008, 1,137 claims were lodged.

The majority of such claims - 84 per cent of last year's cases, for example - are filed by tenants, statistics from the Subordinate Courts showed.

Prior to 2006, such aggrieved parties settled disputes such as unpaid rents or leaky ceilings between themselves or through the courts - a time-consuming and usually expensive process.

The Small Claims Tribunal handles cases involving sums of up to $10,000, though this limit can be raised to $20,000 if the parties agree.

Once a claim is lodged, the tribunal arranges a consultation before a registrar who will mediate the claim. The case goes to a hearing if there is no settlement during the meeting.

The time taken to resolve a claim depends on the nature and circumstances of each case, said the Subordinate Courts' spokesman.

From the date of filing to the first consultation, the waiting period is usually between 10 and 14 days. From the final consultation to the hearing, the waiting period is usually within 10 working days.

When contacted, a Housing Board spokesman said it advises flat owners and tenants to settle their differences amicably when disputes come to its attention.

'HDB will usually advise the complainant to lodge a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal. If mediation is not an option, the complainant may choose to take a private suit against the other party,' she said.

The spokesman added that common disputes included issues over payment of rental, forfeiture of deposits and the termination of tenancies without sufficient notice.

Various types of rental disputes have hit the news in the past several years. At times, tenants returned to their flats only to find the locks changed.

Landlords have also suffered. When the economy dipped last year, tenants reportedly skipped town without paying the rent. They left the keys in the flats' letterboxes.

'Nowadays, such cases are common. Why? Because the tenant can't afford to pay, or the landlord has some reasons to get back his place and finds an excuse,' said Mr Andrew Tan, a senior division director from real estate agency Dennis Wee Group.

Rental agents who spoke to The Sunday Times said tenants and landlords should exercise due diligence and abide by proper tenancy procedures - to protect themselves if a dispute arises.

For example, tenants should ensure that their landlords are the actual owners of the flats and have approval to rent the units out. Landlords, on their part, should check their tenants' particulars.

Proper tenancy agreements should be drawn up, setting out detailed terms and conditions. Stamp duty has to be paid too.

'If everything is done in the right manner, the tenant should have no fear at all,' said Mr Richard Sim, an agent with real estate agency ERA.

Mr Tan also advised tenants to pay the monthly rental using bank transfers, so 'there's a record'.

'It's not advisable to pay cash. Even if you had written a receipt, the owner can say he didn't sign it,' he said.

Above all, said ERA agent Paul Ravie, tenants and landlords must honour the tenancy agreement.

'This is an important document, but many people don't really take it as a serious, binding contract,' he said, adding that agents must take care to explain the terms to both parties ahead of the signing.




Feb 7, 2010
How to make a small claim
Before lodging a claim, the claimant should ensure he has the correct name and address of the person he intends to make the claim against. He may also wish to ensure that the party he is claiming against is not a bankrupt.
Where possible, mediation should be attempted before going to the tribunal. Both the claimant and the other party might try to resolve the matter themselves, or approach agencies such as the Community Mediation Centre.
All claims must be lodged within one year. To lodge a claim, apart from submitting copies of the claim form, the claimant must submit a copy of the tenancy agreement and any other supporting written documents.
It costs a tenant $10 to lodge a claim of up to $5,000, and $20 if the claim is more than $5,000 and up to $10,000. For a landlord, the amounts are $50 and $100 respectively.

Teh Joo Lin

For more information, see www.smallclaims.gov.sg

 

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Feb 20, 2010
New rules to curb property speculation
Pay stamp duty if you 'flip' property; bank loans capped at 80%
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
TOUGHER rules on bank loans and measures to rein in speculators take effect today, as the Government steps up moves to cool the sizzling property market.

First, anyone who sells a property within a year of buying it will have to pay stamp duty of around 3 per cent. That means from today, if you buy a home and sell it at $500,000 within 12 months, you will have to fork out $9,600 in stamp duty. This is on top of the stamp duty you had to pay on the purchase.

Second, lending institutions will now be allowed to lend only up to 80 per cent of the purchase price, not 90 per cent. Buyers will have to come up with at least 20 per cent themselves.

Housing Board loans are not affected by this change in what is called the loan-to-value (LTV) limit.

The sellers' stamp duty will hit short-term speculators, observers said, while the change in the bank loan limit is likely to weed out marginalised buyers.

The measures will affect only a limited number of buyers but experts feel they could have a psychological effect on the market. There is also concern that tougher steps are in the pipeline.

In its surprise announcement yesterday evening, the Government made clear why it was acting: 'There is a risk that the market could overheat in the next few months, fuelled by low global interest rates and positive sentiments associated with the economic recovery.'

The joint statement from the National Development and Finance ministries and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said: 'Any excessive exuberance will make the property market vulnerable to the continuing risks in the global economy.'

If the market were to correct, property buyers and speculators could face capital losses, it added.

The Government also pointed to the sharp spike in sales of new private homes last month and rising prices.

It said that prices rose sharply in the second half of last year and at a faster rate than in previous rebounds. Mortgage lending is also up, hence its 'calibrated measures now to... pre-empt a property bubble from forming'.

It added that it 'prefers to take small steps early, rather than be forced to impose more drastic measures after a bubble has formed'.

The Government, which introduced market-cooling measures last September, also said that there is adequate supply and it will inject more sites on to its land sales list this year if needed.

Cushman & Wakefield Singapore managing director Donald Han said: 'If the Government can come out with something so fast and without warning, it means they can do something faster and more painful if prices continue to rise rapidly. Investors won't like it.'

Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh said the measures introduced last September and these new moves 'seem to be focused on preventing problems that aren't here just yet'.

But he added: 'The question that may unnerve developers and investors is, what's next?'

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore did not think the sellers' stamp duty would have an adverse impact on property market activity.

The reduced mortgage cap was also unlikely to have a significant impact on genuine buyers and investors, it said.

Under 10 per cent of home loans cover more than 80 per cent of the property's valuation, but there are signs that more buyers are getting loans close to the maximum allowed.

OCBC chief executive David Conner told The Straits Times: 'The banks have been pretty disciplined... because we've to put that much more capital against a 90 per cent loan than for an 80 per cent loan, the pricing has been significantly higher... and customers have declined to take that 90 per cent loan.'

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail did not think the new measures would kill the market, but expected a knee-jerk reaction. 'It may dampen speculators' buying interest... in the next few months,' he said.




Feb 20, 2010
New rules may ease HDB resale-flat demand
Buyers will have to fork out deposit of at least 20% of price
By Jessica Cheam
DEMAND for Housing Board (HDB) resale flats may ease in the wake of yesterday's measures to toughen up rules on home lending.

The new regulations have lowered the maximum loan amount a bank can lend - this is known as loan-to-value (LTV) limit - from 90per cent to 80per cent.

That means buyers of private homes and HDB resale flats will now have to stump up a deposit of at least 20per cent of the purchase price, up from 10per cent.

The LTV for those eligible for HDB loans, such as first-time buyers and second-timers who are upgrading, is already at 90per cent and remains unchanged.

This is because there are already HDB measures in place to curb speculation and encourage financial prudence, said the Government yesterday.

For example, there is a minimum owner occupation period of three to five years and a restriction on ownership to one flat per household.

Housing analysts told The Straits Times yesterday that the new rules - they come into effect today - will hit the private property market more than the HDB resale sector, but there will be some impact.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said higher interest rates tended to deter most HDB buyers from borrowing up to 90per cent of the purchase price.

HDB resale homes are also cheaper than private property and there are fewer short-term speculators in the market.

But analysts say the demand for resale flats - which has been red hot and pushing prices to record levels recently - is likely to be tempered.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the segment of buyers that will be most affected are private property owners and permanent residents (PRs) who are not eligible for HDB loans.

The bulk of homeseekers - mostly first-timers and second-time upgraders - qualify for HDB loans and will not be affected.

But for those PRs who have not worked for a long period of time and accumulated enough CPF savings, the new rules may delay their home purchases, said Mr Ismail.

The amount of money paid upfront to a seller over a flat's valuation - called cash-over-valuation (COV) - may also come down if buyers are less-cash rich and unable to afford high premiums, he added.

The median COV amount paid for HDB resale flats soared to a record $24,000 in the fourth quarter last year.

Resale flat prices have surged about 40per cent in the past three years.

Anxious buyers priced out of the market have pointed to private property owner-speculators and PR buyers as possible factors contributing to the sky-high demand, although the Government maintains that these buyers are a minority and not a significant market force.

A joint statement from the Ministries of National Development and Finance and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the rules to tighten credit to the housing market were aimed at encouraging greater financial prudence among buyers.

 

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Feb 26, 2010
Developers 'limited by land bank'
They say it is holding them back from launching projects to ride buoyant market


By Joyce Teo

Redas chairman Simon Cheong with Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Redas Chinese New Year lunch at Capella Singapore yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: AIDAH RAUF


PROPERTY developers say they are eager to bring forward project launches to ride the buoyant market but are being held back by their limited land bank.

They were caught by surprise at the rapid market recovery, they say.

'Many of us are now caught with a depleting land bank,' the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) president Simon Cheong said.

'We believe the long-term solution to a sustainable and stable market is still adequate supply,' he added.

Credo Real Estate's deputy managing director Tan Hong Boon summed up the mood: 'You never know what will happen. While the going is still good, developers will want to launch quickly. This is particularly so for mass market projects.

The Government recently stepped up the supply of development sites after a lull, and believes supply is adequate.

Yesterday, a 3.02ha site at Hougang Avenue 2 was offered to developers. If interest is adequate, a tender will proceed.

Another reserve list site will be offered by May, on top of confirmed list sites, which are tendered without precondition.

The comments by Mr Cheong and Mr Tan at the Redas Chinese New Year lunch at Capella Singapore yesterday came a week after market cooling measures.

The Government imposed a duty sellers must pay if they sell within a year of purchase. It also capped bank loans at 80 per cent of a sale price, from 90 per cent.

Mr Cheong said developers want land supply fast-tracked to satisfy buyer demand to minimise speculation to ease the pressure for more anti-speculative steps.

'Given the unexpected return of an active property market, developers over the next few months would also be actively bidding for more land,' he said.

Redas members look forward to more confirmed list sites to replenish land banks, he said. They are looking to Government land, given limited sources of private land. A developer who declined to be named said private land owners were asking for the sky 'so we can't buy'.

Mr Cheong said developers would rather have this problem than the bleak effects of last year's meltdown in the banking system. 'Managing upside is always easier than managing downside.'

The anti-speculative steps were a timely reminder, said Frasers Centrepoint chief executive Lim Ee Seng at the lunch. 'Exceptional jumps in prices are not good for us.' Still, he said: 'No matter how high it gets, it will still obey the law of gravity.'

An anonymous developer said the measures had hurt sentiment a little. 'If there are 100 buyers, maybe 10 will change their minds. I expect volume to moderate a bit.'

Still, so far the measures appear to have had little or no impact on recent sales. 'The market is still hot,' said an industry observer. The 608-unit The Estuary in Yishun, whose preview opened on Wednesday, has sold over 200 units.

The average price for the 99-year leasehold condo is $750 per sq ft, with units facing the Lower Seletar reservoir costing around $800 psf on average.

Separately, City Developments boss Kwek Leng Beng said at a results briefing for CDL yesterday that sentiment would remain strong among genuine buyers, despite the government measures.

Mr Cheong addressed guest of honour Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, saying developers were disappointed at being left out of the Budget.

But they were happy at the productivity push given the long-term gains. Redas called this 'a deferred payment hongbao'.

Looming launches include the 151-unit Seascape in Sentosa Cove and Cheung Kong Holdings' 295-unit The Vision. Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint plan to release Waterfront Gold in Bedok Reservoir soon. Allgreen may launch RV Residences in River Valley and unsold units at Cascadia in Bukit Timah.

 

[jq75]

Feb 27, 2010
TREASURING HOMES
Review law on en bloc sales
IF MONDAY'S advice to treasure our homes and not use them to make a quick buck is to be heeded ('Homes are for keeps, not speculation: PM'), the Government should review the law permitting collective property sales.

Such sales exercises invite speculation in the private property market at the expense of a home owner's security.

I have not lived in peace for the past three years because my neighbours voted to go en bloc. The main argument of the pro-collective sale lobby had nothing to do with urban renewal. It was about reaping a windfall.

The bid at my condominium, Green Lodge in Toh Tuck Road, fell through last month, but there is nothing to stop my neighbours from trying again.

I dissented because I treasure my home for the reasons implied in Monday's report: It gives me peace, familiarity and stability in the twilight of my life; and it is my nest egg which I do not wish taken away from me by others' temptation to make a fast buck.

But how can I take good care of my treasured asset if I have no control over it?

The power to sell my home lies not in me but in 80 per cent of my neighbours. And that is why the law must be changed.

Tan Keng Ann

 

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Mar 8, 2010
Terrace house 'hostels' for medical tourists
Homes near Orchard Rd hospital found illegally offering budget lodging to patients, travellers
By Karen Zainal

ILLEGAL 'HOSTELS'

Tourists entering a terrace house along Jalan Elok. At least eight houses within a two-minute walk of Mt Elizabeth Hospital welcome foreigners on a short-term basis for a fee. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

SEVERAL terrace house owners in the quiet lanes near Mount Elizabeth Hospital are opening their doors to medical tourists and travellers seeking budget accommodation in the heart of Orchard Road.

They charge between $50 and $120 per room a night, depending on the number of guests and whether it is peak season.

A room in a hotel in that area could cost at least three or four times more. For the price they pay, tenants get a bed, bathroom access, air-conditioning and housekeeping services. Rooms with bathrooms are pricier. These 'hostels' are often fronted by the owners' maids, usually Indonesians, who can communicate better with these overseas patients, many of whom are also Indonesians.

The owners, however, appear to be breaking the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) rules, which state that private properties cannot be converted to other uses such as workers' dormitories or boarding houses. The Straits Times found at least eight terrace houses within a two-minute walk of Mount Elizabeth Hospital where foreigners can stay on a short-term basis for a fee.

Most are in Jalan Elok, between the hospital grounds and York Hotel, but there are also a few along Jalan Lada Puteh, which is behind the hospital and next to Lucky Plaza.

On one Tuesday afternoon, The Straits Times spotted a group of six Indonesians dragging their suitcases behind them and entering one of the houses along Jalan Elok. When approached, one said they were in Singapore on vacation and had heard about the lodging from a friend back home. The group booked two rooms for $120 a night.

Moments after the group entered, a woman in a blue sports car pulled up just outside the house. Madam S.L. Chong, 64, identified herself as the owner but said the group who had just walked in were her Indonesian husband's relatives.

The housewife said she charged them a minimal fee, as she was 'unemployed and needed to make a living'. She claimed that she had approval from the URA to do this.

However, a check with the authority showed that this was not true. Its spokesman said it would investigate the possible infringement. The URA usually issues a warning notice to offenders and, if the unauthorised use does not stop, they can be charged in court and face fines of up to $200,000 or jail of up to a year, or both.

Two doors away from Madam Chong's house, Madam Lily Lim told a similar story - that those staying temporarily in her house were her in-laws from Indonesia.

However, when The Straits Times contacted Madam Lim as an interested customer to inquire about lodging, she offered a room in her house at $50 a day.

When asked about this, Madam Lim insisted these rates were only for her relatives and said she did not require government approval for this.

Like Madam Chong, she said she could not afford to house them for free.

Business appears brisk at these 'hostels'. The housekeepers of two of such houses said all their six bedrooms were fully occupied, for the next eight days for one of them.

A 47-year-old Indonesian businessman who has helped friends book accommodation at these houses said that, during the Formula One race season or other peak periods, these 'hostels' charged almost double the usual rates to cash in on the hotter demand.

Two houses at Jalan Elok even had an additional room built in the parking space, he said. It is understood that some houses have also repartitioned their bedrooms. 'You can tell; some of the walls sound hollow,' said the businessman.

Unauthorised repartitioning with the purpose of operating a boarding house is also illegal, said the URA.

Some of the owners of these terrace houses do not even live there, said other Jalan Elok residents. Indonesian housekeepers, allegedly employed as maids, are left in charge of a host of additional responsibilities such as providing housekeeping services to tenants.

Such accommodation, though illegal, do cater to the need for affordable short-term stays, filling a gap between hotels and hostels, which are usually run-down.

Several guests The Straits Times approached said they were in Singapore either to seek medical help or to visit relatives in hospital. Some were private students from countries such as Vietnam and China.

Mr Jim Chen, 40, a tenant from the Philippines, ditched his initial plans of staying at a serviced apartment at the nearby Lucky Plaza because it was 'just too crowded and too noisy'. The fitness centre manager, who is in Singapore for physiotherapy, settled for a room in a Jalan Elok house, where he found the environment more tranquil.

An Indonesian maid, who gave her name as Madam Kartini and who advertises a house on Jalan Lada Puteh with rooms for rent on a website, said: 'Most of them are here for medical treatments. We rarely have tourists.'

She added that most patients and their relatives stayed for a couple of days but some, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, would stay much longer, sometimes for more than a month.

Apart from the convenient distance from one of the region's largest private hospitals, the main draw of these 'hostels' is their affordability. 'Medical expenses are already so costly, and everything else in Singapore is also very expensive,' said Madam Kartini. 'At least they can now save on lodging.'

A hotel room in this prime area goes for between $200 and $600 a night.

Some residents in the area, though, are unhappy.

A resident in her 30s, who declined to be named, is disturbed by how such businesses have 'spoilt the neighbourhood'. She complained of shady characters. 'It is no longer the case where I can let my son play outside,' she added.

Mr Woo Chan Joo, a 77-year-old retiree, lives across a house where rooms used to be rented out until a fire there two months ago put an end to that. He said: 'There were many people coming and going, some of them were in wheelchairs, some bandaged... It's more peaceful now.'

 

[jq75]

Mar 8, 2010
Some maids double as 'hostel manager' or 'concierge'
By Karen Zainal & Yeo Shang Long
DOMESTIC helpers or hostel managers? When it comes to some maids working in several private houses surrounding the Mt Elizabeth Hospital, the distinction is often not so clear.

One such maid, who gave her name as Madam Kartini, cooks, does the dishes and irons the laundry for 71-year-old 'Lina' and her son in a two-storey house in Jalan Lada Puteh.

When she is not cleaning, she acts as the concierge for the illegal budget accommodation at her employer's house.

Madam Kartini's contact details, as well as photographs of the house, are listed on a website advertising the house as a hostel for Indonesian visitors. Charges are between $60 and $110 for a night, depending on the number of guests.

As the contact person for the business, Madam Kartini liaises with the largely Indonesian clientele in their native tongue - overcoming the language barrier faced by her Mandarin-speaking employer.

'She handles everything. She's the one who handles telephone bookings, prepares the rooms, hands over the keys and settles payment,' explained a 47-year-old Indonesian businessman who has helped several of his friends book rooms from Madam Kartini over the last three years.

'Once, my friend arrived past midnight and she was at the house waiting for him,' he added.

According to Madam Kartini, her employer lives there, but is usually not around during the day. Her son lives in a terrace house across the road, where the doors are also open to foreigners.

It is a similar story at the stretch of private houses along the nearby Jalan Elok where, residents told The Straits Times, maids acted as the contact points for their respective houses.

The owners of these houses - on the other hand - were rarely seen, said residents, and some do not even live there. One resident sees her neighbour only occasionally dropping off her laundry.

'The maids run the show - they will even dress properly to fetch tenants from the hospital,' said a resident who declined to be named. One of the maids even handed out a name card with her name, contact number, and the heading 'Rental Room With AC'. AC stands for air-conditioning.

These maids seem unaware that their activities are illegal. Under the Ministry of Manpower's regulations, maids are allowed to perform domestic duties at only their employers' residences.

Employers violate work permit conditions when they use their maids to perform non-domestic work, or to work outside of employers' residences. If convicted, employers can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to six months, or both.

Those with information on such offences can contact the ministry on 6438-5122 or e-mail mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg.

 

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Mar 24, 2010
New index for private homes

The new index will complement the existing suite of real estate investment products such as REITs, real estate business trusts, real estate funds and equities. It will add to the breadth of financial instruments meet the needs of the investors. -- PHOTO: CAPITALAND

A NEW residential price index to track monthly price movements of completed private residential properties was launched on Wednesday.

The NUS Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) will facilitate the analysis of price trends and help investors in making more informed decisions, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu, who launched the index.

She said the SPRI, which tracks the month-on-month price movements of a selected basket of completed private residential properties, serves as a transparent, reliable and well-referenced property price index, and provides a benchmark index that tracks movements of direct real estate.

'The launch of this index adds to the depth of information relating to the property market in Singapore. By offering a snap shot of the non-landed residential property market, using a basket of properties, it can facilitate the analysis of price trends and help investors in making more informed decisions,' said Mrs Fu.

As the index gains in acceptance, it can potentially be used for risk management, through the development of products such a property derivatives, she added.

'Such derivatives may be one way for real estate developers, asset managers, banks and investors to hedge their property exposure,' said the minister.

The new index will complement the existing suite of real estate investment products such as REITs, real estate business trusts, real estate funds and equities. It will add to the breadth of financial instruments meet the needs of the investors.

 

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Mar 26, 2010
76 Shenton condo sold out in one day
Reasonable pricing and small unit sizes could be reasons for its popularity
By Esther Teo
THE 76 Shenton condominium in the Central Business District sold out in one day during its preview as hundreds of buyers made a beeline for the prime project yesterday.

There were so many people vying for one of the 202 units that balloting was needed to sort out who got first crack.

The Straits Times understands that there were about 300 names in the ballot, with the buyers mostly Singaporean investors and permanent residents.

The Hong Leong Holdings project has nothing over 1,000 sq ft: 134 one-bedroom units from 592 sq ft to 624 sq ft and 68 two-bedroom units of 968 sq ft to 975 sq ft. One-bedroom units were priced between $1,600 and $2,600 per sq ft (psf), or about $1.2 million, while two-bedroom units went for between $1,600 and $2,300 psf. That is about $2 million.

Hong Leong credited the strong sales to the development's 'prime location, its attractive pricing, a solid design and healthy pre-launch interest'.

Sources said property agents were apparently collecting cheques from keen buyers even before the project's launch.

The 99-year leasehold condominium has 39 floors of residences and commercial space that will feature seven restaurants and retail units.

Chesterton Suntec International's research and consultancy director, Mr Colin Tan, said the project's smaller units could be a reason for its popularity.

'The developer knows the market... Small units are more digestible and also gives home owners an easier exit strategy should they ever want to sell the property,' he said.

Mr Peter Ow, managing director of residential services at Knight Frank, said that growing interest in the luxury end of the market is evident but the strength of this demand would still depend on the sustainability of the economic recovery.

He added that 76 Shenton was well-received due to its reasonable pricing. Another reason was that even units on the lower floors would get a sea view.

The condo is expected to be completed by late 2014.

Hong Leong will release Nathan Suites in Nathan Road, in the Bishopsgate area, at the end of the month at an average price of $2,100 psf.

On the weekend, buyers snapped up 29 out of the 30 launched units at Keppel Group's Reflections at Keppel Bay. Prices averaged $2,200 psf with some hitting $2,600 psf.

 

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Mar 26, 2010
Resale home prices at new high
Jan-Feb prices surpass 2007 peak, says report
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

PROJECTS WITH THE LARGEST PRICE HIKES
RESALE prices for private homes have gone through the roof this year and are now above the sky-high levels seen in the 2007 boom.

A Savills Singapore report said average values in the segment in January and last month shot ahead of the dizzy heights set three years ago.

The soaring prices are part of a larger picture that depicts the entire real estate sector roaring along in top gear.

Rising prices in the HDB market - and high launch values for new homes - are helping to push buyers into private resale homes, say experts.

Savills research showed that average prices for non-landed private resale homes have surpassed the 2007 peak by 6 per cent while landed home prices are 15.6 per cent ahead.

Private resale home prices are also now above the 1996 peak. This means they are at the highest level ever seen, said Ms Christine Sun, the firm's senior manager for research and consultancy.

'HDB resale prices are on the rise and prices of new launches are quite high, so private resale homes have become a popular alternative for buyers,' said Ms Sun. Savills found that average resale prices of homes in the mass market, mid-tier and high-end segments have all crossed the 2007 peaks.

In the first two months this year, average mass market prices were at $662 per sq ft (psf), up 19 per cent from $555 psf in 2007. Average resale prices of mid-tier homes were $886 psf, up 19.7 per cent from $740 psf in 2007.

It was not as buoyant in the high-end segment where average prices reached $1,425 psf in January and last month, up 11.8 per cent from $1,275 psf in 2007.

But there have still been some gilt-edged deals in this segment this year. At The Sail @ Marina Bay, 15 units transacted for more than $2,000 psf to as high as $3,204 psf, said Ms Sun.

Private property proved unexpectedly resilient during the downturn. Prices of resale high-end homes suffered a marginal decline of 0.2 per cent from 2007, said Savills.

Prices for homes in the mid-tier segment rose 5.6 per cent while mass market ones increased 6.8 per cent.

Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng said yesterday: 'Once there are no suitable new launches in a certain area and there's a huge gap between prices of new launches and old projects, people will chase after the old projects.'

While prices are up, sale numbers are still lagging those of the boom years. Resale volume has picked up in the past two months, but it has not surpassed the resales done in the first quarter of 2007, said Ms Sun.

Nonetheless, the Savills report showed that resale volume last year was strong, more than doubling those in 2008. But the 15,009 resale deals done last year are still below the 2007 peak level of 20,665 deals. Sales of new homes in comparison totalled 14,725 units last year and 14,811 units in 2007.

Consultancy Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han told The Straits Times: 'The market is seeing activity at all levels. It remains active despite measures introduced by the Government. Given that new launches have been largely well received, it is natural to see resale prices rise in tandem.'

Owners of completed homes can also cash in on the popularity of new projects nearby that are selling at high prices, experts said. In the resale market, owners of homes near new launches that are selling at higher prices would have a better bargaining power when it comes to negotiating for higher prices.

But not every project has reached its peak price, experts cautioned. In the new launch market, mass market and mid-tier prices have exceeded the 2007 peak but luxury homes are still about 15 per cent to 20 per cent below that peak.

 

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Mar 30, 2010
District 15 still the top draw
Attractions include sea views and food haunts
By Joyce Teo

HOME BUYERS' PICKS
WHETHER the property market is up or down, some areas are always popular, according to new analyses from property consultancy Savills Singapore.

Its list of perennial property hot spots includes one surprise locale far from the city centre.

District 15, which includes the Katong, Joo Chiat, Amber Road, Marine Parade and Tanjong Rhu areas, consistently topped all 28 regions in terms of the number of non-landed resale homes sold from 2007 to February this year. Savills Research found 4,289 resale non-landed deals were done in the three-year period.

District 10, consisting of the Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road and Tanglin areas, was No. 2, with 3,622 transactions.

District 23 came in a surprise third, and registered the highest price growth of the top 10 hot spots, with prices rising 25.5 per cent. It takes in Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang, and had 2,837 sales.

If transactions in 2007 were excluded, District 23 would have surpassed District 10 in popularity. In other words, District 23 has become the second most popular hot spot for non-landed resale homes since 2008.

Ms Christine Sun, Savills' senior manager for research and consultancy, said demand in District 23 could be due to attractive pricing, as the average unit price registered from 2007 to last year was still within the $500-$600 per sq ft range. Average prices reached $649 psf in the first two months of this year.

Given its proximity to the Bukit Timah belt and the nature reserves, this district has an edge over other areas in that price range, such as Tampines, Pasir Ris, Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol, Ms Sun added.

There are also a lot of developments in the area, such as The Warren, The Petals, The Madeira, Cashew Heights, Dairy Farm Estate, Regent Heights, Hillview Regency and Guilin View.

Ms Sun said the popularity of resale homes in District 15 may have been driven by the many launches in the area. Prices have risen in line with the launches, which draw attention to the area, she explained.

New launches since 2007 include Aalto, Parc Seabreeze, Silversea and The Seafront on Meyer. 'People think the area is becoming hot and they start to see value in the area,' she said.

Property experts said the area's appeal lies in its sea views and proximity to well-known food places, the airport and the city. 'It is an established residential area with ample amenities,' said DTZ head of South-east Asia research Chua Chor Hoon.

'There's also a wide range of prices to suit different budgets, from the bigger, higher-priced condos in Tanjong Rhu to the small developments in Telok Kurau.'

Said Ms Sun: 'In general, the next best areas to live in outside of Districts 9, 10 and 11 are in District 15, largely because of the sea view and the many good schools there such as Tao Nan School, CHIJ (Katong) Primary, Victoria Junior College and Chung Cheng High School.'

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said: 'District 15 has quite a big catchment of private homes so that may be why it has a high number of resale deals.

'It has also been popular with the middle class and the upper middle class for a long time.'

Popular projects in District 15 include Water Place, The Waterside, Neptune Court, Mandarin Gardens and Cote D'Azur, Ms Sun said.

It came as no surprise that District 10, as a prime location, is popular with foreigners. Demand for homes in this area fell significantly in 2008 but has recovered somewhat since, she added.

Still, District 10 resale non-landed homes showed just 2.3 per cent growth in prices since 2007, from $1,386 psf in 2007 to $1,417 psf in the first two months of this year.

District 15 registered 14.8 per cent price growth, from $783 psf in 2007 to $899 psf on average in January and February this year.

 

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Mar 30, 2010
Sentosa Cove condos post strong sales
By Gabriel Chen

The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove, which is expected to be completed before year end, will boast 228 apartments. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

ABOUT a quarter of the 56 units released for The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove were sold over the weekend for prices starting at $3.4 million.

This upscale condominium, which is part of the trendy 'W' boutique hotel brand, is being built by City Developments. Its spokesman said the price achieved during the exclusive by-invitation-only preview was in line with its launch price of between $2,500 per sq ft (psf) and $3,000 psf.

He said 40 per cent of the buyers were foreigners who were drawn by the project's 'unique lifestyle concept', particularly its strategic location in Sentosa Cove. It is located within the only integrated development in Sentosa Cove - the Quayside Isle, which will house trendy cafes, restaurants, speciality shops and entertainment spots.

The condo will boast 228 apartments. It has two- to four-bedroom units and penthouses, all with 99-year leases. Two bedders start from 1,227 sq ft, three bedders from 1,625 sq ft, and four bedders from 2,067 sq ft.

It is expected to be completed before year end.

Buyers will have to pay at least $3.4 million for the smallest unit of the seven, six-storey blocks.

Also at Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee and IOI said they sold 25 out of 40 units released for the 151-unit Seascape condo over the weekend. The units were sold for an average of $2,700 psf. In terms of absolute price, they were transacted between $5.7 million and $12 million.

The eight-storey development is expected to be completed late this year or early next year. It comprises three- and four-bedroom units.

 

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Mar 30, 2010
Horizon Towers lawsuit set to go on
High Court throws out appeal by two ex-sales committee members to halt suit
By K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
MINORITY owners will get to go ahead with their suit over the failed $500 million Horizon Towers en bloc deal.

The High Court yesterday threw out an appeal by two former sales committee members who had applied to block the owners' action against them.

Three sets of minority owners are suing the pair - ex-committee chairman Arjun Samtani and ex-member Tan Kah Gee - over costs incurred in the course of trying to block the collective sale from the start.

They want to be reimbursed for the more than $800,000 they spent, including the cost of hiring lawyers to advise them and other administrative costs.

The sum is expected to be partially offset when the costs awarded to the owners by the Court of Appeal in a separate action last year, after the deal was quashed, are assessed.

Senior lawyer N. Sreenivasan and Senior Counsel Tan Cheng Han, appearing on behalf of the two appellants, had urged the court to throw out the suit by the minority owners, claiming it was an abuse of the court process.

They pointed out that the matter of costs had already been decided by the Court of Appeal in an earlier judgment and only the quantum remained to be determined.

They argued that the damages sought for alleged breach of fiduciary duties were actually a disguised move for costs and 'it would have been reasonable for them to raise the costs issues at the (earlier) hearings'.

They added in court submissions that the minority holders would have incurred legal costs even if Mr Samtani had not done any wrong as their goal was to stop the collective sale.

But lawyer Kannan Ramesh, acting for the owners, countered that this suit was aimed at different people than was the case with the costs awarded by the Court of Appeal at the earlier hearing.

He argued that the alleged acts committed by the defendants were of a different category that called for different issues to be considered than the other consenting subsidiary proprietors' decision to go ahead with the failed deal.

Among other things, both had failed to disclose to the others their potential conflicts of interest arising from their purchase of additional units while spearheading the implementation of the sales process.

Judicial Commissioner Steven Chong, who presided at last week's closed-door hearing, ruled yesterday in a reserved oral judgment that there was no abuse of process by the minority owners in filing this suit as the subject matter was not covered in the previous court cases.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. A pre-trial conference to move the case will be held next week.

The Horizon Towers collective sale process spanned more than two years and involved two Strata Titles Board hearings and two High Court hearings before being thrown out by the Court of Appeal last year.

 

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Apr 1, 2010
Private home prices up 5.1%
By Joyce Teo

Private home prices continued their climb in the first quarter, surging 5.1 per cent, from 7.4 per cent in the previous quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday. -- PHOTO: HIAP HOE

PRIVATE home prices continued their climb in the first quarter, surging 5.1 per cent, from 7.4 per cent in the previous quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday.

In tendem with this, Housing Board's resale flat prices also rose 2.7 per cent, from 3.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

The URA said prices of non-landed private homes rose by 4.5 per cent in the Core Central Region, 7.2 per cent in the Rest of Central Region and 3.9 per cent in the Outside Central Region areas in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter of last year, prices of non-landed private residential properties climbed by 7.3 per cent in the Core Central Region, 9.5 per cent in the Rest of Central Region and 6.3 per cent in the Outside Central Region areas.

The URA flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in caveats lodged during the first 10 weeks of the quarter, supplemented by information on the number of new units sold.

The statistics will be updated four weeks later.

 

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Apr 2, 2010
Capitol Theatre site to go on sale
$100m bid triggers public tender for 1.43ha plot; historical buildings have to be restored

A NEW lease on life is on the way for the iconic stretch of colonial buildings along Stamford Road.

Stamford House, Capitol Building and Capitol Theatre are part of a huge land parcel that will go on sale in two weeks' time, after a property developer agreed to put in a bid of at least $100 million for the commercial site.

The bid triggered a public tender for the 1.43ha plot, which is located at the key junction of Stamford Road and North Bridge Road, and also includes Capitol Centre, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

Whichever developer wins the tender can tear down Capitol Centre, a dingy three-storey complex with shops, offices and schools opposite St Andrew's Cathedral, and best known for its Gramophone and TMC Academy tenants. In its place, a new development of up to 10 storeys can be built, said the URA.

But the other three 'historically and architecturally significant buildings' will have to be retained and restored, it said.

Stamford House was built in 1904 in a neo-classical style by Mr Regent Alfred John Bidwell, the architect behind the Raffles Hotel. Capitol Theatre, which housed Singapore's first cinema, was built in 1929, and Capitol Building, previously known as Shaw Building, was built in 1933.

Property consultants said the site will be an exciting one for developers, as it is a prominent plot in a prized location.

An interesting retail, lifestyle and hotel development could be created on the site, said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CBRE Research.

He expects bids to arrive in the range of $220 million to $270 million.

This would work out to $400 to $500 per sq ft (psf) of total floor area.

The land parcel, which was made available in December 2008, could have been triggered for sale now because of an expected upturn in the market for office, retail and hotel space, said Colliers International's director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying.

Prices for commercial and hotel land are still low because these segments have lagged the recovery in the housing market, but they are now seen to be at a turning point, she said.

Still, consultants expect only a handful of developers to contend for this site because of the many requirements involved.

The winning developer must use Capitol Theatre as an arts or entertainment-related performance venue. It must also build an underground pedestrian walkway, lined with shops and restaurants, to link the site to City Hall MRT Station and possibly CityLink Mall.

A quarter of the land parcel's total gross floor area must also be used for hotel rooms, to add to the existing hotel cluster in the area, said the URA.

'I think the site won't have many bidders, because you need a developer who is experienced in retail and hotel development and who also has the capacity to deal with all the conservation issues,' said DTZ's South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon. 'It won't be just any ordinary developer who can handle this.'

The URA is conducting the tender via a two-envelope system, in which developers submit their design proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes. The URA will first shortlist the designs they approve of and then choose the one with the highest bid.

Recent sites sold this way include the South Beach and Clifford Pier plots.

Meanwhile, the Housing Board will also put up for sale an executive condominium (EC) site in Sengkang. A developer has submitted an offer of at least $103.8 million for the land, triggering a public tender for the site, the HDB said yesterday.

Bids for the 183,000 sq ft plot, at the junction of Sengkang East Avenue and Buangkok Drive, could come in between $154 million and $181 million, said Mr Nicholas Mak, a real estate lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. This would work out to $250 to $330 psf of total floor area.

Consultants said the interest in the land parcel is not surprising given the enthusiastic response from developers for two other EC sites released recently, at Compassvale Bow and Yishun Avenue 11.

The finished units could eventually be sold at $600 to $650 psf, they said.

 

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Apr 2, 2010
Private home prices up 5.1% in first quarter
Index 1.9% below 2008 peak, but level will be breached soon: Experts
By Joyce Teo

FOR private home hunters looking for some respite in the relentless rise in prices, there was mixed news yesterday.

On the plus side, prices are estimated to have risen 5.1 per cent in the first quarter, moderating a little from the previous quarter's 7.4 per cent sharp rebound.

But the flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also confirmed that - other than in the central prime areas - homes are now pricier than during the 2008 peak.

A URA spokesman said private home prices on the city fringes - officially 'the rest of the central region' - are 1.1 per cent above the last peak in 2008's second quarter.

Those in suburban areas or outside the central region areas are a heftier 7.6 per cent higher than levels in that previous peak, he said.

Overall, the URA index is just 1.9 per cent below the 2008 peak - after rising nearly 31 per cent since the third quarter of last year. It is likely to exceed that level as early as the next quarter, property experts predict.

With prices seen to be rising about 4 to 5 per cent each quarter, the index will also easily surpass the all-time peak in 1996 by the end of this year, said PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Nicholas Mak projects a rise of 12 to 22 per cent for private homes this year.

The URA flash data is based on caveats lodged in the quarter's first 10 weeks.

On Tuesday, CBRE issued a report estimating first-quarter sales of new private homes at close to 4,000 units, more than double the number for the fourth quarter.

Resale home prices also rose in the first quarter, DTZ Research data showed.

ECG Property chief executive Eric Cheng said some home hunters are making panic buys as they are afraid of missing out.

In the first quarter, the URA said prices of non-landed private homes rose by 4.5 per cent in the city centre - the 'core central region', down from 7.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

On the city fringes, the rise was 7.2 per cent, down from 9.5 per cent in the previous quarter. Out in the suburbs, prices edged up 3.9 per cent, compared with 6.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

'The property market is still strong, but the 5.1 per cent rise is largely within expectations,' said Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han.

Government cooling measures unveiled in February did not appear to have curtailed demand, though they would have led some developers and sellers to control their prices, he said.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho expects the momentum of new home take-ups and price growth to continue in the second quarter, especially with expected launches of projects in Dakota Crescent, Serangoon Avenue 3 and Chestnut Avenue. The home-buying market, he said, is favourable, supported by positive sentiment, a recovering economy and a low interest rate environment.

'The index lags the market, so it is actually reflecting what was happening in the fourth quarter. Going by the manner the market has moved so far this year, the second-quarter data will likely be higher,' said Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh.

But a strong HDB market is underpinning the private market. 'The HDB resale market has been on a one-way trajectory from 2007, totally oblivious to the crisis in 2008, rising 47.5 per cent since then,' said Mr Singh. 'This closes the gap between HDB and mass market homes, making the latter more affordable.'

Said Jones Lang LaSalle's associate director, research and consultancy, Mr Desmond Sim: 'The price increase is still cause for concern. But we are seeing a retraction of the rate of price growth, which shows that recent government measures have had some impact.'

The URA index looks at prices on a per sq ft basis but that does not mean mass market homes are unaffordable, as smaller homes can mean lower total prices. 'If price growth stays below 5 per cent, there may not be a need for more government measures,' said Mr Sim.

Also, more new sites are on the way, pointed out Mr Li. 'As supply begins to catch up with demand, price increases may assume a more moderate level in the second half of the year,' he said.

 

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Apr 5, 2010
Lawyers ordered to return commission
Four sued for failing in professional duties over sale of a house in 2002
By Khushwant Singh
A COURT has found that an agreement between Electronic Realty Associates (ERA) and a property owner could result in 'unjust enrichment' for the property agency.

District Judge Francis Tseng has thus ordered four lawyers to return to Mr Simon Suppiah Sunmugam the money they had paid out as commission to the agency.

The lawyers had earlier released $28,000 as commission to ERA from the sale of Mr Suppiah's house.

The 62-year-old private investigator had sued Ms Amarjit Kour, Mr Gregory Tang Wee Thiang, Ms Belinda Ang Choo Poh and Mr Peter Cuthbert Low, of the now-defunct law firm Peter Low Tang & Belinda Ang, for failing in their professional duties in connection with a property sale in 2002.

A fifth lawyer, Mr Andrew John Hanam, was found not to be at fault as he was not involved in the agreement. He had been engaged only to act for Mr Suppiah's divorce from Madam Nee Shyan Huey in May 1996.

In his judgment last Wednesday, Judge Tseng said the four lawyers' interpretation of the provisions of the agreement, titled Exclusive Authorisation to Sell, renders the property seller 'at the complete mercy' of ERA and could result in a 'most unfair situation'.

Signed in June 2001 by Madam Nee, 44, an insurance agent, the agreement granted ERA a commission of 2 per cent on the first $1 million of the purchase price and 1 per cent for any amount in excess paid for the matrimonial home in Punggol.

This was payable if the company introduced a buyer or if the property was sold within three months.

After the 90-day period, the agreement would continue from week to week unless terminated by either party.

The proposed selling price was $2.4million, but ERA found a potential buyer who offered only $1.6 million in February the following year.

Mr Suppiah rejected it as too low, and a month later, he found a buyer who was willing to pay $1.75 million.

When the sale was completed, Mr Suppiah expected his share of the sales proceeds to be $240,000, with the rest of the money going to Madam Nee and to a trust fund for the couple's two daughters.

When he received only $212,000 in July 2002, as $28,000 had been taken out for the agency's commission, he instructed Mr Hanam to write to the other lawyers to withhold payment, as he had found the buyer himself.

But by then it was too late, as they had already released the money to ERA.

It was argued that since the agreement was not terminated, ERA was entitled to the commission even if the agency did nothing after the three-month period.

However, Judge Tseng said that this would amount to 'unjust enrichment' for the agency.

The court also dismissed the defendants' claims that they were acting only for Madam Nee and did not owe her ex-husband any professional obligation.

The judge noted that their law firm clearly stated it was acting for both parties in its correspondence with the Central Provident Fund Board and the Comptroller of Property Tax.

Mr Suppiah's lawyer Alain A. Johns also convinced the court that there was 'a total lack of consideration on the part of ERA' in the agreement, which he said should be regarded as 'void and unenforceable'.

The four lawyers, who were also ordered to pay costs, are considering an appeal against the verdict.

 

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Apr 6, 2010
Marina House sold for $148m
Five-party consortium plans to convert CBD property into apartment block with shops
By Fiona Chan

The property was sold by Hong Leong Group, which paid $153 million when it bought the building in 1994. -- BT FILE PHOTO

FOUR property firms and an architect have joined hands to buy a prime office building in the Central Business District (CBD) and convert it into apartments.

They paid $148 million for Marina House at 70 Shenton Way, according to a press release from one of the companies yesterday.

Roxy-Pacific Holdings said it has formed a consortium with Macly Capital, Pinnacle Assets, Fission Holdings and architect Chee Hsian Sing to buy the building. Each party will have a 20 per cent share in the purchase.

The property was sold by Hong Leong Group for a touch below the original price of $153 million it paid for the building in 1994.

The buyers of Marina House plan to convert it into a 42-storey residential block of apartments with shops on the first storey. The building now has a 17-storey office tower and a four-storey podium.

Mr Teo Hong Lim, executive chairman and chief executive of Roxy-Pacific, said he is confident the redeveloped Marina House 'will be very much sought after'.

The supply of residential apartments in the prime CBD area is limited, he said, especially when compared to the suburban mass market sites being released for sale by the Government.

Colliers International executive director of investment sales Ho Eng Joo also said Marina House's location on the fringe of Tanjong Pagar means it could benefit from the buzz surrounding the redevelopment of the area.

Apartments in the CBD have seen healthy demand in recent months. At 76 Shenton, down the road from Marina House, all 202 units in the project were sold out in two days last month at prices ranging from $1,600 to $2,600 per sq ft (psf).

That development, also owned by Hong Leong Group, was similarly converted from an office block into a 39-storey apartment block.

On whether too many cooks in the consortium would spoil the broth, Mr Teo said all the property developers involved are small or mid-sized firms that go back a long way and use similar architects.

'We are also positioning for the future,' he said. 'Sites are going to get bigger and they are limited, so rather than compete with one another for the same site, we can work together.'

Roxy-Pacific owns Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel in Marine Parade and has developed a string of boutique condominiums in the East Coast.

Macly, Pinnacle and Fission are also boutique developers, with projects such as Thomson V in Upper Thomson, RV Edge in River Valley and Alexis in Alexandra Road respectively under their belts. Mr Chee, an architect with more than 20 years' experience, has been involved in several joint developments with Fission.

Marina House has a gross floor area of 199,691 sq ft and 60 years remaining on its original 99-year lease. The buyers will have to pay an upgrading premium to top up the lease and a differential premium to convert the building from office to residential use, but they said these amounts were 'minimal'. This is because Hong Leong had received provisional permission to redevelop the office building into apartments in February, before development charges were hiked last month, said Mr Teo.

The purchase price works out to about $1,050 psf per plot ratio, based on an estimated $30 million for the upgrading premium and a total floor area of about 165,000 sq ft for the new building.

Separately, City Developments, a unit of Hong Leong Group, said yesterday it has sold another 10 per cent of the 56 units released at The Residences at W Singapore in Sentosa Cove. This brings the total number of units sold to 20.

Property giant CapitaLand also said yesterday it has sold another 110 apartments in its Interlace development in Alexandra Road since it started a second phase of sales last Friday. Prices of the units sold ranged from $850 to $1,300 psf. To date, about 81 per cent of the 490 units released at The Interlace have been sold. The project has 1,040 units.