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.

Source: Straits Times, 26 Mar 2010

A NEW upscale condominium that is part of the trendy ‘W’ boutique hotel brand has made its debut in Singapore.

The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove, which boasts 228 apartments, will be priced from $2,500 to $3,000 per sq ft (psf), said City Developments (CDL) at the launch yesterday.

The record in the gated island enclave is held by Seven Palms, where nine units went for $3,100-$3,430 psf late last year. Prior to that, the record was held by Lippo Group’s Marina Collection, where units fetched a median price of $2,734 psf in late 2007.

Buyers keen on W will have to pay at least $3.4 million for the smallest unit of the seven, six-storey blocks. There are two- to four-bedroom units and penthouses, all with 99-year leases, with sizes from 1,227 sq ft to 6,297 sq ft. About 40 per cent of these are two-bed and the smaller three-bed.

The development forms part of an integrated project that comprises a 240-room W Singapore Sentosa Cove hotel and 86,000 sq ft of gross commercial space for restaurants and shops. The W residences will open first, followed by the hotel and then the shops, probably by 2012.

CDL, which is releasing 60 units for the current soft launch, was behind the branded St Regis Residences in Cuscaden Road, also a collaboration with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. CDL managing director Kwek Leng Joo said that W was targeted at ‘global jetsetters’.

The firm’s group general manager, Mr Chia Ngiang Hong, said the project will be marketed overseas – in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jakarta.

There are now nine completed W residences worldwide, eight of which are in the United States. Another 13 are in the process of being developed, said Starwood asia-pacific president Miguel Ko, with four being built in Asia, including the one at Sentosa.

Elsewhere on Sentosa, Ho Bee began the preview for its Seascape condo yesterday, and Lippo is relaunching the Marina Collection today at a price of around $2,500-$2,700 psf.

Source: Straits Times, 26 Mar 2010

Hong Leong Group has inked a deal to sell Marina House at Shenton Way for $148 million, BT understands.

The buyer is believed to be a group led by niche property developer and investor Melvin Poh. Members of his consortium are said to include Victor Soh of Fortune Development.

Market watchers suggest that Mr Poh, who also led the purchase of three ageing CBD office blocks last year with an eye to redeveloping them into residential use, probably has the same intention for Marina House.

The 21-storey office block is on a site with a remaining lease of nearly 60 years.

The $148 million purchase price reflects about $1,130 per square foot based on the building’s existing net lettable area of about 130,000 sq ft. The building has a few tenants (the most prominent being Indian Airlines) but is substantially vacant – probably a deliberate strategy on the part of Hong Leong Group as it weighed various options, including the possibility of redeveloping the site into residential use.

In the end, market watchers suggest Hong Leong may have decided it made more sense to sell the property, and leave the redevelopment potential to the next owner, rather than get bogged down with having to seek approval from the authorities to top up the site’s lease to a fresh 99-year term.

In the past few years, the authorities have turned down a few applications for lease top-ups in conjunction with redevelopment proposals in the CBD, according to earlier reports.

Just a stone’s throw away from Marina House, Hong Leong Group secured approval to redevelop another of its office blocks (the former Ong Building) into apartments, which also entailed a lease upgrade. This 39-storey project, 76 Shenton, went on the market on Wednesday and the 202-unit development was sold out by yesterday evening, achieving prices ranging from about $1,600 psf to $2,600 psf.

Under Master Plan 2008, Marina House is zoned for commercial use with an 8.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area). By some estimates, the $148 million purchase price could reflect a unit land cost of $1,050 psf of potential gross floor area, inclusive of a lease-upgrading premium assuming the authorities approve a lease top-up.

Some analysts suggest that a differential premium may not be payable if a conversion of the site’s use to residential use is allowed, as the building’s existing gross floor area already surpasses the Master Plan plot ratio.

Marina House was spruced up a few years ago. It was sold through a private treaty deal, believed to have been brokered by DTZ.

Last year, Mr Poh’s Fission Group teamed up with Yi Kai Group to buy Aviva Building in Cecil Street and the next-door Cecil House for a total of $101 million, in a Jones Lang LaSalle-brokered deal.

The two partners also picked up VTB Building in Robinson Road for $71 million. That deal was brokered by DTZ.

Source: Business Times, 26 Mar 2010