Four thousand people, including singles, families with young children, the elderly and foreigners, will be surveyed between now and November. And focus group discussions will be used to gain deeper insight into key issues.

Those taking part in the survey will be asked for their views on a range of lifestyle issues, including living and working environments, recreational activities and factors that create a sense of belonging to Singapore.

The URA hopes the survey will highlight any gaps that need filling in the provision of facilities.

Also, the findings of the Lifestyle Survey will go towards the 2011 review of the Concept Plan, which maps out Singapore’s land use and transportation over the next 40 to 50 years.

Letters will be sent to notify households that have been selected for the survey.

Its bid of $15.51m is 76% higher than trigger price

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday awarded the tender for a Short Street hotel site to Fragrance Group, which offered the highest bid of $15.51 million or $353 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The bid was 76 per cent higher than the trigger price of $8.8 million or $201 psf ppr.The large number of bids could also reflect faith in Singapore’s long-term potential as a tourist destination, one said.

But the economic downturn has dimmed the near-term outlook for the hospitality industry.
In April, CBRE Hotels (Asia-Pacific) forecast a fall in hotel occupancy, room rates and revenue per available room in Singapore this year.Source: Business Times, 17 June 2009

It was also 11 per cent more than the next highest bid of $14.01 million or $319 psf ppr by Regal Land, which is behind the Hotel 81 chain.

Fragrance Group stood out from 14 other bidders to win the 99-year leasehold site, which covers 12,536 sq ft and offers a maximum gross floor area of 43,885 sq ft.

Other bidders include Centurion Properties, Sim Lian Land, Orchard Parade Holdings and Heeton Holdings.

URA has said that the site could yield 90 hotel rooms and would be suitable for a boutique hotel. It is near Bugis, with its cluster of arts and education facilities, and close to the future Rochor MRT station.

Fragrance Group chief executive Koh Wee Meng declined to share plans for the Short Street site when contacted.

Market watchers said that the small size of the site, coupled with falling construction costs, made the investment attractive.

A SMALL hotel site in Short Street has received 15 bids, with the winning tender coming in at more than double the trigger price.

Budget hotel chain Fragrance Group’s bid of $15.5 million, or $353 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio, is about 76 per cent higher than the trigger of $201 psf per plot ratio, or $8.8 million.

The price is more in line with analysts’ projections last August, when the site was first made available on the Government’s land sales list, than recent ones.

The second highest bid – from Hotel 81′s Regal Land – was at $14.01 million, or $319 psf per plot ratio.

Centurion Properties, largely owned by UOB-Kay Hian stockbroker pair Han Seng Juan and David Loh, put in the third-highest bid of $12.89 million, or $291.70 psf per plot ratio.

Other bidders included Sim Lian Land, Hotel Royal Investment, Wah Khiaw Developments, Mayhew, Heeton Commercial and Orchard Parade Holdings’ First Choice Properties. The first nine bids all came in above $10 million.

Singapore’s largest bar chain operator, Harry’s Holdings, which recently said it was keen to buy a small hotel, also put down a bid – at $9.5 million or $217 psf per plot ratio.

‘The strong response to the tender of the Short Street site signals that hoteliers still believe in the fundamentals of Singapore as a tourist destination and its long-term ability to attract tourists,’ said CBRE Research director Leonard Tay.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority put the 99-year leasehold Short Street hotel site up for tender when an unnamed developer triggered it for sale after committing to a minimum bid of $8.8 million. It is a reserve list site, which is put up for sale only if developers indicate their interest.

The 14 valid bids received – the 15th undercut the trigger bid – reflect a return of interest for development sites with good attributes, Mr Tay said.

Given that the site area is relatively small and construction costs are expected to decline this year, the overall investment should not prove costly, making this an attractive opportunity for developers and hoteliers, he added.

The site, which has a maximum gross floor area of 43,885 sq ft, can accommodate around 90 rooms.

Apart from the affordable investment sum, the site’s location within the Bras Basah/Bugis district was another key factor, said Colliers International’s director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying.

Mr Leonard Tay said its location near the upcoming Rochor MRT station and the Bugis area meant that a themed or design-oriented boutique hotel would be most likely.

A new boutique hotel could capitalise on the growing arts scene in the Bugis area and cater to tourists looking to stay in a hotel offering something more than a typical hotel chain, he said.

For now, the hotel industry is faced with rising supply, shrinking revenue per available room and falling visitor numbers.

No new hotel sites were added to the Government’s land sales programme for the second half of the year. It already has nine hotel sites available for tender.

Source: Straits Times, 11 June 2009

Hong Leong boss says many buyers out there, but luxury sector still listless

PRIVATE home prices in most sectors could start to rise gradually this year but high-end property will stay in the doldrums until later next year, according to tycoon Kwek Leng Beng.

Mr Kwek – executive chairman of the Hong Leong Group – said there are many cash-rich buyers waiting for the right time to buy.

‘Every time the market turns, some people would get caught out,’ he added.

The key question that many buyers are asking is: Has the market turned?

Urban Redevelopment Authority data shows that 1,207 new private homes were sold in April, making it the third consecutive month that sales have crossed the 1,000-unit mark.

It is a level reminiscent of the boom period and one that some analysts believe is unlikely to be sustained for long.

But Mr Kwek, who was speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of a recent hotel investment conference, feels that these levels of sales can be maintained ‘if the world economy stabilises’.

‘Confidence is the quick key to recovery. When you have confidence, you will invest,’ he said.

Mr Kwek said developers are sometimes wrong but the key is to be more often right than wrong.
He also reiterated that property is an investment over the medium to long term, anywhere from three to 10 years.

Developers got the market message this year and have cut prices to meet buyers’ expectations, following a stand-off that saw just 100-plus units sold in January.

‘If you’re listed, you’ll have to sell something. Otherwise, every quarter, you have no sales,’ said Mr Kwek.

Some developers have actually started to raise their asking prices slightly from their adjusted lows.
The strong sales so far this year have largely prompted two foreign investment houses to turn more positive on the residential market.

A recent UBS report points out that the sales momentum has been stronger than expected, with the possibility of higher prices in the second half of this year and next year.

It had already in a late April report called a ‘buy’ on the property sector, saying that demand from domestic upgraders – not foreign buying – will jump-start the recovery, as with previous recoveries in the 1990s.

Goldman Sachs has also projected a 5 per cent gain in Singapore private home prices next year, reversing its earlier tip of a 10 per cent fall.

‘We think the alignment of developers’ asking prices and buyer expectations would be key for generating sustainable demand,’ said the UBS report.

Nevertheless, not all are optimistic about the market.

‘This wave of purchases, once it’s over, won’t come back until the economy has recovered and embarked on its way up,’ said a property fund manager who declined to be named.

The pent-up demand is coming mostly from owner-occupiers or small investors and these people usually cannot afford to buy more than one unit, he said.

‘Foreigners are still leaving Singapore. When there are not enough real users for all the supply, prices will continue to fall.’

What is happening now in the real estate sector could be similar to the bear rally some analysts foresee for the stock market, he said, adding that the only good news is that mass-market prices are likely to hold at current levels.

Unlike high-end prices, which have fallen at least 35 per cent to 40 per cent from their all-time peak, the mass and mid-market sectors have had falls that are much less steep.

The price fall in high-end homes – which shot to more than $5,000 per sq ft during the boom from around $1,800 psf – is thus steeper, he said.

Average high-end prices may dip to around $2,300 psf, which is still higher than pre-boom levels.
Mr Kwek said the Hong Leong Group – which includes listed Hong Leong Finance, developer City Developments, Hong Leong Asia and London-listed Millennium & Copthorne Hotels – will hold off high-end home launches for now, preferring to start building first.

City Developments, the developer behind projects such as The Sail @ Marina Bay, has in its pipeline The Quayside Isle Collection in Sentosa Cove, a 99-year leasehold enclave where values have more or less collapsed.

High-end home prices were to a large extent boosted by foreign buying. ‘Foreigners will slowly come back but not so soon,’ said Mr Kwek.

The Indonesians, he said, are very slowly returning. Although the trend is barely discernible, it is a change from the previous downturn where they had all but disappeared.

Still, he cautioned against comparing prices with levels done a decade ago: ‘Ten years ago and now, Singapore has changed. Fundamentals are good.’

The country will soon benefit from two integrated resorts, for instance.

‘Worldwide, it is the worst downturn ever. But you see the amount of stimulus around. You can’t see the effects immediately. It will take some time,’ he said.

MAIN INGREDIENT
‘Confidence is the quick key to recovery. When you have confidence, you will invest.’
Mr Kwek, on the recent improvement in property sales

Source: Straits Times, 26 May 2009

AMID growing talk of economic green shoots, local developers of high-end private homes rolled out 339 units last month – nearly five times the number in March, according to statistics released on Friday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

And they were not disappointed, as demand kept up with supply that month.

Some 332 private homes in the prime Core Central Region were sold last month, marking the highest since Sept 2007 – the peak of property prices – said Mr Nicholas Mak, director of consultancy and research at Knight Frank.

“This rebound is an encouraging sign that the high-end market is not void of life despite the economic turmoil ravaging across the world,” Colliers International‚s research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying said.

For instance, Illuminaire on Devonshire sold all 72 units launched last month at a median $1,703 per square foot, while BelleRive at Keng Chin Road also sold all 21 units launched.

Analysts agreed that developers, buoyed by the recent good response to mass market condominiums, were testing waters of the high-end segment.

But buyers continued to gravitate towards small units with “affordable price tags which can be under $1.5 million for high-end projects”, noted Savills Research & Consultancy associate director Priya Sengupta.

“Given that developers have started to raise prices of new units on a selective basis to test home buyers‚ price tolerance level, buying activity could be expected to hover in the current range as home buyers are spurred to commit ahead of further price increases by developers,” said Ms Tay.
Yet, developers wanting to move their inventory could launch or relaunch their mid-tier and high-end projects within a lower price bracket in the next few quarters, opined Ms Sengupta.

In total, 1,207 private homes were sold last month and 1,083 units were launched. It was the third straight month where units sold stayed above 1,000.

As in previous months, mid-tier and mass-market projects dominated two-thirds of total sales.

Source : Today, 16 May 2009

Sales in core central region get big boost in April, soaring to 19-month high of 322 units

THE high-end property market – which has remained subdued since the beginning of the year even as activity increased in the mass-market segment – started to move in April.

According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), some 1,207 units were sold by developers last month. And unlike in the first three months of the year, homes in Singapore’s core central region (CCR) – which includes the prime District 9, Marina Bay and Sentosa – sold as well, with transaction volumes there soaring to a 19-month high of 322 units. In contrast, only 133 homes were sold in the CCR in March.

This rebound is an encouraging sign that the high-end market is not totally void of life as feared, analysts said. Outside the CCR, some 523 homes were also sold in the mass-market outside central region in April, as well as 362 homes in the more upmarket rest of central region.

Buoyed by the performance of the mass market over two consecutive months in February and March, developers started testing the ground with launches in the mid-tier and high-end segments in April.

While just 70 units were launched in the CCR in March, the number rose almost five times to 339 units in April – the highest number since September 2007. Launches in the CCR accounted for almost one-third of all units launched in the month.

‘Developers were probably hoping to ride on the rebound in buying momentum to clear their stock and land bank,’ said Tay Huey Ying, director for research and advisory at Colliers International.

Colliers’ analysis showed that there was a significant jump in the number of new units sold in April in the range of $1,500 per square foot (psf) and above. Some 90 units were sold at above $1,500 psf in April, compared to less than 12 units a month in the preceding six months. Of note, Illuminaire on Devonshire sold all of its 72 newly launched units at a median price of $1,703 psf.

Homes in the $1,000-$1,500 psf price range also sold well. Projects with significant numbers of units sold in this price range include the 51-unit BelleRive on Keng Chin Road (where all 21 units launched in April were sold for $980-$1,404 psf) and Attitude at Kim Yam in the River Valley area (where 22 out of the 33 units launched were sold for $1,157-$1,306 psf).

However, there was still no activity in the luxury segment. April marked the fourth consecutive month with no units transacted above $2,500 psf, pointed out Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank’s director of consultancy & research. ‘Although the sale volume is showing signs of increase, price growth is still subdued,’ Mr Mak said.

Analysts said there could be a variety of reasons why the buying momentum carried on from February and March. Some 1,332 homes were sold in February, and another 1,220 in March – a huge pick-up in sales volume after just 108 homes were sold in January.

Talk that the United States and Singapore economies are recovering, combined with the recent stockmarket rally, could have injected confidence and lifted the sentiments of potential buyers, analysts said.

There is also an increasing sense among potential homebuyers that home prices could be nearing bottom, with URA’s statistics showing that private home prices chalked up their worst-ever quarterly decline of 14.1 per cent in Q1.

Developer sales for the January-April period are already about 90 per cent of all developer sales in 2008. Such launch and sales activity can be sustainable in the months ahead if the Singapore economy and employment market were to expand in 2009, said Knight Frank’s Mr Mak.

The second quarter may chalk up home sales volume of 3,000 units, said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research. In Q1, 2,660 homes were sold.

Priya Sengupta, associate director of Savills’ research & consultancy unit, warned, however, that in the coming months, cautiousness is the key in developer launches as any sign of ‘false euphoria’ may scare the buyer away, leading to several months of inactivity again.

Others similarly called for ‘cautious optimism’.

There is still enough pent-up demand from homebuyers for a few more months, said Chua Yang Liang, Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of research for South-east Asia. But he added: ‘However, until there is a clear signal of a stabilisation and underlying positive growth in the real economy, the residual pent-up demand alone cannot be expected to lift the residential market in the long term.’

Source: Business Times, 16 May 2009

Private home sales in Singapore dipped slightly in April, but remained above the 1,000-unit mark for the third straight month.

Latest figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that 1,207 units changed hands, about one per cent shy of the number of sales transactions in March (1,220 units).

Demand for new private residential properties picked up recently because of lower home prices and expectations that the economy is recovering.

The recent rally in the stock markets has also helped. Some market watchers say a few investors may have taken profit and parked their funds in more stable investment options like real estate.
But some say the sales momentum may not last.

Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research and Consultancy, Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “(I’m) looking at somewhere between 2,000 and 2,400 units that were pent up collectively over in the month of October, November, December and January.

“Unless there’s a fundamental growth in the real economy, this pent up demand, the residual effect may not sustain the property market in the long haul.”

Suburban areas continued to shine, with Mi Casa in Choa Chu Kang, Double Bay in Simei, Kovan Residences accounting for 298 units of total sales. The Arte at Thomson, which is located on the city’s fringe, was also popular, with 110 deals sealed.

In April, developers placed 1,083 new units for sale, up from the 832 launched the previous month.

Industry players say the momentum is starting to filter from the mass market segment to the mid-tier one, which comprises properties costing between S$900 and S$1,300 per square foot. They also expect to see more activity in the luxury home segment in the next few months.

High-end property launches jumped nearly four-fold on-month in April to 339, making up a third of all units offered. Sales in the prime areas soared to a 19-month high of 322 units.

Donald Han, Managing Director, Cushman and Wakefield Singapore, said: “We are going to see more launches potentially in the core central area, in district 9, 10 and part of 11, particularly for some of the collective enbloc sales which have been bought by developers.

“Some of them are pretty much ready to be launched – they’ve got their showflats ready. So there will be more launches in these prime areas, as part of strategies for developers to test waters for the mid- and upper-end residential market.”

Looking ahead, analysts say developers may not raise prices but rather reduce the discounts offered.

On the whole, prices of private homes are expected to fall by a single digit percentage point range for the next few quarters.

Market watchers project that some 6,000 units will be sold this year if the economic conditions stabilise.

Source : Channel News Asia, 15 May 2009

Many units renting out bed spaces to workers; URA investigation on

APARTMENTS at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown are being partitioned to create extra rooms holding bed spaces for foreign workers, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is on the case.

The signs of overcrowding are there.

The three lifts serving residents in the iconic green-and-orange building are jam-packed and frequently break down, and long-time residents there say the place has become noisier and dirtier.
They also fear that the partitioning within units and packing in of beds have created fire hazards.

Two URA officers were at the complex on Tuesday, and a URA spokesman said investigations were on.

Private apartments are for residential use and long-term residential stay, so leasing them out on daily, weekly or monthly terms is generally not allowed, URA said.

Also, planning approval is needed for a single residential unit to be broken up into more units.
URA can take action against unauthorised use of residential space.

The Straits Times reported yesterday that the agency had quashed the plan of a master tenant in Leonie Hill’s Grangeford condominium to run a student dormitory there.

URA said it is also investigating condo owners elsewhere who are reportedly renting out rooms as hotel rooms.

URA is not the only enforcement agency: The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it issued composition fines to nine units at People’s Park Complex this year and 18 units last year for unauthorised conversions of apartments into workers’ quarters, flouting fire-safety regulations.
Those that have been caught, however, could just be the tip of the iceberg.

When The Straits Times visited the complex, many of the estimated 288 apartments from the eighth to the 31st floors looked like they were occupied by more people than a typical family unit.

The cues: shoe racks with 15 to 30 pairs of shoes, laundry strung out on window grilles, on racks in the hallway and in staircase landings; kitchens that appeared to have been turned into bedrooms; and notices on doors reminding occupants to keep quiet or to shut the door.

One unlocked regular-size unit of 1,119 sq ft had at least seven rooms. In its original state, a unit that size would have only three bedrooms and a living room.

Tenants in the complex, observed to be mostly Chinese nationals, said they were renting bed spaces for between $180 and $300 a month.

Mr Li Guiquan, 28, a chef, said he has been paying $200 a month for his bed space for more than a year. His bed is one of six in a room with three double-decker beds. He reckoned 30 people occupied the seven or eight rooms in the unit.

He said nonchalantly in Mandarin: ‘Perhaps it’s just the way it is in Singapore.’

People’s Park Complex residents said the conversion into workers’ quarters became apparent two years ago.

Long-time resident Beverly Lee, 49, in a letter to this newspaper’s Forum page published on Monday, said that, with the alert on for the Influenza A (H1N1) flu, contact tracing would be difficult in such overcrowded conditions.

The complex’s management corporation seems to have its hands tied.

Complex manager Wilson Goh said the management corporation managed only the common areas and had no jurisdiction over the apartments.

‘What we can do is only to persuade owners to take care of the issue,’ he said.

Some residents are resigned.

One resident who has been living there for more than 10 years and who gave his name only as Benny, 58, said: ‘There is no use complaining.’

Mr Jeff Teo, 33, who lives beside a unit which he estimates houses up to 20 foreign workers, quipped: ‘Right now, you can call it People’s Park Hostel.’

Source: Straits Times, 8 May 2009

A PLAN to run student dormitory rooms at Grangeford condominium in Leonie Hill is no more.
Master tenant Ideal Accommodation completed sub-dividing 140 apartments into a total of 600 units last month.

But it has been ordered to take down all the partitions by the end of the month.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) investigated the project after receiving complaints about the plans.

Late last month, URA asked for the condo units to be restored to their original condition, according to a Business Times report. URA declined to comment.

The Business Times also earlier reported that Ideal had found takers for about half of the 600 units – seeking monthly rents of $900 to $1,400 per furnished unit.

Now it may have to terminate the leases and find the takers alternative accommodation. Ideal’s founder Tang Yong declined to comment. But The Straits Times understands that Ideal is appealing against the decision.

The condo’s owner, Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), which had signed a two-year lease with Ideal for 170 flats, will have to step in if Ideal fails to act.

OUE had acquired Grangeford in a $625 million collective sale during the property boom in 2007.

Because demand is very poor, it is holding back the launch of the project and leasing the units out.

Owners of other apartments and projects are also reportedly carrying similar sub-divisions but on a smaller scale.

The Straits Times understands that the URA is also investigating these cases.

Source: Straits Times, 7 May 2009