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CASINOS may bring in gaming revenues but the property market could be the biggest winner.

Marina Bay Sands: The hike in property prices around S'pore's first integrated resort is best shown by price gains at The Sail @ Marina Bay

According to Peter Barge, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle (Asia Pacific), gaming revenue in Las Vegas for 2005 was US$6.3 billion. But sale of residential property for the same period was a hefty US$30.5 billion.

All eyes are now on Singapore and its integrated resorts (IRs) where, he said: 'You don't spend $8 or $9 billion without expecting an impact.'

The increase in property prices around the first integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands, is probably best demonstrated by the prices fetched by The Sail @ Marina Bay, developed by City Developments Ltd. About six months before the IRs were confirmed, the price of the first residential tower was officially launched at an 'early bird special price' of $900 psf. About a year later, the second tower of The Sail was launched - about six months after the IR was given the greenlight - and the official 'early bird special price' was $1,080 psf. Resale prices are now about $1,550 psf.

Mr Barge believes the primary impact of the IRs on the real estate market in Singapore will be on infrastructure development, job creation and multiplier effects such as housing needs.

He would not say if or by how much property prices at Marina Bay might rise. But on the land price for the Marina Bay Sands, he said: 'Most people thought it was a fair and reasonable number.'

He is also quite certain the main components of the Marina Bays Sands, which have been made public, will be welcomed as there is currently a shortage of hotel rooms and convention centre space.

'Singapore has some capacity problems,' he added. He noted that there is some concern about 'retail energy' being siphoned from Orchard Road.

But even here, however, he feels there is room for more. He said: 'Singapore has the lowest retail space per capita at only 10.5 sq ft per capita compared with other major Asian cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong. Singapore needs an additional 11 million sq ft of retail to match that of Hong Kong.' Currently, Hong Kong has 45 million sq ft.

He highlighted that the estimated multiplier effect used by the government to project additional $2.7 billion worth of economic activity was low.

By his calculation, the projected figure would add an additional 1.3 per cent to Singapore's GDP of $194 billion. This works out to an estimated multiplier effect (excluding land component) of about 0.7, which 'is rather low compared with other cities and what we would normally expect'. The multiplier effect for key Asian cities ranges from 1.5-2.5, he added.