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[RealEdge] BT : Hostile end to Horizon Towers hearing

2007-10-04T12:18:00.001+08:00

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Oct 4, 2007

Hostile end to Horizon Towers hearing

By Fiona Chan

TENSIONS ran high at the already prickly Horizon Towers hearing yesterday, as lawyers fought over who would have the last word.

The heated exchanges lasted less than an hour but they were more hostile than any of the previous day-long sessions since last Friday.

They brought to a close the appeal over the estate's bungled collective sale - an appeal peppered by barbed comments between highly paid lawyers and regular jeers and boos from the public gallery.

The only lawyer scheduled to speak yesterday was Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah of Tan, Rajah and Cheah. He represents the condominium's majority owners, who have asked the High Court to overturn the Strata Titles Board's (STB's) dismissal of their collective sale application in August.

Mr Rajah was to reply to arguments made by the minority owners' lawyers on Tuesday. The minority owners want the STB decision upheld.

But even before he could speak, Senior Counsel K.Shanmugam - representing the Horizon Towers buyers - attempted to have the final say. He asked Justice Choo Han Teck for '10 to 15 minutes' after Mr Rajah's speech to address some of the 'new' points raised on Tuesday.

Barely had Mr Shanmugam finished his request when Senior Counsel Michael Hwang and Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah, who each represent a different group of minority owners, were on their feet to object.

Although Justice Choo stayed the conflict by asking Mr Chelva Rajah to proceed with his remarks, Mr Shanmugam rose again once Mr Rajah was finished.

His plea to be allowed a response was interrupted by Mr Hwang, who said it would be 'unfair' to allow Mr Shanmugam 'a second bite of the cherry when he should have said all this in the first place'.

Justice Choo proposed two peace options: either Mr Shanmugam got five minutes to speak, or all the lawyers were to read his new points and respond in writing within the day.

Mr Hwang opted for the second option almost at the same time that Mr Shanmugam chose the first. It all looked quite comic to the tittering public gallery but the tension in the courtroom remained high, prompting Justice Choo to close the session without allowing Mr Shanmugam's speech.

In the end, only Mr Rajah had a say yesterday. He noted that Parliament will soon formally give the STB powers to ignore technical flaws - such as the three missing pages in Horizon Towers' collective sale application - showing that the STB was always intended to have these powers.

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[RealEdge] ST : Land authority's sales soar to nine-year high

2007-10-04T12:18:00.000+08:00

Print Article

Oct 4, 2007

Land authority's sales soar to nine-year high

It chalks up sales revenue of $6.3b on the back of red-hot property market; rental income rises a third

By Tan Hui Yee

THE booming property market sent sales revenue at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to a nine-year high of $6.3 billion.

Its bumper result was still well shy of the record return achieved in the 1997 financial year, when the red-hot market pushed sales revenue to $14 billion.

The SLA manages state properties and also sells them to private companies and other government agencies at market value.

Its annual report out yesterday showed that it sold $3.55 billion worth of land to the private sector in the 12 months ended March 31 - about 8 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Some of this land included plots in Lim Chu Kang, which the SLA specially designated for agricultural and entertainment use.

A further $2.75 billion came from land sold to other government agencies, such as the 21ha plot for the Marina Bay integrated resort. This was bought by the Singapore Tourism Board for $1.2 billion and later taken over by developer Las Vegas Sands.

Rental revenue grew 33 per cent to $514 million, bolstered by takings from the booming Tanglin Village food and beverage cluster and the lease of the former Pearl's Hill Primary School, which is being turned into a boutique hotel.

Tanglin Village, in the Dempsey Hill area, is a thriving development of upmarket restaurants, bars and other businesses that have sprouted on the refurbished former military buildings managed by the SLA.

The authority helped to make the cluster more appealing by adding entrance and building markers, as well as creating an outdoor space for events.

Another state property adapted for new purposes is the former Changi Hospital, which the SLA tendered for use as a spa and resort development. The 7,900 sq m property is undergoing a $20 million makeover.

The authority's recent business-friendly moves have been noticed by property consultants such as Mr Ku Swee Yong.

The director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore suggested that the SLA could try extending the leases of its rental properties so that businesses would be more inclined to sink money into refurbishing state real estate.

Many of the SLA's properties are rented on three-year leases, which can be renewed up to nine years, but this may not be enough for a business to make a profit from its investment, said Mr Ku.

The SLA's operating surplus grew by 35 per cent to $17.1 million.

Meanwhile, another state agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), collected $2.7 billion from land sales in the financial year ended March 31.

Although the URA sold 16 sites in that period, compared with nine the year before, sales revenue dropped by 5 per cent because last year's takings were bolstered by high-value sites such as the business and financial centre in Marina Bay and the commercial plot at Orchard Turn.

The URA's operating surplus more than tripled to $14.8 million, helped by higher agency fees from selling sites and income from processing more applications for development.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : New en bloc rules kick in today

2007-10-04T12:01:00.000+08:00

Oct 4, 2007
New en bloc rules kick in today
Changes meant to make sale process more regulated and transparent
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
NEW collective sale regulations will kick in today - a few weeks earlier than many in the industry had expected. The rules, which were passed in Parliament two weeks ago, were expected to take effect this month, but a date had not been specified. The much-anticipated announcement, which came yesterday, took some en bloc players by surprise. 'We thought it was going to be later, and expected the Government to give more lead notice as well,' said Mr Jeremy Lake, executive director of investment properties at property firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). He added that 'initial indications were that they were likely to kick in only at the end of the month'. The changes are aimed at making the sale process more regulated and transparent. They require more conditions to be fulfilled, such as adhering to stricter requirements on setting up a sales committee and providing a five-day cooling-off period for owners to change their minds after signing the collective sale agreement. The changes will apply to all developments that, as of today, have not obtained consent from enough owners to go en bloc - 80 per cent of owners by share value, or 90 per cent for estates less than 10 years old. It will be back to the drawing board for the owners of these developments, who will have to start the collective sale process all over again and do so by the new rules. Most property firms said they each had 'two or three' en-bloc estates that will be affected by today's changes. But CBRE's Mr Lake expressed relief that there was clarity on when the rules would finally kick in. Indeed, for the last few weeks, a few projects had been suspended because no one knew when the changes would take effect, said Mr Tan Hong Boon, executive director of Credo Real Estate. 'Most lawyers were also not prepared to quote their fees for new en-bloc projects because they didn't know how much more work they would have to do under the new rules,' added Mr Tan. Some consultants scrambled last night to get the last one or two signatures. Mr Steven Ming, director of investment sales at Savills Singapore, said he had expected to have 'one or two more weeks to get the last few signatures'. 'I guess I will have to work overnight,' he joked. Other consultants, such as Jones Lang LaSalle's head of investments, Mr Lui Seng Fatt, said they have been advising would-be en-bloc sellers to follow the new rules since last month. 'Fortunately, none will have to start all over again,' he said. fiochan@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Legal exchange rivets gallery

2007-10-04T11:56:00.001+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	Legal exchange rivets gallery Majority owners of Horizon Towers get their day in court Thursday • October 4, 2007 Loh Chee Kong cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg IN CONTRAST to the thunder and fury of the past few days, the legal dispute surrounding the botched Horizon Towers en bloc sale ended on a muted note yesterday — less than 45 minutes after it started in the High Court. Nevertheless, it was a day the packed courtroom — comprising mainly the condo's residents — relished, going by their obvious delight when Senior Counsel K Shanmugam, who represents the prospective buyers, was repeatedly denied the chance to address the court. The majority owners are appealing against the Strata Titles Board's decision to abort the proposed $500-million deal on technical irregularities — three pages containing the signatures of three majority owners were missing from the documents. Yesterday, the majority owners' lawyer, Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah, was finally given the chance to respond to points raised by the lawyers for the minority owners, who hope to sink the deal for good. But before the hearing began, Mr Shanmugam asked Justice Choo Han Teck for permission to speak after Mr Rajah. Justice Choo's response that he would decide after listening to Mr Rajah drew cheers from the gallery. Mr Rajah reiterated that the sale order application was "not invalid", since two of the missing pages were actually tendered to the STB in a separate bundle, while the third page was submitted before the board's hearing ended. While lawyers for the minority owners had argued that the latest changes to the law for en bloc sales, which empower the STB to disregard technical or procedural irregularities, meant it lacked this authority previously, Mr Rajah argued otherwise. He said: "The fact that Parliament is putting up the Bill doesn't mean it had a change of mind. It's far more likely that Parliament all along intended the board to have the power." In his written submission, he said that even without the three signatures, the consent level for the sale was 82.51 per cent — above the required 80 per cent. As soon as Mr Rajah was done, Mr Shanmugam, who is also a Member of Parliament, requested to take the judge through parliamentary reports to show that the legislative amendments "in fact show Parliament's true intentions". He also wanted to highlight an earlier court case to illustrate the STB's jurisdiction to amend applications. But Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, who was representing a minority owner, objected to this "second bite of the cherry". If the judge allowed Mr Shanmugam's request, said Mr Hwang, the other lawyers had to be given the chance to respond as well. Justice Choo gave them the choice of either "five minutes" each to address the court again or to respond in writing to a written submission of Mr Shanmugam's additional points. While Mr Shanmugam wanted the first option, Mr Hwang chose the second and the other four lawyers present agreed with him. The judge went with the majority and gasps of "yes" were heard from the gallery. Justice Choo is expected to give his ruling next week.

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Industry weighs new en bloc rules

2007-10-04T11:56:00.000+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	Industry weighs new en bloc rules Players note changes protect minority owners, improve sales proceedings Thursday • October 4, 2007 Esther Fung esther@mediacorp.com.sg Changes to regulations governing collective property sales — which take effect today — favour the minority owners, said lawyers and property experts at an en bloc property seminar yesterday. They could get a higher sales price if their objections to the sale are valid, while the provision for a change of mind following the signing of the collective agreement is generous, they said. Lawyer Sim Bock Eng from Wong Partnership said: "This five-day cooling-off period excludes weekends and public holidays, allowing minority owners to review their decision and alleviate any pressure." The event comes at a time when the en bloc frenzy shows little sign of easing despite government measures. Referring to reports of souring relationships, Mr Chan Kok Hong, CKH Strata Management managing director, said: "Director Royston Tan can make a movie from this." Ms Sim said the raft of requirements for setting up a sales committee protects minority owners. Before the changes, a one-man committee could be set up; now, at least three owners are needed. And members of the committee have to be elected at a general meeting and must declare any relationships with developers, marketing agent or legal firms that might incur a possible conflict of interest. The new provisions also improve en bloc proceedings, which typically take 31 months to complete, noted Mr Chan. Meanwhile, the Law Ministry has advised that ongoing en bloc sales without a majority of owners' consent — 80-per-cent (for developments 10 years old or older) or 90-per-cent (below 10 years old) — have to comply with the new provisions. Those with the majority consent are exempted.

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : SLA rides the bulls

2007-10-04T11:53:00.002+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	SLA rides the bulls Thursday • October 4, 2007 sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg Sheralyn Tay IN A testament to the bullish property sector, it has been a year of records for the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). Its latest annual report revealed that revenue collected from State land sales has reached a nine-year record high of $6.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion the previous year. Private sales in major projects such as the Marina Integrated Resorts, Southern Sentosa Cove and the Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex at One North accounted for more than half SLA's total land proceeds, with takings totalling some $3.5 billion in the financial period ending in March. This is up from $3.3 billion previously. The public sector too bought their fair share of state land. Sales to entities such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Sentosa Development Corporation and JTC contributed to $2.7 billion in takings, up from $2.2 billion the previous FY, marking another record high. Analysts, such as director of Dennis Wee Properties, Mr Chris Koh, said these figures are not surprising. "The last financial year, the Government has been releasing more land for sale in light of the brighter economy, so it explains the takings," said Mr Koh. And in a bid to alleviate the CBD crunch, the SLA released 13 landmark State properties for dedicated office space between April last year and this March for "adaptive reuse". It's likely that more such plots will be opened up for office use in the coming months, said Mr Koh as the demand for office space is still very strong. "Lots of foreign companies are still coming in and the Government has to ensure that there is enough office space to curb soaring rentals as this will have the detrimental effect of driving business away from Singapore." SLA last year also tendered and awarded — for $1.75 million — three plots totalling 7.8ha in Lim Chu Kang for agri-tainment purposes in a bid to create a recreational countryside featuring a mix of agriculture, recreation and entertainment elements like farm stays and fishing and rock-climbing. Non-profit organisations were not forgotten. One beneficiary, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), got a three-month rent-free period on a 2-ha site in Sungei Tengah for its wildlife rescue centre. According to the annual report, SLA's total income increased from $80.8 million to $88.6 million, and its agency fee incomes achieved new highs, increasing 8 per cent from $50.8 million to $54.8 million. Major Land Sales FY 2006/2007 Marina IR (picture) ($1.2b) One North Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex ($180m) Private land sales proceeds FY02 1.2b FY03 684m FY04 290m FY05 $3.3b FY06 $3.5b Public land sales proceeds FY02 784m FY03 $1b FY04 $1.7b FY05 $2.2b FY06 $2.7b

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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[RealEdge] BT : Is the sub-prime crisis really behind us?

2007-10-04T11:53:00.001+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

Is the sub-prime crisis really behind us?

By ANTHONY ROWLEY
TOKYO CORRESPONDENT

THE fact that the world - its richer countries at least - has been living through a bubble economy period financed by junk (sub-prime) mortgages and funny money (carry trade) borrowing should be obvious enough to anyone observing events over the past few weeks.

But anyone who doubts it need only consider the startling fact that the number of millionaire families in the world grew by no less than 14 per cent to 9.6 million in the space of last year alone. These super-rich individuals now control one third of the estimated US$100 trillion in global financial wealth, according to the Boston Consulting Group in a new study on the subject this week. This is obviously a massive indictment of the failure to distribute wealth more evenly. But the way in which the stunning jump in the number of millionaire families came about is also something that should set alarm bells ringing.

Most of the new wealth came about through increases in the value of stocks, bonds and other financial instruments as global stock markets rose in value on average by 20 per cent, with the strongest wealth gains accruing in America where the equity cult is most entrenched. Not only the super-rich but also the merely 'better off' had a ball in 2006, as total assets held by households with US$100,000 or more leapt from US$51 trillion to near US$85 trillion.

If all this isn't evidence of a bubble, then it is hard to know just what is. But what goes up must come down, and bubbles burst as surely as they form. Or have we discovered some new form of gravity-defying wealth creation mechanism now - an infinitely inflatable bubble?

Looking at the behaviour of markets this week, it appears that the more credulous among investors are being lulled into believing that we have. In this promised land of milk and honey there is no such thing as a financial burst or bust. Descending bubbles simply float down to earth, bounce lightly off the ground and soar skywards again like hot-air balloons being given a fresh charge from the gas jet. Only in this case, the hot air is replaced by financial liquidity supplied in abundant quantity by kindly central bankers who never want to see a hard landing.

Markets are climbing again, as though the sub- prime mortgage market crisis and all its attendant horrors - in the shape of seized- up money markets, runs on banks or other financial institutions, massive mark-downs of un-tradeable financial assets and balance sheet damage all round - had suddenly become a thing of the past. Central banks have taken care of things by covering the ugly debris in a sea of fresh liquidity. Time to party again.

Amidst this new euphoria, an odd and rather worrying thing happened the other day when no fewer that three Japanese government ministers all warned at the same time that fallout from the sub-prime mortgage market debacle might not be over yet. It was not so much what they said as the fact that they said it. Such people usually see it as their job to utter bland, confidence-boosting statements, so when they do say what others of a sane turn of mind already suspect, something clearly is afoot.

It seems likely that the trio - Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, Financial Services Minister Yoshimi Watanabe and Economics Minister Hiroko Ota - were flagging concerns that there may be more nasties yet to come for Japanese banks and other financial institutions, in the shape of write-downs from the sub-prime fiasco.

If there is one thing more risky, or plain daft, for investors to do than to pile back into equities as if there were no yesterday and no tomorrow, it is to build fresh speculative positions by shorting the yen against other currencies (the carry trades). The yen has nowhere to go but up in the medium term, while the US dollar is already on the skids and the Australian and New Zealand dollars favoured by carry trade enthusiasts will slide again against the yen.

Meanwhile, back in the never-never land of sub-prime mortgages, things are not looking good. Sales of second-hand homes dropped by a surprisingly large (to some) 6.5 per cent in August. Morgan Stanley has announced that it will cut 600 jobs in its residential mortgage division, a quarter of the workforce. Anyone who thinks that is a detail should note that two million of the seven million new US jobs created in recent years were connected with real estate.

As the housing sector turns down, along with consumption-financing equity withdrawal by US home owners, the danger of a US recession will grow and with it a slowdown in the world economy and in global capital flows. Irrational exuberance will evaporate in stock markets around the world and liquidity will drain away like so much milk and honey. The only consolation is that a lot of those new paper millionaires will find themselves joining the world or ordinary mortals once more at the new dawn of reality.

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[RealEdge] BT : The story of Goldilocks in the house of 'Bears'

2007-10-04T11:53:00.000+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

The story of Goldilocks in the house of 'Bears'

Will cheap credit and hedges make her lead the world markets into the house of 'Bears'?

By SATYA SAURABH KHOSLA

Loans vs rents, salaries: Home prices in the United States today are not in any known relationship with either rents or salaries. Many homeowners complain that rents are less than half of mortgage payments. Salaries, for many, cover only short-run repayment using adjustable interest rates

GOLDILOCKS has strayed away from home once again. Deep in the forest of the global economy, Goldilocks has found a 'safe' resting place. Where porridge and lodging is free. Just like credit (well, almost - in yen carry trades). The three bears of 'twin deficits', liability of retiring 'baby boomers' and 'excess liquidity, cheap credit' turn out to be friends after all.

Like Papa Bear's porridge, some issues (like twin deficits) are too hot to handle and, therefore, irrelevant. Some others, like Mama Bear's porridge (fate of retiring 'baby boomers'), leave Goldilocks stone cold and, therefore, can be ignored. What Goldilocks loves is the porridge of Baby Bear, full of cheap credit and uncontrolled spending. This she can lap up until she falls asleep (sadly, after breaking the very chair on which she eats).

The three bears do not return Goldilocks favour of gobbling up the porridge by doing the same to her. Instead, they call out to a fleeing Goldilocks and invite her to keep supplying with them whenever she likes. Goldilocks has been doing so for some time now.

This 'true' story of global growth is referred to as a 'Goldilocks' situation by economists today.

Goldilocks prefers the borrowed house of bears to sleep and eat her porridge. Sleeping in a borrowed house is dangerous when the bears' mood changes.

From 2001-2005, outstanding mortgage debt in the United States had risen 68 per cent to US$8.88 trillion: an unparalleled debt expansion. Borrowing to own a house is easy when interest rates are low and 'easy' cash is chasing borrowers. Repaying the same loan when interest rates are high may imply a liability much larger than what the buyer can afford. This is more so if the loan was a little beyond the means of the buyer to begin with and/or his subsequent income stream does not increase to match the new liabilities.

When rates increase from 5 per cent to 7 per cent, that implies a 40 per cent increase in the amount of interest to be paid. US Fed fund rates have risen from one per cent to 5.25 per cent in last few years.

Why should a loan be given to a buyer who can barely afford it? There are reasons. Firstly, if the lending bank can push the risk of default (by selling these loans) to Fannie Mae (ultimately, US taxpayers) or to buyers of mortgage backed securities, then the risk of default is not on the banks' books, even though it remains in the system.

Secondly, the extreme competition among lenders to capture the same 'prime' target audience of homebuyers forces them to expand to 'sub-prime' borrowers who have dubious or no credit record.

Consequently, home prices in the United States today are not in any known relationship with either rents or salaries. Many homeowners complain that rents are less than half of mortgage payments. Salaries, for many, cover only short-run repayment using adjustable interest rates. When in late 2007 the interest rates are adjusted upwards, severe pain is likely to be felt (an estimated US$1 trillion on ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgage, will be reset).

According to a typical 'exploding' ARM sub-prime loan, buyers are considered qualified for loan if the original ('teaser') monthly payment is not higher than 61 per cent of their post-tax income. The scheme works out such that in two years, without interest rate increase, the repayment become 96 per cent of purchasers' income.

The Goldilocks economy has witnessed an explosive growth in derivatives. The housing loans, in a low credit risk environment, like many other transactions were converted into derivatives. The size of these derivative transactions, used to 'hedge' risks of Goldilocks growth, is many times larger than the jungle of global growth itself. Financial innovation has replaced technological innovation as the support system to global growth today.

The outstanding volume of derivative transactions is growing annually at 54 per cent, while global nominal gross domestic product (GDP) is growing at less an 8 per cent in dollar terms. If this rate of growth continues until end 2008, the total outstanding derivates would cross US$1 trillion. Some estimate that the total volume of derivatives is over 60 times global M1, more than 12 times M2 and about eight times global GDP.

In Goldilocks' world, every dollar of GDP is being hedged eight times; or every demand deposit, 60 times. Most of these hedges are done at historically low volatilities. Crisis occurs at high volatilities. We have seen what volatility in mid-August did to equity prices the world over. Surprisingly 90 per cent of these derivate transactions are on the books of a dozen global banks.

Nobody knows the collective impact of these derivative transactions in a financial crisis. Just as nobody knows what will happen to Goldilocks when the bears mood changes. The last time this impact was tested in 1998, outstanding derivatives were less than quarter of the current volume. The New York Fed had to undertake a dramatic rescue, supported by the same major banks that hold almost all the derivative paper today.

Of course, the objective behind most of the hedging transactions would have been to mitigate unnecessary risk or seek return. However, where the growth of derivatives is so much larger than the growth of global GDP, there is a high probability of some derivative transactions that are not funded by adequate capital.

These pose a risk to the global financial system in a period where consistent and continuous volatility upsurge happens. While liquidity has generated asset bubbles, the risk of these bubbles has been 'hedged' with derivatives and financial innovation. When will a pinprick burst a bubble? This is always difficult to forecast.

Financial innovation sometimes presents weakness as strength. Initially, excessive global liquidity allows the less credit-worthy to borrow more than they earlier could and now should. The big banks add fuel to the fire of credit expansion when they don't hold this debt but sell it to others through securitisation. Sadly, each bank believes that risk 'removal' is taking place by distributing debts 'far and wide so that no single holder has significant exposure'.

In reality, risk has spread while derivatives do insure 'holders against losses', but the sale of this risk to many small buyers spreads it in a manner that almost everybody will now be impacted.

It is true that Goldilocks is a story meant only for children. Also, using parables was relevant only during the time of Jesus. While the risk of Goldilocks growth being unable to extricate itself from the 'hedges' threatens to become real, one question inevitably arises: 'Will the porridge of 'cheap credit' and the shade of 'hedges' make Goldilocks lead the world markets into the house of 'Bears'?

The author is a Dubai-based private investor trading global financial markets. He is also currently setting up an IT special economic zone in India

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[RealEdge] BT : Wise not to ignore market risks

2007-10-04T11:49:00.000+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

Wise not to ignore market risks

SINCE the US Federal Reserve's somewhat surprising 50-basis points interest rate cut on Sept 18, investors all over the world have piled back into stocks with much gusto. Wall Street on Monday rose to a new all-time high while most Asian markets continue to set records of their own.

The mood is once again bullish, restored by a seemingly unshakeable confidence that the Fed can be relied upon to cut rates further to keep the ball rolling. While the momentum is clearly positive however, over-eager investors have to be mindful of making the same mistake as before - ignoring risks while focusing solely on returns.

Although the Federal funds futures market is pricing in a further 25 basis points cut at the end of this month, this is by no means a certainty. September's rate lowering has seriously undermined an already-weak US dollar - which has now declined even against currencies such as the Turkish lira, Saudi rial and Canadian dollar - and over time, this cannot be good for an-already slowing economy labouring under the burden of a crashing housing market. Moreover, various Fed governors warned this week that more rate cuts can only be justified if the economy shows signs of very drastic weakness, which means that perversely, investors are buying stocks today in the hope that growth worsens significantly tomorrow - Monday's Wall St record for example, was set after release of a weak manufacturing report that showed new orders dropping for the third consecutive month. This is an anomalous state of affairs. While it might last for a while, eventually reality will prevail.

Speaking of reality, the full extent of the sub-prime mess may not have been revealed yet. US and European banks have only just started to show alarming profit weakness stemming from sub-prime losses and there is doubt over whether rate cuts are sufficient to reverse losses.

That said, markets could continue to rally in the short term. One likely explanation for the strong bounces seen over the past fortnight is that they have come from widespread programme trading - with markets as interconnected as they are today, the big money has to employ sophisticated computer-driven trading strategies in order to react quickly enough and capitalise on shifts in economic and sentiment indicators.

As such, once certain parameters are met, powerful momentum forces take over and markets move almost as one. Invariably, the targets are always the largest stocks - that is why in Singapore at least, while the Straits Times Index has very rapidly regained new ground, the broad market has lagged.

The real danger however, is that the same momentum shifts work equally effectively on the downside. Given that volatility has not subsided over the past few months - it has in fact increased - and given that the chances of a US recession are quite real, it would be wise for investors to be as cognisant of risks as they are of returns.

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[RealEdge] BT : Credit crisis hits US high-end property

2007-10-04T11:48:00.000+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

Credit crisis hits US high-end property

Until recently, this segment had defied the two-year broader market slide

Crisis hits home: The owners of this nine-hectare estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, cut their price by US$3 million to US$19 million

(GREENWICH, Connecticut) There's an indoor lap pool, eight-car garage and four-storey elevator. But the 26,000 sq ft Tuscan-style home features something even more unusual in this ritzy suburb of gated estates and mansions - a US$3 million discount on its price.

As the credit crisis started to shake global financial markets in August, the owners of the nine-hectare estate at 309 Taconic Road in Greenwich, Connecticut, cut their price to US$19 million, showing turbulence in the US housing market penetrating the wealthiest strata of American society.

'People are looking instead of buying, maybe since the second week of August,' said Julianne Ward, director of fine homes at broker Prudential in Greenwich, a coastal town of 61,000 about 48 km from New York City.

Until recently, the nation's most extravagant homes had defied the two-year slide in prices and surge in foreclosures roiling the broader property market, where existing home sales are down more than 20 per cent from a 2005 peak, according to industry data.

Ultimate Homes, a publication that ranks the nation's 1,000 priciest homes, began its survey in 2005 with the cheapest on the list at US$7.9 million. That jumped to US$10 million this year with a record six homes now selling for US$100 million or more.

'In the last couple of years, the most expensive home on the market has gone from US$75 million to US$165 million,' said Rick Goodwin, the magazine's publisher. 'This market is still very strong. The rich are doing very well.' The nation's wealthiest communities were largely unscathed by turmoil in the broader housing market through the second quarter of this year, according DataQuick, which analyses data on real-estate markets nationally.

In California, for example, the number of homes that sold for US$10 million or more rose nearly 40 per cent between the first quarter and second quarter, while the number in New York grew 15 per cent and Connecticut's more than doubled, according to public records examined by DataQuick.

DataQuick mines records where a price or loan amount is available, which means there can be some gaps, but the numbers are a reliable indicator of trends, said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage who compiled the data for Reuters.

'Certainly through mid-summer it appears to be holding up just fine, and faring better than most other segments of the market,' he said of homes selling at US$10 million or more.

Like the Bel Air section of Los Angeles and many other exclusive coastal communities, Greenwich has a long association with wealth. Its typical family earns more than US$120,000 - more than double the national average - while its investment bankers are among the country's highest paid, taking home on average US$23,846 a week - 28 times the national average, according a recent government survey.

But the global credit crunch is stirring caution among its newest crop of wealthy elite. Greenwich is the unofficial capital of the US hedge fund boom. More than 100 of the private investment pools for the wealthy have set up in the town. That worries economist Edward Deak at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

'The hedge funds, private equity firms are taking a hit,' he said. 'I'm concerned about what the mortgage meltdown is going to mean for bonus incomes coming into Connecticut in January '08 and also January of '09.'

Some developers are changing course, or delaying the start of sales or construction.

'Buyers are doing a lot more due diligence and not pulling the trigger as quickly,' said Ms Ward, who has sold real estate in the town for more than two decades.

A vivid illustration of the divergent housing trends of the last two years is on display about an hour-and-a-half drive from Greenwich on Avon Mountain in West Hartford, Connecticut, where local businessman Arnold Chase is building a new home.

His 53,000 sq ft estate, complete with 100-seat cinema, would be New England's largest private home, eclipsing even the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, that typified the gilded age of America's industrial revolution. 'At the highest end, there's been no slowdown at all,' said Joseph Beninati, partner and co-founder of Antares Investment Partners, a private-equity and development firm that caters to Greenwich's hedge funds.

According to town records in Greenwich cited by Antares, the number of closed transactions on homes sold at prices greater than US$8 million grew 50 per cent in 2006, a record. Mr Beninati said he expects that figure to rise again this year.

'The luxury market tends to be a little isolated from the market swings. This time around it's a little different because the bottom half of the upper tier is softening a bit,' said Laurie Moore-Moore, founder of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a trade body for high-end property brokers.

The bottom tier comprises homes that sell for US$2 million or less, she said. 'As the market softens I think we are seeing that segment of the market falling out,' she said. -- Reuters

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[RealEdge] BT : Hertford Mansion, Holland Hill Lodge up for en bloc sale

2007-10-04T11:47:00.002+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

Hertford Mansion, Holland Hill Lodge up for en bloc sale

HOME owners are going ahead with collective sales, with Colliers International marketing two new freehold sites.

One site, Hertford Mansion, is located at Hertford Road/Bristol Road, near Farrer Park, and the indicative price for the 11,527-square-foot plot is $12 million or $744 per sq foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The other site, Holland Hill Lodge, is expected to fetch $16 million. This works out to $1,108 psf ppr for the 9,033-sq-ft site.

Home owners' price expectations may have been affected by the resent US sub-prime mortgage crisis as well as new requirements for collective sales. Colliers executive director (investment sale) Ho Eng Joo said: 'Sellers have to be more realistic in the event that the en bloc sales slow down. It's always a two-way traffic.

'Every owner would, of course, like to sell their property at a price as high as possible. But, they also need to take into consideration whether developers are willing to pay the price.

'Developers will be watching very closely the launches of new projects in order to price their costs of acquisition.'

With the process of organising an en bloc sale likely to be slower than before, Mr Ho expects the buying interest of developers could turn towards the city fringe and/or suburban areas where prices are lagging behind the high-end market.

The break-even cost for Hertford Mansion is about $1,100-$1,200 psf.

Mr Ho believes that given the flat contour and the regular shape of this site, the successful bidder could redevelop it into a boutique residential development with a five-storey block accommodating 20 units of 900 sq ft each.

The break-even price for Holland Hill Lodge is approximately $1,500-$1,600 psf. Mr Ho said: 'Given that all the owners have already consented to proceed with the sale, there is no need for approval from the Strata Titles Board. As such, the legal process of transferring the ownership can be expected to complete within three months.'

There is no development charge payable for either site.

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[RealEdge] BT : Owners: missing pages are a minor defect

2007-10-04T11:47:00.001+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

HORIZON TOWERS SAGA
Owners: missing pages are a minor defect

Judge Choo to deliver judgment on appeal next week

By MICHELLE QUAH

Horizon Towers: At the heart of the appeal in the case is whether the Strata Titles Board was right, in August, to throw out Horizon Towers' application because it was missing three signature pages of the collective sale agreement

(SINGAPORE) Yesterday's penultimate Horizon Towers appeal session was a decidedly tamer affair.

Still, Senior Counsel K Shanmugam of Allen & Gledhill (A&G), acting for the Hotel Properties consortium, was not spared heckling by majority owners seated in the public gallery when he sought permission from the court to address submissions made by the minority owners the day before.

Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, representing one of the minorities, opposed the move vigorously, arguing that only the applicants for the appeal - that is the majority owners, represented by the sales committee and their lawyers, Tan Rajah & Cheah - be allowed to reply to earlier submissions.

Judge Choo Han Teck proposed a middle ground: he will accept a written reply from Mr Shanmugam, but not an oral rebuttal, after the session.

Overall, the session was relatively calm, with Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah of Tan Rajah & Cheah, representing the majority owners, replying to submissions made by the minorities.

Mr Rajah rebutted the minorities' claims that three missing pages could render an entire collective sale application null and void. At the heart of this appeal is whether the Strata Titles Board (STB) was right, in August, to throw out Horizon Towers' application because it was missing three signature pages.

'There has to be some proportion to this,' Mr Rajah exhorted. He said that if the missing pages were substantial, then he would agree that it could be considered invalid. But, in the case of Horizon Towers, the three signature pages of the collective sale agreement - appended to the application - were only accidentally left out.

'And it's not really three pages, because one of the pages was there - but it was a copy of the faxed version, rather than the original - so it's actually just two missing pages in question,' Mr Rajah added. 'Nothing can be more minor than this.'

He also cited the case of Dragon Court's en bloc sale in 2003. The case went to court on a similar issue of missing disclosure. In that case, it was not disclosed that some of the owners were linked to the buyer. But the High Court allowed that application to stand, because the non-disclosure was subsequently made to the STB during the hearing.

Leaning on that judgment, Mr Rajah pointed out that Horizon Towers' majority sellers had done the same - they had brought the missing pages to the attention of the STB during the August hearing.

He also argued against the minorities' claims that the board - which heard the Horizon Towers' application - had no power to amend the defective application. The minorities said the board was not properly constituted because the application, which leads to the constitution of the board, was defective.

But Mr Rajah said that regulations - and the Parliament's recent amendments to en bloc rules - clearly show that the board was properly constituted, upon receiving the application, and had the power to cure any defects.

He concluded by asking the court to consider the facts of this case and decide if an entire application could be rendered invalid because of two missing pages.

Justice Choo adjourned the hearing to next week, at a date to be set later, when he will deliver his judgment on the appeal.

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[RealEdge] BT : Sales of state land fetch $6.3b for year to March

2007-10-04T11:47:00.000+08:00

Business Times - 04 Oct 2007

Sales of state land fetch $6.3b for year to March

Bulk of bumper takings comes from sales to private sector for $3.55b

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

THE government collected $6.3 billion selling state land during the year ended March 31, up from $5.5 billion in the preceding year - but still shy of the record $14 billion for the year ended March 31, 1998.

The bulk of the latest year's bumper takings came from selling land to the private sector for a total of $3.55 billion, up from the previous year's $3.3 billion, according to the Singapore Land Authority's latest annual report.

The SLA also sold $2.75 billion of land to statutory boards such as Singapore Tourism Board, Sentosa Development Corporation and JTC Corp under public sector sales in the latest year, higher than the previous year's $2.2 billion.

Rental collections for state land and properties (including Temporary Occupation Licence fees) amounted to $514.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2007, up from $387.3 million in the preceding year.

The SLA reported a 39 per cent increase in net surplus to $13.67 million, on the back of a 9.7 per cent improvement in total income to $88.6 million. Operating income from land sales agency fees as well as title registration and related fees went up 10 per cent.

To meet competing demands for space for office, business, educational and commercial uses during the past year, the SLA stepped up to meet increased demand for state properties. In January to September, 13 state properties were turned into dedicated office space to help ease the supply crunch in this market.

The occupancy rate of state properties managed by SLA rose to 86 per cent in the latest year, up from 82 per cent in the preceding year, while the utilisation rate of state land managed by the SLA rose to 77.8 per cent from 76 per cent previously.

As custodian of state land and properties, the SLA manages about 14,000 hectares of state land and about 5,000 state buildings that have been put to use as offices, education centres, restaurants, recreational, retail and hospitality space. Its stock of buildings includes about 700 colonial 'black and white' residential bungalows.

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[RealEdge] TNP : Residents may try to sell for record $1.4b

2007-10-04T11:29:00.000+08:00

The Electric New Paper :

Residents may try to sell for record $1.4b

LET us sell your estate for about $1.4 billion.

By Desmond Ng

04 October 2007

LET us sell your estate for about $1.4 billion.

That's what property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is trying to persuade Pine Grove residents to do.

If the residents agree and CBRE manages to find a buyer, it will overshadow current record-holder Farrer Court, which was sold to CapitaLand for $1.33 billion in June.

The $1.4b price tag for the 893,000sq ft estate in Ulu Pandan means an average payout of $2m per unit.

There are 660 units in this 23-year-old estate. They are of different sizes.

Residents had already rejected the $1.2m per unit price tag in February as only 50 per cent voted for the en-bloc sale - well below the required 80 per cent.

A second attempt in May, with an upped price tag of $1.75m per unit, also fell through. Only about 50percent voted for the sale.

Last Saturday, some 500 Pine Grove residents held a meeting with CBRE at NUS Cultural Centre to sign the collective sale agreement (CSA).

CBRE is still collecting signatures from owners.

Close to 50 per cent of the residents have already signed the agreement.

They hope to push for the sale before the proposed changes to the Land Titles (Strata) Act take effect this month, CBRE's executive director Jeremy Lake said.

The various safeguards in the new rules are expected to increase the time taken to get en-bloc sites ready for launch, industry watchers said.

Some of the changes include having a lawyer to be present when an owner signs the CSA.

Madam Debra Lee, who owns a unit in Pine Grove, said: 'The first offer was simply too low for me to even consider. I don't think it was enough to look for a replacement home.

'But the recent payout seems more reasonable. I like this estate but if the offer is good, why not? Who knows when the property bull-run will end?'

The last transacted price for a 1,700plus sq ft unit there was about $1.3m in April, according to recent URA figures.

Another Pine Grove resident, who only wanted to be known as Lawrence, snubbed the latest offer.

He told The New Paper: 'Even with $2m, I don't think I'll be able to find a good replacement unit in this area. Yes, it may be a bit old but the location is great.'

He wants to hold out for $3m.

But Mr Lake believes the $2m individual payout is appealing enough to push the sale through.

He said: 'We are still in the midst of collecting signatures and we believe there's a very good chance we can get the pre-requisite 80 per cent by the end of this month.

'If we don't get the 80 per cent before the new legislation kicks in, it'll be a more prolonged process.'

He said that once they get more than 50 per cent signatures, they'll do some soft marketing and sound out one or two developers to see if they're keen.

'The general view is that the mass market is moving, so there should be no problems finding a buyer,' he said.

But if the estate's reserve price is not met, it could potentially mean going back to the drawing board to get the requisite 80 per cent approval for a lower price, industry watchers said.

Chesterton International's head of research and consultancy Colin Tan said that the increased price is not surprising.

He explained: 'In this instance, holding out for more may have benefited the residents.

'But it remains to be seen if they will really achieve that price. When the market moves, the en-bloc sellers may get more but prices of replacement units will also go up.'

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.
Privacy Statement and Conditions of Access

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[RealEdge] ST : Sentosa Cove puts last site up for sale

2007-10-02T15:38:00.000+08:00

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Sep 27, 2007

Sentosa Cove puts last site up for sale

Bids of up to $144m are expected for Pearl Island, which can host up to 19 waterfront villas

By Fiona Chan

DEVELOPERS who want a slice of the Sentosa Cove pie will have to act fast - the enclave's final development site was put on sale yesterday.

Up for grabs is Pearl Island, the last of five islands zoned for landed homes. The 159,740 sq ft site can host up to 19 waterfront villas with private berths.

Property consultancy CB Richard Ellis expects offers of $127 million to $144 million for the plot, which works out to $800 to $900 per sq ft (psf).

Pearl Island was originally packaged with another parcel, Sandy Island, which has since been sold at $617 psf.

The most recent bungalow sale at Sentosa Cove saw seven offers for three individual plots. A new benchmark price was set at $1,527 psf.

Pearl Island is located near the Tanjong Beach and Tanjong Golf Course and has a maximum gross floor area of 127,792 sq ft. The plot is being marketed through an expressions of interest exercise that will close on Oct 25.

Sentosa Cove's last condominium site, The Pinnacle, was also recently launched for sale in a tender that will close in December. The only land still unsold in the enclave are four seafront bungalow plots for individual buyers.

Pearl Island was not the only plot put on the market yesterday. Four sites were put up for collective sales, ahead of new rules on such sales which are expected to kick in next month.

One estate, Chateau Eliza at Mount Elizabeth, has an indicative price of $115 million to $120 million, said marketing agent Credo Real Estate.

This works out to $2,130 to $2,222 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) - just shy of the record $2,338 psf ppr paid for The Ardmore in June.

Chateau Eliza sits on a 17,997 sq ft plot with a possible gross floor area of close to 54,000 sq ft. No development charge is payable for the site.

A 36-storey condominium with 20 units of about 2,500 sq ft each can be built on the plot, said Credo.

Meanwhile, property firm Newman & Goh put up two estates for sale: Toho Garden in Yio Chu Kang and Vista Park in South Buona Vista Road.

The owners of freehold Toho Garden are asking $60.8 million, or $580 psf ppr. The 86,881 sq ft site has a 1.4 plot ratio and can host 80 new units.

Vista Park, a 99-year leasehold site, is priced at around $300 million, or $680 psf ppr, including an estimated upgrading premium of $37.3 million. About 300 new units can be built on the 319,248 sq ft plot.

The fourth site put on sale yesterday was a vacant plot in River Valley Road, between River Valley Grove and St Thomas Walk. It is 28,798 sq ft in size, can be built up to 36 storeys and has 80,634 sq ft of gross floor area, said marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Private home rents jump by 8% to 10%

2007-10-02T15:37:00.000+08:00

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Sep 27, 2007

JULY TO SEPTEMBER PERIOD

Private home rents jump by 8% to 10%

RENTS of private homes continued to rise strongly between July and September.

They jumped 8 per cent to 10 per cent islandwide over the previous three months, estimated property consultancy Knight Frank.

This was on top of a record 10.4 per cent growth in the second quarter, added Mr Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy.

Rents in the Woodlands and Mandai area saw some of the highest growth rates in the third quarter. They surged between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, largely because of the draw of the Singapore American School in the area, said Mr Mak.

'This is an indication that although expatriates are concerned with rising housing rentals and costs, they are still willing to pay a premium to stay near international schools in Singapore,' he added.

For the last three months of the year, Mr Mak expects rents to rise slightly less, by 5 per cent to 10 per cent. This would bring full-year rental growth to between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, he said.

Knight Frank added that market activity is expected to pick up in the last quarter, as developers step up launches to meet year-end targets.

Another 3,500 to 4,500 units are likely to be launched for sale, and home prices for the whole year are expected to grow by up to 25 per cent.

FIONA CHAN

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[RealEdge] ST : Katong Mall goes on sale amid controversy

2007-10-02T15:35:00.003+08:00

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Sep 28, 2007

Katong Mall goes on sale amid controversy

Minority owners say process to sell en bloc too fast; no chance to air views

By Jessica Cheam

KATONG Mall is up for a collective sale but angry minority owners claim they have been left out of the process.

More than 35 disgruntled owners said the sale agreement was drawn up so fast that they did not get a chance to air their views.

They are also upset that the sale process was conducted under the old rules and not the stricter ones due to kick in next month.

Owner Jeannette Aruldoss, 44, a lawyer, told The Straits Times that the process was 'done too quickly. We welcome the idea of the sale, but we want it done by the new rules'.

The revised law requires sale committee members to be elected at a general meeting and allows a five-day cooling off period for owners after signing a sale deal.

Three firms own 72 per cent of the 258-unit mall at the junction of East Coast and Joo Chiat Roads - Elysium, a holding company, and property developers Nustavino and Habitat Properties. The three have common investors. The rest of the mall is divided among about 100 owners.

The majority owners backed a sale and needed only a further 8 per cent for the required 80 per cent. This was confirmed on Wednesday.

The first time minority owners heard of a sale initiative was in a July 6 letter from property firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) stating that five owners, holding about 74 per cent of the shares, had already volunteered for a sale committee.

At an Aug 6 meeting to discuss the sale, JLL said a process for collecting signatures would start the next day.

Minority owners met JLL on Sept 6 to express their concerns and to set up a meeting with the sale committee.

They did not hear from JLL until Sept 11, when it told them that the required 80 per cent level had been reached.

They were unconvinced and tried repeatedly to arrange a meeting with the sale committee - personally and through JLL - but to no avail.

JLL marketing agent Stella Hoh told The Straits Times yesterday that she did tell minority owners on Sept 11 that they had achieved the 80 per cent 'subject to lawyer's verification of signatures'.

Confirmation came only on Wednesday.

Owner Lim Earn San, 60, said he was shocked at the speed of the sale, adding that the minority owners were not given any room for negotiations over the terms of the sale agreement.

The appointment of the marketing agent and lawyers was also done by the majority owners without consulting the minority owners, he said.

Mr Lim, who also owns a unit at Katong Shopping Centre, said the approach to the sale of the two malls, 'couldn't be more different'.

Owners at Katong Shopping Centre are following the new rules, having known of the changes since March, he said, adding: 'Why can't Katong Mall do the same?'

Some minority owners also fear a conflict of interest as two majority owners are in the property industry. But Ms Hoh said JLL had told the owners that the sale will be done by public tender and that any interested buyers related to the collective sale agreement 'are required by law to declare their interests'.

Three sale committee members declined to comment.

The 99-year leasehold mall has a plot ratio of 3.6 and a site area of 78,158 sq ft. An independent expert estimated its sale price to be between $600 per sq ft (psf) and $650 psf, valuing the mall at about $175 million.

JLL figures show that units have sold at a range of $300 psf to $800 psf this year.

All eyes are now on its upcoming sale launch. 'We'll see how it goes, but if we're not convinced the sale was done in good faith, we'll take our concerns to the Strata Titles Board,' said minority owner Robert Ong.

'LESS STRINGENT': Minority owners of Katong Mall are upset that the collective sale process was conducted under the old rules and not the stricter ones due to kick in next month. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG

Looking back

KATONG Mall is a building with a beleaguered past.

Built in 1983, the former Katong People's Complex was known as the 'prison with pipes' due to its exterior of gigantic pipes and steel structures.

The surburban mall struggled initially with poor traffic and flagging businesses and in 1994, a woman, Madam Mona Koh, was shot there by an unknown gunman. She became paralysed after the incident.

A year later, the complex underwent a $12 million revamp and became Katong Mall.

Its flamboyant developer was Mr Ho Kok Cheong - who was also behind People's Park Complex.

He was declared bankrupt in the 1990s and was infamously involved in a massive corporate fraud in 2005.

jcheam@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Little India site fetches $265m top bid

2007-10-02T15:35:00.002+08:00

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Sep 28, 2007

Little India site fetches $265m top bid

By Fiona Chan

A PLOT in Little India drew two bids when its tender closed yesterday.

Singapore HealthPartners put in the higher offer for the 1.36ha site at $265.3 million.

This works out to $431 per sq ft (psf) of gross floor area and is 11 per cent more than the other bid submitted by Hiap Hoe Superbowl, which offered $238 million, or $386.40 psf of gross floor area.

The Government firmly pushed out the site - located at the junction of Rangoon and Race Course Roads - earlier this year after it received little interest from developers.

It was first offered as a 'white' site in August last year, which meant it could be used to build homes, shops, offices or hotels.

The site, however, failed to attract takers eight months after it was first offered, prompting the Government to extend its use to hospital development.

The Government stipulated that 40 per cent of the site's total floor area - potentially 615,965 sq ft - should still be given over to hotel rooms.

Even then, no developers came forward. This prompted the Government to offer the site for sale outright in July.

Property consultants said yesterday it is likely that the winning bidder will build a development with both hotel rooms and hospital rooms or medical suites on the site.

At least 550 hotel rooms can be built on it, estimated Mr Li Hiaw Ho of property consultancy CB Richard Ellis.

These rooms can 'complement the hospital or medical suites' by serving medical tourists, foreign medical consultants or family members accompanying patients, he said.

Mr Li added that this hospital-hotel hybrid model is likely to prove successful, given Singapore's twin aims of boosting tourism and health care.

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[RealEdge] ST : Hearing for Horizon Towers lawsuit adjourned

2007-10-02T15:35:00.001+08:00

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Sep 28, 2007

Hearing for Horizon Towers lawsuit adjourned

By Tan Hui Yee

THE lawsuit against the owners of Horizon Towers has been put on the backburner for now, after they extended the deadline for the estate's collective sale.

The consortium behind the suit, led by developer Hotel Properties (HPL), had the High Court hearing adjourned yesterday.

Its move followed a decision by the owners last week to extend the sale deadline until Dec 11 - a move that has taken some of the heat out of the stand-off, although another legal challenge looms today based on the initial sale process.

The consortium - comprising HPL, Morgan Stanley Real Estate-managed funds and Qatar Investment Authority - signed a deal in February to buy the 99-year leasehold Leonie Hill estate for $500 million. But some owners complained that the price was too low, and their mounting opposition culminated in the Strata Titles Board (STB) throwing out the sale deal, albeit over procedural errors, on Aug 3.

That decision comes under scrutiny today, with the owners asking the High Court to overturn the STB ruling.

The consortium has also filed an affidavit asking that it be allowed to participate in the appeal hearing.

If the appeal succeeds, the STB might have to reassess the Horizon Towers deal. If the STB's original decision is allowed to stand, it could spell the end of the sale.

The stakes are high. The HPL-led group, represented by law firm Allen & Gledhill, claims that the owners of 177 units who backed the deal have breached the sale contract. It has sued the sellers for $800 million to $1 billion in lost profits arising from the alleged breach. This means that if a sale is not eventually completed - under the original terms - the owners of each unit would have to cough up more than $5 million.

The consortium had indicated that it would drop the case once the sale goes through at the $500 million price. The deadline extension has raised hopes that this might be achieved as it would allow any errors to be corrected and a fresh application to be filed.

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[RealEdge] ST : My HDB flat's a condo

2007-10-02T15:35:00.000+08:00

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Sep 29, 2007

My HDB flat's a condo

Dawson Estate in Queenstown will be the new face of public housing - flats done condo-style by top home-grown architects

By Tan Hui Yee

GROUND-LEVEL parks extend to the doorsteps of residents' homes and flats come with ceilings tall enough for lofts to be built.

These perks are not the latest offerings of swanky condo projects but new ideas for public housing in Queenstown.

Conceived by top local architects and unveiled at the Housing Board's (HDB) ongoing Remaking Our Heartland exhibition, the new concepts also promise to bring high-rise communities closer and promote an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

At the heart of all this future action is Dawson Estate, a 60ha district in Queenstown bounded by Margaret Drive, Tanglin Road, Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue and Queensway.

This former housing and entertainment hot spot was developed in the 1950s by the HDB's predecessor, the Singapore Improvement Trust.

It now has just 3,000 flats and tracts of land ripe for redevelopment after blocks of flats were cleared in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is expected to house about 10,000 more apartments in the future.

To bring a fresh spin to public housing, the HDB took the unprecedented step of commissioning Surbana International Consultants, Woha Architects and SCDA Architects earlier this year to conceptualise three separate precincts comprising 3,100 homes.

The brief: to introduce flats with seamless access to greenery, waterscapes and surrounding facilities, and promote closer ties, all on a tight budget.

While the HDB was tight-lipped about the construction budget it gave the architects to work with, SCDA's design principal Chan Soo Khian estimated that he had to design flats that could be built with roughly half of what it would cost to put up luxury condos fully fitted with items like wardrobes and cabinets.

Most HDB flats do not come with fittings.

The HDB said it will work closely with the private architects to develop a cost-effective design.

Each firm had its own ideas: Surbana extended a future linear park into a winding landscaped path around the blocks; SCDA gave the bigger flats enough vertical space for lofts; and Woha envisioned a block facade reflecting individual home owners' tastes.

Said Mr Chan: 'Doing a public-housing project means you have to work within tighter constraints. It means, in a modern way, your design is purer.

'You don't depend on embellishments to make it a good project. You're not worried about the inside, what kind of fitting is going where. In some (private) projects, you spend so much time just worrying about the kitchens and fittings.'

But certain private-housing elements are likely to pop up in the Dawson projects.

Woha, which recently won a prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its private project 1 Moulmein Rise, wants to offer the monsoon window it introduced there as one of the options for Dawson home buyers.

This contraption is a bay window with a horizontal opening that lets the breeze in but keeps out the rain.

Woha's founding director Richard Hassell said: 'It's not going to be expensive housing, just smarter in design.'

Work on the first of these Dawson flats is expected to begin in the next three to four years.

The upcoming estates will give new families a higher chance of living near the city centre, said head of HDB's urban design unit Kathleen Goh.

Currently, new flats near the central areas tend to be built only when existing residents in the vicinity are being resettled, leaving a limited number for newcomers.

The upcoming 3,100 homes in Dawson are likely to be fully available to new families.

Ms Goh revealed that families buying separate homes in the same housing estate would be able to buy adjoining units.

These units could also be combined sideways or even vertically to encourage different generations to live together. Their layouts will be flexible so that families can make adjustments if their needs change.

So far, the exhibition has drawn 62,000 visitors. One of them is architect Khoo Peng Beng, who designed the first 50-storey public-housing blocks here, now under construction in Tanjong Pagar.

Back in 2002, when his firm ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism proposed having high-rise gardens and sky bridges link seven towers for the international design competition for that project, such ideas were still relatively novel.

He said: 'HDB has come a long way. For a long time, the evolution of HDB design was very functional. This time, I think there is a more emotional and integrated approach to how we look at public housing.'

If the Dawson proposals are well-received, the HDB will consider inviting private architects again to conceptualise future public-housing projects.



	GARDEN TWIST: Surbana International Consultants plans to extend a linear park so that it becomes a rising, winding landscaped path around the blocks. -- PHOTO: HDB


UNDER ONE ROOF: Flats under SCDA Architects' housing concept will be designed such that they can be easily joined to let different generations of a family live together.


'It's not going to be expensive housing, just smarter in design' Woha Architects founding director Richard Hassell. His firm's concept lets owners customise their homes' facades

tanhy@sph.com.sg

· The Remaking Our Heartland exhibition is held at various housing districts until Oct 3. Check out http://heartland.hdb.gov.sg/ for details.

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[RealEdge] ST : Home loan growth hits 29-month high

2007-10-02T15:26:00.002+08:00

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Oct 1, 2007

Home loan growth hits 29-month high

By Grace Ng

HOME loans shot up at the fastest pace in over two years as more

en bloc sellers bought existing properties and foreigners opted to buy instead of rent.

Home loans in August expanded 2.6 per cent compared to the previous month, and grew 10.7 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to monthly data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The 10.7 per cent rate is the fastest in 29 months. This is the first time in over two years that it has entered double-digit territory. July's growth figure was 8.1 per cent.

Bankers noted that one big factor driving mortgage growth was the growing number of borrowers who, having cashed in on en bloc deals, snapped up replacement properties, especially on the outskirts of the central part of Singapore.

One local banker noted that the average size of mortgages taken out in August dipped, possibly because some borrowers flush with cash from en bloc sales were taking out smaller loans or had downgraded to smaller homes.

Another group of borrowers were foreigners who had previously leased properties but were now opting to buy their own homes, given how high rentals have climbed.

Foreigners 'are still interested in buying properties in district 9, 10, 11 and the central area', said Standard Chartered Singapore general manager for mortgage and auto loans Elaine Heng.

But some, such as Chinese and Indian nationals, have shown more interest in district 15 (Katong, Joo Chiat and Amber Road area), as well as other areas on the outskirts of the city, she added.

The amount of home loans held by banks grew by $1.77 billion in August, making up a total of $69.1 billion of mortgages on their books.

Total lending for August grew 10.8 per cent compared to a year ago, as stronger mortgage and credit card growth offset a decline in building and construction loans.

Analysts expect home loans growth to pick up further in the third quarter of this year and beyond. They point to more home buyers on deferred payment schemes taking up loans, as the date of completion of their developments draws near.

But bankers say that the robust home loans growth is currently driven more by secondary market sales of existing properties, which make up about 60 per cent of total transactions.

Stanchart's Ms Heng said monthly home loans growth could continue at this 10 per cent rate in coming months provided market sentiment remains positive.

But some investors and potential home buyers may adopt a 'wait-and-see attitude' from how the United States sub-prime mortgage crisis pans out, she added.

graceng@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Prices and rentals rising fast in Upper East Coast

2007-10-02T15:26:00.001+08:00

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Sep 30, 2007

PROPERTY

Prices and rentals rising fast in Upper East Coast

Spillover demand from nearby districts and rumours of collective sales push prices up

By Fiona Chan

THE buzz in the property market these days is all about the price recovery in the suburban areas.

Cheaper private homes on the outskirts of town are seeing a rebound in prices and rentals, as the strong market sentiment at the top end filters down.

Homebuyers have started turning out in force for these entry-level condominiums. Many have sold en bloc and are seeking replacement units.

Apart from the central Orchard Road area, a popular collective sale district is the East Coast, which has seen nearby Upper East Coast Road become one of the biggest hot spots for home seekers.

Some projects in the district, which stretches from Upper East Coast Road to Bedok North Avenue 4, have rocketed in price, by up to 65 per cent, since January.

Figures from consultancy Savills Singapore show that overall home prices in the area climbed by 20 per cent to 65 per cent between January and August, depending on the specific street.

This compares with a rise of about 10.3 per cent for all suburban areas in the first six months of this year, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

But Savills' director of business development and marketing, Mr Ku Swee Yong, was quick to add that some of the Upper East Coast projects have seen such large jumps in price because of 'collective sale rumours'.

'The general price increase is nowhere near 65 per cent overall,' he said.

Rentals in the Upper East Coast have also soared, supporting the price increases. Average asking rents jumped 13.7 per cent in July and August, on top of a 4.7 per cent rise in the previous three months, said Savills. They average $3.07 per sq ft (psf), or about $3,000 for a 1,000 sq ft unit.

Mr Ku noted that the Upper East Coast is benefiting from a spillover in demand from nearby Districts 14 and 15, which include Marine Parade, Katong and Telok Kurau.

Several estates there have gone en bloc, forcing the sellers to seek new homes. Many of them have been priced out of the increasingly expensive East Coast properties, so they have shifted their focus to cheaper homes further east.

This situation is similar to that in town, where city-fringe areas such as Newton and Novena have benefited from the record number of collective sales in the Orchard Road area and its surroundings, said Mr Ku.

He added that even more developments in the vicinity are expected to go en bloc soon. These could include Ocean Park, Rich East Gardens, Bagnall Court and the two Eastern Lagoons.

Apart from the collective sale draw, Mr Ku noted that the Upper East Coast profits from its proximity to Changi Airport and East Coast Park, as well as various golf courses, including Tanah Merah Country Club and Laguna National Country Club. All these are attractive to 'mobile professionals', he said.

He predicts that by the end of next year, new benchmark prices will be achieved for the area. These could go up to $1,100 psf for the Bedok South Avenue 3 and Bedok Camp areas, and up to $1,700 psf from Siglap Centre to Bedok South Avenue 1.

PRICES FOR AQUARIUS BY THE PARK (above) at Bedok Reservoir and The Summit along Upper East Coast Road have risen by more than 30 per cent since January. -- ST FILE PHOTO



PRICES FOR AQUARIUS BY THE PARK at Bedok Reservoir and The Summit (above) along Upper East Coast Road have risen by more than 30 per cent since January. -- ST FILE PHOTOS

fiochan@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Cabby, take me to 'Coo-tee-the-zoo' condo! (It's French lah)

2007-10-02T15:26:00.000+08:00

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Sep 30, 2007

Cabby, take me to 'Coo-tee-the-zoo' condo! (It's French lah)

Foreign condo names trip up local tongues but add a veneer of 'class'

By Nur Dianah Suhaimi & Melody Zaccheus

BUSINESSMAN Kelvin Ong has lived at the Cote D'Azur condominium in Marine Parade for five years and he still does not know how to pronounce its name.

Like many of his neighbours, Mr Ong, 42, tells taxi drivers to head for 'the condominium beside Parkway Parade'.

'It's a French name. Not everyone knows how to say it,' said Mr Ong a little sheepishly. When prompted, he called it 'coat-dee-ah-zoo'. It was incorrect. But Mr Ong is not the only one getting it wrong. Others have called it 'coo-tee-the-zoo'. The condominium's moniker, taken from a popular seaside resort in France, should be pronounced 'coat-dar-zur'.

When it comes to naming condominiums, developers these days seem to prefer foreign or fanciful names such as the Soleil@Sinaran in Novena and THR3E THRE3 Robin.

The Sunday Times tested 10 foreign-sounding condominium names on 100 people and found that the majority failed the pronunciation test. Their tongues tripped over names such as Cote D'Azur and Levelz in Farrer Road. Only 33 could pronounce at least half the names on the list.

After mispronouncing Cote D'Azur, retiree Henry Ang, 67, said: 'One of the big bosses at the developers probably went on holiday there and came back thinking it is such a great name.'

Graduate student Joanne Tan, 25, who got six out of the 10 names right, said: 'What's the point of having a fancy name if no one can say it properly? Developers need to cater to the Singaporean tongue when choosing names.'

Housewife Pauline Toh, 48, who lives at The Shaughnessy in Yishun, admitted that her friends think the name of her condominium is ridiculous. 'To make it easy for them to remember, I tell them it's like the cognac Hennessy, you know?'

Cabbies interviewed were especially exasperated with fancy condominium names which are hard to pronounce. Mr Goh Kim Teck, 60, who has been driving for 30 years, said: 'I'm Chinese-educated so it's hard for me to catch funny-sounding condo names.'

When cabbies cannot make out the condominium name, they ask passengers for the road name or a nearby landmark.

Although Street and Building Names Board guidelines advise against choosing names which are difficult to pronounce or associated with famous places, developers have a relatively free hand in naming their condominiums.

Frasers Centrepoint Homes, which developed Cote D'Azur and Soleil@Sinaran, said Singaporean home buyers are more well-travelled and informed. A spokesman said: 'We believe that these Singaporeans...will certainly favour names that are associated with desirable attributes. After all, names do connote and represent a certain identity and personality.' 'Soleil', for example, is the French word for sun.

Keppel Land said it chose the name The Elysia because its root word, 'Elysium', means bliss and tranquillity in Latin.

Architect Lim Kheng Chye, who sits on the Street and Building Names Board, said Singaporeans tend to think that foreign is always better. 'It has all got to do with marketing the property. If you're a buyer, would you buy a condo named Ah Huat or one called Martin Luther?'

Sociologist and Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore Paulin Straughan said a name 'can convey many things, be it class, prestige or social status'.

'Developers hope to convey the message that their condominiums are a cut above the rest and to tie the public to mental images of scenic views, lush gardens and cultural icons through that one name,' she said.

Mr Ong, who lives at Cote D'Azur condo, agrees. Even though he cannot pronounce the name of his condominium correctly, he thinks that the name 'makes my condo sound more high class than others with normal English names'.

'There's no way I'd trade the name for a simpler one,' he said.

ndianah@sph.com.sg

melodyz@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Govt to boost supply of homes

2007-10-02T15:19:00.003+08:00

Oct 2, 2007
Govt to boost supply of homes
Observers view supply increase as a signal to calm market amid high property prices
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
THE Government has sent its strongest signal yet that it plans to increase the supply of homes and residential sites - a move that comes amid soaring real estate prices. It will offer 6,000 new Housing Board flats over the next six months and might release more land for private homes next year if necessary. The initiative comes as lower-end homes see a price spurt that is finally starting to match that in luxury homes. Property consultants said the increased supply is the latest Government move to calm the market. 'The Government is seeing a very strong take-up for homes, and it wants to avoid panic buying,' said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank. 'So it's just telling potential buyers there is a lot of supply out there.' Prices of entry-level private homes in suburban areas were 8.1 per cent higher in July to September than in the previous three months. The pace about matched that set by more expensive homes in the central region, going by initial estimates out yesterday. In the same period, prices of HDB resale flats jumped by 6.5 per cent. This is double the 3 per cent rise in the previous quarter and is by far the biggest quarterly jump since 1999. Given the recent 'good response for new flats', HDB will release a slew of new units in the coming months. Of these, 4,500 will come under the Build-to-Order (BTO) system. Another 1,500 units will be in three new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) sites in central and eastern Singapore. So far this year, HDB has released 2,700 BTO flats - about the same number as for the whole of last year. In the same period, it has sold a DBSS site at Boon Keng and launched another at Ang Mo Kio. The two combined can host at least 1,100 units. HDB also said it 'will continue to monitor the market situation closely, to ensure that there is an adequate and affordable supply of flats'. A similar reassurance was issued by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) with respect to private homes. It reiterated that it 'will continue to monitor prices closely'. In an unusual move, the agency added that it is reviewing the Government Land Sales scheme, launched every six months, for the first half of next year. It said it 'will make available more sites...if the demand continues to remain strong'. Experts interpreted this to mean that the URA intends to put out more sites for private home development, especially under its confirmed list. The confirmed list system offers sites for sale outright, while the other option - the reserve list - follows a more cautious approach. Reserve sites are put out only when a developer submits a minimum acceptable bid. While consultants believe the new HDB flats can be absorbed easily, some question the need for more land for private homes. 'I don't think there would be a glut on the HDB side,' said Knight Frank's Mr Mak. 'If there is any risk of oversupply, it would be with private homes, three to four years from now.' He noted the record run in collective sales in the past two years. Even if developers can sell all the new homes on these sites, those buying to rent out might not be able to find enough tenants when all the homes are finished. This could bring rents and prices down, said Mr Mak. But for this year, he expects a record take-up of 15,000 new homes, compared with 11,000 last year and 7,500 in an average year. On the other hand, collective sales will remove about 9,000 homes from the market, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore. 'If job growth continues to be strong, absorption may not be the problem; actually, there may not be enough to go around,' he said. The URA also removed a hotel site in Balestier from its land sales list yesterday. The 0.86ha site has been on the reserve list for a year or so, but the URA is reviewing its land use together with that of other vacant plots nearby. fiochan@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] ST : Flipping homes in the US - it's a flop

2007-10-02T15:19:00.002+08:00

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Oct 2, 2007

Flipping homes in the US - it's a flop

NEW YORK - MS SHERRILL Zenie said all she wanted was a piece of the American Dream. But what she got was 'a kick in the rear'.

Ms Zenie is one of a legion of a relatively new type of home owner, a flipper, who sought fast money by rapidly buying and selling homes to capture a profit on each as prices soared.

Speculators who bought multiple homes like Ms Zenie were once a boon to the United States economy when they pushed home prices to record levels over a five-year period.

Now their unsold homes are the bane of a sickly housing market.

Many are stuck with unoccupied properties they cannot sell and mortgages that are bigger than the appraised value of the home, a situation known as being 'upside down'.

The glut of unsold homes comes as lenders are making it harder for borrowers to get loans, causing defaults to escalate and home prices to decline further.

'Investors that initially purchased a property with no money down or a very low down payment could now find themselves upside down, and without prospects of selling the property soon, may opt to just walk away,' says Mr Greg McBride, senior financial analyst, Bankrate in North Palm Beach, Florida.

The Federal Reserve's half percentage point interest rate cut will do more to stimulate inflation than to slice long-term mortgage rates, providing scant relief, some economists say.

'Nobody is looking, either to rent or to buy,' says Ms Zenie, 60, of Delray Beach, Florida, who is stuck with two unsold condominiums there after profitably selling two others.

She owns the condominiums outright, as well as her own home, part of a vacation home in Vermont.

But taxes, maintenance and a home equity credit line cost over US$2,000 (S$2,982) a month for the two condominiums alone, a stretch for Ms Zenie, who is out of work on disability.

'I wanted to follow the American Dream,' she says. 'I wanted to be an entrepreneur and make some money - not a killing, but some money.'

Her husband has found a job in another state to help pay the bills.

'Am I panicking? I would be hysterical if my husband weren't in Mississippi working.'

Said Mr Barry Habib, chief executive of Mortgage Market Guide: 'That's the American way. Speculators add jet fuel both on the way up and on the way down.

'Nobody was saying 'hey, the speculators were bad' on the way up, when people were selling their homes and making lots more money.'

REUTERS

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[RealEdge] ST : Over 200 more buildings in Katong area may be conserved

2007-10-02T15:19:00.001+08:00

Oct 2, 2007

Over 200 more buildings in Katong area may be conserved

By Tan Hui Yee

THE rich heritage of Katong and Joo Chiat district will get more protection from the wrecking ball with a further 228 buildings earmarked for conservation status.

The buildings include landmarks such as St Hilda's Church, the Bethesda (Katong) Church and the former Grand Hotel in Still Road South.

Three bungalows - in Marine Parade Road, Chapel Road and Joo Chiat Road - have also been selected.

The buildings were selected to serve as markers of the area's heritage.

St Hilda's Church, for example, was built in 1949 and is designed in a simple English parish church style while the former Grand Hotel building was built in 1917 in the ornamented Victorian style with a slight Indian influence.

There are already about 700 buildings under conservation orders in the East Coast area, traditional home of Singapore's Eurasian and Peranakan communities and a haven for food-lovers.

The plan was announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday at the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Architectural Heritage Awards ceremony.

The URA has told the building owners about the conservation plan. Its final decision will be made after feedback.

Conservation orders mean owners cannot demolish the building or make major alterations to structures or facades.

But the URA noted that most can be redeveloped to their full economic potential even if conserved.

One owner, Ms Lyn Lee, 34, wants the certainty a conservation order would bring. Ms Lee, who owns the Awfully Chocolate cakeshop chain, lives in a pre-war, three-storey shophouse in Tembeling Road, one of a row of 10 houses.

She and her husband bought the ageing freehold property for $880,000 six years ago and have spent about $500,000 renovating it into a home for themselves and their three children. They do not intend to move.

'It's very important that someday, somebody won't come and mow down three houses and build a pink-tiled monstrosity,' she said.

Some of her neighbours are considering upgrading the neighbourhood if it is eventually conserved.

The 228 buildings proposed for conservation were chosen from about 1,000 buildings in the area that are more than 30 years old. More than 6,500 buildings have been conserved in Singapore.

The announcement was bittersweet for interest group Historic Architecture Rescue Plan, which has been lobbying the Government to conserve various properties in the district.

One - a 95-year-old Amber Road bungalow - could only be partly conserved. Earlier this year, its developer agreed to build a hybrid apartment block incorporating some elements of the old building, but it plans to tear down its much vaunted crescent-shaped section.

Mr Mah told the ceremony guests that Singapore had to strike a constant balance between redevelopment and conservation.

Six projects were singled out in the URA awards yesterday for sensitive or innovative restoration work, including the National Museum and Chek Jawa Visitor Centre in Pulau Ubin.

Mr Mah also announced the URA would be enhancing various districts next year. These include a 4.9km waterfront promenade from Punggol Point to Sungei Serangoon and a coastal promenade in Woodlands.

It will also improve roadside infrastructure in Siglap and Upper Serangoon Road.

GRAND OLD DAME: The former Grand Hotel along Still Road South was built by an Indian cattle merchant in the 1900s. -- ST FILE PHOTO

WELL-KNOWN LANDMARK: St Hilda's Church in Ceylon Road was built in 1949 in s simple English parish church style. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG



PRESERVATION: These houses along Marine Parade Road are among the buildings selected for conservation in the area. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG

tanhy@sph.com.sg

For more on the plans for Katong, Joo Chiat and Punggol, click for our free video news

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[RealEdge] ST : 4-year-old case dragged up in Horizon Towers saga

2007-10-02T15:19:00.000+08:00

Print Article

Oct 2, 2007

4-year-old case dragged up in Horizon Towers saga

Dragon Court case cited to persuade judge to overturn the STB decision

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

By Fiona Chan

THE tangled Horizon Towers case has become even more complex as a controversial collective sale four years ago was dragged into the proceedings.

In their High Court appeal yesterday, lawyers for the majority sellers of Horizon Towers cited the case of Dragon Court, where a lone owner fought against the estate being sold en bloc in 2003.

They argued that the Dragon Court ruling sheds some light on the ongoing legal tussle over the Leonie Hill estate, as it is also related to an issue of missing disclosure.

In the Horizon Towers case, the Strata Titles Board (STB) dismissed the owners' application for a collective sale in August over a technicality: Pages bearing three consenting owners' signatures were missing from the submitted application.

The majority owners want the High Court to overturn the STB dismissal.

Their lawyer - Tan, Rajah and Cheah's Mr Chelva Rajah - said the STB knew those three owners signed the sale deal, and that the Board had the power to amend the application to include the missing pages.

Mr Rajah argued that even without those three signatures, the rest of the owners who had consented to the sale still held 82.51 per cent of share values - comfortably above the 80 per cent minimum requirement.

Mr Rajah also told the court that the missing pages were a 'clerical error'.

He then cited the High Court's ruling that upheld the STB's decision to allow the Dragon Court sale in 2003, despite more 'material' information not being disclosed in the application.

Dragon Court unit owner Koh Gek Hwa tried to block the sale, arguing that a conflict of interest between the majority sellers and the buyer had not been highlighted. Nine of the estate's 14 units were owned by a single company linked to the condominium's buyer, she said.

But the STB, noting that there was only one bidder for that sale, decided there was no reason to suggest that the buyer was unfairly chosen. The High Court backed that ruling, saying the STB had known of the seller-buyer relationship prior to its decision.

Yesterday's Horizon Towers hearing was somewhat quieter than Friday's lively session, when comments from the public gallery peppered the lawyers' speeches. The room, though, remained packed, with more than 20 lawyers from six firms and at least 40 people in the public gallery.

Justice Choo Han Teck kicked off proceedings by deciding to allow the estate's buyers to participate, ending a row that had taken up the whole of last Friday.

The buyers - led by Hotel Properties and represented by Allen & Gledhill's Mr K. Shanmugam - had asked to join the proceedings in order to protect their own interests. They have said that they will sue the majority owners for breach of contract if the $500 million sale does not go through.

Their request for inclusion, however, proved unpopular with the condominium's majority sellers.

Justice Choo said yesterday he would allow the buyers' participation as they were pursuing their commercial interests. He said it will not be 'unjust or inconvenient to hear two more voices', as long as he can 'mute' them if they prove disruptive.

Things heated up in the afternoon, when Mr Shanmugam took the court through a long retelling of the Horizon Towers saga.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : The property bandwagon

2007-10-02T13:29:00.001+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	The property bandwagon Listings on mocca soar as more put their homes up for rent Weekend • September 29, 2007 Soaring rental prices have induced more homeowners to put their properties up for rent, a trend that has contributed to the 50-to-60-per-cent growth in property listings on mocca.com, the new MediaCorp e-classified platform. Initially launched as an online platform for people to search, buy, sell and connect, mocca, or MediaCorp Online Communities and Classified Advertising, has now evolved into a novel way that allows property market watchers to spot rising trends. "I think it would also be a good additional source for people to compare property prices, because if you look at the Housing and Development Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, they would usually only give you the transacted prices," said MediaCorp's vice-president (New Media Business) Timothy Goh. "Rental prices are not something they would provide, but we have them on mocca, and that enables a wider range of comparison." Describing the property market as "healthy," he added that with the influx of more foreigners, the property market has also been indirectly boosted. Now, "property" contributes to most of mocca's listings — accounting for an impressive 45 per cent — while the sale of general merchandises and services comes in second, with 13 per cent. "We have also seen an increasing number of people putting up their 'pre-loved' products for sale," said Mr Goh. "These are new things that have not been used — either given to them as presents or bought on impulse." — Daphne Chuah

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : 1m foreign residents

2007-10-02T13:29:00.000+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	1m foreign residents .. and 26,000 people aged 85 and over now live in Singapore Friday • September 28, 2007 Sheralyn Tay sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg THE number of non-residents in Singapore has crossed the 1-million mark, according to the latest Population Trend report from the Department of Statistics. The group — comprising work permit holders and others who are neither citizens nor Permanent Residents — grew by 14.9 per cent, from 875,500 last year to 1,005,500 this year. This is the fastest year-on-year growth spurt in at least 10 years. Last year, its numbers increased by 9.7 per cent, a rapid turnaround from the drop of 5.6 per cent in 2003. In all, Singapore's population reached 4.68 million this year, a rise of 4.4 per cent from last year. The growing number of foreign residents is in tandem with the country's healthy economic growth, said National University of Singapore sociologist Angelique Chan. "The main reason is economic growth but it's also partly due to government moves to grow the population," she said. The Government expects the number of people here to hit 6.5 million. Life expectancy at birth has jumped from 75.3 in 1990 to 79.9 last year, while those aged 65 and over can expect to live 18.3 more years, over two-and-a-half years longer than in 1990. Dr Chan noted the rise in the median age from 20 in 1970 to 37 this year, and the large number of people now aged 85 or older — about 26,000 Singaporeans — is in keeping with worldwide trends. "With Japan leading, Singapore is among the top four in growing the oldest-old population (those over 85 years old)," said Dr Chan. This growth in elderly numbers means the old-age support ratio — the number of working-age adults in proportion to those over 65 — has fallen. Last year, for every elderly Singaporean, there were 8.4 that were aged 15 to 64. The ratio 10 years ago was one to 10.5. The Government's move towards a compulsory annuity scheme to provide for increased longevity is based on these trends.

	Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : The difference a month makes

2007-10-02T13:19:00.001+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	The difference a month makes Investors who jump on the bandwagon fuelling stock boom Tuesday • October 2, 2007 Mohammed Hadi Not that long ago, the global financial system was seizing up, the world's largest economy seemed headed for a recession, investment bankers were said to be circulating "who will you fire" memos, and stock investors weren't sticking around to find out how it would all end. What a difference a month makes. A newcomer to Asia's stock markets would find little evidence of the crisis that unfolded in August. In just a few weeks, some major bourses across the region have returned to record territory and Asia's lodestar — the United States market — seems poised to do the same. All this despite the fact the jitters which sent the S&P/ASX 200 some 13 per cent below current levels, and the Straits Times Index 16 per cent below current levels, for example, haven't been resolved. "The problem is we're not really done yet," said UBS chief Asian economist Jonathan Anderson. "We haven't seen a real US consumer slowdown yet, and we haven't seen the real impact of mortgage losses on balance sheets." So what's driving the gains? Interest rate cuts, past and future, by the Federal Reserve, are giving investors the confidence to keep buying stocks. But by driving shares up so far and so fast, stock investors have put themselves in a difficult, if not yet dangerous, spot. "The difficulty is you know you've entered an irrational period but you just don't know how long it's going to last and how much the market is going to go up," said Citi Investment Research chief Asia strategist Markus Rosgen. "You are not buying equities now because these things are cheap, you are not buying a value or an income stream. You are buying momentum." he said. The problem is, momentum can turn at the drop of a hat. Still, some likely have few options but to keep buying. "As a fund manager, if you've got inflows, which many of them do, you've got no choice," Mr Rosgen said. "They cannot afford to miss performance, they cannot afford to stay sidelined and watch the market rise, so they just close their eyes and throw their assets into this rally," said ABN Amro Private Bank head of Asia equity research Roger Groebli. "It's highly dangerous." So what is an investor to do? "What you don't want to do is look at the last four weeks and extrapolate that over the next 12 months," Mr Anderson said. "But that doesn't mean that everything is overpriced either." "We're at the beginning of what is likely to be a longer period of growth slowdown as well as retrenchment, but the good news is we may not have anther credit lockup like we did." And there is the view that stock investors are simply looking past the economic trouble ahead and positioning for a recovery on the other side. Mr Groebli expects the upcoming corporate earnings season will provide a healthy dose of reality. "As an analyst it is a bit difficult to understand how the economic facts can be ignored by the market," he said. "I would not be surprised if in the second week of October, we see some correction," Mr Groebli added. Mr Rosgen offers a somewhat darker view, that the gains in stocks are being driven by the least qualified investor: Your mother-in-law. Okay, not actually your mother-in-law, but retail investors. This crowd, he thinks, motivated by headlines and a desire not to miss out on the profits those headlines trumpet, is pouring money into funds and markets across Asia. "The retail investor is normally the last to join the party," Mr Rosgen said. The author is a news editor of market news at Dow Jones Newswires in Asia. He has seven years experience covering stock markets in the US and Asia.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : A worldwide downturn looms, New York City mayor warns

2007-10-02T13:19:00.000+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	A worldwide downturn looms, New York City mayor warns Tuesday • October 2, 2007 Cheow Xin Yi cheowxinyi@mediacorp.com.sg Michael Bloomberg, founder of the financial news and data giant, has warned of a looming global economic downturn that is triggered by the run-up of public debt. Mr Bloomberg, who is also New York City's Mayor, said governments should build up a surplus to fall back on during economic slides, according to AFP. "Being a fiscal conservative means preparing for the inevitable economic downturns — and by all indications, we've got one coming," he told Britain's Conservative Party conference in Blackpool. But, he said, it was unclear if the downturn would be a "a dip or a dive". Agreeing, economists said the question is the kind of slowdown the global economy would face. "What we are looking at is whether cutting rates and pumping liquidity into international markets are sufficient to prevent a hard landing," said Mr Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Forecast. However, Mr Varathan thinks cutting government spending is not the right thing to do at this stage. "If governments were to cut down on spending at the same time the private sector is contracting, that will actually deepen the down cycle," he said. HSBC economist Mr Robert Prior-Wandesforde is expecting growth to slow, but not significantly. He predicted Asian economies would expand 7.6 per cent this year and 7.5 per cent next year. "We are still confident that Asia can withstand any further slowdown in the US economy, actually very well," he said. "That is premised on the view that US economy doesn't go into a recession, which seems unlikely at this stage."

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : An eastern charm in S'pore

2007-10-02T13:18:00.001+08:00

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	An eastern charm in S'pore Another 228 buildings in the Joo Chiat/Katong area identified for preservation Tuesday • October 2, 2007 Zul Othman zul@mediacorp.com.sg FROM landmark churches to picturesque pre-war shop houses, the Joo Chiat and Katong area is an undisputed hotbed of architectural diversity and the historical home for the local Eurasian and Peranakan community. Given its unique mix of exquisite architecture, history and culture, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has identified another 228 buildings for preservation. These are in addition to the more than 700 historical landmarks located along key roads such as Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road, as well as 15 bungalows on Mountbatten Road, that have already been gazetted for conservation. Speaking at the URA Architectural Heritage Awards presentation ceremony at the National Museum of Singapore yesterday, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said that the URA recently embarked on public consultation with the owners of the 228 buildings earmarked for conservation. Said Mr Mah: "The aim of this conservation proposal is to complete conservation of the street block and add to the critical mass of heritage buildings and rich architectural diversity in Katong and Joo Chiat." Seeking the individual owners' views, he added, was in line with the URA's consultative approach. "It also contributes to a more transparent process in gazetting buildings for conservation (and) will take into account the owners' feedback," he said. Among the buildings targeted in this proposal will be the bungalows, terrace houses and shop houses in Koon Seng Road, Onan Road and Carpmael Road, as well as landmarks such as St Hilda's Church at Ceylon Road and the single storey Bethesda (Katong) Church at Pennefather Road. Mr Mah also announced plans to build a new 4.9km waterfront promenade stretching from Punggol Point to Sungei Serangoon, as well as projects to revitalise the older housing estates of Woodlands and Siglap Village "in order to enhance the distinct character, identity and overall environment of each area". These improvements are targeted for completion between 2008 and 2010. "As a land-scarce nation, we have to take a pragmatic and balanced approach towards conservation," he said. "Creating an endearing home goes beyond individual heritage buildings, it is also about strengthening the identity of places where we live, work and play." Since 1989, the URA has gazetted more than 5,600 buildings for conservation. In addition, 55 buildings with historical significance have been earmarked as national monuments.

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[RealEdge] TodayOnline : HDB resale boom

2007-10-02T13:18:00.000+08:00

	This story was printed from TODAYonline


	HDB resale boom HDB resale prices surge in Q3 as rates for private properties rise at slower rate Tuesday • October 2, 2007 Johnson Choo and Esther Fung johnsonchoo@medicaorp.com.sg Resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats have risen to levels not seen since 1996, benefiting from a spillover of the bullish sentiment in the private home market. In the third quarter of this year, HDB flats commanded an average 15-per-cent premium to their prices in the fourth quarter of 1998, which is used by the HDB as the base quarter for price comparison (base=100). Early estimates by the HDB showed the resale price index grew from 108 to 115 — a strong 6.5 per cent, in the three months ending September this year. This is more than double the 3-per-cent growth registered in the previous quarter. "This means good news for the mass market — for people who have bought homes in the last six years, as they are now able to realise some profit," said Mr Mohamed Ismail, the chief executive of real estate agency PropNex. Mr Ismail noted that the HDB resale price index had shown positive increases for three consecutive quarters. He estimated that with the current trend expected to continue into the final quarter of the year, the total number of resale units registered for the year could surpass last year's by about 4 per cent to hit 31,000. Mr Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president at real estate agency ERA, said: "While the overall price increase was expected, the larger-than-usual jump in the HDB resale price index is probably caused by the filter-down effect from the private property market." Earlier this year, several resale HDB flats were snapped up at record prices by cash-rich beneficiaries from the en bloc sales of private housing estates. Some prospective sellers of HDB flats in choice areas such as Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Tiong Bahru and Toa Payoh are now asking for premiums between $50,000 and $200,000 above valuation, ERA noted. "With these kinds of asking prices, we are beginning to see some resistance in the market as the typical HDB home buyer does not have or does not want to fork out too much cash," said Mr Lim. "It just doesn't make sense." Mr Nicholas Mak, director, Consultancy and Research Department at Knight Frank, believes that the growing demand for resale HDB flats will drive the lower end of the private property market. "If the HDB resale home prices continue to grow by more than 3 per cent per quarter on average, it will give that extra push to the private mass-market segment in 2008, and we can expect very robust upgrader demand for private homes," said Mr Mak. For private non-landed properties, prices continued to rise, but at a slower pace, in the third quarter — the first time since the current market upturn that started two years ago. The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) preliminary estimates showed that private property prices rose 8 per cent compared to the second quarter, when they grew 8.3 per cent from the previous quarter — the fastest growth rate in eight years. "Despite the stock market turbulence in August, the average private residential property prices in Singapore increased by 8.3 per cent," said Mr Mak. "The surge is even more obvious when compared with last year, where the average private residential property prices rose by less than 4 per cent per quarter." "The demand drivers for the increase in the price of private homes could be attributed to several factors, including the increase in foreign talent to Singapore, optimism of the market, economic growth, and the increase in the price of the rental market," said Mr Mak. Singapore created a record 64,400 new jobs in the second quarter of this year, and recorded a seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of only 2.3 per cent. About 43,000 new units of private housing are expected to be completed between the second half of this year and 2010, the URA said. Of these, about 19,900 units, or 46 per cent, have yet to be sold by developers. Mr Mak predicts that "for the whole of 2007, private home prices could increase between 23 per cent and 32 per cent year-on-year, while HDB average resale flat prices could rise by 13 to 20 per cent".

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