Property Market Updates (8th November 2010)

En bloc market still active
Eight collective sales - they include Pastoral View in Bassein Road and Glenville in Lim Tua Tow Road - totalling $369 million have been completed since Aug 30. But at least five sites where tenders closed after that date have struck out with buyers. The five are Maison Royale in Surrey Road, Newton View, Selegie Centre, Amber Glades near Marine Parade and 13 shophouses in Owen Road. All are freehold developments. Experts said most of the owners are either negotiating private treaties or deciding whether to go for a second tender process. Jones Lang LaSalle's head of investments said the collective sale market has started picking up momentum. Collective sale sites going for under $100 million seem to be the one area where buyers - usually boutique developers - are still prepared to put their money down. This could be due to their more affordable prices and the relative ease of garnering the 80 per cent support level from owners compared with larger developments. Seven of the eight successful sales since Aug 30 involve smaller sites priced at less than $100 million. Bigger sites can be expected to hit the market next year, after the dust has settled from recent changes to en bloc rules, which have extended the sale process for some larger developments. Collective sale transactions have hit $975.6 million so far this year. And residential collective sales - at $883.6 million year-to-date - account for more than 90% of the total, with sales predominantly in upgrader locations such as Balestier and Toa Payoh in District 12, Geylang and Eunos in District 14 and Serangoon and Hougang in District 19. In contrast, there was only one successful collective sale last year - that of Dragon Mansion for $100.8 million. The rise in popularity of collective sales can be due to 'improving fundamentals of the Singapore property market and the widening gap between new sale and resale prices for residential property'.

- The Straits Times, B22

ERC snaps up Prime Centre for $103m
Hong Leong Group is understood to have sold freehold Prime Centre on Middle Road for $103 million or $1,415 psf based on existing net lettable area of about 72,800 sq ft. The 16-storey building is about half-vacant but that should suit buyer ERC Holdings group just fine as the private commercial school operator is said to be planning to renovate the property for use as an educational hub and hotel. The group's ERC Institute runs tourism and hospitality courses among its academic programmes. DTZ brokered the sale of Prime Centre through a private treaty deal. Market watchers say it makes more sense for ERC to renovate the existing 18-year-old office block rather than to tear it down and redevelop the site since Prime Centre's existing gross floor area of 94,657 sq ft reflects a plot ratio of 4.69 on its site area of 20,162 sq ft - exceeding the 4.2 plot ratio allowed for the site under Master Plan 2008. The site is zoned for commercial use. It has 73 car park lots. DTZ has also brokered the sale of nine Singapore industrial properties this year for a total of nearly $366 million to Sabana Investment Properties (SIP), which is expected to list the syariah-compliant Sabana Reit by year-end. About $4 billion worth of office investment sales is estimated to have been transacted so far this year.

- The Business Times, P1

Corporate earnings up 35% in Q3
Corporate earnings for the third quarter have swelled by some 35 per cent compared to a year earlier, boosted by better-than-expected earnings at the Singapore banks, based on the companies that have reported their earnings so far. By last Thursday, 94 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange had released their results for the three months to Sept 30. They recorded a combined $5.04 billion in net profit. Of these, 90 firms turned in profits, while four reported losses for the quarter. Among the profitable firms, half or 45 firms reported an increase in net profit in Q3 compared to a year earlier.

- The Business Times, P8

One-stop personal finance portal
Trying to find the best way to invest his money was the spark that prompted Mr Giora Kanner to start the personal finance portal MoneyLine.sg. Tired of going through several different websites to find out about the various financial products available, he decided to create 'a single point of reference'. Mr Kanner, MoneyLine.sg's chief executive, said other online financial portals in Singapore present only one to two products. But MoneyLine.sg will offer a wide variety of products - including home loans, credit cards and online investment platforms available here - from about 25 financial organisations. By the first half of next year, it aims to include insurance products as well. The portal, which starts operating today, allows consumers to specify the product traits they are searching for, then presents the most relevant products. MoneyLine.sg is aimed at Internet-savvy users aged between 30 and 45, who earn enough to make a financial decision.

- The Straits Times, B21

Indonesia - Twitter taking Indonesia by storm

Twitter usage in Indonesia has skyrocketed over the last two years. An estimated nine million people have accounts, going by Internet market research firm Comscore, which in August estimated that one in five Internet users in Indonesia uses Twitter. This puts Indonesia just behind the United States - and ahead of many developed countries - in terms of sheer user numbers. Unfettered freedom of expression in Indonesia and a growing number of smartphone users have aided Twitter's rise. About 65 per cent of the nation's population of 234 million own handsets, and many use them to surf the Internet.

- The Straits Times, P15

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