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Cairnhill Mansions in collective sale bid

Posted on 27 Oct 2014 | Comments Off

THE owners of an ageing District 9 residential property are launching their fourth attempt at a collective sale.

Cairnhill Mansions’ 61 owners will begin the process next June with the aim of getting the requisite 80 per cent backing before the option expires a year later.

The 50-year-old freehold building, which sits on a prime site near Goodwood Park Hotel, has 60 apartments and a penthouse.

The last attempt at a collective sale coincided with the rollout of property market cooling measures in 2011.

The owners failed to find a buyer at the reserve price of $361.5 million, or about $2,308 per sq ft of potential gross floor area. Earlier collective sale attempts were in 2005 and 2007.

Sale committee chairman Charles Ho said the building’s ageing infrastructure is costly to maintain and can be a hazard: A resident was recently trapped in the lift for four hours.

“Old electrical wirings are hazards. Carpark shortages, inefficient use of space, water seepage during heavy rain are all inconveniences. Replacement costs are high and have to be funded by owners. Even if the place is upgraded, there is a limit to how much it can be brought up to date,” he added.

Retiree Andy Lim, 65, who has lived at Cairnhill Mansions for about 20 years, said its antiquated design features can be inconvenient. “The lift lobby is on the second floor, instead of the ground floor,” said Mr Lim, adding that he plans to buy a smaller unit in the same area if the en-bloc sale is successful.

Developers are constantly on the lookout for prime freehold sites and collective sales are one of the few ways to acquire such a parcel, said Ms Elaine Chow, executive director and head of research at Chestertons Singapore.

However, “given the lacklustre luxury residential market, developers will not be able to bid as aggressively as before”.

Developers, buyers adapting to market conditions: CBRE

Posted on 21 Oct 2014 | Comments Off

Smaller homes will continue to be a ideal option for developers and homebuyers, according to a CBRE report.

A study of caveats lodged for non-landed new sales from 2007 to H1 2014 shows 50 to 70 percent of new units sold were priced below $1.25 million.

Largely due to their constrained finances, the most buyers in the new sale market currently continue to adhere to the threshold of $1.25 million.

CBRE said, “Looking at the addresses of buyers of new sale units with price tags below $1.25 million, it was observed that since 2008 about 50 to 70 percent of them were HDB occupiers. These buyers could be HDB upgraders or singles and new couples looking for their first homes. However, should housing cost rises above $1.25 million, they would be priced out of the market.”

To cater to them and still remain profitable, developers reduced the size of units for sale.

“The median size of new sale units has shrunk from 1,270 sg ft in 2007 to 743 sq ft in H1 2014, reflecting a 41.5 percent decrease,” the report said.

Thus, both developers and buyers have shown adaptability to changing market conditions: “Developers adapt by producing homes of smaller formats; while buyers adapt by making a trade-off between size and total quantum. Going forward, unless there is a shift in land prices and constructions costs, smaller homes will continue to be a preferred choice for both developers and homebuyers.”