Tag Archives: Real estate

More prime housing sites in pipeline

Following the announcement that construction works on Bidadari new town will begin by year-end, developers are eyeing new opportunities at other prime residential sites in strategic locations.

According to analysts, thousands of homes are in the pipeline over the next few years, as prime sites not far from the city will be launched, including the Dempsey area and former Bukit Timah Turf Club, as well as Old School at Mount Sophia, Tanglin Village and Caldecott Hill.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that infrastructure works at Bidadari, which includes roads and sewers, will start at the end of the year.

Located near Potong Pasir, Bidadari is expected to yield around 12,000 public and private homes in the next ten years.

According to a spokesman for the Ministry of National Development (MND), the first Build-to-Order (BTO) flats may be launched as early as 2015, depending on demand. As a result, public flats could be completed by around 2018, noted consultants.

The decision to develop Bidadari is part of a twin approach that aims to address the strong housing demand and intensively use land in existing estates.

Consultants are optimistic that interest for homes in Bidadari will be strong, given its proximity to the city centre. In fact, Bidadari is compared to Bishan, which was also a former cemetery but has now become one of the most popular HDB estates.

In addition, Bidadari is close to two MRT stations, Bartley on the Circle Line and Woodleigh on the North-east Line.

Source : PropertyGuru – 30 May 2012

SC Global launches high-end apartment at The Marq

Luxury property developer SC Global Developments has launched a high-end apartment at The Marq on Paterson Road.

The unit, decorated by French luxury goods designer Hermes, promises to bring a new meaning to luxury living.

This, as buying of luxury properties typically located in city and fringes has picked up.

The project will be the world’s first apartment entirely decorated by Hermes but SC Global said the 6,200 square feet apartment at its flagship development The Marq is not for sale.

The unit, which will be used only as a private hospitality apartment for private functions, symbolises the peak of luxury living.

About half of the 66 freehold units situated in two 24-storey towers at The Marq put up for sale have been taken up since its launch in the second quarter of 2007.

It added four out of 10 buyers are foreigners.

SC Global CEO Simon Cheong said: “For high-end apartments, it’s for the discerning few. We don’t have many apartments. We just completed the project and we don’t really have a launching programme. It’s only by appointment only, as far as SC Global is concerned. The luxury market is a very different market altogether.”

Sale of luxury properties in the city area, which has softened in recent months, showed a pick-up last month.

In April, the number of new homes sold by developers in the city doubled from the figures in March. But analysts are mixed on the buying trend of these more expensive apartments for the remaining 2012.

Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said: “Because of the government measures like additional buyer’s stamp duty, where there is additional stamp duty for foreign purchases… the core central region where there is high foreign participation is going to remain fairly low for the next half a year or so.”

Analysts said the narrowing price gap between luxury and mass market properties in recent months prompts some to take a second look at properties in the city and fringes.

Chua Yang Liang, head of research (Southeast Asia) at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “There is this motivation for Singaporean buyers to go into the market primarily because of the price gap. The gap of pricing between the high end market and the mass market has narrowed, compared to the historical high when the series started in 2007. The gap of the two markets then was about 2.5 times in favour of the high-end market. Right now, we are looking at about 1.4, 1.5 times only.”

According to URA Price Index, prices of non-landed properties in the central region and city fringes fell 0.6 per cent in the first quarter while prices for private residential properties in the suburbs increased by 1.1 per cent.

Source : CNA – 16 May 2012