Tag Archives: Sentosa

DC rates take striking hike in scenic Sentosa

Posted on 27 Feb 2010 | Comments Off on DC rates take striking hike in scenic Sentosa

SENTOSA has seen a big jump in development charge (DC) rates, reflecting higher land values on the island following this month’s opening of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

On average, the government is raising DC rates (payable for intensifying or enhancing the use of some sites) about 12 per cent for landed residential use from March 1; but in Sentosa, they will climb 17.3 per cent. For non-landed residential use, Sentosa saw a 10 per cent hike in DC rates compared to the average rise of about 8 per cent. And while DC rates for commercial use will be cut roughly 2 per cent on average against the backdrop of weak office rentals, Sentosa is the only location where they will be raised – to the tune of 12.5 per cent.

It is also the only location where the government increased the hotel-use DC rate; the hike was 12.2 per cent. In all other locations, the DC rate for hotel use (which also covers hospitals) was left untouched.

DC rates – which are revised on March 1 and Sept 1 each year – are specified by use groups across 118 geographical sectors throughout Singapore. The review is conducted by the Ministry of National Development in consultation with the Chief Valuer, who takes into account current market values.

Some analysts pointed to an interesting trend emerging in the Central Business District. DC rates for commercial use in the CBD fell further while non-landed residential rates rose and actually surpassed the commercial rates. This could mean paying a higher DC for those who redevelop old CBD office blocks into apartments and could impact such conversions, especially in the case of 99- year leasehold sites as their owners would also want a lease top- up, says DTZ’s South- east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s SE Asia research head Chua Yang Liang goes a step further, predicting that the new trend could have an ‘unexpected effect of encouraging the redevelopment of existing older office stock into the same office use and discouraging conversions to residential’. Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL) analysis showed that DC rates for non-landed residential use were raised for 116 geographical sectors and left unchanged for the remaining two areas.

The biggest hike of 15.4 per cent was seen in three sectors: 91 (which covers the Mountbatten, Meyer and Broadrick areas); 98 (Tampines, Bedok Reservoir, Bedok North, Kembangan); and 101 (Paya Lebar Way/Eunos/Sims Avenue).

This was followed by Sector 76 (Everton/Spottiswoode Park) with a 14.5 per cent increase. Market watchers attribute this to last October’s en bloc sale of Dragon Mansion at a land price about 68 per cent above the land value implied by the prevailing Sept 1, 2009 DC rate for the location.

Also, the geographical sectors covering Serangoon Ave 3, Upper Thomson Rd and Sengkang West Avenue – where residential sites have been sold at bullish prices at state tenders in the past six months – were raised 12.5 per cent, 10.5 per cent and 9.1 per cent respectively.

Colliers International executive director (investment sales) Ho Eng Joo said that overall, the growth in non-landed residential DC rates may hamper developers’ landbanking plans, especially for collective sales sites that require DC payment.

Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh, however, said yesterday: ‘Three quarters of the en bloc projects our company is working on don’t involve any DC payment. As for the rest, DC as a component of the entire land cost is not very high and hence the increase in DC rates will have minimal impact on the en bloc sale exercise.’

For landed residential use too, charges were raised in 116 sectors and left unchanged in the other two.

Besides Sentosa, other areas with the biggest hikes include Holland/Dunearn Rd/Sixth Avenue (up 17.1 per cent) as well as the Good Class Bungalow areas of Botanic Gardens/Gallop Rd/Tyersall and Ridout/Peirce Hill/Swettenham Road (each up 16.9 per cent), JLL’s analysis shows.

Commercial DC rates were trimmed between 3.2 and 13.3 per cent in 23 sectors. The biggest chop was in the Cecil St/Robinson Road area. There were also cuts in other parts of the financial district, such as Marina Bay, Raffles Place and Fullerton Road, as well as in the Thomson/Moulmein, Newton Circus, Bugis and Tanglin/Cuscaden areas.

Source : Business Times – 27 Feb 2010

Comments Off on DC rates take striking hike in scenic Sentosa

Posted in Property Market / Real Estate, Sentosa Property

Tagged , , , ,

Sentosa IR off to a good start

Posted on 24 Feb 2010 | Comments Off on Sentosa IR off to a good start

Shops, eateries thriving but casino numbers could be higher, say analysts

Business has more than doubled at retail outlets like Victoria’s Secret, since the casino opened, says The Valiram Group, which manages luxury brands.

IT HAS been 10 days since Singapore’s first integrated resort (IR) partially opened its casino and theme park, and the early signs are that it is doing well.

While the casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) reeled in the lion’s share of visitors, the hotels, restaurants and retailers there have had roaring business.

And even though none of the 19 rides and shows at the Universal Studios theme park is ready, thousands of ‘preview’ tickets were snapped up by those content with just a walk-through.

The casino itself had more than 149,000 people in its first full week of operations, despite having opened only half of its 530 gaming tables and 1,300 slot machines on Day One.

Since this is the country’s first casino, no local benchmark for visitor numbers exists. For comparison, the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, which has a casino more than 31/2 times bigger, had more than 500,000 visitors in its first 10 days.

Citigroup analysts say that RWS’ 86,000 visitors in its first four days pales in comparison with Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams in Macau, which had 40,000 visitors on Day One.

But then, Melco is nearly three times bigger and, like all Macau gaming houses, can count on the hinterland of a billion people in nearby Hong Kong and China.

Nonetheless, the Singapore casino’s visitor numbers are underwhelming to analysts, who say the figures could be inflated by the many visitors, including foreign workers, who wanted a look-see, not a wager.

Teething problems in operations have also surfaced: Overcrowding on the gaming floor, dirty toilets and inexperienced dealers are among visitors’ grouses.

Still, for businesses outside the casino, things are hunky dory.

RWS’ four hotels, with a total of 1,350 rooms, are fully booked until the end of the Chinese New Year period on Sunday; already, seven in 10 rooms have been taken for the June school holidays, said RWS spokesman Robin Goh.

RWS’ restaurants and retail stores, which opened progressively from Jan 20, are also doing well: It has been full house daily at Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurant, an American diner; Chinese restaurant Ruyi has even run out of food a few times.

Business at the RWS-run restaurants has grown by up to 20 per cent since their opening; the casino’s outlets have fed 10,000 to 12,000 punters a day.

Cash registers are also ringing at the retail stores. The Valiram Group, which manages luxury brands from Bally and Bvlgari to Ralph Lauren and Victoria’s Secret, said business has more than doubled since the casino opened.

Meanwhile, junket operators are already priming their VIP clients. Ms Mary Ong, who runs MO Junket, has introduced more than 50 high rollers from countries like China and Indonesia here for a preview.

These punters, here on their own, have each been blowing roughly $20,000 a night. MO Junket, still without a junket licence, cannot host clients yet.

All eyes now are on the opening of the theme park, even as travel agents gripe about being unable to sell packages without a firm opening date.

Pressed for one, RWS’ Mr Goh would say only that the theme park ‘is expected to open its doors in early March’.

Source – Straits Time : 24 Feb 2010

Comments Off on Sentosa IR off to a good start

Posted in Sentosa Property

Tagged , , , ,