Ten Mile Junction Bid Rejected

A mixed development site at Ten Mile Junction was not awarded as the higher of 2 bids was too low at $61 million ($162.40 psf ppr).

The 15,645.2 sqm site at Choa Chu Kang Rd/Woodlands Rd also houses the B.Panjang LRT station. GFA for residential and commercial are at 23,634 sqm and 11,259 sqm respectively for this mixed development which will not take off now.

* URA-CCK , AsiaOne-CCK , RadarGaga-CCK *

1Q08 HDB And Private Homes Data

HDB Resale
Price Index: 3.7% (LastQ: 5.7%)



Private Homes
Price Index: 3.7% (LastQ: 6.8%)

(a) Non-Landed: 3.7% (LastQ: 7.2%)
- CCR 3.8% (LastQ: 7.5%)
- RCR 3.3% (LastQ: 7.7%)
- OCR 3.8% (LastQ: 7.0%)
(b) Landed: 3.9% (LastQ: 4.2%)
(c) Rental: 6.0% (LasQ: 6.8%)





From flash estimates (URA):


* AsiaOne-HomePrices , URA-1Q08 , HDB-1Q08 , HDB-Rental *

Mar CPI at 6.7%

Mth-to-Mth: -0.1% (Last mth: 0.5%)
Yr-to-Yr: 6.7% (Last mth: 6.5%)
1st 03mth 2008: 6.6%

* SingStat-MarCPI , AsiaOne-CPI *

Another En-bloc Sale Off

Enbloc sale of the 48-unit Finland Gardens in Siglap was called off after the majority sellers and the buyer, Sing Holdings, decided to pull the plug.

Sing Holdings bought the 98,309 sf FH estate for $504 psf in Nov 06, just before prices surged in early 2007. However, in Nov 07, the $49.5m deal was thrown out by STB for lacking 80% approval and that the price was not obtained in good faith. With market uncertainties looming, Sing Holdings decided not to drag on.

* AsiaOne-Enbloc *

Refinancing ABC

(1) When to refinance
- (a) When savings is greater than the costs of refinancing.
- (b) When not selling your property within next 12mths, as you may have to pay redemption fees, refund legal subsidies or cashbacks.

(2) Costs of refinancing
- (a) Within lock-in period: Penalty is usually 1- 1.5% of the outstanding loan amount.
- (b) Refinance with the SAME bank, known as re-pricing or conversion, a conversion fee of $500 - $1,000 may apply. Some banks may offer 1 or 2 free conversions.
- (c) Other costs: Refund legal subsidies, freebies, etc; and incur another legal fees again when sign up with another bank.

(3) Which loan to take
- (a) Fixed rates. Rates are locked-in for 1 - 3yrs, thus any fluctuation in interest rates will not affect the loan interest.
- (b) Pegged rates. Banks rates are pegged to either in-house rates, Sibor or SOR. Sibor and SOR offer greater transparency in rates movement.
- (c) Penalties and refunds for switching.

(4) Budget for expenses
- (a) Do not over-expose to debt repayment as interest rates may rise later.
- (b) Set aside cash to cover at least 6 - 12mths of all necessary expenses such as utilities.

(5) Incentives
- (a) Partial loan repayment. Choose one with no penalty for partial repayment.
- (b) Ask for free conversion.
- (c) Rebates. Check if the cash rebate is refundable or is there any penalty within the lock-in period.
- (d) Free fire insurance.

* ST-Refinance , AsiaOne-HomeEquityLoan *

Spanish Dream Homes Vanishing

Spain's government is enforcing a much neglected 1988 law, and telling thousands of owners that their properties on the coastline do not belong to them.

People from all over Europe have invested their money there. Though the houses, restaurants and hotels were built legally, but they are now not allowed to sell or leave them to their children. Those unlucky ones may even have their properties demolished.

* ST-SpainishHomes , HomesWW-SpanishHomes *

S'pore 3BR Rental 9th Highest Globally

According to an annual survey by ECA Int'l, S'pore is the 9th most expensive place to rent a 3-bedroom apartment among the 92 surveyed locations worldwide.

Rents has increased by 33% last yr. The average rental of a unit at Orchard Road was US$4,460/mth, compared to US$3,364/mth in 2006. But this was still far below Hong Kong, which is in 1st position, where rental was about US$9,700.

The world's cheapest place to rent is in Karachi, Pakistan.

(1) Hong Kong
(2) Moscow
(3) New York
(4) Tokyo
(5) London
(6) Mumbai
(7) Seoul
(8) Caracas, Venezuela
(9) S'pore
(10) Ho Chi Minh

* ECA-WorldRental *

Sibor May Drop Further

As Sing$ appreciates, interest rates may fall to levels last seen in 2003, and it could weaken demand for exports which would affect profits of companies.

Current 3mth Sibor is 1.25% and is expected to fall further to 0.75% - 1.00% by 4Q08. Its record low was 0.56% in Aug 03.

*****

Sibor: Singapore Interbank Offered Rate
- The rate at which banks lend to one another.
- Some mortgage loans are linked to Sibor for transparency in rates movement.
- Also an indication where the deposit and savings account rates are heading.

SOR: Sibor + bank's lending costs. Currently is at about 1.39%.

* AsiaOne-StrongerS$ , AsiaOne-Sibor *

Home Prices Drop Worldwide

US housing slump, credit squeeze and high volatility in stock markets are driving real estate prices down worldwide.

In eastern Europe and the Baltic states, housing markets are fast cooling as western Europeans stop investing in properties in Warsaw, Tallinn, Estonia, etc. Prices in Spain had fallen by 8.8% in a yr.

Over at Britain, one of Europe's most robust housing markets, mortgage approvals had dropped by 31% last 2mths, compared to last yr. And in March, average prices had fallen 2.5%, the biggest fall since 1992.

In India, New Delhi and northern India had also seen prices fallen by 20% over a yr.

* AsiaOne-Housing *

Condo-Hotel Investment

Owners of condo-hotel or condo-resort developments are facing cashflow problem as rental returns are far from expectations to pay off their mortgages. A part of the rental also goes to the operator who manages the hotel.

Hotel is a risky real estate investment as the occupancy rate swings. The markets for such developments are weak and thus owners might lose much should they sell.

* WSJ-CondoHotel *

Tulip Garden En-bloc Sale Off?

Tulip Garden, a FH condo near Holland Rd, was bought by Bravo Building Construction for $516m last Jul. The sale was approved by STB in Feb, and the completion was due in 28 May.

However, Bravo could not pay up another 5% ($25.8m) by 7 Apr, and had requested for another deadline extension. Condo owners thus planned to call off the deal and pocket the 5% deposit ($25.8m) paid by Bravo.

Not only Tulip Garden, Bravo had also aborted an enbloc sale of Makeway View at Newton area earlier this year, and forfeited its $1.63m deposit. Completion for another enbloc sale, Pender Court, was also postponed.

* CNA-TulipGdn , ST-TulipGdn *

S'pore Lake District

URA

A jab of life to the very quiet Jurong areas from Jurong East MRT to Jurong Lake.

Known as Jurong Lake District, it consists of 2 precincts, namely Jurong Gateway and Lakeside. Under Master Plan 2008 Review (Draft), the areas will develop into a commercial hub and have edutainment attractions for the family. Total potential area is 360 ha.

The 70 ha Jurong Gateway (Jurong East MRT area) was identified under the Concept Plan 1991 (together with Tampines & Woodlands) to sustain S'pore's growth. It will have a good mix of office, retail, residential, hotel, entertainment, F&B, etc; and set to be the biggest commercial hub outside the city.

Over at Lakeside, new waterways or walkways may bring the lake closer to the commercial hub, and it will be developed into a major leisure destination for the family and tourists. A lakeside village of F&B, retail, entertainment and hotels will also be created.


URA

* URA-JurongLake , URA-MorePics , AsiaOne-JurongLake *

*****

Hmmmm, sounds good ... ... looking forward to it.