Braddell View hops onto en bloc bandwagon - SRX

Braddell View, the largest of Singapore's 18 HUDC estates and the last to be privatised in March this year, is kick-starting its en bloc journey.



The 918-unit estate is holding an extraordinary general meeting on Oct 10 to form the collective sales committee (CSC). The 99-year-lease Braddell View development has 63 years left on its lease.

Market watchers note that it is still early days pending the appointment of a marketing agent and lawyers to draft the collective sales agreement. But a Straits Times report on Monday said owners hope to sell the sprawling 1.124 million sq ft development for at least S$2 billion - a price tag that will eclipse Pine Grove's S$1.65 billion en bloc attempt. The largest en bloc deal to date was in 2007, when the 618-unit Farrer Court was sold for S$1.34 billion to CapitaLand.

The en bloc fever has just started with eight sites sold for S$3.5 billion, including one industrial site, leading many watchers to believe that the en bloc up cycle is still at a nascent stage and the property market is in the early stage of recovery.

"Historically, spikes in en bloc sales have preceded property sector price recovery in the past cycles in 2007 and 2011," said Vikrant Pandey, a property analyst with UOB KayHian.

"We foresee the nascent recovery spreading to the mid-high end segment in the next wave, driven by replacement demand from en blocers and a pick-up in foreign homebuying interest from foreigners," he added. "We expect Singapore property prices to rise by 5-10 per cent next year after bottoming out this year (12-15 per cent correction from peak)."

Mr Pandey said he believes the en bloc fever could run until the end of next year, as a surge in en bloc sales could span between six and eight quarters.

Credit Suisse property analysts said in a note that they believe large listed developers such as City Developments and UOL Group are well placed to replenish land banks via en bloc sites, especially for former HUDC estates with large ticket sizes.

About 12,000 new private homes could potentially be generated from the 10 residential collective sales that have been transacted since last year and from another seven sites which have been launched, but the tenders for which have yet to close or be awarded, JLL estimated.

Source: SRX (19 Sep 2017)

Kong Hee's Sentosa penthouse back on the market at $11.5m - SRX

The Sentosa Cove penthouse unit belonging to former City Harvest Church pastor Kong Hee was relisted for $11.5 million last week - 15 per cent higher than its 2015 listing price of $10 million.



The 5,242 sq ft penthouse unit was bought and co-owned by Kong and Indonesian tycoon Wahju Hanafi in 2007 for $9.33 million, with each paying monthly instalments of $17,000. In 2015, Kong said then it was a "temporary home" for the family as they awaited the sale.

He is now serving a 3 1/2-year jail sentence for misappropriating around $50 million of church funds.

The apartment remained unsold and was reportedly taken off the market before reappearing recently at a higher price.

When contacted, the owners' agent Sally Soh, from KF Property Network, said the higher asking price was a decision made by her clients, but it is still up for negotiation.

She said three interested parties had enquired about the penthouse unit and paid it a visit since the listing was put up with the higher price tag.

Most of the furnishings, including those in the spacious master bedroom, were left as her clients had intended, she said.

"While the price is higher than in the past, the owners are open to negotiation if there is a firm offer from an interested buyer," she added.

If sold at the asking price, the value of the unit works out to $2,194 per sq foot (psf).

This is higher than that fetched by another unit in the same The Oceanfront condominium last month which, at $2,022 psf, is already above this year's median psf for Sentosa Cove properties - $1,579 psf - according to data from SRX Property.



For Sentosa Cove penthouses, the median psf in 2016 and 2017 was $1,628 and $1,802 respectively.

The latest listing follows a surge of interest in Sentosa Cove homes as prices gradually moved nearer the levels of mass-market condos, The Straits Times reported last month.

Sentosa Cove had of late come to be the most visible marker of the slump in the property market, after a series of homes were sold at massive losses. In July, a unit at Seascape was sold for $9 million - a $3.8 million loss from its original price of $12.8 million.

Between 2007 and 2009, Cove properties went for between $2,600 and $2,800 psf, compared to $1,500 to $1,700 now, said PropNex group division director Alex Low, who has been actively marketing properties in Sentosa Cove.

But the luxury condo market is starting to pick up again as buyers respond to the low prices, said Mr Low.



"In the past, I used to get three or four calls (from buyers) every week. Now, my phone rings every day."

While the market seems buoyant for now, the chief executive officer of International Property Advisor, Mr Ku Swee Yong, said it remains to be seen whether Sentosa Cove, in particular, will gain traction.

Said Mr Ku: "It is still very tough to get people to view properties on Sentosa, since most of the transactions there were loss-making.

"It is a good time for a buyer whose purpose is to live in the property, but investors should look at other asset classes as prices may not rise any time soon."

Source: SRX (20 Sep 2017)