News Highlights Friday 14 March 2008

Some Gillman Heights owners fight on for their homes
A group of owners at Gillman Heights Condominium is fighting hard to stop the S$548 million sale of the property. The 22 minority owners are appealing on carious grounds, including the way the sale process was conducted, how the former HUDC estate’s age was calculated and how the price was achieved. The Strata Titles Board (STB) approved the sale of the 607-unit, 99 year leasehold estate last year at S$363 psf of potential gross floor area, with owners standing to reap S$870,000 to S$950,000 per unit, which constitutes a 40 to 50 per cent profit.


- The Straits Times, H32






Suntec Reit buys state land on Penang Road
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has acquired about 103 sq m of state land along Penang Road for S$1.2 million. This will be amalgamated with Park mall, which Suntec Reit owns, to create an additional floor area of 474 sq m. This is in addition to an earlier acquisition of about 1,261 sq m on Penang Road last July, said ARA Trust Management, the manager of Suntec Reit. Combined with the earlier acquisition, the total cost of land amounted to S$15.6 million and the total permissible gross floor area for Park Mall will increase by about 6,300 sq m to 41,966 sq m.


- The Straits Times, H31






Private fund buys remaining 53 Grange Infinite units
A private fund managed by ARA Asset Management group is believed to have bought the remaining 53 units at Chip Eng Seng’s and Citadel’s Grange Infinite freehold condo project for almost $400 million. The average price in the transaction is believed to be about S$2,600 – S$2,700 psf. An interesting feature of the bulk sale is that it is priced lower than individual units sold earlier this year, with the initial 15 units fetching a median price of S$3,201 psf. This led to seasoned market watchers believing that overseas funds, particularly from Europe and Asia, remain interested in bulk purchases in Singapore condo projects – but only at fair valuations, that is, at a discount to the prices at which the units would be sold to individual investors.


- The Business Times, P9






Delhi drafting law to regulate property sector
The Indian government is drafting a law aimed at regulating the real estate industry as prices of residential and commercial properties accelerate amid faster economic growth. Commercial and residential property prices have more than doubled in the last two years in the capital New Delhi, including areas like Golf Links and Friends Colony, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc.


- The Business Times, P13