DAILY MARKET UPDATES 04th October 2008

Serangoon Gardens Dorm to go Ahead For starters, no more than 600 foreigners - generally factory workers in the IT and electronics industries in Ang Mo Kio - will be housed at the dormitory, which will be up within a year. An access road to the building will also be built, so buses transporting the workers to and from their 'home' will not wind through the middle-class estate, which already has traffic congestion problems. To keep the workers from disturbing the estate's residents, the dormitory operator will have to implement noise-control, security and other measures. The facility will also have adequate amenities, including provision shops, so workers will have little reason to leave it.
- The Straits Times, A1 (See also, The Business Times, P15 – “Temporary Dorm in Serangoon Gardens”)
Twelve Iconic Structures Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is extending its conservation programme beyond buildings, to include structures such as towers, pavilions and bridges. The structures are: the Botanic Gardens' bandstand and the Swan Lake Gazebo; MacRitchie Reservoir's water intake tower and bridge and its pavilion and bridge; the water intake tower, bridge and weir at Lower Peirce Reservoir and the lookout towers in Toa Payoh Town Park and Seletar Reservoir Park.
The six historic bridges to be conserved are Anderson, Cavenagh, Elgin, Read, Ord and Crawford. Four black-and-white houses at Bukit Chermin in Telok Blangah will also be conserved. The four houses, together with 25 pre-war colonial buildings that are already conserved at the Southern Ridges, can be developed for future use as hotels, restaurants, art galleries and the like.
- The Straits Times, A14 (See also, The Business Times, P15 – “Conservation to include Structures”)
High Loan Exposure becomes Damper In a recent report, ratings agency Standard & Poor's noted that property-related exposure is relatively high for Hong Kong and Singapore banks. 'While housing loans form the bulk of it, the share of commercial real estate and construction is high for a single sector exposure,' the report said. 'With economic growth expected to slow down in 2008 and 2009, the quality of this portfolio's unseasoned portion is at risk.' 'Our analysis showed that DBS has been the most aggressive in loan expansion from December 2004 to June 2008,' the report said. 'Over this period, DBS recorded a loan compound annual growth rate of 16.3 per cent, which is significantly higher than OCBC's 11.2 per cent and UOB's 11.5 per cent.'
- The Business Times, P12
Asian Money Rates surge on Credit Concerns Credit markets have frozen, driving rates higher, as central banks pumped US$1 trillion into the global financial system to ease the turmoil. Hong Kong's three-month interbank rate this week jumped 41 basis points, or 0.41 percentage point, to 3.81 per cent, and Tokyo's increased one basis point to 0.87 per cent - both the highest since December. The London interbank offered rate for Australian dollars headed for a fourth weekly increase. Singapore's rate for three- month US dollar loans rose 49 basis points to 4.27 per cent, the most expensive since Jan 11.
- The Business Times, P5
Property Stocks in a Downward Slope The FTSE Real Estate Index shed 10.9 points, or 2.4 per cent, yesterday to close at a 52-week low of 451.7. The index has lost 48.5 per cent since the start of the year. In contrast, the Straits Times Index has lost 33.7 per cent so far in 2008. Singapore's three biggest developers by market capitalisation all saw their stock prices fall yesterday. CapitaLand dropped 10 cents to close at $2.94, City Developments shed 36 cents to end at $8.01 and Keppel Land declined 14 cents to $2.61. High-end properties should bear the brunt of any price falls, while the mass-market segment should be relatively resilient, said DBS Vickers, Mr Chua. Investors are now holding off buying homes in anticipation of prices falling further, and the poor demand is affecting market sentiment on property counters. All these mean that developers are selling very few private homes. Only about 60 were sold in the primary market in the first two weeks of September, said DMG's Mr Lee.
- The Business Times, P36 (See attached, “Property Stock Index”)
Dubai’s Atlantis truly a Paradise Dubai now boasts an ocean- themed resort, Atlantis, where a night will cost up to US$25,000. At Atlantis, water thrills, a marine habitat and more than a dozen restaurants run by world-class chefs including Japanese sushi mogul Nobu Matsuhisa and Michel Rostang of France. The first guests were welcomed this past week at the site on Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm tree- shaped man-made islands emerging off the coast of Dubai. The number of visitors is expected to reach 15 million by 2015. Dubai already hosts one of the world's most exclusive hotels, the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab, dozens of other luxurious seafront hotels, and the 'Burj Dubai', Arabic for Dubai Tower, the world's tallest skyscraper. Dubai will also have the world's largest shopping mall.
-The Business Times, P22
Skypark @ Somerset - Freehold - St Thomas Walk, District 9 - Close to Somerset MRT - Deferred Payment Scheme - $2,200 psf onwards - 4 Bedroom Duplex unit - 3,300 sq ft – standard units - 6m High Ceiling - 800 sq ft Garden in every apartment - 75% Sold in Preview, total development 29 units - Balance of 2 Penthouses and 3 standard units - Expected TOP: May 2010 - Developer: TG Development -The Business Times, P2 - advertisement
Dukes Residences - Freehold, foreigners eligible - 42 units - Luxurious quality finishes throughout - Deferred payment scheme available - Special package ; 10 yrs free maintenance, interest free installment, furnishing vouchers etc. - Near Adam MRT - $1,670 psf onwards - Expected TOP: Jan 2012 - Developer: Manston Land Pte Ltd - Marketing Agents: Savills -The Straits Times, A32 - advertisement
Livia - “With land costing easily between $250 & $350psf coupled with high construction costs, developers’ break-event cost is at least $700psf. Livia’s average price of $650psf is definitely a steal.” – Jack Chua, ERA President & Peter Ow, Knight Frank Executive Director.
- 99-years leasehold condo (from 7 Jan 2008) - Located just 8 minutes from Pasir Ris MRT and complete with unique activity zones sprawling across 450,000 sqft of land
- Aqua Zone: Wi-fi enabled pool lounge, Aqua Gym, Spa Alcove with soothing water jets - Action Zone: ‘Xtreme Swing’, ‘Rocky Climb’, basketball half-court - Garden Zone: bamboo, fragrance and fern gardens - Leisure Zone: Tennis court, gym, BBQ pavilion, children’s play area, clubhouse Located just off Pasir Ris Drive 1 - Surrounded by prestigious schools such as Singapore’s forth upcoming university at Upper Changi Road East - Phase 2 now launched - 3-, 4-BR apartments and penthouses - Average: $670 psf - 3-BR units: $800,000 - $940,000 - 4-BR units: $990,000 - $1.05 million (1,539 sq ft) - Expected TOP: 31 Dec 2011 - Developer: Hong Realty - Marketing agents: ERA, Knight Frank - The Straits Times, A35 - advertisement
Clover by the Park - 99 years, Foreigners Eligible - Bishan St 21-25 - 616 units - 3, 4 Bedroom & Penthouse - Avergage $750 psf - Full condominium facilities available - 50m lap pool - Near Bishan Park, Bishan Sports Hall, Bishan Active Sports Hub - Within 1km to Catholic High School, near reputed schools such as Ai Tong Primary Sch, Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College
- Expected TOP: 31 Dec 2015 - Developers: Sim Lian Group Limited -The Straits Times, B2 – advertisement Wheelock Properties - Recipient of URA Achitectural Heritage Award Category A for conservation of the grand clubhouse at The Sea View - The Straits Times, B5 - advertisement
The Lattiz - Freehold, foreigners eligible - 15 apartment units - 2 & 2+1 bedrooms: 1,033 – 1,141 sqft - 3-bedrooms: 1,249 – 1,389 sqft - Penthouses: 2,196 – 2,303 sqft - Along Lorong Salleh - Minutes away from Tao Nan School, Victoria Junior College - Developer: Cre8 Property Development - Marketing agent: PropNex - Marketing agents: DTZ, CBRE - The Straits Times, B10 - advertisement
Oasis Garden - Freehold - Foreigners eligible - Deferred Payment availabe - Easy access to Marina Bay via new KPE - Within 1km to Maris Stella High (Pri) and Cedar Pri - Minutes walk from Tai Seng / Bartley MRT Station (Circle Line partial opening mid ’09) - Lush Balinese landscape garden - Expected TOP: 15 May 2012 - Developer: Kheng Leong Co - Marketing agent: DTZ - The Straits Times, B6 - advertisement
? ST Index change 2,297.12 (-66.48)