KepLand targets after Chinese New Year, but within first quarter
The launch of Marina Bay Suites has been postponed, with 'market conditions' cited as the cause by Keppel Land group chief executive Kevin Wong.
Later date: The launch of the 221-unit Marina Bay Suites will be after the Chinese New Year, sometime within the first quarter, says Keppel Land group CEO Kevin WongThe news comes as a surprise as the consortium developing it - Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchinson Whampoa and Hongkong Land, had earlier said that the launch would be around end-January, before the Chinese New Year.
The consortium also said then that over 600 potential buyers, half of them foreigners, had registered their interest in buying into the 221-unit luxury development, priced at around $3,000 psf.
However, at a press conference to announce the company's full-year financial results yesterday, Mr Wong said that the launch would now be after the Chinese New Year - within the first quarter of 2008. He also said that units would be 'progressively released in tandem with market conditions'.
Keppel Land's other launches, including the next phase of Reflections at Keppel Bay, The Tresor and Madison Residences, will all be staggered to follow the launch of Marina Bay Suites to ensure that they do not coincide.
For Reflections at Keppel Bay, which has 400 units remaining, Mr Wong said that its launch would be around mid-2008.
Adopting the cautiously optimistic tone already shared by other developers, he said: 'If everything picks up in the second half of the year, then we will be back in business.'
His announcement follows Wing Tai deputy chairman Edmund Cheng's comment on Monday that it would monitor global markets 'to see how things pan out before we launch anything'. Wing Tai projects that have yet to be launched include Belle Vue Residences and L'Viv.
Earlier this month, City Developments also said that depending on construction schedules, and if the opportunity arose, it could consider short-term leases for Lucky Tower, which it acquired through a collective sale in May 2006.
Keppel Land's Mr Wong does expect prices in the high-end sector to be affected if a recession takes hold of the United States economy. 'But we expect mid to mass-market prices to go up steadily,' he added.
Mr Wong, who said that Keppel Land saw a default rate of about 5 per cent on its projects during the last property slump in the mid-1990s, added: 'There will be some (if there is a recession in 2008) but the percentage will be fairly low.'
Commenting on the postponement of the Marina Bay Suites launch, Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak said that 'developers are all watching each other now, but someone has to take the plunge first to test the water'.
'Because of the thin volume at the moment, the market is looking for direction. But we must bear in mind that the volume and price increases in 2007 was out of the ordinary.'
Mr Mak also highlighted that developments with licences to sell will increase as the year progresses. 'If developers wait for prices to go up, everybody could be launching at the same time.'
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