广州新电视塔塔顶 将建世界最高摩天轮

Source : 《联合早报》March 18, 2009

（广州讯）广州新电视塔塔顶将建世界最高的摩天轮，并在明年中国国庆节（10月1日）前投入使用。

与一般竖立的摩天轮不同，广州新电视塔摩天轮的16个水晶观光球舱，不是悬挂在轨道上，而是沿着倾斜的轨道运转。

《广州日报》报道，与一般竖立的摩天轮不同，广州新电视塔摩天轮的16个水晶观光球舱，不是悬挂在轨道上，而是沿着倾斜的轨道运转。游客的登舱平台将分设上、下客区，边缘将设置可随球舱移动的1.2米高安全移门，以确保游客游览的有序和安全。

每个观光球舱直径3.2米，可容纳多达六名乘客；球舱壳体采用新型高分子材料，晶莹剔透，让舱内游客对塔外景色一览无余。

400多米高的摩天轮，如何保障它的安全？由于椭圆轨道平面与水平面成15度，为使略微倾斜的球舱在运转过程中保持平稳，有关部门为球舱装上了“调平机构”，通过机械和结构的组合，让球舱水平度实时调整；16个球舱之间通过柔性索连接成环，在动力车的推动下作同步运转。

据悉，定位和抗倾侧装置将保证在八级地震、12级台风下系统依旧“安然无恙”。

摩天轮每20分钟至40分钟转一圈。

广州新电视塔建设公司负责人表示，“观光球舱围绕天线‘公转’一周为20分钟至40分钟，游客能够从各个角度观赏广州市容”。由于“站”在450米的广州新电视塔之上，它将是世界上最高的摩天轮。

据介绍，该设计方案将在4月完成审查，11月开始安装，明年2月完成安装，8月完成调试验收，在明年国庆节前有望投入使用。而原计划的“速降吊篮”项目已在洽谈之中。

摩天轮的中央控制室和管理室，采用大面积透明围护材料，工作人员在操作的过程中可对露天平台和登舱平台情况一目了然。

为了预防雷电，新电视塔的外筒各钢柱顶端沿轨道法线方向装有3.5米长防侧击雷避雷针，顶部桅杆也将装上避雷针。

广州新电视塔总高度（包括塔尖）达580米至600米之间。

Third Costliest In Office Rental

Source : The Straits Times, March 18, 2009

OFFICE rents here fell by 22 per cent last year, but Singapore is still the Asia-Pacific's third costliest city for business tenants, according to Colliers International's latest review. Hong Kong and Tokyo were No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.

The global office real estate review tracked office costs in 172 cities worldwide for the first and second halves of last year. It found that Singapore's office occupancy costs, defined as the annual average gross rents of central business district Grade A office space, fell from US$125.06 psf (S$191.17) in the first half of last year to US$97.07 psf in the second half.

Across the Asia-Pacific, 16 other cities also registered declining rents. Nine of the 20 cities surveyed saw rents plummet more than 20 per cent during the year. Beijing and Taipei were the only two cities in which rents rose.

Despite remaining third costliest in the region, Singapore's office occupancy costs were 45 per cent cheaper than those of Hong Kong's at the end of last year, up from last June's 41 per cent, and 24 per cent cheaper than Tokyo's as compared to just 3 per cent last June, said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and advisory at Colliers International.

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.

Villa Sold For US$30m

Source : The Straits Times, March 18, 2009

SHANGHAI - A SHANGHAI villa has sold for 205 million yuan, or US$30 million (S$45.9 million), in the most costly residential real estate deal yet for mainland China, the property's developer said on Wednesday.

Shimao said the 205 million yuan deal was the costliest so far for a mainland Chinese residential unit. --PHOTO: Shanghai Shimao Sheshan Villas

But despite the stunning size of the transaction, the outlook for the market remains murky, those working in the industry say.

Shimao Property Holdings would not disclose any details about the identity of the buyer of the fully furnished, 4,000 square metre villa in its Shanghai Shimao Sheshan Villas development.

Jing Furong, a staffer in Shimao's investor relations department, confirmed the deal but would not comment on a report on Wednesday in the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post saying the buyer was not a mainland Chinese passport holder.

Another villa at Shimao Sheshan, a scenic area in Shanghai's western suburbs, sold for 155 million yuan, the company said.

Shanghai Shimao's shares jumped by the daily 10 per cent limit on Wednesday following the news to 10.38 yuan.

Shimao said the 205 million yuan deal was the costliest so far for a mainland Chinese residential unit. But at 51,000 yuan, or US$7,500, per square metre, it was less expensive than homes in downtown Shanghai's Tomson Riviera, a luxury complex where a smaller, but still spacious, apartment sold earlier for 130,000 yuan, or more than US$19,000, per square meter.

Although the villa's price is astronomical by Chinese standards, it's way below the most expensive in the world. The most expensive market, according to Global Property Guide's 2009 list, is Monte Carlo, averaging US$45,000 per square meter.

Prices for prime properties in Shanghai, Beijing and several other big Chinese cities are beyond the reach of most Chinese families, though. And despite a recent uptick in transactions in some cities, many in the industry are forecasting bleaker months ahead. -- AP

UK March House Prices Down 9%

Source : The Business Times, March 17, 2009

(LONDON) Asking prices for houses in England and Wales were 9 per cent lower than a year ago this month, slightly less than February's record 9.1 per cent annual drop, property website Rightmove said yesterday.

Average asking prices rose by 0.9 per cent in March, less than the usual increase for the time of year, and new listings were 57 per cent lower than last year at 79,000, Rightmove said.

'Traditional spring impetus (is) limited as . . . lending remains restricted as banks are only now facing up to declaration of toxic debt,' the survey said.

Rightmove said there seemed to be buyer interest in properties priced at around 25 per cent below peak levels, and that sellers who initially overpriced their homes risked heavier losses later.

'Rightmove advised sellers in March last year to 'get smart' and price sensibly rather than chase prices down in a deteriorating market. Those that acted smartly may well have sold at half the discount that those who over-priced are now facing,' said the website's commercial director, Miles Shipside.

The average property asking price in March was £218,081, compared with £216,163 in February.

February data from mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide showed that house prices have fallen around 20 per cent from their peak in late 2007. - Reuters

S'pore Takes Fifth Spot In Global Ranking

Source : The Business Times, March 17, 2009

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY OCCUPANCY COSTS

It moves up from 12th place due to rents falling in some European countries

SINGAPORE has emerged as the world's fifth most expensive location for industrial property occupancy costs in the latest 2009 ranking by Cushman & Wakefield, up from 12th position in the 2008 ranking.

Cushman & Wakefield Singapore managing director Donald Han said: 'Singapore's rise up the world ranking is partly due to countries which used to be more costly moving down. In terms of rental growth, Singapore remained stable in 2008.




















'However, with Singapore being an export-reliant economy, we expect demand for industrial space to be reduced significantly in the next 12 months, leading to a fall in rental rates. We are already experiencing a huge fall-off in non-oil domestic exports to the USA and China in the first month of 2009 - about 50 per cent contraction in both markets.'

Cushman's data showed that Singapore posted zero growth in industrial property rent in local currency terms last year.

It noted that the industrial property market started 2008 as the best performing sector in the wider property market within Singapore.

'However, the slowdown with the closely linked US economy started the deterioration of the domestic economy and by the end of the year, the market had slowed significantly.

'With rents falling in the final quarter of the year, the rental growth seen in the first quarter virtually disappeared by the end of the year,' the report noted.

Occupancy of industrial property deteriorated throughout the world in all but a handful of markets in 2008 and global rental growth slowed to 2.4 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent in 2007.

The more mature markets of North America and Western Europe were the first to underperform early in 2008 but by the year's end, all regions of the world had been affected by the global economic downturn, Cushman said.

Industrial commercial property markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and South America were the best performing globally in 2008. Annual rental growth in CEE was 6.7 per cent in 2008, almost the same level as in 2007. The Polish and Ukrainian markets were both very active over the year, for example, with considerable demand for a relative shortage of quality accommodation. Rents increased in Poland by 28 per cent and in Kiev, Ukraine, by 25 per cent.

In South America, industrial rents rose by 12.4 per cent over the year with the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, market recording the highest global rise in rents of 46 per cent.

Most Western European countries saw rents hold firm in 2008 as occupier demand steadily declined over the year.

'In fact, the global downturn in rents is really demand-led, as many industrial markets remain undersupplied in terms of modern space.

'Falling take-up is a trend evident across most global industrial markets and one that is expected to continue well into 2009,' Cushman said.

China To Focus On Building Affordable Housing

Source : The Business Times, March 17, 2009

(SHANGHAI) When China excluded property from 10 sectors marked for support in a three-year stimulus plan, it signalled it was more concerned with affordable housing than with shoring up its sagging real estate market.

Easy does it: After a dizzying series of policy U-turns over the past year, the property industry may be grateful for signs that Beijing has settled on a consistent long-term approach

The snub may expose property developers to further pain, especially in the overheated high end of the market.

But any harm to the economy could be more than offset in the long term by a government commitment to build up the supply of affordable and low-income urban housing, which would spur consumption.

And after a dizzying series of policy U-turns over the past year, the property industry may be grateful for signs that the government has settled on a consistent long-term approach.

'The government is apparently hoping for some reasonable easing in property prices, which are still too high and weighing on transactions as well as consumption,' said Sun Jianping, a senior property analyst at Guotai Junan Securities here.

'It's likely to take a wait- and-see attitude about any new measures to boost the market in the near term, monitoring the effects of property friendly steps adopted late last year.'

Beijing ushered in a slew of steps to support the slowing property market in the fourth quarter of last year, such as cuts in business and transaction taxes, back-pedalling from policies taken just months earlier to cool what it feared was an overheated market developing into a dangerous bubble.

But in late February, it ignored property when it selected 10 industries to support in a stimulus package for its faltering economy, even though property investment accounted for nearly one-quarter of the nation's total investment and 11 per cent of its GDP in 2007 and 2008.

'The recent dip in property prices hasn't really brought them far off their sky-high levels, and the government doesn't seem to want to push them back up again right now,' said Jin Dehuan, economist at the Shanghai Securities and Futures Institute.

'The government will surely focus on the implementation of the long-delayed low-income housing scheme in the short term, although property will still be one of the top five industries subject to long-term support due to its weight in the economy.'

His view was echoed by official comments.

Qi Ji, Vice-Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, told a news conference last week that property prices remained too high in some eastern cities compared with average incomes.

News of the apparent slight contrasted sharply with grim data from the property market.

Growth in China's urban property prices slowed abruptly in early 2008, when the global financial crisis began to ripple over the economy, winding up a five-year bull run.

In December, prices fell 0.4 per cent, their first annual drop since the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's economic planner, began publishing the data in 2005. The pace accelerated to a record fall of 1.2 per cent in February.

The fall in property prices has fuelled investor worries about a rise in banks' bad loans, as developers may default on projects that cannot generate the envisioned returns. Luxury spending fed by real estate speculation is also taking a hit.

What's more, investment growth in the heavily weighted sector has slowed sharply, to just one per cent in the first two months of this year, down from 20.9 per cent in 2008.

That compares with overall urban fixed-asset investment growth of 26.5 per cent in January-February this year.

China's property prices are still high compared with urban dwellers' incomes, let alone earnings in poor rural areas.

In Shanghai, one of China's richest cities, last year's average per capita disposable income of 26,690 yuan (S$6,026) could not buy even two square metres of a typical 90-square-metre, two-bedroom apartment in the city centre or inner suburbs.

To ease the crunch, the country's four trillion yuan, two-year economic stimulus plan, announced last November, includes 400 billion yuan to build affordable homes, while the Ministry of Housing and Urban- Rural Development has targeted 900 billion yuan in spending on low-income housing over the next three years.

Such spending will bolster upstream industries such as steel, cement and construction.

'Property remains a pillar industry of China's economy,' NDRC vice-head Liu Tienan told reporters late last month, when asked why property was excluded from the 10 targeted industries. -- Reuters

Home Sales Surge On New Launches

Source : The Straits Times, March 17, 2009

Analysts ask if February spike from new heartland condos can be repeated

SALES of new private homes surged dramatically last month to the sort of levels seen in the property boom.

All 293 units at Alexis in Alexandra Road (left) were sold at a median price of $1,083 per sq ft (psf). -- PHOTO: THE BUSINESS TIMES

However, some property analysts cautioned that the spike in sales to 1,323 units in February may have been a blip - attributable largely to two popular launches of mid-priced heartland condos.

Still, the new Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) figures showed that last month's bumper sales were equal to more than a quarter of all the sales of new private homes last year - 4,264 units.

The February figure is also a huge jump from the dismal 108 unit sales in January as buyers stayed away amid deepening economic gloom and Chinese New Year festivities.

'It has been more than one year since we last saw total transactions surpassing the 1,000 mark,' said Jones Lang LaSalle's local director and head of research, South-east Asia, Dr Chua Yang Liang.

The launch of new units was also up sharply last month, to 1,069 units from just 204 units in January.











Analysts say two newly-launched heartland condos, Alexis and Caspian, proved especially popular with upgraders who had been biding their time amid the sharp run-up in prices during the boom.

All 293 units at Alexis in Alexandra Road were sold at a median price of $1,083 per sq ft (psf) while Caspian in Jurong sold 517 units at a median price of $603 psf. Prices started from $450,000 at Alexis and $340,000 at Caspian.

A third project, originally launched in 2006, The Quartz in Buangkok Drive, sold 168 units last month at a median price of $591 psf after it was relaunched at a lower price. The 99-year leasehold condo was first released at $490 psf on average, which rose to $650 psf in 2007.

Apart from these three, no other project had notable sales. Livia in Pasir Ris launched another 80 units last month, selling just 16 at a median price of $620 psf. A new launch, The Beverly in Toh Tuck Road, offered 31 units last month but sold none. It sold a few this month.

For a second straight month, no units were sold at the decidedly upmarket price range of $2,500 psf to $3,999 psf, said Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy, Mr Nicholas Mak.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said the top three sellers were projects in the heartland, where a majority of the buyers are HDB upgraders.

They have been waiting on the sidelines during the run-up of home prices in 2006-2007, when there was a lack of mass-market projects for sale, he said.

Apart from pent-up demand, consultants said sales at Caspian and Alexis were driven by the availability of small, affordable units - mainly under $800,000.

Private home sales for the January to March quarter could be about 1,800 to 2,000 units, according to Mr Li, going by the 'brisk sales' at Double Bay Residences, Suites @ Kembangan and others so far this month. The 646-unit Double Bay in Simei has, for instance, already posted sales of at least 210 units at $600 psf to $650 psf since its March 6 preview.

Developer Home Sales Hit 18-Month High

Source : The Business Times, March 17, 2009

Developers sold 1,323 new housing units in February - eleven times more than in January.

Urban Redevelopment Authority figures show sales hit their highest level since the previous peak of 1,723 units in August 2007, leading some to say that market momentum has returned.

Colliers International's director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying said that if developers stick with current pricing and product strategies, 'this trend will stay'.

'We have always said there are buyers waiting to buy,' she said, adding that smaller units at lower prices 'are within a buyer's risk appetite'.

DTZ senior director Chua Chor Hoon said: 'Despite the credit crunch there is still plenty of liquidity in the market. Many people have not committed to purchases in the past two years, and savings interest rates are so low now.'

Barclays Capital economist Leong Wai Ho also reckons low interest rates could be a factor in the sales spike, saying 'abysmally low loan and deposit rates remove the incentive to keep idle balances in cash'.

Still Mr Leong does not think February's momentum is sustainable. 'The risk going forward is that HDB upgrader demand is likely to unravel as the pain from rising joblessness and lower wage payouts starts to bite,' he said.

He also noted that two new launches accounted for the spike in February. 'Take those two projects out and you have a good idea what is happening in the broader market,' he said.

The two projects are the 712-unit Caspian at Jurong and the 293-unit Alexis @ Alexandra, which sold 517 and 293 units at median prices of $603 and $1,083 psf respectively.

Other significant transactions in February were at the 625-unit The Quartz, with 168 units sold at a median price of $591 psf; the 38-unit Palmeria Residence with 22 units sold at a median price of $775 psf; and the 31-unit D'Chateau @ Shelford with 21 units sold at a median price of $1,000 psf.

PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail believes more than 50 per cent of February's sales involved HDB upgraders, as 70 per cent of the units sold were under $1,000 psf.

'Developers have slashed prices, accepting minimal profits,' he said. 'This makes it irresistible for serious buyers, be they investors or HDB upgraders.'

Jones Lang LaSalle's local director and head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang said all regions registered strong take-up rates, with 102 units sold in the Core Central Region, 840 sold in the Outside Central Region and 381 units sold in the Rest of Central region.

But he doubts the rally can be sustained. 'The strong market showing in February is likely to be a short-term blip in the overall larger scheme of things,' he said.

While February sales were healthy, returned units from speculators without the means to hold could become a dampener. Already, classified advertisements have appeared for sub-sales at Caspian and Alexis.

DMG Research analyst Brandon Lee thinks speculation is still 'subdued', with most buyers either Singaporeans or permanent residents purchasing units to occupy.

'Volume in the sub-sale market remains tepid, at less than 100 units transacted in February,' he said.

Selling 1,000 units a month will be hard to achieve, he feels. 'A more reasonable figure would be 500-600 units for the next three months. After that, the picture would possibly revert back to a normal 200-300 units as the economy worsens and the HDB resale market softens.'

March sales have already hit about 300 units, with 210 sold at the 646-unit Double Bay at Simei, as well as about 25 at the 104-unit Domus in Novena. It is also understood that the 60-unit Kembangan Suites project is fully sold.

Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that leaving aside Caspian and Alexis, February's sales of 513 units were the strongest in seven months.

But he cautions that there is a 'limited' pool of buyers for small units, and says HDB upgraders could become more discerning. 'If an HDB upgrader moves from a four or five-room HDB flat to a one or two-bedroom condo, it's not really upgrading,' he said.

比1月暴涨十倍以上 2月1323新私宅单位售出

Source : 《联合早报》March 17, 2009

今年2月，发展商总共卖出了1323个新私宅单位，这不但比1月的108个单位暴涨十倍以上，也比市场人士原先“瞄准”的上千个单位还要多。

这也是本地楼市自2007年8月以来，从未见过的热烈反应。过去一年来，发展商每个月平均只卖出344个私宅单位。

不过，今年2月的销售量主要集中在水之轩(Caspian)、Alexis和The Quartz，单单是这三个共管公寓项目就卖出978个单位，占了2月份总销售数的74％。其他项目并没有在2月份有太突出的建树。

市场人士认为，这种局部的热烈销售反应，是发展商忍痛大幅度削减价格，以及巧妙的定价策略换来的，并不表示整体楼市已经回春。

一些分析员甚至指出，这应该会跟2007年7、8月的“小阳春”一样，属于昙花一现的短暂现象。同样的销售热度不可能一直持续下去，未来几个月的楼价还是会面对下跌压力。

根据市区重建局昨天发表的数据，发展商在今年2月推出了1069个新单位，这是自2008年7月以来推出反应最热烈的一个月份。

世邦魏理仕执行董事李晓和说，今年首两个月来，发展商已经卖出1431个新单位。他估计，发展商将在3月份再卖出三五百个单位，带动第一季的需求量达到1800至2000个单位。　　 博纳(Propnex)集团总裁伊斯迈则估计，发展商能够在3月卖出大约800个单位，这将比2月份减少四成。

最近一些新项目 已再看到销售放缓

实际上，最近推出的一些新项目已经可以看到楼市的销售速度又有再次放缓的迹象。例如华业集团最近预售的Double Bay Residences，就只在一个周末卖出大约150个单位，比发展商原先期望至少200个单位少。

相比较之下，水之轩在2月份总共卖出517个单位，Alexis和The Quartz则在短短一两天内就火速卖出293和168个单位。

仲量联行研究部主管蔡炎亮相信，像2月份这样的销售速度不容易持续下去，这是因为未来6个月的经济还是会继续萎缩，人们会更切身感受到就业市场和消费信心的压力。由于买家会持更保守的态度、更有选择性，所以发展商必须给予更多的折扣和租金保证计划等，才能吸引他们进场。

莱坊(KnightFrank)研究部主管麦俊荣也持类似的看法。尽管2月份出现了“好市”，他还是坚持今年整体私宅价格将下滑15％至25％的看法。

本地私宅价格自去年第三季下跌2.4％后，又在第四季滑落6.1％。麦俊荣认为，过去一两个月的削价行动，应该会带动私宅价格在今年第一季再下滑5％至8％。

以星狮地产的水之轩来说，这个西部共管公寓以每平方英尺580元“开跑”，价格比隔邻西湖园(The Lakeshore)的二手单位价格，足足便宜了20％。国浩置地(GuocoLand)也一口气削价8.5％，以每平方英尺平均595元，来重新推出The Quartz的剩余182个单位。

至于Alexis的平均尺价虽然高达1100元，没有明显削价，但由于单位的面积较小（大多数介于450至650平方英尺），单位价大多在80万元以下，所以也卖了个满堂红。

博纳(Propnex)集团总裁伊斯迈说：“如果Alexis的单位大点，单位价就会较高，不这么容易负担得起。”他相信，2月份进场的买家有大约一半属于组屋提升者。

受访的市场人士不约而同地指出，目前的组屋转售价格仍然持高，也是促成这个“小阳春”的主要原因之一。一方面是这些项目的单位价都较低，另一方面也是因为组屋转售价格仍然持高，两者之间的差距一缩小，让买家容易提升到私宅市场去。

这间组屋单位 估价就达83万

Source : 《联合早报》March 17, 2009

行情不好，但是位于女皇镇美岭街的一个组屋单位仍以估价值83万元开价，等待买家出现。

自刊登卖屋广告的一个月以来，已有20组买家上门参观，不过至今未有人出价。由于屋主不急着卖屋，他们打算继续刊登广告，要是组屋仍无人问津，就可能把组屋出租出去。

从高楼组屋可以眺望女皇镇美岭街四周的辽阔景色，屋主准备以83万元的估价值出售，并相信会等到识货的买主。（蔡家增摄）

因为地点好，去年第四季的组屋转售数据显示，女皇镇公寓式组屋的转售价中位数（median resale price）是78万8000元，是全岛唯一突破70万元的高价组屋。

C&H Realty执行董事庐元士说，虽然组屋溢价已在近几个月来下跌，不过估价还是保持平稳，甚至稍微增加。这可能是因为组屋估价也参考同地区的组屋转售价格，而这些转售交易可能须两三个月完成，因此未必能完全反映当下的经济局势。

他也说，美岭街的地点适中，估价一向不低，不过超出80万元的情况不常见。“只有条件很好的组屋才有高估价，而这样的高估价是例外，不是常态。”

组屋估价是根据出售组屋的地点、屋龄、楼层、面积和设计等所得出的价格。

HSR房产经纪公司执行董事郑来明说，美岭街的地点已很好，要是属于高楼单位，更是锦上添花，估价自然会更高。

他说，这类高价组屋所瞄准的是小众市场，属于这个市场的买主愿意以高价购买符合他们要求的单位。

这个叫价83万元的大型组屋单位位于美岭街第148座的20楼以上，距离女皇镇地铁站只有5分钟的步行距离，乌节路和市区也在不远处。该组屋也有怡人景色，放眼望去尽是高楼及绿意。

屋主的媳妇是一名谢姓的家庭主妇。她受访时说，上个月为组屋进行估价（valuation），得出的估价是83万元。

由于估价已相当高，他们决定不要求任何溢价。溢价指的是估价以外的现金数额。

谢女士认为，组屋的估价不会过高，因为“附近的组屋曾以89万元出售”。

去年初，经济走势强劲，热门组屋区的单位频频以高价售出。去年1月，美岭街曾有公寓式组屋以89万元出售，创下历来最高的转售价纪录。当时，屋主开出90万元的高价，为的是要让许多上门询问的买主知难而退，怎知有一买主竟愿意只减了1万元就成交。

谢女士要等的，就是这样一位懂得欣赏组屋优点的买家。

该组屋屋龄约13年，面积是147平方公尺（约1582平方英尺），每平方英尺要价525元。

虽然最近推出的红山公寓项目有不少低于百万元的单位，但HSR的郑来明指出，两者不可以相提并论，因为这些公寓单位的面积很小，不如大型组屋来得宽敞。

邻近美岭街的公寓项目Alexis @ Alexandra在上个月推出，平均尺价是1100元，最小单位的面积是366平方英尺，售价41万2000元。

不过，也有人对于这样的高价不以为然。住在美岭街五房式组屋的张先生（65岁，退休者）认为，80万元以上的组屋太贵了。“现在经济不好，大家都能省则省，谁还会拿出这么多钱买组屋？”

谢女士的一家人已以80万到90万元买下武吉巴督一个公寓单位，要是美岭街的组屋能卖得出，就几乎是“一对一”的组屋换公寓了。