KepLand Sets Up JV To Develop Housing Project In Vietnam

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 28 November 2007

Keppel Land has set up another joint venture in Vietnam to develop its eighth residential development in the country.

The venture with Hung Phu Real Estate Investment Corporation will develop a 10-hectare site into a premier waterfront enclave in Ho Chi Minh City.

The site will yield about 140 luxury villa homes, bringing Keppel Land's existing pipeline to more than 25,000 homes in Vietnam.

The project is expected to be launched in early 2009.

Keppel Land will take a 60 percent stake in the venture, which has an investment capital of S$83 million. - CNA /ls

HDB's Plan To Release More Flats Will Take Some Heat Off Market

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 28 November 2007

Property analysts said the increased supply of HDB new flats will take some heat off mass property market. But they added that prices will keep the overall upward momentum.

The newly-launched build-to-order units are but a small portion of the 6,000 to be released in the first half of 2008. That is 25 percent more than the 4,800 units released under the scheme this year.

Together with the units expected from the planned release of seven other sites, next year is going to see a good surge in supply of mass market housing.

However, property consultants said the impact will be contained.

"If you look at the different segments, it's not going to have any impact on the high-end market or the mid-tier market. The new announcements is going to probably cause some upgraders to relook their plans on whether they should buy this new HDB flats or DBSS flats or executive condos as compared to that of mass market projects," said Nicholas Mak, Director of Consultancy and Research at Knight Frank.

Still, analysts said this will take the heat off the HDB resale market and slightly dampen demand in mass market condominiums for next year.

"Quite a few people are expecting the pick-up in mass market condos for next year. With this large increase in supply, this could divert some demand in the mass market," said Mak.

At the launch for HDB's November sales exercise, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the cost of new flats will likely nudge upwards. That is because one of the factors in pricing them is the average price of resale flats.

However, he said the government won't jack up supply to keep prices down. He said: "We will be creating an oversupply situation downstream. The person who is a buyer today is also going to be a seller tomorrow.

"It may be an obvious thing to do today, to say let's build more flats because there's such high demand. But I think the lesson we have learnt over the years is that if you overbuild, you will create problems for the very people that you're trying to help."

Mr Mah added, however, that affordability will still be a key goal, with the income ceilings of applicants kept in mind.

Analysts also said plans for new executive condominiums will meet good market demand, especially those in mature estates such as Yishun and Jurong West.

"The demand for HDB flats is usually fairly volatile. For example in the mid 1990s, the number of applicants goes above 50,000 a year. But in recent years, over the last 5-7 years, that number can vary anywhere from 7,000 a year to as high as 14,000 a year. For next year, I don't think we'll be seeing much difference; it'll be around 10,000 to 12,000," said Mak. - CNA /ls

HDB Plans To Offer Over 10,000 New Flats Over Next 7 Months

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 28 November 2007

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is building up the supply of new flats by 10,362 units over the next seven months to meet rising demand.

These will cut across different flat types and suit different budgets, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

For a start, two new Built-To-Order (BTO) projects have been launched in Sengkang and Bukit Panjang.

The new Compassvale Beacon in Sengkang will offer 750 flats, comprising 2, 3 and 4-room units, while the other BTO project is the 412-unit Segar Meadows in Bukit Panjang.

The BTO exercise will end on December 18.

Related Vide Link - http://tinyurl.com/2reee7
HDB plans to offer over 10,000 new flats over next 7 months

Priced between S$69,000 and S$231,000, the two projects will help address housing needs, especially those of young couples.

This is good news for 26-year-old Mohammad Harris, who is looking to buy his first flat but could not afford a resale unit.

He said: "As long as I can get a house for myself and my family, it's okay. But my wife will consider the journey time to her workplace."

"The new flats will give me more options and I can select based on my budget," said Chong Poh Ying, also a first-time flat buyer.

Separately, the HDB plans to build another 6,000 units under its BTO system in the first half of next year.

The total number of flats offered under BTO this year is 4,800 units, double that of last year.

The National Development minister urged buyers not to be too choosy when offered a new flat.

"Be realistic about the chances of getting a flat. If you need a new flat, please take up the new flat even if it's not something you like, even if it's not ideal for you. Take it up and then gradually over time, you may upgrade to the flat that you like," said Mr Mah.

Those looking for premium flats will also have more choices.

Given its success, the HDB will release four more sites for its Design, Build and Sell Scheme for about another 1,900 new units.

The first, at Bishan Street 24, will be launched next month. Those in Simei Road, Lorong 1A Toa Payoh and Bedok Reservoir Crescent will be offered next year.

In addition, another three executive condominium sites comprising some 1,300 units will be progressively released under the Reserve List of the government land sales programme.

These will be in Yishun Avenue 11, Jurong West Street 42 and Seng Kang East Avenue.

Mr Mah also addressed concerns about flat prices.

"For HDB, the market has moved in recent months, but it hasn't moved to the extent of the private (market). Just looking at the numbers, I don't see any bubble forming at the HDB market. For a start, it's a bigger market and it's a much more stable market. The growth that we are seeing is a healthy one, in the resale market," said the National Development minister.

In view of the construction boom, Mr Mah said the rising construction costs will not have a direct impact on the prices of new HDB flats, as they are pegged to the average resale market prices. He also assured that the HDB flats will remain affordable.

As for the lower income families, Mr Mah said they've been helped by various schemes.

Among them, the Additional CPF Housing Grant which has provided S$50 million to 4,100 households. - CNA /ls

10,000 More Homes Expected In Next 7 Months

Source : The Straits Times, Nov 28, 2007

They include 9,000 new flats and about 1,300 executive condo units.














The first, Segar Meadows in Bukit Panjang Ring Road, comprises 412 three- and four-room flats. -- PHOTOS: HDB














The second, Compassvale Beacon in Sengkang East Avenue, comprises 750 two-, three- and four-room flats.

GOOD news for househunters desperately looking to get their own place. The Government on Wednesday announced plans to make available 10,000 homes over the next seven months.

The homes in the pipeline include 9,062 new flats, including those to be built by private developers, as well as about 1,300 executive condominium units.

Two build-to-order projects were launched on Wednesday. The first, Segar Meadows in Bukit Panjang Ring Road, comprises 412 three- and four-room flats. The second, Compassvale Beacon in Sengkang East Avenue, comprises 750 two-, three- and four-room flats.

From next month till June, the Housing Board will also launch for sale another 6,000 new flats under the build-to-order system, where projects are built only if the majority of flats are booked.

The HDB will also put up for sale four plots of land in Bishan, Simei, Toa Payoh and Bedok for flats to be built and sold by private developers. These plots will yield a total of about 1,900 homes.

Another three sites - in Yishun Avenue 11, Jurong West Street 42, and Sengkang East Avenue - will be made available next year for development of executive condomiums.

These special condominiums are limited to those eligible for public housing and are meant to cater to those with higher incomes.

The plots will be put on the reserve list, so they will be put up for tender once a party commits to making a minimum bid that meets the Government's expectations.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who gave details of the new supply of homes at a press conference on Wednesday, reassured newly weds that there were enough flats as well as a variety of homes to meet their needs.

Malaysian Tycoon Is Back With Major Johor Project

Source : The Business Times, 28 November 2007

A LARGE tract of land along Lido beach in Johor Baru facing Singapore has been privatised and will help Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan Chee Yioun form the nucleus of a RM2.7 billion (S$1.1 billion) integrated residential-cum-commercial Boulevard City.

The 122 acre development, which was launched by Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman last night, is to be undertaken by a joint venture headed by Central Malaysian Properties (CMP), a private company owned by Mr Tan and his partner, lawyer-businessman Chan Tien Ghee.

The other partner in the joint venture is the Johor state government (5 per cent) which privatised the development to CMP in August last year for RM30 million in cash, according to executives familiar with the transaction.

The project is unique in the sense that it falls within the Iskandar Development Region (IDR), yet does not involve state agency Khazanah Nasional, the IDR's master developer. Indeed, it has been dubbed by CMP as 'one of the biggest private finance initiatives to date in the IDR'.

The development also marks the corporate return of Mr Tan, one of Malaysia's most aggressive tycoons during the 1990s and the controlling shareholder of the sprawling Berjaya group with interests in property development, retail malls, hotels, financial services, gaming and franchised food outlets.

But the 1998 Asian crisis stressed Mr Tan's empire and almost laid him low. Over the last nine years, however, the tycoon regrouped, restructured and pared debt. He has since expanded to Vietnam where his proposed developments have re-ignited investor interest in his once-shunned stocks like Berjaya Land and Berjaya Corporation. In that context, the present development represents a return to his glory days when the tycoon often ventured into projects in his personal capacity.

'This development will not only change the Johor Baru skyline but will also raise our city's profile internationally,' said Mr Ghani at last night's launch. 'The idea is to design and reposition Johor Baru as an international gateway to Malaysia.'

According to CMP's co-owner, Mr Chan, the development, which will include a 2.4 km boardwalk along Lido Beach, will have four main components - luxury condominiums, waterfront office suites, a hotel and a shopping mall.

Other notable features include a ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a 24 acre man-made lagoon for water-based activities and a 4.5 acre park. It will also include a 50,000 square foot indoor Snow Park and, because of reclamation that will narrow the Straits, a jetty for a water-taxi service to Singapore.

If successful, the project will rehabilitate a major stretch of Lido beach, often considered an eyesore by locals. All that remains to complete the rehabilitation of the beach area is the resumption of the long-abandoned RM6 billion 'floating city' proposed by Pilecon Engineering back in 1995 but was stymied by the 1998 financial crisis.

That could still happen. In 2005, Pilecon won its suit against the state government which sought to terminate its privatisation agreement with the company in 2004. According to news reports, Pilecon is now negotiating with the state government to revive the project. One reason for its eagerness: its land along Lido beach, valued at RM25 a square foot in 1993, is now valued at close to RM500 a square foot.