Dubai's Property Sector To Get More State Aid

Source : The Business Times, February 17, 2009

Possible merger for troubled mortgage financiers Amlak Finance, Tamweel

(DUBAI) Dubai-based real estate and construction companies could get more help from the state, a member of a Dubai committee formed to tackle the fallout of the global financial crisis said yesterday.

Tough times: Dubai's real estate sector is facing a sharp price correction and hundreds of billions of dollars of construction projects have been cancelled in the United Arab Emirates as a result of the economic slowdown

'Everyone is facing challenging times,' Omar bin Sulaiman, who is also deputy chairman of the United Arab Emirates Central Bank, told Reuters on the sidelines of a legal conference.

'You have already seen some help and I am sure you will see some more,' he said, when asked if there was any consideration being given to offering financial support for Dubai's real estate sector.

Mr Omar, governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority, declined to be more specific.

Dubai's real estate sector is facing a sharp price correction and hundreds of billions of dollars of construction projects have been cancelled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a result of the economic slowdown.

The UAE finance ministry and central bank have together launched 120 billion dirhams (S$49.6 billion) of funding facilities to help banks cope with the crisis.

The government, meanwhile, is looking at ways to help troubled Dubai mortgage financiers Amlak Finance and Tamweel, including a possible merger.

But concerns are mounting about whether Dubai will be able to refinance debts that it accumulated to finance expansion projects during a six-year economic boom spurred by high oil prices.

Abu Dhabi's move this month to inject 16 billion dirhams into five of its banks has also raised questions about whether Dubai could take similar steps to help its banks face growing loan defaults and investment write-downs.

The cost of insuring Dubai's debt with credit default swaps has gotten more expensive in past months as investors worry that the emirate could default on its debts.

Mr Omar said that Dubai has managed to meet its debt obligations in the past. 'Of course, of course,' he said, when asked if Dubai would be able to pay back its debts.

Dubai's mostly government-linked issuers will have to refinance about US$15 billion before year-end, compared with US$5 billion in the rest of the UAE and US$15-20 billion in the rest of the Gulf, Moody's Investors Service said last week.

The UAE government, meanwhile, said on Sunday that it was planning a federal law to regulate and manage the Gulf state's debt.

Dubai-linked companies have been restructuring their businesses, consolidating operations and announcing thousands of job cuts to help them contend with an economic slowdown.

Standard Chartered said yesterday that it expected the UAE economy would contract up to 1.5 per cent in the first half of the year before returning to growth.

Mr Omar said that there were 'no job cuts planned' for the DIFC, a hub for financial companies. He added that it was not the right time for the DIFC to sell any of its foreign assets.

DIFC Investments owns a stake in Deutsche Bank. -- Reuters

Sales Of Homes In Spain Slump 26% In Dec

Source : The Business Times, February 17, 2009

(MADRID) The number of homes sold in recession-bound Spain fell 26 per cent in December compared with a year earlier, official figures showed yesterday.

The National Statistics Institute said 32,403 homes were sold in December versus 43,798 in the same month a year earlier.

Sales had dropped 35.6 per cent in November.

The number of homes sold in all of 2008 was down 28.6 per cent from 2007, with the used home market the hardest hit, recording a decline of 39.3 per cent compared with a drop of 14.1 per cent for new homes.

Spain has recorded continued falls in house sales of over 25 per cent in almost every month since the government started publishing the figures at the start of 2008.

The abrupt end of Spain's property boom last year left an excess stock of around a million homes at the end of last year, the managing director of real estate surveyor Tinsa, Luis Leirdo, said last week.

According to the surveyor, house prices in Spain were 10.8 per cent lower in January than a year earlier and could drop 20 per cent this year. -- Reuters

English, Welsh Property Prices Down

Source : The Business Times, February 17, 2009

(LONDON) Asking prices for properties in England and Wales were a record 9.1 per cent lower in February than last year at an average £216,163 (S$468,238), but prices were 1.2 per cent up on the month, property website Rightmove said yesterday.

Rightmove said that the month-on- month price rise did not mark the start of a turnaround in Britain's housing market, where prices have tumbled since late 2007 because of the darkening economic outlook and a severe shortage of mortgage finance.

'Sales are being achieved at around 25 per cent below peak prices, yet new sellers coming to market are starting out asking an average of only 10 per cent less,' said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director.

'Yet, falsely optimistic New Year sellers still followed the seasonal trend and raised asking prices,' he added.

Last year, house prices rose 3.2 per cent in February as sellers readied for a seasonal increase in buyer interest.

Asking prices were most stable in London, where they increased only 0.3 per cent month-on-month, while average asking prices were just 3.5 per cent lower than a year ago at £387,988.

Wales was the worst-performing region, with asking prices down 14.0 per cent from a year earlier at £151,394. -- Reuters

Some Alexis Buyers Offer Units In SubsaleMarket

Source : The Business Times, February 18, 2009

Other developers try to ride buying wave by relaunching units at lower prices

The Alexis condo sold like hot cakes last week and now a few buyers at the fully sold project are trying to flip their units in the subsale market, notwithstanding the fact that Singapore is in the throes of its worst recession.

A better deal: Several developers are trimming prices to give buyers an incentive to commit to a purchase. This weekend, GuocoLand will relaunch The Quartz condo near Buangkok MRT Station with a price cut of nearly 10%

These buyers are seeking prices about $100 per square foot above what they had paid, translating to a net gain of around 10 per cent, property agents estimate.

Ripples from the strong sales momentum generated for the 293-unit freehold condo, comprising mostly smallish units costing between $420,000 and $800,000, spread to showflats of several other small and mid-sized developers. Some of them trimmed prices to give buyers an incentive to commit to a purchase.

The mini home-buying wave sparked earlier this month by Frasers Centrepoint's launch of its Caspian condo in the Jurong Lake District, has led other developers to speed up launch plans for new projects, or to relaunch existing ones, with a price cut.

This weekend, GuocoLand will relaunch The Quartz condo near Buangkok MRT Station with a price cut of nearly 10 per cent.

The 625-unit, 99-year leasehold project is slated to receive Temporary Occupation Permit in a few months and is left with 182 units. For a start, GuocoLand is likely to push out about 60-odd units, all three-bedders and most of which will cost below $650,000. The average price of the units to be relaunched will be about $595 psf, compared with an average price of $650 psf that GuocoLand was selling the project at during the height of the market in 2007.

The project is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis and ERA.

In the River Valley area, Fortune Development has sold 12 units at RV Suites since Saturday. The 96-unit freehold project's average price is $1,300 psf and most of the units are smallish, at about 500 to 550 sq ft and cost about $630,000 to $730,000. This brings total sales in the seven-storey project to 42 units, according to Fortune general manager Victor Soh.

Over in the Shelford Road area, East Coast Properties sold 14 units at D'Chateau @ Shelford during the weekend at an average price of about $1,000-1,100 psf. Units cost between $900,000 (for a three-bedroom apartment) and $1.7 million (for a penthouse). About half or 16 of the total 31 apartments in five-storey freehold project are now sold, said the company's managing director Alvin Ng.

Macly Capital is also said to have sold about 10 units over the weekend at Newton Edge.

Property market watchers say specuvestors may have been drawn to Alexis, near Queenstown MRT station, by developer EC Prime's decision to offer buyers an interest absorption scheme without charging any premium (usually buyers have to pay about 3 per cent more for such schemes), as well as the relatively affordable investment sums for the mostly smallish units.

However, EC Prime's director Melvin Poh refuted talk in some quarters that the company generated demand from agents who bought units, and that a substantial number of buyers picked up multiple units.

'We have checked our sales records; there were only two families that bought multiple units - one family bought five units, and the other, three units. The rest of the buyers all picked up one unit each.

'If agents from Huttons (Alexis's marketing agent) or their close relatives bought, they would have to declare to us, and so far there have been none,' Mr Poh said.

Alexis's buyers were mostly Singaporeans and EC Prime, a joint venture between Yi Kai Group and Fission Group, has given them up to three weeks to decide whether they would like to opt for the interest absorption scheme (IAS).

Buyers had to pay 5 per cent of the purchase price when they booked a unit, that is, when they were issued an option by the developer. Eight weeks later, they will have to pay up another 15 per cent, with no further payment (under IAS) until the project receives Temporary Occupation Permit in about three years.

Those who do not exercise their options will forfeit a quarter of their 5 per cent deposit. For a $500,000 unit, that will amount to $6,250.

Those who buy on IAS will have to immediately sign up for a home mortgage with United Overseas Bank, and the credit assessment is expected to sift out financially weak buyers.

'Alexis has drawn investors. Based on our sale prices, they could earn about 5-6 per cent yield from renting their units, given the location near an MRT station close to town,' Mr Poh said.

楼市突升温 短短四天卖出500新私宅

Source :《联合早报》February 17, 2009

楼市突然在过去的周末升温。过去四天，估计近500个新私宅单位找到买家，进场人士约九成为本地人。加上之前的一个周末卖出的近400个新单位，市场人士预计，本月出售的单位数额可能超过1000个。

售价较大众化

市场人士指出，这主要是因为近期推出市场的项目总售价较大众化，六七成单位低于100万元。

水之轩共管公寓项目的示范单位过去两个周末迎来了上万人前来参观，开放时间甚至延迟到凌晨一时。

发展商推出面积较小的单位，这一招果然奏效，上星期四开始预售的Alexis @ Alexandra，293个单位在短短三天内被抢购一空。由毅凯发展和Fisson Group发展的永久地契项目Alexis，虽然以1100元的平均尺价售出，但大部分的单位因面积小，总售价少过100万元。其最小单位面积是366平方英尺，售价41万2000元，而最大的1518平方英尺三房式加书房和私人游泳池单位则以167万元出售。

至于带动这一轮热潮的712个单位水之轩（Caspian）共管公寓项目，其单位总售价介于34万至100万元。发展商星狮地产在上周末再接再厉，以600元的平均尺价为另外120个单位找到买主，总共卖出470个，或66％的单位。

市场人士指出，水之轩卖得满堂红主要因为售价是市场愿意接受的价位，附近的二手市场买不到这个价格，而且靠近地铁站和未来的裕廊湖区；Alexis叫卖则是由于地点好，靠近女皇镇地铁站，总售价较大众化，而且发展商在没有抬高价格下提供利息承担计划，在项目完工前替买家偿还贷款利息。

其他一些位于市区外围的项目也取得不错的销售成绩。位于纽顿一带的104个单位永久地契项目Newton Edge，剩余的10多个单位也在刚过去的周末售完，平均售价为每平方英尺1200元，大部分的总售价也在100万元以下。

位于武吉知马一带的永久地契项目D'Chateau @ Shelford，31个单位则卖出了一半，平均售价为每平方英尺1000元至1100元。

发展商East Coast Properties的董事经理黄俊勇告诉本报，相比过去一年，近两个星期前来展示厅的人，大多是有意购买的买家，较少是来“逛橱窗”的。

该公司的另一个项目——位于惠德里一带的聚落式洋房项目Montclair @ Whitley，也迎来近300人前来参观。

位于里峇峇利路的96个单位永久地契项目RV Suites，则以平均每平方英尺1350元的价格卖出了约10多个单位，至今已卖出40％左右。

而本周末正式推出，位于诺维娜一带的Nova 48，连同附近的姐妹项目Nova 88，也迎来了上百人前来，共卖出6个单位，尺价从900元起。其发展商乐斯太平洋位于实笼岗的The Florentine，在上周末也推出剩下的5个单位，4个单位已找到买家。

抢先成为牛年第一个正式登场的38个单位Palmera Residence公寓，则在上周卖出5个单位，总共出售32个或84％的单位，尺价介于650元至900元。

至于重新推出市场的项目，虽然销售情况不如新项目，但发展商都对有买家回流感到鼓舞。

于2006年推出市场，位于东海岸路，属于永久地的PoshGrove East，发展商同荣集团在上周末重新推出剩余的12个单位，尺价880元，并成功卖出4个。

位于白沙的724个单位莉雅苑（Livia）公寓，发展商城市发展折价5％，以平均每平方英尺620元重新出击，这意味一间三卧房式公寓的总售价为75万元至80万元。城市发展发言人没有透露实际销售额，但表示，出售单位数额较过去几个月有所增加，发展商也获得许多有兴趣买家出价。据本报了解，30个折价单位并没有售完。

发言人说：“买气肯定有所改善