Our top Singapore and regional property stories
Fight over HDB flat goes to court
In a case pending before the High Court in Singapore, a woman has sued her two grandchildren for attempting to sell an HDB flat she claims she solely paid for, reported The Straits Times.
According to Madam Tan Teck Soon, she forked out $277 each month over 26 years to service the housing loan for the 3-room flat that she currently resides in. She also paid $20,000 for the downpayment and renovations. In total, the amount reached more than $117,000, including the flat’s upgrading costs and conservancy charges.
But in March 2016, she found out that her granddaughters, 26-year-old Michelle Ng Li Xuan and Isabella Ng Su Xi (25), were looking for buyers for the flat, which has an estimated market value of $300,000.
Both sisters are the flat’s registered owners, after they inherited it from their father and Madam Tan’s son, Ng King Nguang, who passed away in 2009 from a heart attack.
In her case against the sisters, Madam Tan explained that while her son bought the flat under his name, she insists that it’s still hers.
“The flat was registered under Ng’s sole name at that time, with the understanding between Ng and me that I was the sole owner.”
Moreover, she was previously registered as an owner of the flat in 1992, but she transferred her ownership to her son in 1999, to help him repay around $100,000 in debts. She even lent Ng $61,000 so his creditors would no longer go after him.
“I’m not a lawyer. I didn’t understand the implications (of those actions). My son and I understood the flat still belonged to me,” she added.
Meanwhile, the sisters countered that they have the right to sell the 10th-storey flat in Bedok South as it is their inheritance.
They also disputed Madam Tan’s claim that she single-handedly paid for the flat. “What I understand is that my dad was the one doing the payments,” said Michelle.
Furthermore, they have offered to have Madam Tan stay at Isabella’s upcoming Build-to-Order (BTO) flat in Choa Chu Kang.
Qingjian acquires Shunfu Ville, plans to build over 1,000 homes
Chinese property developer Qingjian Realty has announced that it has entered into a sales and purchase agreement with the homeowners of Shunfu Ville.
The agreement was signed on 19 May at a collective price of $638 million. Each owner at the 358-unit residential development stands to receive an average payout of about $1.78 million.
Built in the late 1980s by the former Housing & Urban Development Company (HUDC), Shunfu Ville was privatised in 2013.
This is the third biggest collective sale by total value, behind Farrer Court and Leedon Heights, which were sold in 2007 for $1.34 billion and $835 million respectively, reported The Straits Times.
It is also the first collective purchase that Qingjian has undertaken since it started developing projects in Singapore eight years ago.
According to Qingjian, 80 percent of the owners had signed the collective sale agreement, paving the way for a successful deal.
The site has an estimated gross floor area of over 100,000 sq m and expected plot ratio of 2.8, subject to approval by the authorities.
“We hope to be able to build over 1,000 homes at this site, and given the long-term popularity of the Bishan-Thomson area, we believe that the market will welcome them,” said Li Jun, Qingjian’s General Manager.
In April this year, Qingjian launched The Visionaire in Sembawang, Singapore’s first executive condominium (EC) with smart homes.
Property agency HSR fined, barred over failed en bloc deal
The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has imposed a fine of $74,000 on HSR International Realtors, for unfairly providing incentive payments to several sellers in the failed collective sale of Thomson View condominium.
It also prohibited the property agency from brokering any en bloc deals for one year, starting from 20 April 2016.
Originally, HSR was chosen as the property’s marketing agent by the condominium’s collective sale committee in September 2010. On its advice, the committee approved a minimum reserve price of $490 million for the condominium in October of the same year.
By March 2011, the collective sale committee received 58.5 percent consent of the total share value of the condo. But after the minimum reserve price was raised to $580 million, it received the consent of 80 percent of the owners in October of the same year, allowing it to proceed with the tender.
“The first two tenders did not receive any bids, and the third tender in August 2012 attracted a bid of $590 million from a purchaser, Wee Hur-Lucrum,” said the CEA.
Eventually, the tender was awarded to the company in September 2012, and the committee applied for a collective sale order from the Strata Titles Board in October of that year.
However, the deal was halted by the Strata Titles Board in January 2013, after some owners objected to it. According to a report by Channel NewsAsia, some owners argued that the sale price was too low, in light of an upcoming MRT station in the vicinity.
The parties then sought the intervention of the High Court, which eventually terminated the transaction, after it discovered that HSR gave incentive payments to four sellers.
The incentives include an additional 10 percent on the final purchase price and additional payments ranging from $85,886 to $185,000, while another seller was offered a reimbursement of his wife’s business class return air ticket from Europe to Singapore, so she could sign the collective sale agreement.
According to the High Court, HSR had breached its duty as an advisor to the collective sale committee when it offered incentive payments. This had led to a situation wherein the agency prioritised its own interest and that of the four sellers, over the interest of the other owners.
Accommodation provider insists it complies with URA rules
In response to a recent report in The Business Times alleging that LMB Housing Services uses clever wording of its tenancy agreements to skirt the URA rules against short-term stays of less than six months, the company said it explicitly informs potential clients and tenants that renting a private property here for less than six months is prohibited.
“Our contracts clearly state that it is illegal to offer leases for less than six months in Singapore. Our website is extremely clear on that too,” LMB’s co-founder Franck Boullier told PropertyGuru.
The company also said it has been working closely with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to ensure compliance. In fact, the agency has been inspecting its units over the past few years, and these inspections were found to be satisfactory.
In particular, the report stated that LMB uses an open-ended agreement that lays down a minimum lease of six months without specifying the last date of stay. It also gives tenants the right to end the lease without incurring a penalty if they submit a termination letter 30 days before departing.
According to the company, its clients are usually professionals assigned here for several months, who cannot commit to one- or two-year leases.
“Some of our customers were involved in building some of the attractions in Resorts World Sentosa, for instance. Others were experts brought in to supervise and control the work on oil rigs. They can be scientists that are involved in research projects, or teachers who are sent here to teach in schools for one or two semesters.
“Because they are working on projects, our customers need to have the flexibility to adjust the end date of their lease,” said Boullier.
He revealed that some condo owners prefer to rent to them as they are happy with how LMB maintains their property. The company also makes it a point to verify that all occupants are legitimate professionals legally allowed to work and stay in Singapore.
Meanwhile, in a report by The Business Times, the URA said it needs more time to study the issue on short-term stays, after a public consultation on the issue failed to reach a consensus.
However, one vital feedback received is that any revision to the rules should be fair to all market players.
“Currently, regulated accommodation providers such as hotels and serviced apartment operators are subject to various regulatory requirements to ensure the safety and well-being of occupants. They are also subject to business taxes,” added the agency.
New town plaza injects vibrancy into Bedok
Residents in Bedok can look forward to more vibrant social spaces and better connectivity with the completion of Bedok Town Plaza and the recently upgraded pedestrian mall in Bedok Town Centre, which were carried out as part of the HDB’s Remaking Our Heartland programme.
The improvements were launched on 20 May by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and local Adviser to Grassroots Organisations Lee Yi Shyan, at the start of HDB Community Week 2016. The annual event, now on its fifth year, aims to create community-centric towns.
As part of refurbishment works, the plaza was integrated with surrounding developments such as Bedok Mall and the integrated transport hub, the hawker centre and the pedestrian mall, which was renovated at a cost of about $3 million.
A heritage corner, tracing the history of the East Coast, is also located within the town plaza.
Bedok Town Plaza is the first of HDB’s new generation town plazas to be completed. The Housing Board is also developing two other town plazas in Punggol and Yishun.
Situated along My Waterway@Punggol, Punggol Town Plaza is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Yishun Town Plaza, located next to the upcoming Northpoint City mixed-use development, is likely to be ready in 2018.
Singapore among most expensive prime logistics market
Singapore is the fourth most expensive place in the world to rent prime logistics space last year, revealed CBRE.
As of Q4 2015, annual prime logistics rents in the city-state stood at US$10.91 per sq ft, behind Hong Kong (US$ $28.94), Tokyo (US$16.74) and Shanghai (US$16.36).
“Singapore’s unique location in the heart of South East Asia, its sound infrastructure and expertise in the logistics sector has attracted the attention of global logistics providers, mainly the third-party logistics firms,” said Desmond Sim, CBRE’s research head for Singapore & Southeast Asia.
“These firms use Singapore as a base to access the multiple markets around the region. Together with the increased demand for the outsourcing of logistics services, we expect the outlook for prime logistics in the republic to remain robust,” he added.
In fact, 41 of the top 50 global logistics providers have either established their headquarters for the Asia Pacific region in Singapore, or designated it as a choice location for their expansion and upgrading.
For instance, Kuehne+Nagel opened its 540,000 sq ft Singapore Logistics Hub earlier this year, while DHL inaugurated its Advanced Regional Centre in late-2015 with an area of nearly 1 million sq ft.
Hankyu Hanshin is also building a Regional Logistics Hub at Jalan Buroh with a gross floor area (GFA) of around 515,000 sq ft, while Toll Group is developing its 1.09 million sq ft Toll City Logistics Hub in Tuas.
Prime logistics space refers to high-quality premises with better specifications in good locations that are intended for companies that store and transport goods to customers.
To be classified as such, the facility must be larger than 100,000 sq ft, have a ceiling height greater than 23 to 36 ft and the ratio of office to industrial space does not surpass 10 percent. Another key requirement is that the building must be purpose-built for logistics and distribution while manufacturing facilities are excluded.
New York property continues to break records
New York property broker Corcoran Group recently conducted a survey during the first quarter, showing real estate prices in Manhattan continuing to set record highs. For the first time, the average sale price surpassed the US$2 million mark, and median prices jumped an impressive 22 percent on year.
Poomipak Julmanichoti, Managing Director of Plus Property, Corcoran’s Thai partner, noted that Manhattan’s overall property market is sound, although it is seeing a slight slowdown after years of trending upwards. The slowdown is due to condominium units priced below US$1 million becoming scarce, and this has led to a marginal drop in sales.
These units have been a key factor for sales growth in recent years. Furthermore, the occupancy rate in Manhattan remains high at 97 to 98 percent, according to a Douglas Elliman report.
Another positive sign for the market is that the total number of days each listing spent on the active market before an agreement was made has dropped. It fell from 101 days in 2015 to 88 days this year.
Manhattan’s rental market also appears to be stable, revealed the report. The vacancy rate rose by 0.44 percent year-on-year, while the average rental price dropped for the first time in two years. Rental occupancy also remains high at 97 percent.
“Condominiums in Manhattan had shorter days on market, a positive sign that signified demand was higher than supply. The most popular area in the first quarter of this year is downtown, reflected in the highest number of closed sales, the highest median price and the highest average sale price per sqm,” said Poomipak.
“On the rental market side, downtown was also the area with the highest median rent. The buyers these days only look to invest in condominiums in prime locations, and Manhattan condominiums are appealing and full of plus points both for long-term investments and for living.”
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