Archive for the ‘Punggol’ Tag
Developer set to bid $62m for Bt Panjang condo site
Filed under: Developer News, Tender | Tags: Bukit Panjang, Cashew Heights, Chestnut Avenue, Dragon Mansion, Hazel Park, Mass market projects, Maysprings, Punggol
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If sold, it will be first state-owned residential site sale in 10 months
EVER since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the United States and Singapore’s slide into recession, the Government has been unable to attract bids for residential development sites.
But yesterday – after 10 straight months without selling a single residential site – the Government said it had finally received an offer for a condominium parcel in Bukit Panjang.
An unnamed property developer has committed to bid at least $62 million for the 244,347 sq ft plot, in what consultants say is a further sign of the property market’s rebound.
The 99-year leasehold site located along Chestnut Avenue has been sitting on the Government’s reserve list since March last year. Sites on the reserve list are made available for sale, but are not launched for tender until a developer puts in a minimum bid.
Now that the Chestnut Avenue plot has been triggered for sale, it will be put up for tender by the Housing Board by the end of this week, HDB said yesterday.
The bid submitted works out to about $120 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area, as compared with the $220 to $270 psf expected when the site was first made available in March last year.
Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, thinks the final winning bid will be $150 to $160 psf of potential gross floor area, or $76 million to $82 million in total.
The Chestnut Avenue site can accommodate a development of about 450 units.
If sold, it will be the first state-owned residential development sale since Sept 10 last year – just before Lehman’s demise – when a condo site at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue went for $84 million.
A few days later, on Sept 16, the HDB launched an executive condominium site at Punggol Field, but found no takers.
Now that buyers are returning in large numbers to showflats, developers’ confidence appears to be on the rise, according to consultants.
Home buyers have been snapping up more than 1,000 new homes each month since February, culminating in a record 1,825 new homes sold last month – even more than the number sold in August 2007, the peak of the boom two years ago.
Last week, owners of the freehold Dragon Mansion in Spottiswoode Park Road launched the year’s first collective sale, with a bullish price tag of $120 million.
Yesterday’s offer for Chestnut Avenue shows that there is renewed interest in the market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of Singapore research Chua Yang Liang, who is still only cautiously optimistic.
‘The market is stirring and some developers may be excited, but by and large I don’t think there’s an overall bullishness in the market,’ he said.
And he predicts just a handful of bids for the Chestnut Avenue land.
‘I’m not sure if the rest of the developers will bite, considering there is still uncertainty in the larger economy.’
The site is located near other property developments such as Maysprings, Cashew Heights Condominium and Hazel Park Condominium. In recent months, units at the 99-year leasehold Maysprings have been sold at just below $500 psf, while those at the other two condos – both freehold – have gone for $560 to $600 psf, said CB Richard Ellis Research’s Mr Li.
He expects the developer who buys the Chestnut Avenue site to plan to sell finished units at more than $600 psf. Such entry-level private homes would be targeted at HDB upgraders – a promising segment of buyers unaffected by fears of a possible oversupply of mid-tier and high-end homes.
Analysts are anticipating more developers to resume buying land in the second half of this year, given that the Urban Redevelopment Authority has received inquiries about some of the other sites on its reserve list.
Also, as market sentiment improves, developers have started to pick up land meant for hotel and industrial development.
Earlier this month, $43.9 million was offered for a hotel site in New Bridge Road, prompting a public tender for the plot. And last month, 14 valid bids were received for a hotel site in Short Street.
Source: Straits Times, 21 July 2009
Punggol helps foreigners fit in
Grassroots leaders start activities for them to bond with S’poreans
WITH more new immigrants living in Punggol Central, grassroots leaders in the area have created new activities to help them bond with Singaporeans.
The ward in the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC set up a cricket league late last year to cater to Indian expatriates. Soon after, a Filipino community cultural group was formed.
Mr Charles Chong, the ward’s MP, said yesterday that he started noticing a growing number of new immigrants in the neighbourhood three years ago.
He estimated that about 10 per cent of the residents in some blocks could be permanent residents or new citizens, but was unable to pinpoint the precise number. Punggol Central has 48,000 residents in all.
Most of the new immigrants are from India, China, the Philippines and Myanmar.
‘They are usually very happy to be here and have settled in well,’ Mr Chong said.
With his trademark grin, he added: ‘When you ask Singaporean residents for feedback, they will complain that they have to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus. But when you ask new immigrants, they are happy that the bus comes in under 30 minutes.’
Mr Chong was giving the media an update on key programmes in the ward ahead of a ministerial visit by Law Minister and Second Home Affairs Minister K.Shanmugam next month.
The formation of the cricket league was prompted by the sight of Indian nationals in the constituency playing cricket almost every weekend, he said.
Called the Sengkang Cricket League, it now has four teams of 12 members each. Five of its members are Singaporean. The league competition starts this weekend, and the finals will be on July5 – the day of Mr Shanmugam’s visit.
The Filipino cultural group was formed by Filipina Maria Esmeralda Escalderon, a 46-year-old homemaker who is also a grassroots leader.
Its 15 members are a mix of new citizens, PRs and foreign domestic workers. They gather to sing and dance, and are now looking at learning how to cook local food.
‘The purpose of the group is to bond, share with Singaporeans and create harmony,’ said MsEscalderon.
Beyond integration efforts, grassroots leaders are also giving jobless residents a hand. Their five-year-old job-matching programme, Project Success, has matched more than 1,500 residents to jobs, including work within the constituency.
One beneficiary of the project is Mr Chong Chang, 61, a former renovation contractor who was retrenched two years ago.
Six months ago, the Sengkang Community Club hired him to manage traffic flow and collect carpark fees.
‘I am quite appreciative that there are jobs for older people,’ he said, adding that he earns $50 to $60 a day.
Another grassroots initiative: Offering jobless residents the chance to sell items like clothes at 14 pushcart stalls at the community club.
Mr Augustine Ang, 56, earns $500 to $800 a month selling stickers and soccer memorabilia at one of the carts.
Noting that such pushcarts usually cost around $2,000 to $3,000 to rent, he said: ‘I am very satisfied with this arrangement.’
Source: Straits Times, 16 June 2009
Punggol Waterway built by teamwork
When Mr Samuel Ng heard in 2007 that the Government had plans to transform Punggol Town into a vibrant waterfront town, he could not wait for the makeover.
Yesterday, Mr Ng, 52, a Punggol resident for the last seven years, glimpsed the future at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Punggol Waterway.
‘The waterway will breathe new life and add vibrancy to this sleepy town,’ he said. ‘It will just be a stone’s throw from where I live.’
But the waterway could have been a lost opportunity – if not for the spirit of innovation and teamwork between the Housing Board and Public Utilities Board, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Indeed, he said the growth of Punggol, like Singapore itself, shows how citizens working as one with ‘vision, determination and innovation can overcome the odds to build new communities and radically transform our living environment’.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr Teo said the transformation of Punggol, an old fishing village, mirrors the experience of Singapore. The nation itself was a fishing village before it made the quantum leap to global city.
In the case of Punggol, the waterway was initially meant to be a ‘drain’ connecting Sungei Serangoon and Sungei Punggol at each end of Punggol Town.
But when the PUB engineers and the HDB planners discussed the town’s development in the Punggol 21 masterplan, they spied an opportunity to build Punggol around this new waterway, he said.
The result? A 4.2km waterway which will flow beside 21,000 units of new public and private housing.
Cutting right through Punggol Town, the waterway is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Then residents in Punggol and around Singapore can dine alfresco while overlooking the waterway. They can jog on scenic routes, and enjoy watersports such as kayaking.
Praising the HDB and PUB, he said the Government’s long-term planning and ability to act on these plans is a key reason for Singapore’s success.
‘Anyone can have big plans,’ he said. ‘But working our plan, getting it executed effectively and efficiently is not so easily accomplished.’
Also important is the readiness to modify a plan to suit changing circumstances and to seek synergy, he said, ‘while remaining connected to the ground – listening to and attending to our people’.
Indeed, yesterday he invited the people of Punggol to name the waterway.
He was joined by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan. Also present were Mr Teo’s fellow Pasir-Ris Punggol MPs – Mr Charles Chong, Ms Penny Low, Dr Ahmad Magad and Mr Michael Palmer – plus Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Lam Pin Min.
Mr Teo said the new-look Punggol is part of the larger transformation of Singapore’s physical landscape that will take place over the next few years.
With the Double Helix Bridge at Marina Bay, the Gardens by the Bay and the integrated resorts being planned and built, the downtown will be rejuvenated.
Similarly, the heartlands will be spruced up, he said. Amenities will be added, such as bigger shopping malls, new hospitals and more luxurious public housing.
On Friday, Mr Mah invited Singaporeans to discover the changes all over the island, including Punggol. They can join a series of events named My New Singapore.
Said Mr Teo: ‘We will press on with our efforts to remake our homeland, thus ensuring that Singapore will emerge stronger from the economic downturn when the global economy recovers.’
Source: Straits Times, 19 April 2009
Punggol BTO project launched
THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) yesterday launched a build-to-order (BTO) project at Punggol – the second of the year after one launched at Woodlands in February.
The 519-unit Nautilus @ Punggol, at the junction of Punggol East and Punggol Field, will have 413 four-room flats and 106 five-room flats.
Four-room flats will sell for $228,000-$274,000, while five-room flats will cost $305,000-$357,000. These prices are cheaper than those of similar flats in the market, which makes them affordable for first-time buyers, HDB said. Nautilus units are priced lower than recent BTO launches there mainly because of differences in location and design, it said.
Recent offerings Punggol Arcadia and Punggol Regalia are premium projects with enhanced designs and better internal finishes, while Nautilus is a standard project with more basic features. Nautilus is also further from the town centre and main transport than the other two BTO projects.
Nevertheless, analysts expect solid demand. ‘Nautilus is expected to be popular,’ said Propnex spokesman Adam Tan. The flats are ‘very attractively priced’.
Recent BTO offerings by HDB have seen strong demand. The Woodlands BTO project launched last month was more than four times subscribed.
And two other projects launched late last year – one in Choa Chu Kang and the other in Punggol – also saw good take-ups.
HDB intends to launch about 3,000 flats in Punggol this year as part of plans to remake the estate.
Source: Business Times. 27 Mar 2009
HDB launches new batch of flats in Punggol
Units are smaller and cheaper due to design and location
Units are priced at 10 to 16 per cent below the launch of Punggol Regalia in December, primarily due to location and design features.
Called Champions Court, that development offered 815 units, ranging from studio apartments to five-room flats.
These include 1,400 smaller units, from studio apartments to three-roomers.
In contrast, Champions Court attracted 205 applications for 815 flats on the first day of its launch.
HDB launches latest BTO project in Punggol
SINGAPORE: The Nautilus@Punggol is the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) latest Build-To-Order (BTO) project and the first in that area.
Prices for its 4- and 5-room units are about 20 to 30 per cent lower than the resale flats in that vicinity, signalling generous subsidies for these new flats.
The Nautilus@Punggol will have eight blocks comprising some 520 flats. Of these, nearly 80 per cent are 4-room flats and the rest are 5-room apartments. HDB said the prices of the new flats are affordable for first-time buyers.
Giving a comparison of resale flats about seven years old in Punggol, HDB said 4-room resale flats are currently going at between S$306,000 and S$350,000, while 4-room flats at The Nautilus will be sold at between S$228,000 and S$274,000.
Likewise, The Nautilus’ 5-room flats are priced in the range of S$305,000 to S$357,000 against the resale price range of S$368,000 to S$428,888 for units in the Punggol area.
At such prices, analysts expect strong demand for the project.
Adam Tan, marketing manager, Propnex, said: “It will probably be about three times or more oversubscribed because they are releasing a rather small number of units for this project. Punggol is an up-and-coming estate. It’s no longer a backwater estate – it’s coming into its own.”
HDB added that besides enjoying a generous market subsidy, eligible first-time buyers whose average monthly household income is S$5,000 or less can also qualify for an additional CPF Housing Grant of up to S$40,000. This grant can be used to offset the initial downpayment.
HDB also said that based on the income of flat applicants in the fourth quarter of last year, an applicant for The Nautilus@Punggol whose income is at the median level will not need to fork out cash to meet their monthly housing commitments, which would be fully covered by their monthly CPF contributions.
The Nautilus@Punggol is part of HDB’s programme to remake the heartlands. For the whole of this year, HDB is planning about six BTO projects in Punggol, building some 3,000 new flats in that area.
Applications for The Nautilus@Punggol flats close on April 8.
Source: Channel News Asia, 26 Mar 2009
Waterfront estate design contest a big draw
A COMPETITION to design Punggol’s first waterfront homes has attracted a huge response from local and foreign architects.
A technical seminar held yesterday for participating architectural firms drew a turnout of more than 200 people, all keen to have a say in how Singapore’s first waterfront public housing estate will take shape.
Architects have to design a masterplan for a 26.6ha housing district west of Punggol’s town centre by April17.
Five shortlisted firms will go on to design a more detailed 4.9ha site along the Punggol Waterway. This phase of the competition closes on Aug 21.
The top design will be announced and exhibited in November, with the winning team contracted to execute its masterplan. The Housing Board plans to offer the waterfront homes by mid-2010.
The winner will be awarded $300,000, which is part of the consultancy fee for the project. Two merit winners will also be chosen and awarded $100,000 each, said the HDB.
Its deputy chief executive of building, Mr Lau Joo Ming, yesterday urged the architects at the seminar to be ‘bold…and dare to be different’.
He said the competition is open to anyone, from young upstarts to established local and foreign firms.
The HDB has devised a theme for the estate – Green Living By The Waters – and hopes architects will conjure up fresh ideas and concepts around it.
It also hopes that the winning design will succeed in building up the estate’s population to the point where it can support wider recreational and commercial facilities, activating its recreational coastline and enhancing the town’s transport routes and connectivity.
Among the local firms at the seminar were DP Architects, RSP Architects, Woha Architects and Surbana International Consultants.
New flat prices to be adjusted
LAUNCH prices of new HDB flats could be cheaper if market prices start to fall.
Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu said yesterday that the Housing Board is monitoring the market closely and will adjust new-flat prices accordingly.
‘For every project that’s launched, we will take the cue from the market, so for every batch that’s coming up, if the current market has adjusted, we will adjust our selling price accordingly,’ she said.
The Straits Times yesterday reported that resale flat prices have softened for specific types, such as five-roomers in areas like Punggol, to match the price of similar newly-launched flats.
Ms Fu assured home buyers yesterday that HDB will ‘always price [the new flats] with the market price in mind’.
Source : Straits Times – 7 Mar 2009
Punggol resale flats close the price gap
PRICES of resale HDB flats in Punggol have fallen in recent weeks to the point where they are now around the same level as new ones launched barely two months ago.
Normally new flats are markedly cheaper than resale ones as the Housing Board ‘deeply discounts’ their price to prevailing market values as a form of subsidy to first-time home buyers.
But the worsening recession, fragile job market and weak property sector have closed this ‘discount gap’ to virtually nothing in some cases, making resale homes as attractive as new ones.
This is a reversal of the trend during the pre-crisis property boom which saw first-timers flock to HDB for new flats when they found themselves priced out of the resale market.
Experts also point to weaker demand for premium, five-room flat types, which has led to a drop in prices.
The HDB’s website this week showed that the range of resale prices for such five-roomers in Punggol had dipped, from $375,000 to $462,000 in December to about $350,000 to $440,000 last month.
Out of 36 five-room transactions in February, a majority of 29 were priced below $400,000.
This puts them in a similar price range as new five-roomers launched at Punggol Regalia in December at $342,000 to $428,000, and Punggol Arcadia in November at $356,000 to $416,000.
Even prices at the lower end for Punggol’s premium four-roomers have fallen from around $338,000 in December to $306,000 last month.
First-timers eligible for housing grants that may reach as much as $70,000 could now be paying much less for a resale flat than a new one.
This could prompt some cost-conscious buyers in the queue for new flats in Punggol to drop out and buy resale ones, said ERA Asia-Pacific’s associate director, Mr Eugene Lim.
Analysts say the dip in prices has come as home buyers are less likely to pay a premium, or cash-over-valuation, for a flat amid a deepening recession where every quarter sees fresh layoffs.
When HDB launched the Punggol flats late last year, the prices were also based on earlier, higher-priced transactions so it was ‘inevitable’ for new and resale flat prices to have some overlap.
A similar scenario was seen in the 1998 Asian financial crisis when new flat prices were ‘outdated’ quickly due to a downturn in the property market, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.
One such area was Jurong, where some first-time buyers eventually discovered they paid more for a new flat than for some resale flats, he said.
It is difficult to compare that situation to Punggol now as the latest projects launched have a premium price due to their attractive location near Punggol MRT station and proximity to the town centre.
Punggol also has long-term potential due to plans to transform it into Singapore’s first waterfront public housing estate, added Mr Ismail.
Chesterton Suntec International’s head of research and consultancy, Mr Colin Tan, pointed out that, unlike private developers, the HDB does not have the luxury of flexibility to adjust prices according to the market immediately.
‘Once they’ve launched, the price is fixed. So there’ll always be a lag effect,’ he said.
One outcome might be that if the projects do not sell out, the HDB will take back surplus flats and relaunch them at a more attractive price later, he said.
Engineer Tang Zhi Wei,who is in the queue to buy a flat at Punggol Regalia, said the prices of resale flats are starting to look very attractive.
‘I’d be tempted to drop out and get a resale flat if time was important and I couldn’t wait,’ said Mr Tang, 26.
But while it seems he is no longer getting a ‘deep discount’ for a new flat, he will still buy one as it is ‘new and the location is good’.
The HDB has stated previously that it follows the market and adjusts prices accordingly.
In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis when the property market suffered a severe downturn, new flats in Sengkang, for example, cost up to 30 per cent lower in 2005 than when they were first offered for sale in 1997 to 1998.
Source: Straits Times – 6 Mar 2009
First step in shaping Punggol Waterway
THE grand vision of transforming Punggol into Singapore’s first waterfront public housing town begins in earnest next month when construction gets under way.
A $144.6 million contract for the first part of the Punggol Waterway has been awarded to Koh Brothers Building and Civil Engineering Contractor, said the Housing Board (HDB) yesterday.
The 2.4 km stretch – the entire waterway will be 4.2 km long – is expected to be completed late next year, the HDB said.
Punggol Waterway is part of the ‘Punggol 21-plus’ masterplan unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2007.
The new town will boast features like a freshwater lake and a waterway running through the estate, with homes and a town centre on the banks.
The coastal suburb will also have facilities for water sports, gardens and parks with jogging tracks, and eateries for al-fresco dining, Mr Lee had said.
The Punggol Waterway, which will be connected to Sungei Punggol, will have an average depth of 4m, with its width varying from 10 to 85m.
HDB said yesterday its plans to launch the first sale site at Punggol’s Town Centre for a mixed commercial and private residential development ‘are also on track’.
The board launched more than 4,000 flats in Punggol last year. By end-2011, there will be about 23,000 completed flats in the area.
In the longer term, a further 21,000 public and private homes will be built ‘along the waterway for residents to enjoy waterfront housing’, said the HDB.
Source: Straits Times – 29 Jan 2009
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