DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th, 10th and 11th February 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Blockbuster year for selling en bloc in 2018
En bloc sales notched a blockbuster performance last year with 35 residential deals valued at more than $10 billion, the highest in more than a decade. Together with 27 deals valued at $8.13 billion in 2017 and three deals valued at $1 billion in 2016, this en bloc cycle has achieved 65 deals worth $19.1 billion so far, compared to the all-time record of $21.8 billion in the 2005-2007 cycle, according to Colliers International’s data.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/blockbuster-year-for-selling-en-bloc-last-year

Spanish Village in third attempt at en bloc sale
Spanish Village, a freehold condominium located along Farrer Road, is up for collective sale for the third time with no change to its guide price of S$882 million. This reflects a land rate of S$1,721 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of a development charge of approximately S$10 million. But in light of the cooling measures introduced in July last year, the owners are said to be in the process of signing a supplementary agreement to lower the reserve price of their development to S$828 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/spanish-village-in-third-attempt-at-en-bloc-sale

Companies’ Brief

Mapletree reported to be selling HK office property for HK$8.6b
Mapletree Investments is said to have sold Mapletree Bay Point, its prime office property in Hong Kong, to private equity firm PAG for HK$8.58 billion (S$1.48 billion). A report by real estate intelligence firm Mingtiandi said the property was put on market some seven months ago, and that this transaction is expected to close in March or April. The green building has a gross floor area (GFA) of 61,344 sq m; it has high-efficiency floor plates of about 35,000 sq ft on each floor.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mapletree-reported-to-be-selling-hk-office-property-for-hk86b

Manulife US Reit sees 7.7% rise in Q4 DPU on higher property income
Manulife US Reit’s fourth quarter distribution per unit (DPU) rose almost 8 per cent, boosted by contributions from properties acquired in 2017 and 2018. The pure-play US office Reit’s DPU for the three months ended Dec 31 grew 7.7 per cent to 1.53 US cents, from 1.42 US cents a year ago.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-sees-77-rise-in-q4-dpu-on-higher-property-income

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

A passion for real estate
Herman Chang, founder and managing director of property development and hospitality group Macly, decided in his teenage years that he wanted to make money out of real estate. At a sleepover in a classmate’s home in his upper secondary school days at The Chinese High School, the young Mr Chang noticed that his classmate’s dad was a developer/construction contractor and “making a lot of money”. “So I concluded that I can do the same.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/a-passion-for-real-estate

The New Retail Playbook
Shoppers wandering into the Iuiga store at Causeway Point might notice a few things unusual about the homeware brand’s first permanent retail space. One is a large interactive screen that displays product information and customer reviews when items with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are waved in front of it.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/the-new-retail-playbook

Building a green Singapore
In the concrete jungle of the Central Business District, a red flower-like structure stands out against the skyline. Called a wind scoop, it perches atop the 40-storey CapitaGreen and its “petals” draw in cooler, cleaner air that is funnelled through the building’s air-conditioning system, helping to save energy on cooling.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/building-a-green-singapore

3,500 upgrade from rental flats to owning homes
For five years, delivery driver Mohammad Suhaimi Junaini, his wife and their two daughters aged six and two called a rental flat in Telok Blangah home. Last September, the 32-year-old and his family moved to a three-room flat in Jurong West.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/3500-upgrade-from-rental-flats-to-owning-homes

Strata Titles Boards to review mediation, arbitration processes
Disputes among condo owners over issues ranging from collective sale bids to water seepage could be more speedily resolved, with the Strata Titles Boards looking to improve its mediation processes. It said in its 2018 annual report released on Feb 1 it will review the entire process of how mediation and arbitration hearings are conducted.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/strata-titles-boards-to-review-mediation-arbitration-processes