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  Straits Times 12 Jun 07
Sentosa Cove releases Tanjong Beach condo plot
By Fiona Chan

Business Times 12 Jun 07
Prices for Sentosa bungalow land hit new high
By Arthur Sim

Today Online 12 Jun 07
Homes on the beach
Bidding opens for Singapore's first beachfront condo site
Tan Hui Leng

The price tag on luxury residences is expected to hit a new high as a site for Singapore's only beachfront condominium is launched at Sentosa Cove today.

The site, Beachfront Collection, is perched on Sentosa Cove's southern-most corner, offering an unblocked view of the Southern Islands and Tanjong Golf Course.

A four-storey condominium offering up to a maximum of 88 luxury apartments is expected to be built on the 10,572 sq m site. It has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 13,849.32 sq m. The tender, to be based only on price, will close on July 24, with property analysts expecting keen bidding.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield Singapore, estimates the buying price to be between $1,400 and $1,500 per square foot (psf), surpassing the $1,361 psf set in March for the Seaview Collection, which was awarded to Ho Bee Developments and IOI Properties.

"Low-rise apartments have their own charm; you don't need high-rise apartments, given that it's right on the beachfront, so there could be a resort feel to the place," said Mr Han.

Savills Singapore's director of investment sales, Mr Steven Ming, puts the price at between $1,400 and $1,600 psf.

"The luxury-end market has gotten firmer since the last transaction in March," he noted. Mr Colin Tan, head of consultancy and research at Chesterton International, concurred, saying that he "cannot see anything other than keen contest" for the site, particularly with the confidence and optimism that developers have currently.

Mr Han, expecting unprecedented bids, cites Ho Bee Investment, City Developments Limited and Lippo Group as the top three contenders. Other possible interested parties include Frasers Centrepoint, Bukit Sembawang View and CapitaLand.

Executive director of CBRE Research, Mr Li Hiaw Ho, however, is less upbeat about the land price of Beachfront Collection, putting it at beween $1,100 and $1,250 psf, as it is a smaller site and has a lower plot than Seaview Collection.

For analysts such as Mr Han, however, there are "no comparable" sites to the Beachfront Collection. Indeed, Sentosa Properties' group director Gurjit Singh proclaims the site to be a case of "never before, never again".

Straits Times 12 Jun 07
Sentosa Cove releases Tanjong Beach condo plot
By Fiona Chan

BEACH lovers may soon be able to live in a condominium right on the sand. Sentosa Cove yesterday released a new land plot that it is touting as Singapore's 'first and only' beachfront condominium site.

It said the 113,797 sq ft plot will be able to house a four-storey condominium that will open up right onto Tanjong Beach in Sentosa. Up to 88 luxury units can be built on the Beachfront Collection site, which is the second last condominium site that Sentosa Cove will release for tender. The last site, next to the Oceanfront Collection, will be put up later this year.

But the bids for the site, which will be awarded solely on price, may not smash previous Sentosa Cove records, say consultants. CB Richard Ellis Singapore's executive director, Mr Li Hiaw Ho, is predicting offers of between $160 million and $186 million for the plot, which can be built up to 149,074 sq ft of gross floor area. This works out to between $1,100 and $1,250 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) - below the $1,361 psf ppr record achieved for the previous Sentosa Cove plot, the Seaview Collection.

This is because the Beachfront site 'is smaller and has a lower height limit', said Mr Li. He noted that the Seaview plot could be built up to eight storeys. 'When you can build higher, the average price you can achieve will be higher,' he explained.

But he was quick to add that there is the likelihood that the Beachfront site may fetch a similar or higher price, depending on the bullishness of bidders.

Mr Lui Seng Fatt, regional director and head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle, expects that the maximum price the Beachfront plot can fetch is $230 million - 10 per cent above the last record on a psf ppr basis. 'I would say the previous one is already quite a strong benchmark, and based on that, the selling price of the units would already be $2,000 per sq ft,' he said.

Expected bidders for the site include Sentosa Cove incumbents Ho Bee Group, City Developments and Lippo Group. Other local and foreign developers hoping to get in on the island enclave action may also try their luck, consultants said.

The Beachfront site is expected to have 'all-round views' because its surrounding buildings are low-rise, Sentosa Cove said. Directly in front of the site is the sea, while behind it is the Tanjong golf course. Tanjong Beach lies on its right, and bungalow plots line the other side.

Sentosa Cove also revealed that it has achieved a new record price for its bungalow parcels. Of the four seafront bungalow plots it put up for sale last month, one was taken up at $1,472 psf - beating the last high of $1,308 psf reached last November. In fact, the four plots fetched an average price of $1,300 psf, Sentosa Cove said.

The successful buyers, mostly locals, were 'individual parties', it added. But the prices achieved were below the $1,500 to $2,000 psf previously predicted by property consultants. When the plots were first released, consultants were forecasting higher bids due to the relative shortage of such sites.

Business Times 12 Jun 07
Prices for Sentosa bungalow land hit new high
By Arthur Sim

LAND prices for bungalows have hit a new high of $1,472 psf at Sentosa Cove, beating the $1,308 psf price set in November 2006. Four seafront bungalow plots were released for sale in March and all have been sold.

Apart from the top price, a spokesman for Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL) said the average selling price was $1,300 psf. SCPL also said that it has sold 87.3 per cent of its total land area, and 79 per cent of the number of units available.

'There are currently 32 bungalows left - only a handful of seafront bungalow land parcels are left,' SCPL added.

The news follows SCPL's announcement yesterday that it has launched the second last condominium site at Sentosa Cove for sale. Called the Beachfront Collection, the 113,797 sq ft site overlooks Sentosa's Tanjong Beach and has a maximum gross floor area of 149,074 sq ft. SCPL estimates that up to 88 luxury sized units can be built.

Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield Singapore said he expects record prices of $1,400-1,600 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) to be set for the site.

'Being the only beachfront condo site, developers are likely to build a resort-like development and will put a substantial premium on to the land price bid,' he said.

Mr Han estimates that the break-even price will be slightly under $2,000 psf ppr and that the successful bidder must sell completed units at around $2,200 psf. Mr Han also believes Lippo's new residential development next to One Degree 15 will be sold for about $2,200 psf when it is launched.

Already, prices on the secondary market for developments on Sentosa Cove are rising. According to data analysed by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), caveats lodged in the first five months of 2007 reveal that sub-sales of units at The Azure, The Oceanfront and The Coast are averaging $1,570 psf, $1,730 psf and $1,785 psf respectively. The Coast was launched in October 2006 at about $1,600 psf. Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research, said the consultancy expects the Beachfront Collection to fetch between $160 million and $186 million.

The size of the site could make it slightly less attractive. Mr Li highlighted that while previous sites like The Seaview Collection can be developed into an eight-storey condominium with 200 units, the Beachfront Collection can only be developed into four-storey condominium of 88 units.

After Beachfront Collection, the last condo site at Sentosa Cove is expected to be launched around the end of this year.
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