April 4, 2008
It's wait-and-see for Pender Court, Tulip Garden home owners
Several have bought new homes and await sealing of deals as sales are delayed
By Joyce Teo , Ong Bi Hui
THEIR collective sale deals may be in doubt - and the huge cheques due to come their way - but some owners at Pender Court and Tulip Garden are taking a wait-and-see attitude for now.
Several told The Straits Times that they would not be fazed should the deals fall through.
Some have already received their share of the deposit. And those who have already bought new homes in anticipation of the collective sales going through say they will be open to renting out either of their two properties.
Both condos were bought by Bravo Building Construction last year. It agreed to pay $80 million for Pender Court and $516 million for Tulip Garden.
The Pender Court sale was due to be completed in late February and Tulip Garden in late May, but Bravo has postponed the settlement dates of both sales.
The firm, which works with partners on such large purchases, said it was working on a shareholders' agreement for Tulip Garden.
Many owners at Pender Court have proceeded on the basis that their deal will go through.
A resident at the 48-unit Pender Court, off West Coast Highway, said his parents had placed a deposit on a property near the Chinese Gardens MRT station.
'If the deal falls through, our immediate plans would be to take up a loan, buy that Chinese Gardens flat and rent out the Pender Court apartment.'
A man renting a Pender Court unit at $2,000 a month, and who gave his name only as William, told The Straits Times: 'For tenants, the en bloc sale is a good thing, since most owners are quite desperate to rent out their flats to help pay for their new houses. So as tenants, we have a better bargaining power.'
Another Pender Court owner, who wants to be identified only as Mrs Lim, said her family had bought a West Bay condo, which cost less than their collective sale proceeds.
One owner, who declined to be named, said most Pender Court owners had already bought new homes and were waiting for the money from the sale.
Her family bought an HDB flat. 'So if the deal falls through, we might consider moving to the new flat then renting out the Pender Court residence,' she said.
She also said the owners had already received a 10 per cent deposit from Bravo, which they would retain should the deal fail, so that was giving some consolation amid the uncertainty.
Some residents at the 164-unit Tulip Garden near Holland Road seem untroubled by the prospect of not collecting their windfalls, which will range from $1.1 million to $4.2 million.
Trainer Sangita Khera, 40, said she liked the estate and did not wish to move.
But she acknowledged that other residents did not share her opinion. They are now in limbo as they have bought new properties in the hope of collecting a tidy amount from the sale.
'It's sad for some of my friends who have bought property and had moved out already,' she said.
Bravo has paid a 5 per cent deposit of $25.8 million for Tulip Garden. It has cancelled its $162.8 million collective deal for Makeway View after finding out that it had to pay a higher-than-expected development charge.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
ongbihui@sph.com.sg
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Friday, April 4, 2008
Street map website down after lawsuit loss
April 4, 2008
Street map website down after lawsuit loss
Company which lost copyright case and appeal aims to be back online in 2 days
By Chua Hian Hou
A POPULAR website that features interactive street maps of Singapore has been taken offline after its parent company, Virtual Map, lost a court battle against a government agency, which accused the firm of copying state charts.
The site, streetdirectory.com, has been down since Tuesday, said Virtual Map's managing director Firdhaus Akber.
But the company is currently working on a set of replacement maps, and hopes to bring the site back online in 'about two days', he said.
In January last year, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) sued Virtual Map for copyright infringement, accusing the firm of using government maps after a licensing agreement between them had expired.
Virtual Map lost the suit in the district court, and was ordered to stop using the infringing materials. It appealed to the High Court, but lost again.
The company is appealing to the Republic's highest court, the Court of Appeal, to reverse the decision, Mr Firdhaus said.
He said the private company has called for a meeting of its shareholders some time 'in the next couple of days'.
This will be to decide whether the company continues to provide what he claimed were 'the best online maps in Singapore', or quit the business here and 'focus our efforts elsewhere'. Virtual Map also offers online maps in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
Mr Firdhaus said his company has spent 'millions' putting in value-added data like points of interest, on top of the maps that SLA had provided.
The new site will use maps created via the company's own surveys, he said.
Alternative online maps are available at sites such as SLA's StreetMap (www.map.gov.sg/StreetMap) and Show Nearby (www.shownearby.com).
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EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Street map website down after lawsuit loss
Company which lost copyright case and appeal aims to be back online in 2 days
By Chua Hian Hou
A POPULAR website that features interactive street maps of Singapore has been taken offline after its parent company, Virtual Map, lost a court battle against a government agency, which accused the firm of copying state charts.
The site, streetdirectory.com, has been down since Tuesday, said Virtual Map's managing director Firdhaus Akber.
But the company is currently working on a set of replacement maps, and hopes to bring the site back online in 'about two days', he said.
In January last year, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) sued Virtual Map for copyright infringement, accusing the firm of using government maps after a licensing agreement between them had expired.
Virtual Map lost the suit in the district court, and was ordered to stop using the infringing materials. It appealed to the High Court, but lost again.
The company is appealing to the Republic's highest court, the Court of Appeal, to reverse the decision, Mr Firdhaus said.
He said the private company has called for a meeting of its shareholders some time 'in the next couple of days'.
This will be to decide whether the company continues to provide what he claimed were 'the best online maps in Singapore', or quit the business here and 'focus our efforts elsewhere'. Virtual Map also offers online maps in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
Mr Firdhaus said his company has spent 'millions' putting in value-added data like points of interest, on top of the maps that SLA had provided.
The new site will use maps created via the company's own surveys, he said.
Alternative online maps are available at sites such as SLA's StreetMap (www.map.gov.sg/StreetMap) and Show Nearby (www.shownearby.com).
chuahh@sph.com.sg
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Ten Mile Junction site draws top bid of $61m
April 4, 2008
TENDER FOR RESIDENTIAL PLOT
Ten Mile Junction site draws top bid of $61m
THE top bid for a unique 99-year leasehold site in Choa Chu Kang has come in at $61 million, which experts say is within expectations.
The residential site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road attracted only two bids, with Peak Green, a unit of Peak Properties, which is controlled by the United Overseas Bank's Wee family, leading the way.
Its bid of $61 million values the site at $162 per sq ft (psf) per gross floor area. Sim Lian Land's offer was well back at $45.68 million.
The site has an existing three-storey commercial development - the Ten Mile Junction mall - and was the first residential site above a Light Rapid Transit station offered for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It has a gross floor area of 254,394 sq ft for residential use, for either flats or service apartments. The mall has a fixed gross floor area of 121,191 sq ft.
The URA said the tender will be awarded once the bids are evaluated.
Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the price was within expectations given the location and nearby amenities.
CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that if the site is awarded to Peak Green, the breakeven price will be around $400 psf. This will translate into a possible selling price of about $500 psf for apartments on the site.
NICHOLAS FANG
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EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
TENDER FOR RESIDENTIAL PLOT
Ten Mile Junction site draws top bid of $61m
THE top bid for a unique 99-year leasehold site in Choa Chu Kang has come in at $61 million, which experts say is within expectations.
The residential site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road attracted only two bids, with Peak Green, a unit of Peak Properties, which is controlled by the United Overseas Bank's Wee family, leading the way.
Its bid of $61 million values the site at $162 per sq ft (psf) per gross floor area. Sim Lian Land's offer was well back at $45.68 million.
The site has an existing three-storey commercial development - the Ten Mile Junction mall - and was the first residential site above a Light Rapid Transit station offered for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It has a gross floor area of 254,394 sq ft for residential use, for either flats or service apartments. The mall has a fixed gross floor area of 121,191 sq ft.
The URA said the tender will be awarded once the bids are evaluated.
Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the price was within expectations given the location and nearby amenities.
CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that if the site is awarded to Peak Green, the breakeven price will be around $400 psf. This will translate into a possible selling price of about $500 psf for apartments on the site.
NICHOLAS FANG
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
Singapore Real Estate and Property updates
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact
Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Subsidised HDB rental flats in greater demand now
April 4, 2008
Subsidised HDB rental flats in greater demand now
30% jump in applicants in past few months; HDB says not all are needy
By Theresa Tan
THE number of people applying for heavily subsidised HDB rental flats has shot up by at least 30 per cent in the past few months - to about 4,000 eligible applicants on the waiting list now.
As a result, the wait for these one- and two-room rental units is now up to 15 months - double the waiting time in 2006.
Though families hit by soaring rentals on the open market and those in financial difficulty are among those in the queue, the Housing Board said not all applicants are 'needy or have urgent housing needs'.
It said that last year, more than half who applied for its rental units were former home owners who did not owe the HDB any money when they sold their flats.
In fact, some of those in the rental queue had enough money to buy a smaller unit after selling their flat, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in the recent Budget debate.
The HDB stressed that its rental flats are meant for the poor who cannot afford to own a flat and have no other housing option.
Any family whose household income is $1,500 or less a month can apply for rental housing. Also, they must wait for 30 months after selling their flats before being eligible for subsidised rental homes.
MPs interviewed say they are seeing more and more people approaching them for help in securing a rental flat.
Besides those hit by rising rentals and financial troubles, there were others who had their flats repossessed by banks when they could not service their home loans.
The heavily subsidised HDB rental units are the only lifeline for these people, say the MPs interviewed, who included Ms Indranee Rajah, Madam Cynthia Phua and Madam Halimah Yacob.
Depending on household income and other factors, rentals are between $26 and $205 a month for a one-room flat; and between $44 and $275 for a two-room unit.
One person who has been on the waiting list for the past few months is part-time promoter Chan Yoke Yin, 46.
Her family ran into debt when her husband, a bus driver, was hit by cancer and a stroke, and had to stop work about four years ago.
The family started to fall behind in loan payments, and now owes the HDB more than $300,000 for a five-room flat. Madam Chan, who earns about $1,000 monthly, says she has 'no choice' but to sell her flat.
Ms Rajah said: 'I have had an inordinately large number of people coming for help to get a rental flat last year.
'There seems to be an acute shortage of rental flats.'
She has seen at least two cases of people living in the open while waiting for a rental unit, she said. One is an odd-job worker who has been sleeping at a bin centre for months, while the other is a family living on the beach.
The HDB says people who need a flat urgently can switch to estates where the wait is shorter, for example, in Woodlands. Waiting time at these estates is around three months, compared to Bedok and Tampines, where one can wait for up to 15 months.
Meanwhile, the HDB is referring those in urgent need to charities which run temporary shelters. The first shelter for homeless families, New Hope Community Services, has taken in about 20 families since opening last year.
It is managing 'a few' flats for this purpose, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) told The Straits Times.
'These families are not allowed to stay long term at these flats and are expected to move out as soon as they find alternative housing,' said the MCYS spokesman. 'Many such families have been able to move on to stay with their relatives or friends.'
HDB is also increasing the supply of rental flats from the current 43,000 units to 50,000 over the next few years and reviewing the eligibility criteria for rental housing to help the 'genuinely poor'.
theresat@sph.com.sg
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
Singapore Real Estate and Property updates
EastLiving.com.sg
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Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Subsidised HDB rental flats in greater demand now
30% jump in applicants in past few months; HDB says not all are needy
By Theresa Tan
THE number of people applying for heavily subsidised HDB rental flats has shot up by at least 30 per cent in the past few months - to about 4,000 eligible applicants on the waiting list now.
As a result, the wait for these one- and two-room rental units is now up to 15 months - double the waiting time in 2006.
Though families hit by soaring rentals on the open market and those in financial difficulty are among those in the queue, the Housing Board said not all applicants are 'needy or have urgent housing needs'.
It said that last year, more than half who applied for its rental units were former home owners who did not owe the HDB any money when they sold their flats.
In fact, some of those in the rental queue had enough money to buy a smaller unit after selling their flat, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in the recent Budget debate.
The HDB stressed that its rental flats are meant for the poor who cannot afford to own a flat and have no other housing option.
Any family whose household income is $1,500 or less a month can apply for rental housing. Also, they must wait for 30 months after selling their flats before being eligible for subsidised rental homes.
MPs interviewed say they are seeing more and more people approaching them for help in securing a rental flat.
Besides those hit by rising rentals and financial troubles, there were others who had their flats repossessed by banks when they could not service their home loans.
The heavily subsidised HDB rental units are the only lifeline for these people, say the MPs interviewed, who included Ms Indranee Rajah, Madam Cynthia Phua and Madam Halimah Yacob.
Depending on household income and other factors, rentals are between $26 and $205 a month for a one-room flat; and between $44 and $275 for a two-room unit.
One person who has been on the waiting list for the past few months is part-time promoter Chan Yoke Yin, 46.
Her family ran into debt when her husband, a bus driver, was hit by cancer and a stroke, and had to stop work about four years ago.
The family started to fall behind in loan payments, and now owes the HDB more than $300,000 for a five-room flat. Madam Chan, who earns about $1,000 monthly, says she has 'no choice' but to sell her flat.
Ms Rajah said: 'I have had an inordinately large number of people coming for help to get a rental flat last year.
'There seems to be an acute shortage of rental flats.'
She has seen at least two cases of people living in the open while waiting for a rental unit, she said. One is an odd-job worker who has been sleeping at a bin centre for months, while the other is a family living on the beach.
The HDB says people who need a flat urgently can switch to estates where the wait is shorter, for example, in Woodlands. Waiting time at these estates is around three months, compared to Bedok and Tampines, where one can wait for up to 15 months.
Meanwhile, the HDB is referring those in urgent need to charities which run temporary shelters. The first shelter for homeless families, New Hope Community Services, has taken in about 20 families since opening last year.
It is managing 'a few' flats for this purpose, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) told The Straits Times.
'These families are not allowed to stay long term at these flats and are expected to move out as soon as they find alternative housing,' said the MCYS spokesman. 'Many such families have been able to move on to stay with their relatives or friends.'
HDB is also increasing the supply of rental flats from the current 43,000 units to 50,000 over the next few years and reviewing the eligibility criteria for rental housing to help the 'genuinely poor'.
theresat@sph.com.sg
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access
Singapore Real Estate and Property updates
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact
Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Are days numbered for Malay Village?
April 4, 2008
Are days numbered for Malay Village?
URA says future plans for Paya Lebar area are being studied and will be revealed next month
By Lim Wei Chean
THE Malay Village's kampung-style houses on stilts promise a quaintness from the days of old Singapore.
But they are run-down, and visitors are welcomed by swarms of mosquitoes instead of retailers running businesses there.
The 2.2ha attraction in Geylang Serai was set up in 1989 to showcase traditional Malay village life.
The Malay community, among its harshest critics from the get-go, said the place would be a white elephant. Five changes of management and 19 years later, the prediction seems spot on.
Industry sources who spoke to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity said plans are afoot to tear the place down and replace it with a mixed development when its 20-year lease ends.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority declined comment. Its spokesman would say only that plans for the next decade or two are being studied for the Paya Lebar area, of which the Malay Village is a part. These will be revealed next month.
The 70 shop units there, which include restaurants and food stalls, are languishing. When The Straits Times visited last week, most units were closed, although many had signs proclaiming opening hours from 10am. Many units were vacant and bore 'For rent' posters.
Madam Y.J.Zhang, 70, who runs a provision shop, griped in Mandarin: 'There are more mosquitoes here than people.'
She said she barely makes $20 in sales on a good day, and her monthly rental is $1,300.
For Madam Junainah Ikbal, her toiletry and clothing shop sells nothing on most days. To make matters worse, the rent has gone up, from $3,200 to $3,500 this month, she said.
'How can we tahan?' she asked, using the Malay word for endure.
Tenants said that Malay Village Pte Ltd, the current management for the place, promised to hold events and promotions to pull in the crowds when it took over in 2006, but these did not materialise. The company could not be reached for comment.
Ms Ng Lee Li, a section head at Tourism Academy @ Sentosa, said the attraction's problem could lie in its lack of focus and appeal.
An industry observer, who declined to be named, said it could be that the Chinese running the place have not been able 'to give it depth'.
Madam Zhang, who has lived in Geylang for over 40 years, said: 'It is sad what this place has become.'
Singapore Real Estate and Property updates
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact
Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
Are days numbered for Malay Village?
URA says future plans for Paya Lebar area are being studied and will be revealed next month
By Lim Wei Chean
THE Malay Village's kampung-style houses on stilts promise a quaintness from the days of old Singapore.
But they are run-down, and visitors are welcomed by swarms of mosquitoes instead of retailers running businesses there.
The 2.2ha attraction in Geylang Serai was set up in 1989 to showcase traditional Malay village life.
The Malay community, among its harshest critics from the get-go, said the place would be a white elephant. Five changes of management and 19 years later, the prediction seems spot on.
Industry sources who spoke to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity said plans are afoot to tear the place down and replace it with a mixed development when its 20-year lease ends.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority declined comment. Its spokesman would say only that plans for the next decade or two are being studied for the Paya Lebar area, of which the Malay Village is a part. These will be revealed next month.
The 70 shop units there, which include restaurants and food stalls, are languishing. When The Straits Times visited last week, most units were closed, although many had signs proclaiming opening hours from 10am. Many units were vacant and bore 'For rent' posters.
Madam Y.J.Zhang, 70, who runs a provision shop, griped in Mandarin: 'There are more mosquitoes here than people.'
She said she barely makes $20 in sales on a good day, and her monthly rental is $1,300.
For Madam Junainah Ikbal, her toiletry and clothing shop sells nothing on most days. To make matters worse, the rent has gone up, from $3,200 to $3,500 this month, she said.
'How can we tahan?' she asked, using the Malay word for endure.
Tenants said that Malay Village Pte Ltd, the current management for the place, promised to hold events and promotions to pull in the crowds when it took over in 2006, but these did not materialise. The company could not be reached for comment.
Ms Ng Lee Li, a section head at Tourism Academy @ Sentosa, said the attraction's problem could lie in its lack of focus and appeal.
An industry observer, who declined to be named, said it could be that the Chinese running the place have not been able 'to give it depth'.
Madam Zhang, who has lived in Geylang for over 40 years, said: 'It is sad what this place has become.'
Singapore Real Estate and Property updates
EastLiving.com.sg
Contact
Stuart Chng: (65) 9691 9907
Email: stuart.chng@eastliving.com.sg
EastLiving - Singapore Property and Real Estate DB
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