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View Full Version : Leng Beng stays bullish as One Shenton snapped up



mr funny
08-01-07, 12:22
Top Print Edition Stories
Published January 6, 2007

Leng Beng stays bullish as One Shenton snapped up
Entire floors of the two towers bought for $1,500 to over $2,000 psf


By ARTHUR SIM


(SINGAPORE) City Developments Ltd (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng remains bullish about the high-end property market and expects prices to rise 10-20 per cent this year.


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Big draw: Guests waiting for the lift after arriving to see the One Shenton showflat on Shenton Way yesterday and (next) a model of One Shenton, which will have a 50-storey tower and a 43-storey tower joined by a podium block with 11 retail units
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Mr Kwek was speaking at the soft launch of CDL's latest residential development - One Shenton - where at least 70 per cent of the 341 apartments were snapped up at a preview last night, mainly by investors who purchased entire floors, sources said.

Units were sold for '$1,500 to over $2,000 psf'. The rest will no doubt move fast as long queues were seen outside the development's showflat even late into the night.

Mr Kwek also said that he does not believe the projected slowdown in the economy this year will clip property prices.

Believing market sentiment will 'filter through' to all segments, Mr Kwek also said that he expects mass-market prices to increase 6-10 per cent in 2007.

It is this confidence that perhaps prompted him to turn down offers from institutional investors to buy One Shenton en bloc.

Two institutional investors whom he described only as 'Western' approached CDL, with the highest offer close to $1,700 per square foot, he said. This would have made the sale price in excess of $714 million, based on the development's 420,000 sq ft of sellable floor area.

Instead, Mr Kwek said that he would rather sell the two-tower development to individuals for between '$1,500 to over $2,000 psf' because 'they have been queuing up and knocking on our doors . . it wouldn't be nice'.

He revealed that up to 30 per cent of CDL's customers are repeat buyers and it would also be a matter of 'goodwill'. CDL also expects between 60 and 70 per cent of the buyers to be Singaporean.

The 99-year leasehold development will have 142 one-bedroom units, with or without study. There will be 113 two-bedroom units, 54 three-bedroom units, 21 four-bedroom units and 11 Sky Suites and Sky Villas.

The development will consist of a 50-storey tower and a 43-storey tower joined by a podium block with 11 retail units. CDL has no plans to sell the retail units.

One Shenton is being launched in a price slightly lower than that of Marina Bay Residences, which were launched last month at $1,550-$2,150 psf, with the highest priced unit going for a record $3,400 psf.

One Shenton cannot command the same views as Marina Bay Residences so records may not be broken this time. Still, Mr Kwek revealed that he has ambitious plans to buy the whole urban block that One Shenton sits on, which includes Shenton House and UIC Building.

He is interested in the Government Land Sales white site to be launched in the first half of this year next to One Shenton.

Makelele
08-01-07, 14:18
Jan 6, 2007, 11.25 pm (Singapore time)

One Shenton condo nearly sold out in just 30 hours


ONE Shenton, the latest condominium at residential hot spot Marina Bay, is all but sold out and some buyers are said to have already started putting up their units for sale in hopes of making a quick buck.

As at 5pm on Saturday - about 30 hours after the soft launch on Friday - just five of the 330 units up for grabs were left. Another 11 penthouse units at the 341-unit project have not been released for sale.

The 99-year leasehold condo, located at 1 Shenton Way and overlooking the upcoming Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, achieved prices of between $1,500 and $2,200 per sq ft (psf), said developer City Developments (CDL) in a statement.

This was slightly higher than its original price range of $1,500 to $2,000 psf, and works out to about $1 million for the smaller units and over $4 million for some four-bedroom units.

Agents also told The Sunday Times that a few units have already been put on the resale market.

These resellers are believed to be asking for up to $200 psf more than their purchase price, which translates into tidy profits of at least $100,000.

Demand for One Shenton was so overwhelming on Friday that CDL kept its showflats and sales office open until 2am on Saturday morning.

'Large crowds of hundreds were seen queuing since Friday afternoon and over a thousand have thronged the show suites,' CDL said in its statement.

Sales resumed at 9am and by 5pm, only five four-bedroom units on the top floors were left.

CDL said it is now compiling the 'expressions of interest' it has received for the 11 penthouses it has not released and will decide later whether to put them up for public sale or to sell them via auction.

The remaining four-bedroom units are priced at $2,200 psf, while the penthouses are likely to be more expensive on a per sq ft basis.

One Shenton's sale prices compare favourably with those of the nearby Marina Bay Residences, which sold out in two days last month at average prices of almost $2,000 psf.

All eyes are now on what One Shenton's penthouses will fetch, given that a penthouse unit at Marina Bay Residences had sold for a whopping $3,400 psf to set a record high for Singapore homes.

About 65 per cent of One Shenton's buyers are local, CDL said.

The rest are from countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain and Russia.