http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...sales-20140125

Hong Leong Group takes top spot in private home sales

2012's champ Far East drops to fifth place as smaller players move in

Published on Jan 25, 2014

By Cheryl Ong


DEVELOPER Hong Leong Group sold more private homes last year than any other developer, including the traditional sales champ Far East Organization.

Far East's slide to fifth set the tone for 2013 with smaller players emerging to make their mark in a year when bigger firms reduced launches in the wake of cooling measures and tougher loan rules.

Hong Leong Group, the parent company of City Developments, shifted 2,896 homes, about 20 per cent of the total number of new units sold last year.

Its best performers were D'Nest in Pasir Ris, with 873 sales, and The Inflora in Loyang, where 398 units were snapped up, according to property consultancy Knight Frank, which crunched the sales data.

Far East, 2012's top seller, fell to fifth, with 671 units sold, mostly at Q Bay in Tampines and Hillsta in Bukit Batok.

MCL Land, a subsidiary of Hongkong Land, was second, moving 791 units, thanks to the sell-out success of J Gateway in Jurong East in June.

Property giant CapitaLand claimed third with 777 sales.

The Knight Frank report compiled the rankings by splitting the number of units sold evenly among partners for projects developed by a joint venture.

The unlikely player, EL Development, sold 690 units at La Fiesta last year to pip Far East Organization for fourth place and land its first top-five finish.

The 810-unit development was launched a day before the Government imposed a heftier Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) on the market in January last year, causing buyers to flock to the showroom to beat the clock.

"La Fiesta was launched at the start of the year, so we had more time to move units. Close to 400 sales were clocked on the first day of the launch, and that really helped us a lot," said managing director Lim Yew Soon.

Most of the best-selling projects were mass market homes in the suburbs, making up 74 per cent of the total number of new units sold last year, noted Ms Alice Tan, research head of Knight Frank.

Experts said bigger players could have been focusing their efforts on overseas markets after cooling measures had reined in the local property sector.

This is expected to continue this year as cautious developers scale back on new launches amid weakening buying sentiments.

While Far East Organization's slip was a surprise, Mr Nicholas Mak, research head at property firm SLP International, noted that the property giant could be in no hurry to sell units.

Most of its land had been acquired before 2011, when an ABSD of 15 per cent was levied on developers buying land.

"There is no pressure to develop the land and sell units, especially if the land is freehold," said Mr Mak. "It also depends on its cash flow and holding costs."

He added that Far East Organization had won a number of industrial land tenders last year and that could signal a shift in focus for the company.

However, residential projects are still expected to be the developer's mainstay after it came in second in an aggressive land tender for a Geylang East Avenue 1 site on Thursday.

The developer submitted an offer of $142.8 million, or $759.41 per sq ft per plot ratio, in a joint bid with Sekisui House.

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