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Thread: New MRT line may perk up home sales

  1. #1
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    Default New MRT line may perk up home sales

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...sales-20140823

    New MRT line may perk up home sales

    TEL expected to boost property prospects on the East Coast

    Published on Aug 23, 2014 1:03 AM

    By Rennie Whang


    THE upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will ease transport woes for many thousands of commuters and help send home prices north, consultants said.

    The 13km stretch could transform the area's prospects overnight by bringing the central business district and other parts of the island within striking distance.

    "For a long time, residents in the East Coast have been relying on buses or private transport," noted OrangeTee research head Christine Li in a report yesterday.

    "With better accessibility, existing and future properties in the area will benefit positively in the long run."

    The line is set to pass through Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Amber, Marine Parade, Marine Terrace, Siglap, Bayshore, Bedok South and Sungei Bedok, according to a Land Transport Authority announcement last week.

    It will significantly cut travelling time to the central city and the northern part of Singapore.

    A resident going from Marine Parade to Shenton Way will halve his journey time from 40 to 20 minutes, for example.

    Colliers International research and advisory director Chia Siew Chuin said private residential areas from Tanjong Rhu through to Marine Parade and the boutique developments in Siglap and Bayshore will enjoy the most accessibility as they do not have MRT access now.

    "Moving further east to Bedok South, the impact could be less, as residents there have had some access to the Bedok and Tanah Merah MRT stations," she added.

    Ms Li said 99-year leasehold condominiums such as Casuarina Cove, Tanjong Ria Condominium and Water Place in Tanjong Rhu could be among the winners, while the freehold Meyer Residence and The Belvedere in Katong Park are near enough to benefit as well. At Amber Road, projects that may enjoy some lift are mostly small to medium-sized freehold apartments like Aalto, Amber Point and King's Mansion, she added.

    Condominiums at Marine Parade like Cote D'Azur, The Palladium and The Seaview could enjoy price gains as could projects in Siglap and Bayshore such as Lagoon View, Laguna Park, Elliot at the East Coast, Bayshore Park, The Bayshore and Costa Del Sol.

    Median prices of non-landed properties near the stations ranges from $905 at Sungei Bedok to $1,547 at Katong Park, noted SLP International research head Nicholas Mak.

    He estimated that some property owners may increase their asking prices by 5 to 10 per cent over the next few months - as seen when the stations were announced for the North-East Line (NEL).

    "People just wanted to capitalise on the news and they knew that their property would eventually appreciate. Granted, that was when the market was more buoyant," Mr Mak added.

    But the full benefits would only be reaped when the line nears completion, he added, suggesting that the sweet spot would be a 24-month period, one year before and one after the service gets going. Mr Mak, who based his estimates on when the NEL came into operation, believes there could be a 10 to 12 per cent rise in prices over that two-year period.

    Some upcoming projects in the area include CapitaLand's 124-unit Marine Blue at Marine Parade Road, which has not yet been launched, and 109-unit Amber Skye at Amber Road, said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

    Amber Skye, a joint venture between China Sonangol Land and OKP Land, had launched 28 units as at the end of last month, with five selling.

    Mr Ong said the MRT stations would help sales move faster but would probably not result in developers raising their selling prices.

    "If developers peg prices competitively to attract buyers, especially investors, project sales will move faster. A convenient location will make it easier for investors or landlords to rent out their property."

    But should the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework stick around, projects priced at $1,400 to $2,000 psf would not have much interest as that is the price range where buyers still need a loan - a far harder task these days, he added.

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  2. #2
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    Default Tanjong Rhu's transport woes lifted

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...ifted-20140823

    HOT SPOT

    Tanjong Rhu's transport woes lifted

    Published on Aug 23, 2014 1:03 AM

    By Cheryl Ong


    TANJONG Rhu has been something of a transport dead zone but plans to build an MRT station will put the inner city within easy reach and boost local real estate, said analysts.

    The station will be one of the stops on the Thomson-East Line announced last Friday.

    It is expected to open by 2023, a move that consultants said will lift property values and solve a transport headache for residents.

    Tanjong Rhu isserved only by bus routes. Getting a train now means finding a way to the Mountbatten or Stadium stations on the Circle Line. But the new Tanjong Rhu station will be only three stops from the Marina Bay interchange, giving residents quick links to the city centre and the financial district.

    Ms Christine Li, research head at OrangeTee, predicted that home values in Tanjong Rhu could appreciate between 7 and 12 per cent by the time the new rail line is completed.

    R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said rental gains and appreciation in home values are likely to be limited in the short term as buyers are restricted by the Total Debt Servicing Ratio and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty.

    Residents will also be inconvenienced by the construction, so rents and home prices are expected to stay stable in the shorter term, consultants said.

    Tanjong Rhu was an industrial estate before it was turned into a private residential enclave with only a handful of condominiums. Newer projects in the vicinity include Lakeview Investments' 107-unit The Line@ Tanjong Rhu and the 128-unit Fulcrum, built by CEL Development.

    Only one 893 sq ft flat was sold at The Line@Tanjong Rhu in the past six months. It went for $2,115 per sq ft - under the freehold project's two-year average sale price of $2,298 psf.

    Units at Fulcrum, also a freehold development, have sold for an average of $2,240 psf over the past two years.

    Resale homes at the 737-unit Costa Rhu have sold for an average of $1,309 psf over the past year, with a rental yield of 3.1 per cent. The 99-year leasehold project was completed in 1997.

    The 99-year leasehold Pebble Bay, a 510-unit estate completed in 1997, sold at an average of $1,409 psf over the past year with a rental yield of 3.2 per cent. Units at the newer Water Place have sold at an average price of $1,266 psf over the past year, with rental yields at 3.8 per cent. The 437-unit project has a 99-year lease and was completed in 2004.

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  3. #3
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    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...earby-20140823

    STANDING TO GAIN

    Upcoming East Coast line a boon for those nearby

    MRT line scheduled for 2024 will likely push up property, investment values

    Published on Aug 23, 2014 1:02 AM

    By Grace Leong


    A NUMBER of property outfits owning sites along the future Thomson-East Coast Line have been touted as likely beneficiaries of the 13km, nine-station MRT line skirting the east shoreline.

    They include real estate investment trusts (Reits) and mainboard-listed developers.

    "Residential developments in the vicinity will likely see 5 per cent to 10 per cent capital gains, retail malls will benefit from growth in shopper traffic, while office and industrial properties will benefit from improved tenant demand," UOB KayHian analyst Vikrant Pandey said in a research report this week.

    Potential beneficiaries include CapitaLand, Keppel Land, Roxy Pacific, Chip Eng Seng, UOL, Suntec Reit, Keppel Reit, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Keong Hong Holdings and Ascendas Reit, he said.

    Maintaining an "overweight" call on the property sector, Mr Pandey saw the new line as a long-term catalyst.

    "We like deep-value and diversified property stocks, preferably those with exposure to the commercial and hotel segments."

    He added: "CapitaCommercial Trust, Suntec Reit, Keppel Land, CDL Hospitality Trusts, CapitaLand and Wing Tai are our preferred picks."

    DBS Group Research, in a report this week on the construction sector, said further rail developments in the Thomson-East Coast Line will add $24 billion worth of construction activity for the period until 2024.

    Scheduled to be completed in two phases, the $6.8 billion line will run almost parallel to the East-West Line and the future Downtown Line 3, significantly cutting travel time from the East Coast to the Central Business District, Orchard Road and the northern part of Singapore.

    It is also expected to bring the MRT to within walking distance of an estimated 160,000 households there.

    Upon the line's completion by 2024, properties near the new MRT stations - at Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Amber, Marine Parade, Marine Terrace, Siglap, Bayshore, Bedok South and Sungei Bedok - are all expected to see higher rentals, which lead to potential capital appreciation, OrangeTee senior research analyst Wong Xian Yang said yesterday.

    New residential developments along the East Coast, including CapitaLand's Marine Blue condo project in Marine Parade and UOL's Seventy St Patrick's, are likely to see renewed interest.

    Meanwhile, developers with existing investments in the area could realise significant redevelopment potential in the medium to long term, Mr Pandey said.

    These include Roxy Pacific's Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel, and the upcoming Master Contract Services' and Keong Hong Construction's hotel development along East Coast Road.

    Existing residential developments near the new line, including Water Place, Pebble Bay, The Waterside, Aalto, Cote D'Azur, Laguna Park, Bayshore Park, The Bayshore and Costa Del Sol, could benefit in the medium term, said Mr Pandey.

    However, the ongoing property cooling measures may dampen price appreciation in the near term, he added.

    Retail Reits including Frasers Centrepoint Trust, which owns Changi City Point; Starhill Global Reit, which partially owns Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City malls; and SPH Reit, which owns Paragon, could benefit from increased shopper traffic as a result of better connectivity.

    Improving connectivity to Changi Business Park and housing estates such as Tampines, the Downtown Line will be extended with a new station, Xilin, linking Sungei Bedok along the Thomson-East Coast Line with the Expo station on the Downtown Line, Mr Pandey said.

    Greater connectivity to Changi may increase demand for logistics space in Changi South and Changi Business Park, which could benefit Ascendas Reit, Soilbuild Reit, Cache Logistics Trust, Viva Industrial Trust and Mapletree Industrial Trust.

    Office developments along the new line, including Marina Bay Financial Centre and OUE Downtown in Shenton Way, may see improved demand, he said.

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