Property developers missing in action A number of property developers seem to have fallen off the radar, with hardly any land bids or new projects in recent years. Some are longstanding market players but rising land prices and market cycles have led to fewer land acquisitions and projects. Other developers were dragged under by the financial crisis. Take NTUC Choice Homes, for example. It was set up in 1995 to build affordable housing and has developed 15 projects with 6,944 units. It focused on private and executive condos, as well as Design, Build and Sell Scheme flats. In the past few years, land prices in Singapore have not moderated much, said its spokesman. There have been few opportunities to develop the affordable and quality housing that our customers expect. It submitted its last land bid in May 2011, for a public housing site at Pasir Ris Central at $97.4 million - a bid that it lost. Its portfolio includes the 590-unit Trevista in Toa Payoh Lorong 3 and the 348-unit Dakota Residences in Dakota Crescent. Its only upcoming project is the 315-unit Belysa in Elias Road, to be ready in October. Other developers, which seem to become active only when the market bottoms out, include Lippo Group and Ho Bee Land. Lippo bought DBS Towers One and Two at Shenton Way for $870 million in August 2010 and 78 Shenton Way for $151 million in August 2004. Ho Bee forked out $411 million for a commercial site next to Buona Vista MRT station, which it has developed into two 1.08 million sq ft office towers named The Metropolis. Some, however, have fallen off the radar entirely, thanks to stiffer competition or financial woes. These were boutique developers active in the 80s and 90s, when land was less costly. Freehold land could be under $100 million, and developers enjoyed margins above 20 per cent, he noted. Some examples include Indonesia-focused Sinarmas Land - previously known as Asia Food & Properties - and Raffles Medical Groups Esquire Land, which made their mark developing properties in the prime city districts. Waterbank Properties, the property arm of former transport group DelGro Corp, fell into debt during the Asian financial crisis. There were few takers for its Waterdale projects 141 units in 1998. DelGro quit the property business in September that year. It certainly did not help that developers profit margins were squeezed after the global financial crisis, experts said. But some developers, such as City Developments, UOL Group, Keppel Land, Singapore Land, CapitaLand, Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization, will remain evergreen. Source: The Straits Times – 24 May 2014
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 03:46:00 +0000
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