Marina Bay Financial Centre Phase 2 (46 floors)

[wees]

Just to add. I think that the majority of the buyers of the Marina Bay Residences who intend to flip their units are "specuvestors" (combining "speculator" and "investor"), meaning that they have the monetary means to hold on to the units if they are unable to flip their units.

The withdrawal of the deferred stamp duty payment concession is not likely to have any impact to them as they have the means to pay the stamp duty when they still have not flipped their units by then.

The units were so expensive to begin with and small-time flippers who barely enough funds were probably few and far between for this project.

Nevertheless IRAS' withdrawal of the concession could be a signal that if speculation gets out of hand, the government could introduce more measures.

It also has a pyschological effect on less brave flippers or flippers on a tight budget to stay away from future projects.

[wees]

Two (or more) flippers with tight budget could still band together to combine their budget (so that they can afford the 5% booking fee and about 3% stamp duty), book a unit in a new highly desired project, and then flip the unit.

Of course, the flippers have to do their homework diligently and zoom in on a highly sought after project. If the project turns out to be not highly desired, then flipping could be difficult and they have to be prepared to hold the unit for much longer.

One way to gauge the popularity of a project is to queue up as early as possible, and then see how long the queue is just before the preview starts. The length of the queue could indicate the popularity of the project. This is not fool proof of course.

[wees]

Developers are also very smart. For example, the developer of Marina Bay Residences increased the prices several times when releasing new floors/units.

The buyers who bought the units at the very first release of floors have the best deal. They are given the right to take the first bite of the cherry, at the not-yet-raised prices.

Subsequent batches of buyers would have paid the higher prices.

[wees]

Originally Posted by DKSG

Ah Wees ...

You very enthusiatic leh ... post so many notes here ...

Hi DKSG,

Yes, I was enthusiatic about Marina Bay Residences. I had wanted to get a 1-bedroom unit. But after working out my sums, it was quite tight and should things turn out awry, I have little room to manoevre. I even posted in this thread if anyone wants to join with me to buy one unit. But no one responded.

So I did not go down on Tuesday night to queue overnight. But I was there on Wed late afternoon to see. But getting a unit at the late part of the preview is much riskier because the developer had increased the prices to never-seen-before prices.

[wees]

Originally Posted by DKSG

Ah Wees ...

Developers upping prices along the way is a common strategy ... it acheives a few objectives ... 1) Appease the first batch so that next time when developer first launch it gets a artificially good response because people thought when the sales hit x% price will go up .. 2) It signals to those who haven buy that prices ARE moving up ... and if you dont run in with the cheque ... it may go up again ... 3) It makes the showflat looks even busier ... like some stock market .. those with weak heart and still thinking will be given a nudge to sign the cheque ...

Yes, developer upping prices along the way is a common strategy. But the number of times and the quantum of the increases for Marina Bay Residences seems to be extraordinary.

And to extract maximum prices for the last few penthouses, the developer used a tendering process, which is a first time here.

Maybe Orchard Turn penthouses will also be awarded through a tender.

[wees]

I just went to the URA website and did a search.

There was one caveat lodged for Dec 06 for The Sail - 936 sf for $1,479,000. This works out to $1580 psf.

It will be interesting to watch out for other caveats as they get lodged.

[ric2410]

MBFC Unit 1 & 10 will have a magnificent views when the IR and Gardens by the Bay is fully completed. Unit 10 (4 BR ), especially 30 floor and above have the best panoramic views of the city and the gardens. And it is totally unblocked.

Unit 6 of tower 1 and unit 18 of tower 2 of the Sail @ Marina Bay are also going to be units that stand out in future, though not as good as unit 10 in MBFC.

Unit 1 (3BR) in MBFC will have an equally good view of the gardens and Bay in future. Ithink this few units will really commands a premium price and really be for the "UBER PREMIUMS".

Unit 2,3,4 and 5 of the Sail Tower 1 shall carry a good premium too as they are having a pretty panoramic view of the Bay. The price differential for this units has increased from the $150+ region from the initial launch to mor e than $700 as of now.

This is my person opinion after a 3D simulation comparison. If anyone is interested in a JPG 3D comparison, you can drop me a mail & I can send you a clearer pictures on the views.

I would appreciate if anyone can comment and advise on views and the premium that each individual unit should carry.

[Baby]

The Chinese news said the buyers of Marina bay residence from 12-14 Dec are not affected by the stamp duty policy change and will still enjoy the concession of defer payment. Contradict to English news.

=========

马宝山：房市并未过熱


陈锦芬 杨永欣 (2006-12-15)




　　国家发展部长马宝山认为，现阶段并没有证据显示，我国房地产市场的投机活动过多，房地产价格的上扬并没有发展到让人担忧的地步，因此政府没有计划介入。尽管如此，马宝山仍劝请公众，在购买任何房地产前，需先清楚了解自己在进行的是什么交易。

　　“政府对（房地产的）发展局势非常清楚，目前的热潮只局限于几个发展项目。”

　　媒体昨天报道，滨海湾居（Marina Bay Residences）豪宅最昂贵的一个单位以每平方英尺超过2700元成交，创下历来所有99年地契共管共管公寓的价格新高。昨天晚上更有消息说，滨海湾居剩余的6个顶层豪宅（penthouse）单位已经全部售出，最贵的一个单位，售价突破每平方英尺3400元。

　　由于国内税务局突然宣布将从今天起取消延迟偿还印花税的措施，因此媒体都纷纷在昨晚马宝山主持一个开幕礼过后，询问他国家发展部是否会采取行动来抑制市场的炒卖活动。

　　对于每平方英尺2700元，马宝山说：“房地产的价格不是由我们（政府）决定的，那是国人所愿意支付的价钱。若他们愿意付这么高的价钱，这是他们的选择。当然，若（房地产的）投机情况扩散，并到达1995年、1996年的水平，那就令人担忧了。幸好到目前为止，我们距离那个水平还有一段距离。”

　　“以新加坡目前整体的房地产趋势来看，市场并没有出现过热的现象。”

　　国内税务局（IRAS）昨天宣布，政府从今天起，取消让买家等到房地产落成或转售时，才缴付印花税（stamp duty）的优惠。

市场人士难免联想 政府试图为房市“降温”

　　这项昨午发出的宣布紧随本地豪华房产项目销售红火、价格被节节炒高的消息，时机相当耐人寻味。在市场人士眼中，难免有政府试图出面为房地产市场“降温”、“灭火”的联想。

　　国内税务局发表的文告说：“由于经济情况和房地产市场已改善，政府决定立即（本月15日起）取消有关优惠。”

　　这意味着买家今后将获得“正常的待遇”，即在订购房产、签署“购买选择权”（Option to Purchase）的14天内支付印花税。买家一般在签署“购买选择权”时，支付房价的5％作为订金。其余的15％，在八个星期内签署买卖协议时才支付。

　　政府是根据房地产的买价或市值，计算印花税率，视何者为高。它为房价的首18万元征收1％，另外的18万元征收2％，剩下的数额征收3％。

　　市面上目前最受瞩目的房地产项目——滨海湾居，还来不及按计划于今日正式推出，就已在短短的两三天几乎卖完所有的单位，受欢迎程度连发展商都始料不及。

　　不过，滨海湾居过去三天的买家都不受影响，因为根据国内税务局发表的文告，在今天以前接受“购买选择权”的买家，不受新条例影响，还是继续享有延迟缴付印花税的优惠。

　　至于从今天到本月底之间接受“购买选择权”或签署“买卖协议”的买家，政府将推出过渡性的措施，给他们直到明年3月14日缴付印花税，不为他们的“迟缴”而加以处罚。属于这种情况的买家，必须在接受选购权或签署协议后的14天内，填妥和寄交一份表格给印花税总监（Commissioner of Stamp Duties）。该表格可从国内税务局网站（www.iras.gov.sg）索取。

　　为了缓和经济放缓的冲击，政府自1998年6月起，推出房地产印花税延后缴交的优惠，作为预算案外（off-budget）措施之一。

　　有关优惠允许房地产买家在迟些时候，才缴付印花税。对于刚兴建的房地产，买家可以“拖”到该房产取得临时入伙准证（TOP）时支付。而已建竣的房地产，则须在交易完成时缴交。

　　1997年金融风暴后，由于房地产市场行情低迷，发展商为了刺激买气，还一度替买家承担印花税。

[RafflesCity]

So who bought the Marina uber penthouse?

16 Dec 06

Consortium linked to Stanley Ho family buys 6 penthouses for over $90m: sources

(SINGAPORE) A consortium linked to Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, and which includes Japanese and possibly Hong Kong investors, is said to have bought the 11,012-square-feet uber penthouse and five smaller penthouses at Marina Bay Residences.

The investment will cost them a total of more than $90 million, sources say.

BT understands that Mr Ho's son Lawrence may have been spotted at Thursday night's tender, when the uber penthouse on the top three levels of the 55-storey project was sold for slightly more than $28 million. It was packaged with a 4,672-sq-ft single-level penthouse just below it.

The consortium members are also said to have bought two single-level penthouses at $3,400 per square foot (psf) on Thursday.

And they are understood to have picked up two of the four duplex penthouses transacted in Wednesday night's tender.

Meanwhile, there has been a surge in the number of apartments offered for sub-sale at the 428-unit 99-year-leasehold development - going by advertisements placed by property agents in The Straits Times Classifieds yesterday.

Two agents that BT spoke to said they have not found buyers for the units they are marketing. One suggested that asking prices in the sub-sale market are too high. 'The $2,600 psf to $2,800 psf being demanded by some of these sellers is close to St Regis prices - and that's for freehold, branded residences in District 9,' said a senior agent with a major agency.

Those seeking to sell units at Marina Bay Residences in the sub-sale market are said to be demanding prices that reflect net profits of $150,000 to $300,000 for one and two-bedroom apartments, and $700,000 to more than $1 million for three and four-bedroom units.

'Speculators who have bought several units and are tight on financing may start to get cold feet now they will have to pay stamp duty by March 14 next year, and may start to dispose of their properties by lowering their asking prices,' the senior agent predicted.

He advises those thinking of buying units in the sub-sale market to take into account the fact that they will have to pay the original buyer of the unit his sub-sale profit virtually upfront, besides having to make progress payments to the developer. In addition, they most likely will not enjoy deferred payment, even if the original buyer did.

'In short, anyone who buys in the sub-sale market will have to have deep pockets and cannot rely so heavily on bank loans,' the agent said.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA

[glitz_boy]

what u mean by "flipping", eh?

[wees]

Originally Posted by glitz_boy

what u mean by "flipping", eh?

"To flip a unit" is to "buy a unit and sell it quickly at a higher price in order to make a profit".

The interval between the buying and selling can be as short as 1 day or more typically 1 or more weeks.

[wees]

Have you seen the classifieds for properties yesterday (Sat, 16 Dec 06)?

There is an unbelievable number of advertisements for the sub-sales of Marina Bay Residences and a lesser number for The Sail.

There were also some advertisments for units of Icon, stating that the prices were below developer's prices. The developer's prices probably refers to the latest price revisions after Marina Bay Residences were sold out.

[asciano]

Also, notice how reports are phrased eg the asking price has been raised to $1800 psf for The Icon.

It gives the impression prices have risen to 1800 psf..........reality is, they may raise the asking price but whether anyone buys it at that price is a different matter.

The same goes for the adverts......$2200 psf for some 1 bedded of MBFc. But whether a transaction takes place at such a price is a different matter.......so its all froth till we see it in print on caveats............but even then, mistakes have been made on URA's caveat site.......

So much subtle misinformation...........caveat emptor

[JoSin]

The news said one guy "flipped" and earned almost 1.5 million .:O

[ric2410]

I attach this following picture for the reference of any investors or enthusiasts in marina bay. Hope it helps in orientation

[Cliff]

Lol, that photo is so cute

[kenexcel4]

Lol, quite comprehensive. However, u missed out the floating platform for our national day celebrations.

[surfers_]

Do you have locations of the other CBD projects in your map?

[ric2410]

So far only got marina bay. I will probably add other location later.

[surfers_]

Would be great if you could add One Shenton, Lumiere etc into your map.