CDL Beats Out Mainland Rivals to Win S$370M SG Site and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s news, most of the bidders for a site on Singapore’s upper east coast were from China, but a locally-built champion won the rights to build 715 apartments to the island nation. Meanwhile, down in Sydney, Shanghainese developer Aqualand has added another office building to its growing portfolio, and the western China city of Chengdu joins the campaign against people living in office buildings. Read on for all these stories and more.

CDL Beats Out Mainland Rivals to Win S$370M Tampines Site

City Developments Limited has emerged the top bidder with a bid of S$370.1 million for the residential site at Tampines Avenue 10.

This translates to S$565.4 per square foot per plot ratio based on the maximum gross floor area. The site, which was released for public tender under the confirmed list of the first-half 2017 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, is estimated to yield about 715 private apartments. Read more>>

Aqualand Splashes Out A$78M for North Sydney Office Block

Interests associated with Chinese-backed Aqualand have snapped up an office block in North Sydney for $78 million, sold by Chinese private trading company General Nice Group.

The purchase of the office tower at 146 Arthur Street came after Aqualand bought a nearby tower at 132 Arthur Street from fund manager Centennial Property Group for about $70m last year. Read more>>

Chengdu Joins Campaign Against Commercial-Titled Apartments

Authorities in Chengdu have set new hurdles for converting commercial property into private apartments, as the interior city attempts to further curb ballooning property prices.

Housing authorities in the central China city have stipulated strict floor plans for real estate projects built on land approved for commercial projects–chiefly offices and shops–making it difficult to convert them into private apartments, according to guidelines published on Friday. Read more>>

Beijing Real Estate Market Freeze Not Ready for Spring

Beijing’s real-estate market has gone into a deep freeze, with investment in commercial property and sales of new homes plummeting in the first quarter, data from the city government show.

Total real-estate investment in Beijing fell 7.2% year on year in the first quarter to 60.2 billion yuan ($8.75 billion), accelerating from a 4.3% drop in full-year 2016. The decline was driven by a collapse in investment in office buildings, which dropped by 37.5% to 9.8 billion yuan, steeper than the 22.9% decline in full-year 2016. Read more>>

Moody’s Says Only the Strong Will Survive Among China Real Estate Developers

Policy tightening in China’s property sector is unlikely to end anytime soon and the operating environment will be very challenging for developers in the next 6-12 months, Moody’s say.

Since more than 45 cities have rolled out stricter home-buying polices in the past few months to curb speculation, sales volumes are expected to drop while inventory levels will increase – with smaller developers particularly exposed to risks. Read more>>

Chow Tai Fook JV to Invest $95M More in Sao Paolo Project

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the majority shareholder of New World Development, and France-based Groupe Allard, which specialises in reviving heritage buildings, are investing an additional US$95 million for the renovation of a large heritage site in Brazil.

The additional funds will be used to complete construction of Cidade Matarazzo, a mixed-use development, located in the vibrant Paulista Avenue corridor of Sao Paulo and incorporates the historic former Matarazzo hospital. The additional capital infusion follows an initial US$126.3 million equity funding. Read more>>

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