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The
Business Times, 18 Aug 04
Sentosa Cove makes it easier for foreigners
They will receive approval within two days for buying landed property
in the upmarket project
By Kalpana Rashiwala
SENTOSA Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL), which is launching its second tender
for land parcels today, has announced an easing of regulations for
foreigners to buy landed properties in the upmarket housing district.
The fast-tracked approval within 48 hours from the Land Dealings (Approval)
Unit of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has led some property market
watchers to suggest that this could presage a similar easing of rules
for foreigners to buy landed homes elsewhere in Singapore. Interestingly,
though, foreigners will still need to seek approval from the LDU to
buy landed properties on Sentosa Cove, signalling that the authorities
are still not ready to completely free up foreign buying of landed
homes.
'The approval process is probably a safety net to sift out undesirable
parties from hoarding land on the island,' said Knight Frank managing
director Tan Tiong Cheng. 'The new rules may be a test case and could
be extended to the mainland. And who knows, in future they may do
away completely with the need for foreigners to seek any approvals,'
he added.
Foreigners will be allowed to buy land parcels or completed landed
homes on Sentosa Cove provided the property is used for owner occupation
(that is, not rented out) and they don't own more than one 'restricted
residential property' in Singapore. They can also re-sell their property
at Sentosa Cove to foreigners who meet these same conditions.
Under the Residential Property Act, foreigners, including permanent
residents, can buy a restricted property - including vacant land,
landed housing and apartments in a building that is less than six
storeys - only if they have the LDU's approval. Approval is usually
granted in about three to five weeks to PRs and foreigners deemed
to bring some economic benefit to Singapore.
When Sentosa Cove launched its maiden tender of landed housing parcels
in October last year, SLA cut the approval time to seven days to facilitate
bidding. From today, this will be further compressed to within two
working days. 'This is a special arrangement for Sentosa Cove. It
does not apply to the rest of Singapore,' SLA's spokesman stressed
yesterday.
Another initiative announced by SCPL yesterday aims at attracting
foreign developers to Sentosa Cove. They will now be exempted from
applying for a Qualifying Certificate and a security bond - amounting
up to half the land value. The exemption will bring Sentosa Cove's
sale of sites in line with land sales conducted by other state agents
like the Urban Redevelopment Authority. SCPL is a fully-owned unit
of Sentosa Development Corporation, which is a statutory board.
Sentosa Leisure Group's chief executive Darrell Metzger estimates
that about 10 to 15 per cent of the 2,558 homes that will come up
eventually on Sentosa Cove could be owned by foreigners. 'That's not
a lot, just enough to add a little more character to the resort lifestyle
environment here,' he said.
The sort of foreign buyers SCPL is trying to attract are not speculators
looking for a real estate play but those who want the lifestyle that
living on Sentosa Cove offers, he added. SCPL's CEO Bernard Kong said:
'The original strategic intent is to attract an international pool
of desired owners to set roots in Singapore and stay here.'
Some analysts suggested that Sentosa Cove may have been chosen as
the first district to relax rules for foreign buying to boost demand
for the substantial supply eventually of 2,558 homes there. However,
others said the move is probably part of a larger national strategy
to draw more high net worth foreigners to settle in Singapore.
Assuming the government does not extend the relaxed rules on foreign
buying of landed homes to the rest of Singapore, landed homes on Sentosa
Cove should command a slight price premium over their counterparts
on the mainland, suggests DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director
Ong Choon Fah.
Another seasoned property consultant agreed, but only up to a point.
'Theoretically, with more foreign buyers chasing landed properties
on Sentosa Cove, the competition should drive prices up. In reality,
however, there seems to be plenty of land on Sentosa Cove,' he added.
Sentosa Cove will compete with other prestigious waterfront housing
districts like Sanctuary Cove on Australia's Gold Coast and the Palm
Islands resort in Dubai. Mr Metzger said Sentosa Cove compares favourably
with Palm Islands as the former is a smaller and hence more exclusive
development.
Sentosa Cove's latest tender is to be launched today and will close
on Sept 28. It is for 11 waterway-facing bungalow plots, two terrace
plots (each of which can be developed into a maximum of eight houses)
and a 117,612 sq ft plot that can be developed into a six-storey condo
with maximum 138 units. Mr Metzger said he expects this round to fetch
higher prices compared with the first tender given the easing of rules
for foreign buying, but did not give details. The land parcels will
be marketed principally in the region, including Indonesia, Hong Kong,
China, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. |
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