Knowledge Hub

‒ Asia Pacific governments and industry players continue to implement policies and partnerships to revive the travel and tourism industries. 

‒ While the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is restoring some confidence in travelling and contributing to the gradual easing of travel restrictions in some markets, the situation remains highly uncertain. 

‒ Following a hugely challenging 12 months after the onset of the pandemic, investor sentiment towards hotels has improved in recent months on the back of the vaccine rollout and expectations of economic recovery. 

‒ Regional hotel transaction volume reached US$2.3 billion in Q2 2021, representing a decline of 5.1% q-o-q. Japan, mainland China, Korea and Australia accounted for the bulk of sales volume during the quarter.

This article was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/

Investment 

Major office deals closer to fruition (27 Sep – BT)
According to The Business Times, Hong Kong-based private equity property fund management company Gaw Capital Partners is doing diligence for Twenty Anson at around $2,900 psf on the existing NLA of about 206,200 sq ft; based on this, the deal will be nearly S$600 million. It was reported that JP Morgan has teamed up with Nuveen Real Estate to do exclusive due diligence on One George Street. Assuming the price is S$2,900 psf, the absolute quantum would amount to S$1.29 billion. Meanwhile, a transaction is also said to be brewing for ABI Plaza at 11 Keppel Road. 

Two sites at one-north's Slim Barracks Rise beat forecasts with 10 bids each (29 Sep – BT, ZB, 30 Sep – ST)
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) closed the tender for two residential with commercial at first storey land sites at Slim Barracks Rise on September 28. Land parcel A, which spans 85,648 sq ft fetched a top bid of S$320.1 million or about S$1245.7 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr). The top bid came from EL Development. Meanwhile, the 63,901-sq ft land parcel B, fetched a top bid of S$162.4 million or S$1,210.1 psf ppr from Gao Xiuhua.

Marina View white site awarded to IOI Properties for S$1,508b (30 Sep – ST)
The site at Marina View is awarded to its sole bidder, a unit of IOI Properties Group, for S$1.508 billion. That works out to a land rate of $1,379 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The white site can yield 905 private homes, 21,528 sq ft in gross floor area of commercial space and 540 hotel rooms.

URA launches residential sites at Lentor Hills Road, Jalan Tembusu for tender (1 Oct – BT, ST)
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has released for sale three residential sites at Lentor Hills Road (Parcels A & B) and Jalan Tembusu under the 2H/2021 government land sales (GLS) programme. The sites at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel A) and Jalan Tembusu are launched for sale under the confirmed list, while the site at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) is available for application under the reserve list.The sites at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel A) and Jalan Tembusu can potentially yield 595 and 640 units respectively, while the site at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) can yield 265 units.

The latest Asia-Pacific Property Value Movement Report Autumn 2021 is out now! This report aims to provide asset owners and investors the latest perspectives and insights on the performance of property asset values across Asia Pacific.

Some Key Takeaways from the report:

• Among the 22 markets in Asia-Pacific, 69% of sectors expect values to rise / remain stable in H2 2021.
• The high-tiered Industrial market expected an increase in H2 2021.
• Australia and New Zealand are of the highest proportion of sectors with increasing or stable values in H1 2021.

With capital remained abundant while financing costs across most of the region maintained at or near record lows, we expect asset values to continue holding up, which could firm further as the gathering pace of vaccinations shore up occupier markets in the region.

We hope you find the report of interest and as always, we welcome any enquiries you may have.

This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/

OFFICE RENTS BOTTOM OUT IN Q3 2021

Rents and occupancy

• Prime Grade office rents in the Raffles Place / Marina Bay precinct grew for the first time since Q4 2019, with rents rising by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to S$9.98 per square foot per month (psf pm). Office rents turned a corner and bottomed out in Q3 2021 as occupancy rates for prime offices in the precinct remained relatively stable, falling marginally by 0.7 percentage points (pp) q-o-q to 93.6%, a slight reversal from the 0.1 pp growth recorded in Q2 2021.
• In tandem with the firm signs of improvement in the office rental market, the volume of pre-termination space available fell 78.9% q-o-q in Q3 2021, declining empathically from the 360,000-sf estimate in Q2 2021 to some 76,000 sf in Q3 2021. The decrease in shadow space was expected as the flight-to-quality continued with corporates taking advantage of the rare opportunity to snap up premium spaces in prime buildings that were normally fully occupied, before rents start to increase significantly.

This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/