The next unicorn: JustCo set to be billion-dollar start-up Week of... · via major express ways such as Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and Pan-Island Expressway. It is directly connected

PROPERTY PERSONALISED

Visit EdgeProp.sg to nd properties, research market trends and read the latest news The week of December 24, 2018 | ISSUE 862-83

MCI (P) 047/08/2018 PPS 1519/09/2012 (022805)

Co-WorkingTrading-Atrium: Niche

space offering for traders EP4

SpotlightThree houses in Holland

Road area going forunder $10 mil each EP5

Gains and LossesRiverGate unit reaps

$1.04 mil profi t EP9

Done DealsNew launches sustain

sales in November EP10

The next unicorn: JustCo set to be billion-dollar start-up

JustCo’s co-working space on the third level of Marina Square mall

Kong Wan Sing, CEO of the home-grown co-working space provider, outlines an ambitious plan to roll out new spaces that will see the company double in size and have a presence in almost every major

Asian city by end-2019. Turn to our Cover Story on Pages 6 & 7.

SAMUEL ISAAC CHUA/THE EDGE SINGAPORE

EP2 • EDGEPROP | DECEMBER 24, 2018

E

November surprises with close to 1,200 residential units soldShoring up developers’ confidence is

November’s new private home sales of

1,198 units (excluding executive con-

dominiums), which is a 52% y-o-y re-

bound from 788 units in November last

year, and about 2.5 times the sales in

October (487 units), says Tricia Song,

head of research for Singapore, Colliers

International. “Sentiment had been more

muted after new cooling measures were

implemented in July,” she points out.

Seven new projects were launched

in November: 3 Cuscaden, Arena Res-

idences, Belgravia Green, Kent Ridge

Hill Residences, The Woodleigh Resi-

dences, Parc Esta and Whistler Grand.

Together, they accounted for 830 units,

or 69%, of the new private home sales

last month.

“The strong launches and sales take-

up of private homes in November are

significant, as they occurred during the

time of the year when market activities

usually begin to wind down due to the

start of the year-end holidays,” says Ong

Teck Hui, senior director of research

and consultancy at JLL. “They are in

fact the strongest monthly launch and

sales figures in 2018, disregarding the

2,239 units launched and 1,724 units

sold in July, which were an aberration

due to the sudden launch of several pro-

jects to beat the start of the July cool-

ing measures.”

Most property consultants are expect-

ing the full-year tally for new home sales

to ring in at around 9,000 units. The fig-

ure is about 15% below the 10,566 new

units sold in 2017, says Ong.

Mapletree Industrial Trustto acquire 18 Tai SengMapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) is ac-

quiring all the units of Marina Trust,

which holds 18 Tai Seng (above, left),

for $268.3 million.

The property is a nine-storey,

high-specification, mixed-use devel-

opment at 18 Tai Seng Street and has

a gross floor area of 443,810 sq ft. It

comprises industrial, office and retail

spaces. With a high committed portfo-

lio occupancy of 94.3%, the property is

leased to 44 tenants, including MNCs.

Located at Paya Lebar iPark, 18 Tai

Seng has prominent frontage along Up-

per Paya Lebar Road and is accesible

via major expressways such as Kallang-

Paya Lebar Expressway and Pan-Island

Expressway. It is directly connected

to Tai Seng MRT station by an under-

ground link.

Following the acquisition, MIT’s total

assets under management will increase

from $4.4 billion to $4.7 billion, with

the hi-tech building segment account-

ing for 42.7%.

NOON Capital and ACRE invest $34.2 mil in Phuket real estate Southeast Asia-based property devel-

oper and manager NOON Capital and

private property investment firm Asia

Capital Real Estate (ACRE) are invest-

ing US$25 million ($34.23 million) in

a real estate fund focused on proper-

ties in Thailand.

The initial sum invested will be used

to develop a 500-unit residential devel-

opment in Phuket town. They intend to

grow the fund to US$150 million, across

at least six development projects, NOON

Capital says.

Recently, ACRE invested more than

US$750 million in US projects through

three funds, with the first fund being

fully divested. The company has offic-

es in the US and Singapore.

M&G Real Estate and ICPF acquire 25% stake in Sydney building Global real estate investor M&G Real Es-

tate and Australian commercial office

fund ICPF have jointly acquired a 25%

stake in a Grade-A office building in Syd-

ney for A$109.5 million ($107.7 million).

The eight-year-old property, at 40

Mount Street, is a 25-storey office and

retail building in the heart of North Syd-

ney’s CBD. It comprises 28,552 sq ft of

retail and office space and is served by

the Victoria Cross Metro Station. The

building is fully occupied and long-

term anchor tenants include Coca-Co-

la and Vodafone.

The office investment is the second in

Sydney that M&G has made with ICPF.

It follows their investment in 2006 in

an office building at 400 George Street.

Demand for office space in North

Sydney’s CBD remains strong, owing

to continued infrastructure and residen-

tial developments, the growth of the fi-

nance, business services and technolo-

gy sectors, as well as supply constraints

until 2020, M&G says.

Colliers to manage retail spaces at Stars of Kovan and *SCAPE Colliers International has been appoint-

ed the leasing and tenancy manager

for two retail properties: the upcoming

mixed-use development Stars of Kovan

(above, right) on Upper Serangoon Road,

and *SCAPE in Orchard Link. The com-

pany’s real estate management servic-

es business in Singapore will provide

leasing and tenancy management, as

well as marketing and retail advisory

services for both properties.

The strata-titled 26,910 sq ft com-

mercial podium at Stars of Kovan com-

prises 46 retail shops on the street level.

The residential component comprises

395 units. Retail units range from 280

to 861 sq ft, and the majority will be

dedicated to retail and takeaway-food

shops. The development is expected to

be completed by June next year.

Colliers has also been tasked with

rejuvenating the lifestyle mall *SCAPE,

which was built in 2007 in response to

calls for more youth community and rec-

reational spaces. “The highly tech-sav-

vy millennial consumers today are hun-

gry for new experiences; they embrace

digital connectivity, value authentici-

ty and appreciate well-designed com-

munal spaces,” says Andy Oon, direc-

tor of real estate management services

at Colliers International. “We envisage

*SCAPE to be a hip and exciting ven-

ue with a wide range of attractive ex-

periential offerings.”

Colliers is working with third-party

partners to bring about digital transfor-

mation at Stars of Kovan and introduce

smart technologies at *SCAPE. — Com-

piled by Bong Xin Ying, Charlene Chin,

and Timothy Tay

Keppel Land to take 50% stake in Jakarta project Keppel Corp’s property arm, Keppel

Land, has entered into an agreement

with leading Indonesian property devel-

oper PT Metropolitan Land (Metland)

to jointly develop a 12ha residential

site in the Metland Menteng township

in East Jakarta, Indonesia.

The agreement, made through whol-

ly-owned subsidiary PT Sukses Manis

Indonesia, will see Keppel Land hold

a 50% stake in the joint venture (JV),

which will yield about 500 landed homes

with ancillary shophouses for sale.

Keppel Land’s share of the total de-

velopment cost for the project is esti-

mated to be IDR600 billion ($56.8 mil-

lion). The partners will jointly manage

the project, which will be developed

in phases.

Keppel Land and Metland had ear-

lier signed an agreement to collaborate

on residential projects owned and oc-

cupied by Metland in Greater Jakarta.

This latest project will be Keppel

Land and Metland’s second JV project.

The first development — The Riviera at

Puri, a gated riverfront landed estate in

Tangerang, Greater Jakarta, comprising

about 500 landed homes — was almost

90% sold as at end-November.

Located in a mature residential pre-

cinct, the newest development enjoys

excellent connectivity to Jakarta’s city

centre and is a 60-minute drive from

The Soekarno-Hatta International Air-

port. — The Edge Singapore

Banyan Tree expands global footprint with 26 hotel signings Banyan Tree Group is continuing its

global expansion with the signing of

26 hotel agreements for its four brands

in 2018.

The 26 hotels comprise five Banyan

Tree, 10 Angsana, two Cassia and nine

Dhawa hotels and resorts, with 17 pro-

jects in China and the rest in Oceania,

Asean and Europe. The group targets

to have the hotels operational over the

next three years.

These hotels are on top of the group’s

48 hotels in operation as at end-2018 and

seven new hotels slated to open in 2019.

Separately, the group also has oth-

er projects under negotiation and in-

troduced by its new partners, Accor

and Vanke, which became minority

investors of Banyan Tree Holdings as

well as strategic partners. — The Edge

Singapore

Vancouver home prices fall the most since 2008Home prices in Vancouver fell 1.9% in

November from a month earlier, the

most in a decade, extending a recent

run of declines for Canada’s most ex-

pensive real estate market.

The figures suggest momentum ear-

lier this year may have been just a blip

as consumers adjust to tougher federal

mortgage qualification rules. After re-

bounding to a record in May, prices na-

tionwide have dropped for six straight

months, the Canadian Real Estate As-

sociation (CREA) reported on Dec 17,

and are hovering at levels little changed

from mid-2017, when interest rates

started to rise.

“The decline in home ownership

affordability caused by this year’s new

mortgage stress-test remains very much in

evidence,” says Gregory Klump, CREA’s

chief economist. “While national home

sales were anticipated to recover in the

wake of a large drop in activity earli-

er this year due to the introduction of

the stress test, the rebound appears to

have run its course.”

From a year earlier, prices fell 1.4%

to C$1.04 million ($1.06 million), CREA

reported. That was the first y-o-y de-

cline in five years, and it slowed the na-

tionwide price increase to 2%. Toron-

to benchmark prices advanced 2.7%.

Nationwide, home resales declined

2.3% in November from the previous

month, the most since April, and are

down 13% from a year earlier.

The realtor group also now fore-

casts sales to fall 0.5% next year. That

compares with a September predic-

tion that sales would increase 2.1%.

— Bloomberg LP

PROPERTY BRIEFS

EDITORIALEDITOR | Cecilia ChowCONTRIBUTING EDITOR |Pek Tiong GeeWRITERS | Timothy Tay, Bong Xin Ying, Charlene ChinDIGITAL WRITER | Fiona Ho

COPY-EDITING DESK | Elaine Lim, Evelyn Tung, Chew Ru Ju, Shanthi MurugiahPHOTO EDITOR | Samuel Isaac ChuaPHOTOGRAPHER | Albert ChuaEDITORIAL COORDINATOR | Yen TanDESIGN DESK | Tan Siew Ching, Christine Ong, Monica Lim, Tun Mohd Zafi an Mohd Za’abah

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DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS | Diana LimSENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS |Janice Zhu, James ChuaACCOUNT MANAGER |Pang Kai XinREGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | Cole TanHEAD OF MARKETING & BRANDING |Han YaoGuang

CIRCULATIONDIRECTOR | Dominic Kevin SimMANAGER | Bryan KekEXECUTIVES | Malliga Muthusamy, Ashikin Kader

CORPORATE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | Bernard Tong

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PROPERTY TAKE

EDGEPROP | DECEMBER 24, 2018 • EP3

Seven ways AI will impact future workplaces

To the pessimist, artificial in-

telligence is associated with

terrifying and dystopian sce-

narios, in which machines re-

place (and eventually over-

take) humans. To the optimist, AI

is an amazing tool that, when used

appropriately, can dramatically im-

prove the way humans work and live.

As AI starts to become more in-

tegrated into our work environment,

it is worth exploring the different

ways in which it will transform the

workplace as we know it. In tech-

nology-driven “smart cities” such

as Singapore, these transformations

are likely to happen sooner rather

than later.

Managing volatility and forecasting spaceAI is both a cause of the problem

and a potential part of the solution.

As a cause, AI is resetting how we

think about human labour. At this

point in time, very few people really

know how AI will impact organisations

or how quickly it will replace, mod-

ify or destroy jobs. Business leaders

are confronted with the challenge of

unpredictable future headcounts and

traditional rules of thumb for forecast-

ing labour needs are no longer valid.

As AI platforms become more

sophisticated, they will eventually

start managing workflows and job

creation in organisations (they are

already doing that in some leading

organisations). Ultimately, these plat-

forms will be better equipped than

humans to understand headcount vol-

atility and predict long-term trends,

allowing for smarter real estate strat-

egies. AI will not stop unpredictabil-

ity, but will help us understand and

manage it better.

So, AI is causing us headcount

headaches today, but it will take time

before it steps in to help sort out the

problem it has created. Until then,

there are currently two approaches

to managing volatility in an organi-

sation’s lease — through hot-desking

or activity-based working; or having

a core leased space, supplemented

by short and/or long-term access to

serviced offices or co-working space.

Organising our daily lifeThe most obvious and immediate trans-

formation of our work lives through

AI will likely be the personal organ-

iser. We joke today about the clumsi-

ness and inadequacy of our personal

digital assistants and their voice rec-

ognition. That will change rapidly as

the next generation of consumer “or-

ganiser” products enter the market.

Expect few complaints when AI

personal assistants can reliably or-

ganise your diary, book meetings,

submit expense claims or even sug-

gest courses of action. This technolo-

gy will start with basic tasks, but over

time, we will become increasingly re-

liant on AI partners to make our work

lives simpler, enabling us to focus on

what we are most passionate about.

Beyond organising our administra-

tive tasks, AI platforms will also have

a profound impact on customer ser-

vice. In Singapore, major banks are

starting to rely on AI for a wide ar-

ray of services — from virtual assis-

tants handling Facebook Messenger

requests to home-loan chatbots. These

AI-powered platforms will ultimate-

ly improve service delivery, removing

the stress and complexity of manual

number crunching and offering in-

sights at greater speed and accuracy.

Corporate real estate (CRE) will

play a critical role, since AI personal

assistants will need to connect into

smart building technology and servic-

es. More than ever, the CRE function

needs to work with IT to get the tech-

nology right. Compliance will also be

critical, as this next wave of technol-

ogy will bring a number of person-

al data privacy issues. The challenge

will be to create a system that dra-

matically improves user experience

and reduces worker stress, while en-

suring that personal data is protected.

Organising peopleIn today’s workplace, we are moving

from the traditional model of desk al-

location to employee self-organisation.

We now live in a world where many

of us work within fluid structures, in-

teracting with colleagues across geog-

raphies as often as with those in the

same office. Unassigned desk environ-

ments are gaining in popularity be-

cause they enable self-organisation —

allowing people to choose how, where

and with whom they want to work.

Self-organisation unleashes incred-

ible potential for innovation, but it

has also created new problems. For

instance, hot-desking can be very

effective for those who work inde-

pendently of others, while being det-

rimental to employees working in in-

terdependent physical teams.

Real-time occupancy management

is the key to solving this challenge.

The AI concierge of the future will

align w orkplace resources with the

real-time demands of individuals

and teams needing to work togeth-

er, helping determine the optimum

use of physical space. This platform

will map out our work preferences

and allocate seating accordingly, cre-

ating a seamless experience for all

employees. Eventually, it will un-

derstand inefficiencies in work pro-

cesses and identify ways to enhance

individual and team productivity.

AI as our workplace conciergeThe challenge every business faces

today is how to attract and retain tal-

ent. In this highly competitive land-

scape, workplace experience is fast

becoming a key differentiator. How

will AI help enhance the employee

experience?

Firstly, AI-predicted maintenance

and automated repairs will ensure a

more productive and healthier work-

place, with machines and equipment

breaking down less frequently. AI

platforms will also provide employ-

ees with concierge services — from

ordering lunch to running errands.

As they learn more about us, AI plat-

forms will start to anticipate our needs

before we are even aware of them.

More importantly, AI will become

integral to our well-being. Our person-

al health devices will be connected

to our AI assistants, which can then

assess when we are tired, stressed or

just needing a break. Based on this

information, they can automatical-

ly schedule breaks, keep an eye on

our snacking and find opportunities

for us to be active — managing our

well-being more effectively than we

ever could.

Certain healthcare providers in Sin-

gapore are already looking into how

AI technology can help their employ-

ees monitor patients’ vital signs, man-

age data more efficiently and reduce

paper trail. Gathering and using data

in a smarter way allows these com-

panies to provide a more specialised

level of care to their patients.

Will we work in cockpits?As AI becomes more sophisticated,

it holds the potential to completely

transform workplace design. What

will offices of the future look like?

Will we end up working in virtu-

al environments, sitting in cockpits

with headsets and goggles?

Since humans like to connect

with real, tangible environments,

the widespread adoption of virtual

reality seems implausible. However,

augmented reality (AR), which en-

hances physical experiences instead

of replacing them, is likely to emerge

as a workplace trend.

Imagine a world where we are con-

stantly talking to our AI assistants and

computers. This might make our work

environment unbearably noisy — un-

less we use augmented audio reality

(AAR) headphones. With AI-enabled

headphones, we could individually turn

up or down the volume of noise gener-

ated by the people working around us,

quietening the noisy guy at the desk

next door and making it easier to hear

other colleagues. Or we could simply

descend into pure silence.

Microsoft recently brought to mar-

ket technology that automatically

identifies separate voices and tran-

scribes meetings. Start-up company

Nura has created noise-cancelling

headphones whose users can specif-

ically turn the ability to hear voices

on and off. Combine the two tech-

nologies and AI-enabled AAR head-

phones could be on the market soon-

er than you think.

For those using visual AR head-

sets, visual privacy in open-plan spac-

es will become a breeze. Our virtual

computer monitors will only be visi-

ble if we choose to share them with

colleagues (also wearing headsets),

and AR will enable us to build virtu-

al partitions all around us when we

need to block out distractions. In this

sense, it will indeed become possi-

ble to retreat into a private capsule

or cockpit at work and send your av-

atar to your meetings!

Welcome to your ‘workplace skin’Humans are na turally territorial and

like to personalise the places they

live and work in with familiar ob-

jects and pictures. If AR (combined

with AI) becomes prevalent, the vir-

tual personalisation of workplaces

could become a reality.

AI technology will be able to

map a person’s physical surround-

ings and overlay decorative colour

schemes and familiar virtual objects

in real time — in the same way gam-

ers buy “skins” for their characters.

Our AI assistant might even predict

our moods, understand the type of

work we are doing and adjust our

personalised environments to suit.

AR is still a novelty for us and it

might be hard to imagine ourselves

walking around wearing clunky head-

sets, but with the fields of AR, spa-

tial computing and the emerging 3D

worldwide web exploding right now,

the clunky headsets are starting to

look like Ray-Bans and this technol-

ogy could be brought to workplaces

sooner than we think.

Safety in the virtual workplaceIf we start working in a hybrid en-

vironment, where AR headsets blur

the distinction between physical and

virtual reality, what new risks might

we face?

Will the virtual images obscure

the physical — leaving us prone to

trip, collide into each other or walk

into walls? Will noise-cancelling

headphones create the risk of peo-

ple becoming unaware of impend-

ing danger? Will we need to build

rooms within future workplaces that

are “safe zones” for using AR tech-

nology? On the other hand, it seems

just as likely that our AR headsets

will have built-in sensors and our AI

personal assistants will warn us of

impending danger.

Either way, new jobs will need to

be invented to manage the potential

hazards of a hybrid work environment.

It is easy to imagine that in the future

there will be people tasked specifi-

cally with regulating any health and

safety issues that may arise in aug-

mented work environments.

As AI weaves itself into the fabric

of our everyday lives, it will have a

profound impact on our workplace

— from the way we manage our daily

well-being to how we interact with

our colleagues. While AI will argua-

bly make technology less obtrusive,

it will nonetheless be omnipresent

in our lives. In an AI-driven world,

managing information and stimula-

tion overload will become critical for

our sanity, health and happiness.

AI will certainly make our home

and work life much easier, but for all

its benefits, it cannot replace human

connection. Learning how to regularly

“unplug” from technology (especially

AR environments) will be key to our

overall well-being. While technolo-

gy will obviously be central to our

future experience at work, non-digi-

tal spaces for creating communities,

connecting with nature and taking

time to think and relax will be even

more essential.

This article is condensed from Nine

Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Chang-

ing How and Where We Work by Pe-

ter Andrew, Senior Director, Advisory

and Transaction Services, Occupier,

CBRE. It was originally published in

Corporate Real Estate Journal (Vol

8, No 1) in September 2018.

An organisation can manage volatility in a lease through hot-desking or activity-based working; or having a core leased space, supplemented by access to serviced offices or co-working spaces

E

BLOOMBERG

| BY PETER ANDREW |

CO-WORKINGEP4 • EDGEPROP | DECEMBER 24, 2018

Trading-Atrium: Nicheco-working space for traders| BY CECILIA CHOW & CHARLENE CHIN |

In most shared workspaces, the main at-

traction is usually the lounge or commu-

nal area. Eric Neo, CEO and chief informa-

tion officer of Neo & Partners Global, the

founder of Trading-Atrium, is eager to show

off his server room, which has a “state-of-the-

art, purpose-built, 24x7 low-latency hub with

high-speed, 10GB ethernet cables as well as

secure WiFi connectivity throughout the area”.

Says Neo: “Traditionally, many offices have

the server room tucked away in one corner,

but we decided to bring it to the front to show

our clients and investors.”

Beyond the server room, there is a lounge

for guests, and a breakout area for those who

work there. “This whole space is very fluid

and open,” he adds.

Unlike most co-working operators who seek

to attract a wide spectrum of business enterpris-

es, Trading-Atrium caters for a very niche clien-

tele: electronic trading firms, including proprie-

tary trading firms focused on algorithm trading,

multi-asset trading and cryptocurrency. It has

also expanded its reach to include fintech firms

as well as big data and blockchain firms.

The office suites can be configured into

trading rooms fitted with four to six trading

desks. Large panelled screens are also provid-

ed if they are required. The 6,000 sq ft space

can fit up to nine firms and a total of 52 trad-

ing desks. There are also 52 lockers for those

who need to use them.

War roomsEntering the area where the trading rooms are

situated requires security access. “Because of

the nature of their business and the sensitivi-

ty of their trading strategies, we designed the

trading rooms as war rooms,” says Neo. “Con-

trolled access also means the traders will not

be disturbed while they are working. But once

they step out of the two sliding glass doors to

the lounge and pantry, the zone is neutral.

They can talk about the trading day, chit-chat

or have lunch together.”

Neo understands the needs of his clientele

as he was a senior vice-president of commod-

ities, derivatives and securities at Fle xTrade

Systems. The US-based software firm special-

ises in providing and managing broker-neutral

trading systems for a range of assets, such as

equities, foreign currencies, options, futures

and fixed-income securities, as well as algo-

rithmic trading.

“It was the era of globalisation, and trading

firms were trading across different markets and

multiple assets,” recalls Neo. “In Singapore, I

realised there were a few gaps in the industry.

Back then, the trading platforms were linked

to the brokerage firms.” Not only were there

hardly any broker-neutral trading platforms,

but software trading platforms were also cost-

ly, especially for assets that were not as com-

monly traded, he adds.

Technology infrastructureThat resulted in his setting up Neo & Partners

Capital in January 2014, with a paid-up capi-

tal of $2.5 million. A large part of the money

was invested in the technological infrastruc-

ture, he says. It enabled the firm to offer ser-

vices ranging from data connection to trading

platforms. “The early years were a bit inter-

esting, because the model we came up with

didn’t exist,” Neo recounts. “So, the first two

years were spent on marketing to the public,

close friends and customers that I knew. I be-

lieve we are the first to provide such a shared

workspace in Singapore, and perhaps in Asia.”

The trading facility he created, Trading-Atri-

um, is specifically targeted at high-growth, pri-

vate international financial firms and trading

professionals. The broker-neutral platform cur-

rently covers all aspects of the trading ecosys-

tem and asset classes such as equities, futures,

foreign currencies and options. The asset man-

agers and traders at Trading-Atrium are pro-

vided with access to the Singapore Exchange

and other major global market exchanges, for

example, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,

“through customised automated trading ap-

plications”, Neo says.

To facilitate electronic or high-speed trad-

ing, trading firms would need to invest in a

high-speed connectivity, low-latency line, ex-

plains Neo. They must also have a back-up

power source that kicks in the moment there

is a power outage in the building. A trading

firm operating out of its own premises would

have to pay for the full cost of installing such

a cable and for a back-up power generator,

he adds. However, by choosing to operate at

Trading-Atrium, these costs can be shared with

other firms that require that same high-speed

connectivity, and that leads to tremendous cost

savings, as the cost is pro-rated according to

the demand or usage, explains Neo.

Beyond being a facility and technology in-

frastructure service provider, Trading-Atrium

is a partner for these companies when they

enter Singapore, says Neo. The firm helps fa-

cilitate introductory meetings with the Mone-

tary Authority of Singapore and other relevant

government authorities, SGX and some of the

financial institutions or professional consul-

tancy firms, especially if the companies are

setting up business in Singapore for the first

time, he explains.

Expansion plansClients located within Trading-Atrium include

Mako, a London-headquartered derivatives

firm that has made Singapore its Asian hub

with a team of 16; Apostar Pte Ltd (formerly

Arctos Investment), a multi-asset investment

firm that focuses on deal making, investments

and trading; and Quant House, which provides

systematic trading solutions.

The latest to take up space at Trading-Atri-

um is Noble Vici Group, a company whose

business includes fintech, e-commerce and

cryptocurrency trading. It joined the facility in

July. Noble Vici intends to use Trading-Atri-

um’s facility as a platform to build its “fintech

in big data and next-gen blockchain ecosys-

tem”, Neo says.

Of late, Neo says, fund managers and pri-

vate-equity firms have also expressed interest

in taking up space at Trading-Atrium. “While

the initial focus was on proprietary trading

firms, we are now reaching out to fund man-

agement companies by way of providing a fund

platform service,” he adds. “We are unique-

ly positioned, as we host a complete range of

clientele in the electronic trading ecosystem

under one roof. We are a different breed of

co-working space provider.”

He has plans to expand overseas, starting

with Thailand. “It has a very vibrant market;

the y-o-y growth in the Thai stock exchange

is strong,” he adds. “Cost of trading is not too

high, and technology spend is not too high [ei-

ther]. There’s also strong fintech growth and

growth in cryptocurrency trading.”

Neo: We are a different breed of co-working space provider

The entrance to Trading-Atrium at One Raffles Place E

PICTURES: SAMUEL ISAAC CHUA/THE EDGE SINGAPORE

SPOTLIGHT


Three houses in Holland Road area going for under $10 mil each| BY BONG XIN YING |

Three houses at Holland Road in prime

residential District 10 have been put up

for sale. Marketed by Singapore Real-

tors Inc (SRI), the three properties —

two bungalows and one semi-detached

house — are priced below $10 million each.

Boutique developer Link (THM) bought a

plot of land in the Holland Road area in 2016

and built four new properties on it — two bun-

galows and two semi-detached houses. Bruce

Lye, managing partner of SRI, says both the

semi-detached houses, at 3 and 3A Greenleaf

Drive, were sold in October within two weeks

of marketing, at around $2,500 psf.

The two freehold bungalows, 442A and

442B Holland Road, were designed by Uni-

versal Akitek and completed a month ago.

They are now available for sale, with SRI as

the marketing agent.

442A Holland Road is a single-storey, de-

tached house, with a land area of about 4,474

sq ft and built-up area of 1,483 sq ft. It was

soft-launched last month, and carries a price

tag of $8 million ($1,788 psf). It contains two

en suite bedrooms with timber flooring, a liv-

ing and dining room with Volakas marble fin-

ishing, as well as a kitchen. The front porch

has space for two cars. The buyer has the op-

tion to tear down the existing structure and

redevelop it into a new 2½-storey bungalow

with a basement like the one next door at 442B

Holland Road, says SRI’s Lye. The construc-

tion cost is estimated to be another $2.5 mil-

lion to $3 million.

A family staying in the Ewart Park Good

Class Bungalow (GCB) area, two streets away

from Holland Road, has expressed interest in

the property, says Lye. “The parents are plan-

ning to buy it for their son, who has visited

the property twice.”

On the weekend of Dec 1 and 2, SRI launched

the adjacent detached house at 442B Holland

Road for sale with an asking price of $9.98 mil-

lion ($2,243 psf). Likewise, there have been

expressions of interest in the property, and ne-

gotiations are ongoing, says Lye.

442B Holland Road is a bungalow with 2½ sto-

reys and a basement. It has a land area of about

4,450 sq ft and built-up area of 4,237 sq ft. The

car porch can fit up to six cars. On the first sto-

rey are the living and dining rooms, a kitchen,

maid’s room, powder room and an en suite guest

room. The first storey has a high ceiling of 3.2m.

The second storey contains a master bedroom

with a walk-in wardrobe and an en suite bath-

room, as well as two other en suite bedrooms.

The living area of 52 Greenleaf View can be completely opened up, allowing natural light to enterThe roof terrace at 52 Greenleaf View is where the current owners do most of their entertaining

The front porch of 52 Greenleaf View

Both 442A and 442B Holland Road enjoy

an elevated view of the Ewart Park GCB area.

SRI’s Lye notes that this area would appeal to

those who want the convenience of being near

Holland Village, which is just a five-minute

drive away. For those with school-going chil-

dren, Henry Park Primary School is a two-min-

ute drive from there.

The third property for sale is a 2½-storey

semi-detached house at 52 Greenleaf View,

just one street away from the two bunga-

lows. It has a land area of 4,258 sq ft, and

an asking price of $9.58 million ($2,250 psf).

The current owners, a couple, purchased the

original house in April 2011 for $5.5 million

($1,292 psf), according to data from URA

Realis. It was then torn down and rebuilt

four years ago. The present built-up area of

the house is 6,000 sq ft. The owners have

two children and are looking to upgrade to

a bigger house.

The property sits on elevated ground, with

the rear having unblocked views of the Mary-

land Estate, a GCB area, from the second sto-

rey and the attic, which comes with a roof ter-

race. According to Lye, there are only 10 houses

along the street with that view.

The semi-detached house was designed

by renowned architectural firm Wallflower

Architecture + Design. The facade of the

house is clad entirely in travertine marble,

while the staircase is built with limestone.

The owner spared no expense when it came

to materials used, says Lye. He pointed to

the full-height sliding glass doors in the liv-

ing room, the vertical timber louvers and

blinds. The owners are believed to have

spent at least $2.5 million in the construc-

tion of the house.

52 Greenleaf View was put on the market

just last month. There has been “strong inter-

est” in the property, says Lye. E

PICTURES: SRI

442B Holland Road is a bungalow with 2½ storeys and a basement

COVER STORY


| BY TIMOTHY TAY & CECILIA CHOW |

JustCo, one of the biggest co-working space

providers in Singapore, has 13 co-work-

ing spaces already in operation locally.

Two more are set to open next year: at

20 Collyer Quay in 1Q and China Square

Central in 4Q. Yet, the company’s appetite for

growth is unabated.

“In the last four months, we have more

than doubled our footprint in Singapore and

around Asia,” says Kong Wan Sing, founder

and CEO of JustCo. “Next year, we will double

in size every six months. Around Asia, Just-

Co is opening a new co-working space every

three weeks.”

Apart from Singapore, the company already

has a presence in Sydney and Melbourne in

Australia; Beijing and Shanghai in China; Bang-

kok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Seoul, South

Korea; and Taipei, Taiwan. In the pipeline to

open next year are spaces in Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia; Manila, the Philippines; Tokyo, Ja-

pan; and Hong Kong. “By 2019, we will be

the only space provider with a presence in all

these key cities in Asia,” notes Kong.

Scaling up“Co-working is not a fad like bubble tea; [it]

is here to stay,” Kong says. “And in this busi-

ness, you need to have scale. There’s a lot of

consolidation in the market right now, with

some of the smaller players going out of busi-

ness because they lack scale.”

According to CBRE Research, at least 10

boutique co-working locations of under 10,000

sq ft each have ceased operations over the last

12 to 18 months. “The wave of intense com-

petition in the co-working segment has edged

out the smaller players,” says Desmond Sim,

CBRE head of research for Singapore and

Southeast Asia.

JustCo’s relentless growth around the re-

gion can be attributed to the US$177 million

($242.3 million) investment by GIC Real Estate

and Singapore-listed property group Frasers

Property in the firm in May this year. “We

have ramped up the expansion of our over-

seas presence in the last six months, and to-

day, the overseas portfolio is larger than our

Singapore portfolio in terms of square foot-

age,” says Kong.

In its Series B funding in October 2017, Just-

Kong Wan Sing, CEO of the home-grown co-working space provider, outlines an ambitious plan to roll out new spaces that will see the company double in size and have a presence in almost every major Asian city by end-2019

The next unicorn: JustCo set to be billion-dollar start-up

JustCo at Marina One has a total of 80,000 sq ft of space

PICTURES: SAMUEL ISAAC CHUA/THE EDGE SINGAPORE

Kong: Around Asia, JustCo is opening a new co-working space every three weeks

COVER STORY


Apart from third-party co-working operators

such as JustCo, occupiers of premises, such

as MNCs, incorporate flex-space within their

premises, says JLL’s Archibold. Such spaces

make up “the vast majority” of flex-spaces and

together with co-working spaces by third-par-

ty operators, will eventually account for 30%

of the office market in Singapore, he reckons.

‘Powered by JustCo’JustCo’s Kong is not content with taking up

50,000 to 60,000 sq ft of space within a build-

ing. “I don’t want us to be seen as just a ten-

ant in a building,” he says. “I want to take up

a whole building of about 100,000 to 200,000

sq ft where we can add value to the building.

I want the building owner to see us as a must-

have, not just another tenant.”

Beyond that, Kong’s goal is to have the build-

ing “powered by JustCo” — from the securi-

ty at the main entrance to lift access. “We’re

developing our technology and app,” he says.

“We’re currently in talks with a few building

owners, and we should be rolling out this plat-

form in 1Q2019.”

With low vacancy in Grade-A buildings in

The launch party of JustCo at Marina Square on Dec 6

JustCo is an anchor tenant at Marina Square and the first co-working centre to open in a mall in the Marina Centre area

EDGEPROP SG

Earlier this month, JustCo opened a new 20,990 sq ft co-working space at The Plaza Tower in central Jakarta

JUSTCO

JUSTCO

E

Co raised US$12 million from Thai-listed devel-

oper Sansiri. Kong is looking at another round

of fundraising next year. “We want strategic

investors,” he says. To Kong, “strategic inves-

tors” are reputable real estate owners and de-

velopers who can help JustCo open doors as

it expands around the region.

Change in perceptionKong sees co-working changing the commer-

cial real estate sector, in both the retail and

office space. Two years ago, building owners,

especially mall owners, did not understand

the space requirement of a co-working opera-

tor. Initially, JustCo was offered just 5,000 sq

ft at Marina Square, relates Kong. After some

discussion with the mall manager, the space

offered increased to 30,000 sq ft. “But when

I looked at the floor plan, I told them: ‘Why

not extend the space all the way to the end?’

And they agreed.”

That was how JustCo ended up with the

largest co-working space within a mall in July

this year: a total of 60,000 sq ft on the third

level of Marina Square. It has workspaces for

more than 1,000 members. “Almost all the

suites are fully taken up,” says Kong. “We

have a lot of enterprises buying bulk member-

ship for the hot desks.” Within JustCo’s Mari-

na Square premises is a start-up corporate in-

novation lab called Thrive Labs.

Kong sees more opportunities to open

co-working spaces in malls, especially in the

“shadow spaces on the top floors”. “Many

malls are not doing well — not just in Singa-

pore, but elsewhere too. We have people fly-

ing in from Malaysia, the Philippines, South

Korea to check out the space.”

The perception of co-working or flexible

space (flex-space) operators within a building

has changed “quite dramatically”, says Chris

Archibold, JLL head of leasing. “Three years

ago, most developers would consider co-work-

ing or serviced offices a ‘nice-to-have’ amenity

and not a deal they would announce to market

a new building,” he notes. “Today, developers

are much keener to do a deal early so they can

tell potential occupiers they have a co-working

or flex-space operator within the building.”

Rapid growth to continueThe co-working sector has been growing rapid-

ly over the past 12 to 18 months. “Both small-

scale and larger co-working operators have

plans to expand,” says Archibold. He expects

the pace of expansion to last at least until the

end of next year, as occupancy rates at flexi-

ble workspaces are very strong.

By end-2018, CBRE Research estimates that

the co-working segment will account for 1.48

million sq ft of office space in Singapore, nearly

double the previous year’s total. “There is still

considerable interest in the co-working sector

and this should help to support growth over

the next couple of years,” says CBRE’s Sim.

However, CBRE Research is expecting the

pace of growth in the co-working segment to

moderate in 2019, to about two million sq ft.

Operators remain aggressive in acquiring

market share and competition continues to

escalate, notes Sim. “New and in-the-pipeline

co-working facilities are growing ever larger

as operators seek to differentiate themselves,”

he adds. “At the same time, there is keen in-

terest from co-working players in China and

Malaysia, among others, looking to set up

their first locations in Singapore, albeit at the

right pricing.”

Hong Kong-based operator Campfire an-

nounced in November that it would be taking

up an entire 11-storey building on Cecil Street

with a total space of 85,000 sq ft for its opera-

tions. The place is scheduled to open in 3Q2019.

Even CBRE has entered the flex-space market

with the launch of its own brand, Hana. Just-

Co’s Kong welcomes the move. “That means

there is real demand if even CBRE wants to

come in,” he says.

the Central area, Kong is open to Grade-B build-

ings too. “After all, our first location was in a

Grade-B building on Robinson Road,” he says.

That was three years ago. Since then, JustCo’s

operations include 80,000 sq ft at Marina One,

which is a Grade-A office space in a mixed-use

development in the CBD.

Flex-space for growthEven if there is volatility in the global mar-

ket, companies will still need to expand, says

Kong. “But in the face of uncertainty, many of-

fice tenants are cautious about taking up more

space. That is what makes flexible workspace

attractive,” he points out.

According to Kong, about 60% of JustCo’s

members are business enterprises of varying

sizes. They include interior design firm Wilson

Associates, which was one of the first tenants

of JustCo at Marina Square, occupying about

10,000 sq ft of space. Another company is Sin-

gapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Hold-

ings, which occupies an entire floor at Just-

Co’s co-working space at MacDonald House.

Meanwhile, China-based internet company

ByteDance, the creator of TikTok — a video

app popular with teenagers — and currently

valued at over US$75 billion, opened at the

JustCo space in Bangkok. It is now expand-

ing into one of JustCo’s new spaces in Jakarta.

JustCo has also outgrown its own office

space. The firm currently occupies about 8,000

sq ft at Marina One. “We now need at least

20,000 sq ft of space for our office,” says Kong.

“Singapore is our headquarters, and our de-

sign and IT teams are housed here.” JustCo

has more than 200 staff today, and about 70%

of them are located in Singapore.

Soaring valuation“By next year, we should do Singapore proud

by becoming the next home-grown unicorn,”

says Kong. To be considered a unicorn, a start-

up has to have a valuation of at least $1 billion.

Other Singapore-based start-ups that are con-

sidered unicorns currently include ride-hailing

giant Grab, online shopping platform Lazada

and software firm Razer Inc.

Kong continues to see opportunities for

growth in the CBDs of all the major cities in

Asia. “At least 60% of big local and multination-

al companies are located in the CBD area,” he

says. “And we want to dominate the CBD.”

OFFSHORE


Google climbs New York City office space rankings ahead of Amazon’s arrival| BY PRASHANT GOPAL, LILY KATZ & JUSTIN VASQUEZ |

The US’ finance capital is getting colo-

nised by Silicon Valley. Google’s planned

US$1 billion ($1.37 billion) expansion

in New York will solidify its dominance

as the city’s top big-tech office tenant

— but only until Amazon.com arrives.

Google now ranks 12th by leased office

space in Manhattan, with 1.8 million sq ft

(167,225 sq m), including two agreements

announced on Dec 17, according to Cushman

& Wakefield. The company, a division of Al-

phabet, also signed a letter of intent to occupy

about 1.3 million sq ft of space at 550 Wash-

ington Street, which would move it to sixth

on the list, with 3.1 million sq ft, according

to Bloomberg calculations.

“When the Googles of the world and the

Amazons of the world announce decisions

like that, other tech companies don’t neces-

sarily pile on, but they notice that, ‘oh, this is

a place to be’,” says Peter Muoio, chief econ-

omist at Ten-X Research, a unit of real estate

firm Ten-X Commercial. “This really cements

that it’s not really just a secondary kind of mar-

ket, that it’s really becoming a tech capital.”

Leading the list is co-working company

WeWork Cos and finance industry stalwarts,

including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup

and Morgan Stanley, according to Cushman

& Wakefield. Google’s latest investment helps

cement its position as Manhattan’s largest big-

tech office occupier.

Google said on Dec 17 that it reached lease

agreements at 315 and 345 Hudson Street that

would add about 400,000 sq ft. That, along with

Washington Street, will create a campus called

Google Hudson Square, the company said.

Even with the expansion, the total is still

well behind Amazon, which plans to add

as much as eight million sq ft of commer-

cial space across the river in the Long Is-

land City neighbourhood of Queens over 15

years. Apple also recently outlined its inten-

tion to grow in the Big Apple.

In addition to its leased space, Google also

owns real estate and has made purchases that

rank among the largest ever in Manhattan. In

2010, it bought 111 Eighth Avenue, its New

York headquarters, for US$1.8 billion. Earlier

this year, it paid US$2.4 billion for the nearby

Chelsea Market. — Bloomberg LP E

With 3.1 million sq ft in leased office space, Google will move from 12th to sixth on Manhattan’s list of top office tenants

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GAINS AND LOSSES


RiverGate unit reaps $1.04 mil profit

Top gains and losses from Dec 4 to 11

URA, EDGEPROP

Most profi table deals

Note: Computed based on URA caveat data as at Dec 18 for private non-landed houses transacted between Dec 4 and 11. Th e profi t-and-loss computation excludes transaction costs such as stamp duties.

Non-profi table deals PROJECT DISTRICT AREA (SQ FT) SOLD ON (2018) SALE PRICE ($ PSF) BOUGHT ON PURCHASE PRICE ($ PSF) LOSS ($) LOSS (%) ANNUALISED LOSS (%) HOLDING PERIOD (YEARS)

1 Miro 11 1,959 Dec 7 1,531 Sept 24, 2013 1,995 908,400 23 5 5.2

2 Jardin 21 1,722 Dec 6 1,655 April 22, 2013 1,771 200,000 7 1 5.6

3 Centro Residences 20 1,206 Dec 5 1,443 Jan 30, 2012 1,575 158,900 8 1 6.9

4 Th e Loft 10 1,873 Dec 5 1,484 June 22, 2009 1,559 140,000 5 1 9.5

5 Th e Minton 19 1,216 Dec 7 1,085 Oct 15, 2014 1,184 120,000 8 2 4.1

6 Sky Habitat 20 1,163 Dec 7 1,566 Aug 29, 2012 1,659 108,050 6 1 6.3

7 V on Shenton 1 452 Dec 10 2,522 Oct 3, 2012 2,575 24,000 2 0.3 6.2

8 Regentville 19 1,076 Dec 6 790 Sept 24, 2012 797 8,000 1 0.2 6.2

9 Th e Tennery 23 614 Dec 5 1,170 Jan 13, 2011 1,174 2,358 0.3 0.04 7.9

PROJECT DISTRICT AREA (SQ FT) SOLD ON (2018) SALE PRICE ($ PSF) BOUGHT ON PURCHASE PRICE ($ PSF) PROFIT ($) PROFIT (%) ANNUALISED PROFIT (%) HOLDING PERIOD (YEARS)

1 RiverGate 9 1,507 Dec 5 2,190 May 18, 2009 1,500 1,039,500 46 4 9.6

2 Tanjong Ria Condominium 15 1,399 Dec 7 1,185 Oct 29, 2001 486 978,000 144 5 17.1

3 Eng Hoon Mansions 3 1,335 Dec 7 1,184 Dec 9, 2005 500 912,000 137 7 13.0

4 Kim Sia Court 9 1,066 Dec 7 1,652 April 4, 1996 835 870,000 98 3 22.7

5 Th e Metropolitan Condominium 3 1,367 Dec 10 1,536 June 10, 2008 980 760,340 57 4 10.5

6 Th e Suites at Central 9 1,442 Dec 7 2,349 June 18, 2008 1,825 756,350 29 2 10.5

7 Bishan Point 20 1,485 Dec 7 1,033 May 14, 2008 623 610,000 66 5 10.6

8 Th e Alcove 14 1,302 Dec 11 851 Jan 31, 2007 384 608,000 122 7 11.9

9 City Square Residences 8 1,216 Dec 6 1,583 Dec 8, 2009 1,126 555,000 41 4 9.0

10 Th e Suites At Central 9 1,464 Dec 5 2,500 Jan 20, 2012 2,165 490,000 15 2 6.9

| BY BONG XIN YING |

At RiverGate, off Robertson

Quay in prime District 9,

the seller of a 1,507 sq ft

unit made the top gain of

$1.04 million over the week

of Dec 4 to 11. The three-bedroom

unit on the 32nd floor was purchased

for $2.26 million ($1,500 psf) in a

sub-sale in May 2009, and sold for

$3.3 million ($2,190 psf) on Dec 5.

The seller raked in a 46% profit,

or an annualised profit of 4%, over a

holding period of 9.6 years. Including

this latest deal, there have been 12

transactions at RiverGate this year,

of which nine have been profitable.

The profits range from $194,000 to

$2.01 million.

The freehold RiverGate was de-

veloped by CapitaLand and complet-

ed in 2009. There are a total of 545

units in three 43-storey towers. The

project is a one-minute drive from

Robertson Walk and a three-minute

drive from Great World City.

Meanwhile, the second-highest

gain — a profit of $978,000, or 144%

— made during the week in review

was at Tanjong Ria Condominium,

on Tanjong Rhu Road in District 15.

A 1,399 sq ft, three-bedroom unit,

purchased for $680,000 ($486 psf) in

October 2001, was sold for $1.658 mil-

lion ($1,185 psf) on Dec 7. The sell-

er made an annualised profit of 5%

over a holding period of 17.1 years.

The gain was also the all-time high-

est resale profit seen at Tanjong Ria.

The second-highest resale profit at

the development was made by the

seller of a similar-sized unit on the

third floor. It was bought for $565,000

($404 psf) in April 2005 and sold

for $1.5 million ($1,072 psf) in May

2013, netting the seller a 165% profit

of $935,000 over 8.1 years.

The latest resale transaction is the

ninth at the development this year.

There have been 110 profitable and 27

non-profitable transactions at Tanjong

Ria since 1995, with profits ranging

from $2,000 to $978,000 and loss-

es ranging from $3,900 to $450,000.

The 99-year leasehold Tanjong Ria

was developed by Hong Leong Hold-

ings and completed in 1997. There

are a total of 168 units over 18 floors.

The sale of a unit at Eng Hoon

Mansions, on Eng Hoon Street in

District 3, was the third most prof-

itable transaction over the week in

review. The seller made a profit of

$912,000, or 137%. He bought the

1,335 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on

the second floor for $668,000 ($500

psf) in December 2005 and sold it for

$1.58 million ($1,184 psf) on Dec 7.

He reaped an annualised profit of 7%

over a holding period of 13 years.

On the other hand, the greatest

loss incurred over the week in review

was from the resale of a 1,959 sq ft,

three-bedroom unit at the freehold

Miro in prime District 11. Purchased

in September 2013 for $3.908 mil-

lion ($1,995 psf), the property was

sold on Dec 7 for $3 million ($1,531

psf). The seller incurred a 23% loss

of $908,400, or an annualised loss

of 5% over a 5.2-year holding peri-

od. The condo, on Lincoln Road, is

an eight-minute walk from Newton

MRT station, which is on the North-

South and Downtown Lines.

A 1,507 sq ft unit at RiverGate was sold for a 46% profit over

the week of Dec 4 to 11

The seller of a 1,399 sq ft unit at Tanjong Ria Condominium made a profit of $978,000, or 144%

SAMUEL ISAAC CHUA/THE EDGE SINGAPORE

ALBERT CHAN/THE EDGE SINGAPORE

E


DONE DEALS

E

| BY TIMOTHY TAY |

The strong buying momentum last month

was supply-led, with seven new pro-

jects launched (see Table 1). “Devel-

opers are hoping to catch the last gust

of wind in 2018 in the light of eco-

nomic headwinds next year,” says Desmond

Sim, CBRE head of research for Singapore and

Southeast Asia.

The number of new private homes launched

for sale jumped to 1,341 units in November,

from 202 units in October. The 830 units sold

at new launches accounted for 69% of the to-

tal number of new private homes sold (exclud-

ing executive condominiums). This is a 146%

m-o-m jump and 52% y-o-y increase. “It’s also

the highest sales booked for the month of No-

vember in five years, since 1,271 units were sold

in November 2013,” says Tricia Song, Singa-

pore head of research at Colliers International.

The strong sales performance reflects a

genuine underlying demand for “astutely

priced and conveniently located projects”,

says Song. The take-up for the new launch-

es will also help shore up developers’ confi-

dence in the residential sector in Singapore,

she adds, “following the more muted market

sentiment after new cooling measures were

implemented in July”.

The top-selling project last month was the

1,399-unit Parc Esta. Developer MCL Land re-

leased 450 units, of which 348 units (77%)

were sold at a median price of $1,699 psf.

Whistler Grand was the second-highest-sell-

ing project last month, with 219 units, or 73%,

of 300 units released, sold at a median price

of $1,352 psf. The third-highest-selling pro-

ject was Kent Ridge Hill Residences, which

sold 126 units at a median price of $1,715

psf (see Table 2).

These mass-market projects are highly

sought after owing to their affordable abso-

lute prices — of the units sold at Parc Esta and

Whistler Grand, 80.4% and 86.8% respective-

ly were priced below $1.5 million each, says

CBRE’s Sim.

“Developers have adopted a more cautious

stance by pacing the number of units launched

to synchronise with what the market can ab-

sorb,” says Christine Sun, head of research

and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie. “This

avoids an oversupply of units in the market,

and helps them test the market acceptance of

new launch prices and maintain the launch

prices of new units.”

New launches sustain sales in November

Singapore — by postal districtLOCALITIES DISTRICTSCity & Southwest 1 to 8

Orchard/Tanglin/Holland 9 and 10

Newton/Bukit Timah/Clementi 11 and 21

Balestier/MacPherson/Geylang 12 to 14

East Coast 15 and 16

Changi/Pasir Ris 17 and 18

Serangoon/Thomson 19 and 20

West 22 to 24

North 25 to 28

District 1

ONE SHENTON Apartment 99 years December 11, 2018 850 1,445,000 1,699 2011 Resale

V ON SHENTON Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,518 3,258,800 2,147 2017 New Sale

V ON SHENTON Apartment 99 years December 10, 2018 452 1,140,000 2,522 2017 Sub Sale

District 2

INTERNATIONAL PLAZA Apartment 99 years December 6, 2018 1,496 1,600,000 1,069 1976 Resale

District 3

ARTRA Apartment 99 years December 6, 2018 1,410 2,332,600 1,654 Uncompleted New Sale

ENG HOON MANSIONS Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 1,335 1,580,000 1,184 2005 Resale

REGENCY SUITES Apartment Freehold December 11, 2018 1,421 2,200,000 1,548 2008 Resale

STIRLING RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 689 1,291,000 1,874 Uncompleted New Sale

STIRLING RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,055 1,623,000 1,539 Uncompleted New Sale








THE CREST Condominium 99 years December 6, 2018 614 1,280,000 2,086 2017 Resale

THE METROPOLITAN CONDOMINIUM Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 1,367 2,100,000 1,536 2009 Resale

District 4

SKYLINE RESIDENCES Condominium Freehold December 11, 2018 1,292 2,475,000 1,916 2015 Resale

THE INTERLACE Condominium 99 years December 6, 2018 1,055 1,550,000 1,469 2013 Resale

District 5

BLUE HORIZON Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 1,216 1,295,000 1,065 2005 Resale

DOVER PARKVIEW Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 969 1,090,000 1,125 1997 Resale

ONE-NORTH RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 592 909,000 1,535 2009 Resale

PARC IMPERIAL Condominium Freehold December 5, 2018 409 668,000 1,633 2010 Resale

PASIR VIEW PARK Condominium Freehold December 11, 2018 1,335 1,680,000 1,259 1994 Resale

SPRINGWOOD Terrace Freehold December 8, 2018 2,185 3,250,000 1,487 1990 Resale

THE SORRENTO Condominium Freehold December 7, 2018 732 1,060,000 1,448 2015 Resale

WHISTLER GRAND Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,281 1,608,000 1,255 Uncompleted New Sale


WHISTLER GRAND Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 441 613,600 1,390 Uncompleted New Sale





WHISTLER GRAND Apartment 99 years December 5, 2018 958 1,250,400 1,305 Uncompleted New Sale


















Residential transactions with contracts dated Dec 4 to 11

LAND AREA/ UNIT FLOOR AREA TRANSACTED PRICE COMPLETION TYPE OFPROJECT PROPERTY TYPE TENURE SALE DATE (SQ FT) PRICE ($) ($ PSF) DATE SALE


PROJECT TOTAL (UNITS) LAUNCHED (UNITS) SOLD (UNITS) MEDIAN PRICE ($ PSF)

3 Cuscaden 96 96 23 3,555

Arena Residences 98 70 54 1,813

Belgravia Green 81 49 31 860

Kent Ridge Hill Residences 548 250 126 1,715

Parc Esta 1,399 450 348 1,699

Th e Woodleigh Residences 667 50 29 2,002

Whistler Grand 716 300 219 1,352

PROJECT SOLD (UNITS) MEDIAN PRICE ($ PSF)

Parc Esta 348 1,699

Whistler Grand 219 1,352

Kent Ridge Hill Residences 126 1,715

Arena Residences 54 1,813

Park Colonial 52 1,739

Seven new projects were launched in November Top-selling projects in November

TABLES: JLL

Whistler Grand was the second top-selling project last month, selling 219 units at a median price of $1,352 psf

CDL

E

Table 1 Table 2


DONE DEALS







District 7

SOUTH BEACH RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 2,616 9,662,400 3,694 2016 Resale




THE PLAZA Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 840 910,000 1,084 1979 Resale

District 8

CITY SQUARE RESIDENCES Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 1,216 1,925,000 1,583 2008 Resale

District 9

8 SAINT THOMAS Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 1,302 4,188,000 3,215 2018 Resale

CAIRNHILL RESIDENCES Apartment Freehold December 4, 2018 904 2,070,000 2,289 2009 Resale

KIM SIA COURT Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 1,066 1,760,000 1,652 Unknown Resale

RIVERGATE Apartment Freehold December 5, 2018 1,507 3,300,000 2,190 2009 Resale

THE SUITES AT CENTRAL Condominium Freehold December 5, 2018 1,464 3,660,000 2,500 2009 Resale

THE SUITES AT CENTRAL Condominium Freehold December 7, 2018 1,442 3,388,000 2,349 2009 Resale

District 10

3 CUSCADEN Apartment Freehold December 8, 2018 452 1,540,000 3,406 Uncompleted New Sale

3 CUSCADEN Apartment Freehold December 9, 2018 463 1,618,000 3,496 Uncompleted New Sale

BELMOND GREEN Condominium Freehold December 7, 2018 1,313 2,700,000 2,056 2004 Resale

CAMWOOD PARK Detached Freehold December 6, 2018 15,102 26,000,000 1,722 1984 Resale

OEI TIONG HAM PARK Detached Freehold December 10, 2018 15,048 19,350,000 1,286 Unknown Resale

THE CAPRI Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 592 945,000 1,596 1998 Resale

THE LOFT Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,873 2,780,000 1,484 2002 Resale

District 11

26 NEWTON Apartment Freehold December 6, 2018 775 2,090,000 2,697 2016 Resale

368 THOMSON Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 1,722 2,620,000 1,521 2014 Resale

ALEGRIA Apartment Freehold December 4, 2018 1,163 1,600,000 1,376 2005 Resale

DUNEARN SUITES Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 431 760,000 1,765 2011 Resale

MIRO Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 1,959 3,000,000 1,531 2012 Resale

MONTEBLEU Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 807 1,295,000 1,604 2010 Resale

RAFFLES PARK Detached Freehold December 11, 2018 10,484 20,000,000 1,908 Unknown Resale

THE ANSLEY Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 1,098 1,528,888 1,393 2004 Resale

THOMSON 800 Condominium Freehold December 4, 2018 1,625 2,100,000 1,292 1999 Resale

District 12

OLEANDER TOWERS Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,152 1,340,000 1,163 1997 Resale

TREVISTA Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 1,733 2,390,000 1,379 2011 Resale

District 13

PARK COLONIAL Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 603 1,055,000 1,750 Uncompleted New Sale


PARK COLONIAL Condominium 99 years December 6, 2018 463 837,000 1,808 Uncompleted New Sale


PARK COLONIAL Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,195 1,705,000 1,427 Uncompleted New Sale


PARK COLONIAL Condominium 99 years December 8, 2018 1,152 1,680,000 1,459 Uncompleted New Sale

PARK COLONIAL Condominium 99 years December 8, 2018 463 837,000 1,808 Uncompleted New Sale

District 14

33 RESIDENCES Apartment Freehold December 5, 2018 797 1,271,290 1,596 Uncompleted New Sale

ARENA RESIDENCES Apartment Freehold December 5, 2018 893 1,643,000 1,839 Uncompleted New Sale

ARENA RESIDENCES Apartment Freehold December 8, 2018 818 1,523,000 1,862 Uncompleted New Sale

CENTRA RESIDENCE Apartment Freehold December 5, 2018 452 610,000 1,349 2014 Resale

CENTRAL GROVE Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,238 1,210,000 977 2001 Resale

PARC ESTA Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 517 960,000 1,858 Uncompleted New Sale



PARC ESTA Apartment 99 years December 7, 2018 700 1,227,000 1,754 Uncompleted New Sale









PARC ESTA Apartment 99 years December 9, 2018 1,033 1,686,000 1,632 Uncompleted New Sale

QUBE SUITES Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 861 830,000 964 2015 Resale

THE ALCOVE Apartment 99 years December 11, 2018 1,302 1,108,000 851 2004 Resale

THE TRUMPS Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 700 910,000 1,301 2005 Resale

District 15

16 @ AMBER Apartment Freehold December 4, 2018 710 1,120,000 1,577 2014 Resale

ELLIOT AT THE EAST COAST Condominium Freehold December 4, 2018 506 800,000 1,581 2012 Resale

ESPIRA RESIDENCE Apartment Freehold December 10, 2018 883 900,000 1,020 2009 Resale

FRANKEL ESTATE Semi-Detached Freehold December 10, 2018 4,381 6,500,000 1,483 1983 Resale

IMPERIAL HEIGHTS Apartment Freehold December 11, 2018 452 600,000 1,327 2009 Resale

MOUNTBATTEN SUITES Apartment Freehold December 4, 2018 1,152 1,438,000 1,249 2012 Resale

ONAN ROAD Terrace Freehold December 5, 2018 1,572 3,600,000 2,297 Unknown Resale

LORONG M TELOK KURAU Semi-Detached Freehold December 6, 2018 2,164 3,000,000 1,389 1964 Resale

ONE FORT Condominium Freehold December 5, 2018 1,055 1,490,000 1,412 2005 Resale

OPERA ESTATE Terrace Freehold December 7, 2018 1,755 2,150,000 1,225 Unknown Resale

PALACIO Terrace Freehold December 10, 2018 3,907 2,900,000 742 2015 Resale

SEASIDE RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 5, 2018 560 1,125,200 2,010 Uncompleted New Sale

SILVERSEA Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 980 1,610,000 1,644 2014 Resale

TANJONG RIA CONDOMINIUM Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,399 1,658,000 1,185 1997 Resale

District 16

ARCHIPELAGO Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,184 1,530,000 1,292 2015 Resale

BEDOK RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 10, 2018 1,076 1,580,000 1,468 2015 Resale

EAST COAST RESIDENCES Apartment Freehold December 7, 2018 1,001 1,240,000 1,239 2011 Resale

GRANDEUR PARK RESIDENCES Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,453 2,192,000 1,508 Uncompleted New Sale

STRATFORD COURT Condominium 99 years December 6, 2018 990 918,000 927 1998 Resale

THE GLADES Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 570 900,000 1,578 2016 Resale

THE SUMMIT Condominium Freehold December 5, 2018 1,249 1,490,000 1,193 1992 Resale

District 17

THE JOVELL Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 635 849,000 1,337 Uncompleted New Sale

District 18

MELVILLE PARK Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 1,464 970,000 663 1996 Resale

Q BAY RESIDENCES Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,163 1,318,888 1,135 2016 Resale

SAVANNAH CONDOPARK Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 1,227 1,000,000 815 2005 Resale

SEASTRAND Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 883 950,000 1,076 2014 Resale

THE PALETTE Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 753 835,000 1,108 2015 Resale

THE TAPESTRY Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 603 912,870 1,514 Uncompleted New Sale

THE TAPESTRY Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 1,130 1,436,800 1,271 Uncompleted New Sale





THE TAPESTRY Condominium 99 years December 8, 2018 926 1,210,400 1,308 Uncompleted New Sale


District 19

BEAUTY GARDEN Detached 999 years December 10, 2018 4,004 3,500,000 875 1997 Resale

ESPARINA RESIDENCES EC 99 years December 5, 2018 1,249 1,250,000 1,001 2013 Resale



FORTUNA GARDENS Terrace Freehold December 4, 2018 1,755 2,400,000 1,367 Unknown Resale

JEWEL @ BUANGKOK Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 495 685,000 1,383 2016 Resale

HILLSIDE DRIVE Terrace 999 years December 7, 2018 2,174 2,708,000 1,247 Unknown Resale

PARC CENTROS Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 1,163 1,360,000 1,170 2016 Resale

PRIVE EC 99 years December 10, 2018 883 870,000 986 2013 Resale

REGENTVILLE Apartment 99 years December 6, 2018 1,076 850,000 790 1999 Resale

RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,066 1,384,000 1,299 Uncompleted New Sale

RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 861 1,005,000 1,167 Uncompleted New Sale

RIVERFRONT RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 5, 2018 463 607,000 1,311 Uncompleted New Sale














THE GARDEN RESIDENCES Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 452 723,200 1,600 Uncompleted New Sale

THE MINTON Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,216 1,320,000 1,085 2013 Resale

District 20

BISHAN POINT Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,485 1,535,000 1,033 2005 Resale

CENTRO RESIDENCES Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,206 1,740,000 1,443 2014 Resale

JADESCAPE Condominium 99 years December 6, 2018 2,099 3,299,700 1,572 Uncompleted New Sale

JADESCAPE Condominium 99 years December 8, 2018 646 1,168,700 1,810 Uncompleted New Sale

NUOVO EC 99 years December 11, 2018 1,281 1,055,000 824 2004 Resale

SEMBAWANG HILLS ESTATE Terrace Freehold December 4, 2018 2,002 2,600,000 1,300 Unknown Resale

SKY HABITAT Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,163 1,820,000 1,566 2015 Resale

THE GARDENS AT BISHAN Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 883 950,000 1,076 2004 Resale

THE GARDENS AT BISHAN Condominium 99 years December 11, 2018 1,227 1,375,000 1,121 2004 Resale

THOMSON V TWO Apartment Freehold December 5, 2018 398 650,000 1,632 2012 Resale

District 21

JARDIN Condominium Freehold December 6, 2018 1,722 2,850,000 1,655 2012 Resale

MAYFAIR GARDENS Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,109 2,028,000 1,829 Uncompleted New Sale

MAYFAIR GARDENS Condominium 99 years December 9, 2018 495 992,000 2,003 Uncompleted New Sale

MAYFAIR GARDENS Condominium 99 years December 9, 2018 549 1,138,000 2,073 Uncompleted New Sale

SOUTHAVEN I Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 1,098 1,050,000 956 1997 Resale

District 22

PARC VISTA Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 1,055 888,000 842 1998 Resale

District 23

GUILIN VIEW Condominium 99 years December 10, 2018 861 690,000 801 2000 Resale

HAZEL PARK CONDOMINIUM Condominium 999 years December 5, 2018 1,582 1,800,000 1,138 2000 Resale

LE QUEST Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 980 1,418,000 1,448 Uncompleted New Sale

LE QUEST Apartment 99 years December 7, 2018 980 1,389,000 1,418 Uncompleted New Sale

MONT BOTANIK RESIDENCE Condominium Freehold December 9, 2018 775 1,400,000 1,806 Uncompleted New Sale

PARKVIEW APARTMENTS Apartment 99 years December 4, 2018 1,119 830,000 741 1998 Resale

THE TENNERY Apartment 99 years December 5, 2018 614 718,000 1,170 2014 Resale

THE WARREN Condominium 99 years December 5, 2018 1,238 965,000 780 2004 Resale

District 25

NORTHOAKS EC 99 years December 10, 2018 1,238 736,000 595 2000 Resale

NORTHWAVE EC 99 years December 7, 2018 990 872,000 881 Uncompleted New Sale

District 26

THE SPRINGSIDE Terrace Freehold December 6, 2018 2,013 3,290,760 1,638 2016 Resale

District 27

EIGHT COURTYARDS Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 872 840,000 963 2014 Resale

EUPHONY GARDENS Condominium 99 years December 7, 2018 1,184 828,800 700 2001 Resale

District 28

BELGRAVIA GREEN Terrace Freehold December 5, 2018 3,466 3,042,430 878 Uncompleted New Sale












PARC BOTANNIA Condominium 99 years December 4, 2018 506 700,000 1,384 Uncompleted New Sale



Residential transactions with contracts dated Dec 4 to 11

DISCLAIMER:

Source: URA Realis. Updated Dec 18, 2018. The Edge Publishing Pte Ltd shall not be responsible for any loss or

liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided therein.

EC stands for executive condominium

*Not all caveats are shown due to the overwhelming number of transactions

UNDER THE HAMMER


Mortgagee sale of unit at 8@Woodleigh for $1.16 mil

Recent transactions at 8@WoodleighRecent rental contracts for 800 to 900 sq ft units at 8@Woodleigh

CONTRACT DATE (2018) AREA (SQ FT) PRICE ($) PRICE ($ PSF)

Sept 27 861 1,230,000 1,428

Aug 28 398 638,000 1,602

July 26 398 620,000 1,557

July 10 398 630,000 1,582

July 10 398 650,000 1,632

LEASE DATE (2018) MONTHLY RENT ($)

November 2,600 to 3,000

October 2,800 to 3,200

September 2,700

| BY CHARLENE CHIN |

An 840 sq ft, two-bedroom

unit at 8@Woodleigh was

put up for auction for the

first time by Edmund Tie

& Co (ET&Co) at a guide

price of $1.16 million ($1,381 psf)

on Dec 12. The attempt, however,

was unsuccessful, and the proper-

ty will be put up for auction again

on Jan 21. The mortgagee sale is the

first at 8@Woodleigh, says Joy Tan,

senior director, head of auction and

sales at ET&Co.

8@Woodleigh is a 99-year lease-

hold development that comprises 330

units. It was developed by Frasers

Centrepoint and completed in 2012.

Located on Woodleigh Close, off Up-

per Serangoon Road in District 13,

the condo is close to public trans-

port and amenities. Woodleigh MRT

station, on the North-East Line, is a

five-minute walk away. The condo

is also near educational institutions

such as the St Andrew’s schools, Ce-

dar Girls’ Secondary School and Ce-

dar Primary School. Stamford Amer-

ican International School is right

next to the development.

The unit that was put up for auc-

tion was purchased at $1.23 million

($1,465 psf) in November 2012. This

transaction marked the second time

the property changed hands — it was

first purchased from the developer

at $682,200 ($813 psf) in July 2009.

The unit’s master bedroom comes

with an en suite bathroom. It has an

open-concept kitchen, as well as one

bedroom and one common bathroom.

Tan expects the unit to interest

small families and investors, owing

to its location next to the Stamford

American International School.

For unit sizes of between 800

and 900 sq ft, rents at 8@Wood-

leigh have ranged from $2,300 to

$3,500 a month, according to URA

data. For the unit put up for auc-

tion, Tan expects a rent of around

$2,600 a month.

There have been 15 transactions

at 8@Woodleigh this year, accord-

ing to caveats lodged with URA. The

most recent sale was that of an 861

sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 12th

floor on Sept 27 that fetched $1.23

million ($1,428 psf).

TABLES: URA, EDGEPROP

The unit at 8@Woodleigh will be put up for auction for the second time by ET&Co on Jan 21

E

ET&CO

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