Another example of a bulk transaction made not too long ago is the sale of 111 Emerald Hill’s remaining 16 units. The completed freehold The Criterion EC condominium project is comprised of 40 units. There was also the privatisation of 14 units at Straits Trading’s The Holland Collection, which fetched a price of $53.8 million and was purchased by Haiyi Holdings. Haiti Holdings is Chinese businessman George Tang and his wife’s private vehicle.
Bulk Transactions Booking Date The Criterion
Concurrently, the listed SingHaiyi Group is said to be making plans to sell the subsidiary, which is Balesteir Road’s freehold City Suites, to the main contractor of the project. Of the projected 56 units, only 10% have been sold as of April 2015.
Usually bulk sales such as these are done via a change of hands in ownership of shares. This is done by an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) developed the project of owns the flats. According to conveyance solicitors and tax experts, because of this the 15% additional buyers stamp duty does not come into play for these purchases for The Criterion EC. Share purchases are not even affected by the ordinary 3% buyers stamp duty. Instead, a 0.2% payable rate for stamp duty is used based on the market value of the company or net asset value, whichever is the higher of the two.
The Criterion in Yishun
According to Leonard Ong, executive director for KPMG, there are some other issues that crop up when making a property purchase via a company such as The Criterion EC in Yishun. A buyer needs to be very diligent in making sure that there aren’t any hidden liabilities. Furthermore, when an investor purchases a property via the purchase of shares in a development company or SPV, and then eventually sells this property, they could find themselves faced with a tax liability that is higher, based on the transactions profit. This is down to a cost base that is lower for the property as reflected in the books of the company.
As of June 2015, Singapore was listed as having the largest year upon year drop of 15.2% in the latest index “Prime Global Cities”, which tracks the prices of luxury residential properties. The index is compiled by an international consultancy of real estate and covers 35 cities. For 2015’s first half, Singapore saw a drop of 7.9% comparing June 2015 with December 2014. Comparing this on a 3 month basis, using June versus March of 2015, the drop was 2.2%.
Yishun EC City Developments
A comment was made by one of the The Criterion EC Yishun analysts for the consultancy that the continued drop in prices for Singapore’s luxury residential market is testimony to a sentiment that has been persistently weak that has been plaguing the market for nearly 2 years now.
One significant deterrent for foreign investors has been the addition of the buyer’s stamp duty, along with a negative performance in prices compounding the weakened situation of demand.
With that said, these lower prices have presented a value proposition that is higher for luxury properties for CDL The Criterion EC. We are also seeing more inquiries from buyers who are interested. This segment does have the potential for recovery, however the cooling measures that are still in existence are not likely to be adjusted in the foreseeable future. This is why it is expected that prices for luxury residences will post lower declines in 2015’s 2nd half with a quarterly change of up to -1%.