The quarterly report indicates that Taipei’s total stock remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive quarter. Taipei office market is likely to follow an upward trend on the back of keen demand for quality office space.

Investment Market – Quality office will continue to attract institutional investors
Taipei’s property investment market was fairly active in the third quarter of 2007, with activity concentrated in the Neihu Technology Park. The combined value of the quarter’s investment sales in the Park amounted to approximately NT$8 billion. Shin Kong Life Insurance purchased two buildings from BenQ as well as an under-construction building from Huaku Construction Co., Ltd for NT$6.54 billion in July.

The robust demand for properties within the Park has showed investor’s buoyant confidence in the prospects of the area. Currently viewed as a decentralized area, Neihu is likely to become a significant office submarket in Taipei as the City Government is formulating the plan of Grater Neihu, which will add another 175 hectares of land to the existing Neihu Technology Park.

In the third quarter of 2007, Nanshan Life Insurance, a subsidiary of AIG, bought several floors and parking space of Chong Sheng Building from Yuanta Financial Holdings for roughly NT$3.43 billion. Another notable transaction was the purchase of Meifu Building along Jiang Guo North Road by CITADALE, a private fund from Singapore, for NT$5.2 billion. The building purchased from Mei Fu Construction Co., Ltd is under construction and slated to join the market in 2008.

As the Taipei office market has been following an upward trend, it is expected that institutional investors will keep close eyes on quality space with good location and that the foreign/local insurance and investment companies will continue to dominate the property market for some time to come.

Leasing Market – Office occupiers are drawn by quality buildings under construction
The third quarter saw the total stock of office space remain the same for the eighth consecutive quarter as no new supply was introduced this year in Taipei’s CBDs except the Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Headquarters reserved for self-use.

The next prominent office space coming on stream is the Meifu Building, which is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2008. The structure, however, will have limited effects on the office leasing market for most of the total area being pre-committed by AEGON Life Insurance under a 15-year contract.

After experiencing market stagnation with respect to space take-up in the second quarter of 2007, the Taipei office market witnessed an increase of approximately 200% q-o-q in net take-up, reflecting a total of 8,762 ping occupied in the period under review. In accordance with the trend of relocating for upgrade reasons, Grade A office market contributed nearly 5,000 ping to the buoyant take-up this quarter.

The largest leasing transactions in terms of area included Hontai Life Insurance’s 2,128-ping relocation to Hung Tai Century Building located in the Minsheng-Dunhua Area, Bank of America’s occupancy of 1,414 ping in Taipei 101 in Xinyi-Jilong Area and 1,341 ping of take-up in the President International Building by AIG General Insurance, which also resides in XJA. The robust demand for Taipei’s office space had consequently compressed overall vacancy rate to 8.13% at the end of the third quarter.

Wantanee Khamkongkaew is an independent author evaluating and commenting on leading International Property Consultants in Asia and Greater China, especially CB Richard Ellis.

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In a study of the take-up of new non-landed projects in non-prime areas, The mid-tier and mass market projects turned in strong sales volume since a year ago in 2006. Until now, the market had perceived that these segments trailed the high-end market in their recovery, and had begun to recover only in early-2007, in terms of volume and price.

A detailed analysis of the new units launched in 2006 and the corresponding take-up volumes show otherwise. 68 per cent of the new projects launched in the West Coast, in districts 5 and 21 in 2006 had actually been taken up. Likewise districts 15 and 16 take-up rates were about 90 per cent. This is not far from the 74 per cent take-up of projects in the prime districts of 9 and 10 and the 96 per cent of those in the Downtown and Sentosa Cove.

A year on, the number of projects on the market in the West (districts 5 & 21) has swelled. The number of new launches in the West has tripled from a year ago, with the launch of one north (405 units), One Rochester (366), Botannia (493 units) and The Parc Condominium (659 units).

As well, the number of new launches in Newton/Novena (district 11) has doubled from 578 units in 2006 to 1,351 units so far this year, featuring Pavilion 11(180 units), Sky Eleven (273 units) and Hillcrest Villa Paradise (163 units). Take-up of the projects in these two micro markets has also been very healthy, with 90 per cent of the units snapped up. Over in the East (districts 15 and 16), take-up in January-September 2007 is equally strong at 85 per cent.

The pace of the residential market slowed down a little during the third quarter, due partly to the seasonal effect of the Lunar Seventh Month (13 August to 10 September), and partly to the credit tightening which resulted from the US sub-prime mortgage problems. Developers launched around 3,500-4,000 units, fewer than the average of 4,300 units in each of the previous two quarters. With the slowdown, it is likely that the total new homes sold in the third quarter will be around 4,000 units, including sales from ongoing projects.

This is lower than the 5,129 and 4,783 units sold in the second and first quarters respectively. Nevertheless, some projects like The Parc, Soleil and Hillcrest did very well. New benchmarks were achieved by the sale of a penthouse each in The Marq at $5,100 psf and in The Orchard Residences at $5,500 psf. Preliminary estimates by URA for the third quarter showed that the private residential price index increased by 4% to 5% from the previous quarter.

A weaker market sentiment was felt in the secondary market. Anecdotal evidence suggested that sub-sale activities have been muted as investors become more cautious. While the first and second quarters saw secondary market sales volume of 6,514 and 4,645 units respectively, it is likely that the third quarter figures will be lower, in the region of 4,000-4,500 units. The proportion of sub-sales to total sales (primary and secondary markets) is likely to fall below the 7.4% and 9.7% registered in the first two quarters.

Residential rents have gone up significantly due to the shortage of apartments for lease following the slew of collective sales of existing developments in the past two years. In the last six months, the rental index has risen by 18.7 per cent, compared to 14.1 per cent for the whole 2006. A rise of another 8% to 10% is expected for the third quarter. More and more expatriates were observed to opting to buy their own homes or move out of the prime districts for cheaper accommodation elsewhere.

In particular, rents in the popular areas of Tanjong Rhu, Meyer Road/ East Coast/ Dunman/ Joo Chiat and Siglap have gone up 40.9 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2006. Median rents of apartment in the area have increased to $2.62 per square foot per month.

Apartments in Orchard/ Grange Road/ Tanglin and Bukit Timah witnessed the second highest increase in rentals since the last quarter of 2006, going up by 37.5 per cent. Tenants in this traditionally popular area are now paying $3.74 per square foot per month on average, compared to $2.72 per square foot per month in the last quarter of 2006.

Moving into the final quarter of 2007, the residential market will remain active as the government’s projected economic growth of 7% to 8% for the year remains on track. Some new launches expected to come on-stream are Hilltops, Ritz-Carlton Residences, 21 Anderson, the second phase of Marina Bay Financial Centre, Turquoise condominium in Sentosa Cove and the first phase of Waterfront View redevelopment project. The sale of new homes may register 3,000-3,500 units while prices may rise by 6% to 8%, led by possible new benchmarks set by branded residences.

Wantanee Khamkongkaew is an independent author evaluating and commenting on leading International Property Consultants in Asia and Greater China, especially CB Richard Ellis.

Taking care of your teeth is not only essential for your teeth whitening care but also a necessity for maintain your overall health. One should understand that there exist a number of serious and fatal diseases, sources of which are oral and dental problems. Heart strokes and various types of mouth cancers may also result from improper care of your teeth. Despite getting a good dental implants package, you need to take proper care of your teeth so that you can stay relaxed and happy with a breezing smile. You should learn about your teeth as much as possible. This will make you aware of bacteria, their serious and damaging effects, and proper methods of keeping your teeth cleaning.

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Excessive consumption of tea, chocolate, bear and related products are increasing the business of its manufacturers. So, where one part of the economy is getting flourished, there is also an increasing number in dental jobs. Furthermore, pays and bonuses made in the profession are really attracting and stunning. This make young and talented people get attracted towards the profession. But, you should first completely understand your future, your interest and your mind. Once you have a settled up plan, you should start with the profession firmly and confidently. Try to learn about your dental profession as much as possible, because the more you learn, the more better dentist you can be

In spite of recent uncertainties in the financial markets, there was no discernible dampening of demand for office space in Singapore. Whilst demand remained broadbased with sectors such as energy, printing, IT, insurance and foreign law firms taking up office space in the third quarter, it was the financial and banking sector that continued to dominate as the potential source for large space requirements.

While we foresee further upside to rentals, we expect that the pace of rental growth may ease going forward. The observed tenants’ increasing resistance to rental hikes while occupiers are more prepared to explore lower cost locations and alternative premises options such as business parks & hi- tech spaces. The prospect of more future supply is also a consideration, although the time lag before such spaces are completed will still place constraints on occupiers.

Prime office rent averaged $12.60 psf/month, rising 16.7 per cent quarter- on- quarter and 82.6 per cent year- on- year. Prime rents have exceeded the historical peak in 1990 ($11.50 psf/month) as well as our earlier forecast of $12.50 psf/month for end- 2007. Grade A office rent averaged $14.90 psf/month, reflecting an increase of 13.7 per cent quarter- on- quarter and 96.1 per cent year- on- year.

The government has reacted to escalating office costs and lack of expansion space by injecting more sites for sale under the 2H 2007 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. As at end-August, full potential supply (the aggregate from known private sector project supply, awarded GLS sites as well as potential supply from expected future land sales) amounted to 10.8 million square feet for 2007-2012.

This reflects an increase of 147 per cent in absolute quantum, from the full potential supply of 4.4 million square feet that was identified two quarters ago at the end of March 2007. This works out to an average potential annual supply of 1.806 million square feet for the next six years, higher than the past ten- year average supply of 1.53 million square feet per annum.

The average projects annual take- up of 1.6 million square feet for 2007-2012, even if full potential supply materalises, we forecast that there will be relative equilibrium between supply and take- up over this period and remain in the range of 91.0 per cent to 95.0 per cent.

The office investment market remained active with some $3.459 billion worth of transactions chalked up during the third quarter. Notably, a fund linked to Goldman Sachs bought Chevron House from CapitaLand for $366.4 million ($2,780 psf over NLA), setting a new price benchmark – exceeding the rate of $2,650 per square foot for One Finlayson Green.

The average capital value for prime offices was estimated at $2,900 per square foot in Q3 07, reflecting an increase of 16.0 per cent quarter- on- quarter and 114.8 per cent year- on- year. Prime office yields were at 4.32 per cent up slightly from 4.23 per cent in Q2 07.

On the supply side, the government’s reaction has been measured so far, but care is required in monitoring any future change in demand for office space. As such, it may be timely for all in the sector – landlords, tenants, policy-makers – to take stock of the market dynamics in setting out policy and making decisions.

Wantanee Khamkongkaew is an independent author evaluating and commenting on leading International Property Consultants in Asia and Greater China, especially CB Richard Ellis.