CENTURION IN FOCUS

PLEASURE PALACES From Caribbean warmth to URBAN UPDATE London calling; Singapore NEED TO KNOW Expert insight and analysis to Alpine heights, and serene golf courses to party swings; New York state of mind; Miami heat; navigate the complexities of tax regimes, jurisdictions islands – the state of play around the globe sensational Sydney and more in today’s rapidly changing marketplace

THEPROPERTY LOWDOWN ON REAL ESTATE AROUND THE WORLD: WHAT’S TIMES HOT, WHERE TO LOOK AND WHEN TO INVEST

STATUS REPORT CHANGING FORTUNES Peter Swain kicks off our guide to the business of high-end real estate by examining the trends, assessing the pitfalls and outlining the benefits of an ever-evolving global scene

his review of the strong headwinds as buyers international real estate from Russia, the Middle East market comes at a critical and Europe take stock of their Ttime – politically and changing economic fortunes. economically. “Since 2009, super- On the plus side, the Chinese prime property prices, aided by are buying into the Anglo- quantitative easing on both sides Saxon obsession with property, of the Atlantic, have significantly and the US recovery looks outperformed the rest of the relatively robust. market, but 2015 could well But whatever the macro- see a change,” reckons Yolande trends, Centurion has identified Barnes, research guru at realtor niches in the market that not Savills. only represent good value, but, Traditionally, this market just as importantly, engaging is split between major cities lifestyle opportunities. with global appeal and One emerging theme is the recreational or “adventure” willingness of architects destinations, although 21st- and well-heeled buyers to century communications think outside the traditional are beginning to blur the neighbourhood box. Midtown distinction between the two. Manhattan, London’s Mayfair Gleaming towers in the and Orchard Road in Singapore likes of London, New York, have lost none of their appeal, Singapore, Sydney and Miami are still being erected apace, and the world’s cognoscenti Gleaming still find the convenience and towers are being sophistication of city living erected apace, alluring, but Barnes sees reasons why investors might and the world’s Under development: 111 West 57th Street – a new addition to Manhattan’s skyline hesitate in 2015. “Globally, the cognoscenti city lifestyle market looks to us still find the but masterpieces are being secondary or tertiary island to be fully valued.” convenience and built in unfancied districts homes now includes relatively Similarly, some of the like Edgewater in Miami, unheralded locales such as sophistication of world’s familiar party places – Battersea on the Thames and Nantucket, Mauritius and the Mediterranean, Caribbean, city life alluring Sydney’s Hyde Park. St Kitts. “The wealthy seek Alps and Far East – are facing Likewise, the vogue for what is rare and ‘authentic’,” CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 79 79

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53 West 53rd Street, below left; the lobby of 520 Park Avenue, below right of Singapore, will feature 170 apartments. Similarly, SINGAPORE the architectural mainstay Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has lent its touch to 252 East 57th Street, a 65-storey high- Draw rise with 93 condos layered atop rental apartments, plus a pool and spa. Units start at of the $4.5 million. Rising at 111 West 57th Street, the site of a former Lion Steinway & Sons piano showroom, is a skinny, 45- The island state may lack the unit terracotta edifice slated allure of its post-crash peak, to crest at almost 425 metres, but with quality projects and while the landmarked space for pianos will become a an impressive infrastructure it store. But necks will crane still has plenty to offer the most for 225 West 57th Street, or Nordstrom

redoubtable hot spot in the Far East after A the global downturn, Singapore’s prime residential prices actually slipped by ten percent or so over the last 12 months. “Foreign buyers have taken less interest in the property market given the falling prices Tower, from the Extell and overall weak sentiment,” “Forget Billionaires’ Row - this spread-out Development Company, reports Alice Tan of agent Knight crop of super-tall towers has turned the the firm behind the nearby Frank. “The Additional Buyer’s One57 condo, which set Stamp Duty, applicable at 15% area into Billionaires’ Blocks” price records. It promises of the purchase price for foreign to soar 541 metres, just a homebuyers, is a key factor.” apartment: a 1,152sq m triplex chitect category is 53 West 53rd shade below One World With inventories currently high, penthouse for $130 million. Street, by Jean Nouvel, which Trade Center, the country’s one major developer has even Stern, who has styled a slew will also stand at about 300 tallest skyscraper. Further of successful condos, is also metres in the air. The tapering evidence that the Big “Homebuyers are drawn to behind 220 Central Park South, and long-delayed tower next Apple offers the right mix a 300-plus-metre spire with to the Museum of Modern of amenities, excitement Sentosa, south of downtown; 100 units from Vornado Realty Art, which is being developed and floor space for buyers, with a couple of good golf Trust. by Hines, Goldman Sachs stretching from the ground courses and the sublime Another entry in the star- and the Pontiac Land Group to the sky.♦ Cliff restaurant”

hinted darkly at “likely fire sales”. But within the gloomy overall picture, there are still gems for the connoisseur, with fundamentals like access to good schools, shopping and nearby transport links all-important. Take the soigné black and white apartments of 1919 set in the niche Sophia Road area close to Orchard Road in much- favoured District 9. “Slated for completion by mid-2015, it’s a small-scale scheme combining exclusivity with accessibility to premier shopping and the city A depiction of the commodious trappings of an apartment at 252 East 57th Street centre,” enthuses Tan.

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