A number of property outfits owning sites along the future Thomson-East Coast Line have been touted as likely beneficiaries of the 13km, nine-station MRT line skirting the east shoreline.
They include real estate investment trusts (Reits) and mainboard-listed developers.
“Residential developments in the vicinity will likely see 5 per cent to 10 per cent capital gains, retail malls will benefit from growth in shopper traffic, while office and industrial properties will benefit from improved tenant demand,” UOB KayHian analyst Vikrant Pandey said in a research report this week.
Potential beneficiaries include CapitaLand, Keppel Land, Roxy Pacific, Chip Eng Seng, UOL, Suntec Reit, Keppel Reit, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Keong Hong Holdings and Ascendas Reit, he said.
Maintaining an “overweight” call on the property sector, Mr Pandey saw the new line as a long-term catalyst.
“We like deep-value and diversified property stocks, preferably those with exposure to the commercial and hotel segments.”
He added: “CapitaCommercial Trust, Suntec Reit, Keppel Land, CDL Hospitality Trusts, CapitaLand and Wing Tai are our preferred picks.”
DBS Group Research, in a report this week on the construction sector, said further rail developments in the Thomson-East Coast Line will add $24 billion worth of construction activity for the period until 2024.
Scheduled to be completed in two phases, the $6.8 billion line will run almost parallel to the East-West Line and the future Downtown Line 3, significantly cutting travel time from the East Coast to the Central Business District, Orchard Road and the northern part of Singapore.
It is also expected to bring the MRT to within walking distance of an estimated 160,000 households there.
Upon the line’s completion by 2024, properties near the new MRT stations – at Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Amber, Marine Parade, Marine Terrace, Siglap, Bayshore, Bedok South and Sungei Bedok – are all expected to see higher rentals, which lead to potential capital appreciation, OrangeTee senior research analyst Wong Xian Yang said yesterday.
New residential developments along the East Coast, including CapitaLand’s Marine Blue condo project in Marine Parade and UOL’s Seventy St Patrick’s, are likely to see renewed interest.
Meanwhile, developers with existing investments in the area could realise significant redevelopment potential in the medium to long term, Mr Pandey said.
These include Roxy Pacific’s Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel, and the upcoming Master Contract Services’ and Keong Hong Construction’s hotel development along East Coast Road.
Existing residential developments near the new line, including Water Place, Pebble Bay, The Waterside, Aalto, Cote D’Azur, Laguna Park, Bayshore Park, The Bayshore and Costa Del Sol, could benefit in the medium term, said Mr Pandey.
However, the ongoing property cooling measures may dampen price appreciation in the near term, he added.
Retail Reits including Frasers Centrepoint Trust, which owns Changi City Point; Starhill Global Reit, which partially owns Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City malls; and SPH Reit, which owns Paragon, could benefit from increased shopper traffic as a result of better connectivity.
Improving connectivity to Changi Business Park and housing estates such as Tampines, the Downtown Line will be extended with a new station, Xilin, linking Sungei Bedok along the Thomson-East Coast Line with the Expo station on the Downtown Line, Mr Pandey said.
Greater connectivity to Changi may increase demand for logistics space in Changi South and Changi Business Park, which could benefit Ascendas Reit, Soilbuild Reit, Cache Logistics Trust, Viva Industrial Trust and Mapletree Industrial Trust.
Office developments along the new line, including Marina Bay Financial Centre and OUE Downtown in Shenton Way, may see improved demand, he said.
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