2,500 EC units sold as at August 2013

Nearly 2,500 executive condominium (EC) units have been sold as at August this year, according to estimates by property agent OrangeTee.

The numbers make up almost 80 per cent of new units from five EC projects launched as at August this year.

SkyPark Residences at Sembawang will be the seventh and last EC development to be launched this year.

Analysts expect SkyPark Residences to be sold between S$750 and S$820 per square foot.

The latest EC will add another 506 units to the market, in addition to the 373 units from the Waterwoods EC project launched in September.

Housing 28 maisonettes, Skypark Residences will be the EC with the most number of such double-storey apartments.

However, its showflat will not feature a maisonette because the developer is confident buyers will still want such a rare piece of property, without looking at how the final product may turn out.

The developer isn’t too worried that one of its main source of potential buyers may be staying away.

These are the HDB upgraders who may shelve their plans to buy an EC after the cash over valuation (COV) on their HDB flats declined recently for the first time since 2009.

It says buyers of new EC units will have a couple of years to sell their existing HDB flats before moving into their new homes.

JBE Holdings director Patrick Lam said: “Typically, EC homebuyers are not affected by the TDSR (total debt servicing ratio) new measures.

“They are required by the law to sell (their existing HDB flats) six months before TOP (Temporary Occupation Permit) or key collection.

“When they apply for bank loans, their present HDB mortgage repayment will not be taken into account by the banks.”

GPS Alliance CEO Jeffrey Hong said: “HDB prices might be going down, but it is much better than in 2007, 2008 — those are the prices that are pretty low. And I don’t think prices will go down to that level.”

As for ECs, prices are expected to cross above the S$800 per square foot market, based on the three latest GLS land bids.

OrangeTee research head Christine Li said: “The gap between the mass market homes and the EC homes has actually widened.

“In some months, it has widened to 50 per cent on a psf basis. So there is room for EC prices to go up a bit more.”

Market watchers also point out that it is much easier to secure an EC unit compared to buying BTO flats, where demand can be as high as 20 times oversubscribed.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 8 Oct 2013

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