Bellewoods, the first new executive condominium project in almost a year, opened for online applications on Saturday (Sep 27). The hiatus was because a new rule by the government last year requires developers to wait for 15 months after buying the land or completing foundation works before launching units for sale.
More than 200 applications have so far been received for the project in Woodlands. The 561-unit project is expected to be priced between S$750 and S$820 per square foot, with most units going at below S$1 million.
A potential buyer, Yap Han Yang, said: “It’s near the future MRT, which is Woodlands South. Secondly, there’s a lot of greenery, which is good for the kids. I think the price is quite ok compared to Punggol.”
Developer Qingjian Realty said buyers are more cautious as a result of loan curbs and other measures to cool the property market. Its head of sales & marketing department, Mr Donald Ng, said the measures will have some impact on the sale of the EC.
“But for EC buyers, there is still a deferred payment scheme, which allows buyers, after paying the 20 per cent of the booking fee, to pay the rest upon TOP. Hence, I think for the buyers, if they were to work out their financial numbers, I think EC is still very affordable in terms of upgrading options for HDB upgraders,” he said.
With a slew of new EC projects coming up, one property analyst Channel NewsAsia spoke to expects competition to be keen.
Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director for research and consultancy at SLP International Property, said: “The first three or four EC projects are likely to enjoy strong demand from the pent-up demand, but subsequent ones, especially those that are going to be launched next year, will face quite a lot of competition. For example in 2015, there can be potentially nine EC projects with a total of 5,000 units that can be launched on the market.”
Lake Life, another EC in the Jurong Lakeside district, will open for e-applications next Saturday (Oct 4). The project’s developers hope to run a driverless electric shuttle from the condominium to the nearby Lakeside MRT.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Sep 2014