Hot on the heels of the successful private preview of City Developments Ltd’s 177-unit Cube 8 on Thomson Road, with 85% of the units sold in four days at an average price of S$1,250 (RM3,025) psf, Allgreen Properties started private previews at its 83-unit high-end condominium, Holland Residences, last Monday.
All 35 units released in the first phase were taken up by Wednesday, and another 33 units were subsequently released. As at last Thursday, 54 of a total of 68 units released had been sold, says Joseph Tan, executive director of residential services at CBRE, the sole marketing agent for the project.
Units released ranged from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom penthouses. Average transacted prices were S$1,575 to S$1,824 psf. To date, all 10 one-bedroom apartments measuring 602 sq ft have been sold at an average price of S$1.06 million to S$1.1 million, and all 20 two-bedroom apartments of 957 to 979 sq ft have also been snapped up for S$1.63 million to S$1.73 million.
In the development are two types of three-bedroom apartments: 10 units are ground-floor loft units that come with a Jacuzzi on the balcony, two bedrooms on the ground floor and a master bedroom on the second level. These three-bedroom loft units range from 1,883 to 1,915 sq ft. There are also 24 typical three-bedroom apartments on a single level sized at 1,356 to 1,453 sq ft. The majority of the three-bedroom apartments sold were the smaller units, says CBRE’s Tan, and they went for S$2.16 million to S$2.98 million each.
Three of the 10 four-bedroom duplex penthouses in the project were sold at S$3.5 million to S$3.6 million, while one single-storey four-bedroom apartment of 1,872 sq ft was sold at S$3.3 million, with a second under negotiation.
According to Tan, 80% of the buyers were Singaporeans and 20% were foreigners, comprising four Indonesians, three Malaysians, a Hongkonger and an Indian national. Based on the percentage of smaller units sold, Tan reckons that a good 60% of the buyers are investors, as owner-occupiers usually opt for the larger units.
There were also three multi-unit purchasers, who bought two to four units each, says Tan. One was a family who bought four units for their own use. Another buyer was said to have bought a three-bedroom loft unit and an adjoining one-bedroom apartment on the second level to create a larger residence. The third multiple-unit purchaser was an investor.
Allgreen Properties could be expected to raise prices slightly “probably over the weekend”, says Tan.
In the pipeline for launch is Allgreen’s 536-unit The Cascadia condo on Bukit Timah Road, which is expected to start private previews after Chinese New Year, says Yong Voon Chen, general manager of Allgreen. The showflat is being built.
A total of 187 units in The Cascadia were sold in late 2007, of which 182 units were sold en bloc to two property funds — MGPA and a private Spanish fund — at prices averaging S$1,400 to S$1,500 psf. According to market sources, the freehold project is likely to be priced in that region when relaunched. This is pretty much in line with prices achieved at the 336-unit Floridian next door, jointly developed by Far East Organization and Wing Tai Holdings. As at end-December, URA data shows that 131 units had been sold at a median price of S$1,400 psf.
Allgreen is also looking to launch the 110-unit Suites@Orchard on Handy Road as well as its 300-unit Sky Suites on Enggor Street (next door to Far East Organization’s 280-unit Altez) in the coming months.
Word on the street is that private previews of the 97-unit Centennia Suites on Kim Seng Road are likely to begin on the first weekend of February. Units at the high-end condo are said to range from two-bedroom apartments of 1,238 sq ft to four-bedroom units of 2,303 sq ft, while penthouses are from 3,315 to 4,004 sq ft. Prices at Centennia Suites are expected to be in the “early S$2,000 psf range”, according to property consultants.
Centennia Suites, which is a redevelopment of the former Kim Seng Plaza, is located next to The Trillium, a 231-unit project comprising three 29-storey towers and scheduled for completion later this year. The project was sold out when launched in early 2007 at an average price of S$1,700 psf. Centennia Suites and The Trillium are both developed by Lippo Group. In anticipation of the launch of Centennia Suites, some owners of The Trillium are already engaging in “forward pricing” and putting their units for sub-sale with indicative prices in the range of S$1,800 to S$2,200 psf, according to agents.
In the luxury segment, Ho Bee Group and its joint-venture partner, Malaysian giant conglomerate IOI Properties, are targeting to preview Seascape after the Chinese New Year. The 151-unit condo is located at Sentosa Cove and overlooks the sea. Construction is already underway, with temporary occupation permit expected by year-end or early next year. Sentosa Cove has been seeing renewed interest from highnet-worth individuals with the opening of Genting Singapore’s Resorts World integrated resort. At the start of the year, YTL Corp launched Kasara — The Lake Collection, where villas were sold at prices ranging from S$14 million to S$22 million.
MCL Land is expected to start private previews of its 608-unit condo The Estuary at the corner of Yishun Avenue 1 and Avenue 2 after the Chinese New Year, according to property agents. The project will have a mix of one- to four-bedroom apartments housed in seven 15- to 17-storeys blocks. Prices are expected to range from S$720 to S$850 psf, according to marketing agents. MCL Land had won the sprawling 209,077 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site near Khatib MRT station in a government tender in March 2008 with a bid of S$213.5 million, which works out to S$350 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).
With more private previews in the offing, homebuyers and investors will be spoilt for choice.
Source : The Edge – 3 Feb 2010