Since the beginning of April, the Pasir Panjang area has been a hotspot for new project launches and relaunches, bringing new home sales close to 200 units so far.
On April 1 was the launch of Harbour View Gardens by Roxy-Pacific Holdings. As at April 24, more than 84% of the units — 48 out of a total of 57 — were sold. The average price of units sold at the freehold condominium at 221 Pasir Panjang Road was $1,753 psf, according to caveats lodged so far. Most of the buyers are locals, says Teo Hong Lim, Roxy-Pacific Holdings executive chairman and CEO.
Roxy-Pacific Holdings purchased the former Harbour View Gardens en bloc in August 2016 for $33.25 million. The former 14-unit apartment block sat on a 30,745 sq ft plot with an existing plot ratio of 1.4. The developer decided to retain the same name for the new project.
Next door to Harbour View Gardens is Oxley Holdings’ 170-unit The Verandah Residences, which was previewed over the Good Friday weekend of March 30 to April 1. More than 2,500 visitors thronged the sales gallery.
Given the strong response, Oxley Holdings brought forward the launch to April 7 instead of the originally scheduled launch date of April 14. A total of 129 units were sold by ballot on April 7. So far, 142 units, or 83.5% of the project, have been sold. The average price of units sold is $1,810 psf, according to caveats lodged so far.
Roxy-Pacific’s Teo attributes the healthy sales at both projects to pent-up demand. “There haven’t been many new launches in the Pasir Panjang area for quite some time,” he says. “Supply traditionally came from redevelopment of bungalow plots on Pasir Panjang Road into condos. But supply has dwindled considerably in recent years.”
The last project to be launched in the Pasir Panjang area prior to Harbour View Gardens and The Verandah Residences was Far East Organization’s Bijou in 2014. Bijou is a mixed-use development with 120 residential and 15 commercial units in a single block. Previewed in August 2014, units were sold at an average price of $2,169 psf. Since the start of the year, units sold have averaged $1,927 psf, according to caveats lodged. There has also been a pickup in transactions at Bijou in April.
The Orient, a 52-unit boutique condo by Aurum Land, is located on Pasir Panjang Road, near the Haw Par Villa MRT station. It was launched at end-2014. Units sold from December 2014 to September 2015 averaged $1,955 psf. Since the start of 2018, units sold have averaged $1,868 psf, according to caveats lodged.
Recent new launches such as Harbour View Gardens and The Verandah Residences as well as projects launched earlier such as Bijou and The Orient have revived interest in the Pasir Panjang area. “Sentiment has improved a lot,” says Roxy-Pacific’s Teo. He believes the recent launches have attracted not only owner-occupiers but also investors.