SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - At Parc Central Residences executive condominium (EC), 414 out of a total of 700 units were sold on the first day of launch on Jan 23. Average selling price for units sold at the end of the booking exercise was $1,177 psf. The executive condominium located at Tampines Street 86, just off Tampines Avenue 10, is a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Development.

“It shows that Parc Central Residences is a value-for-money product as it has been meticulously conceived and designed and is very well received by our purchasers,” says Koon Wai Leong, general manager of Hoi Hup on behalf of the joint venture. “Even though we are in the midst of a pandemic and a recession, we believe that EC is still a preferred asset class for many upgraders and first time condo buyers.”

Having 59% of the total units sold on the first day of launch is definitely a good take-up rate, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex. "And it wasn’t surprising either, notes Gafoor, as there were close to 700 cheques collected as expression of interest during the e-application phase."

One of the reasons for the strong sales could be because there hasn’t been a new launch at Tampines since CityLife@Tampines in Feb 2013. “That’s almost eight years ago,” Gafoor points out.

The sales at Parc Central Residences “is a positive sign for the EC market as it shows that there’s still healthy demand,” says Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Singapore. “There hasn’t been a new EC project launch since March 2020, when OLA at Anchorvale Crescent in Sengkang debuted.”

The average selling price of Parc Central Residences at $1,177 psf is slightly higher than OLA’s $1,100 psf in March last year. The next EC project to be launched for sale will be MCC Land’s 413-unit Provence Residence at Canberra Crescent, off Sembawang Road, which scheduled for launch sometime in 2H2021. “If EC prices continue to rise, it may give the government a reason to intervene,” notes Mak.

In terms of EC development sites for sale, the next EC site that has been launched for tender under the 2H2020 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme last November, and will be closing in May this year, is located at Tengah Drive. It is the first EC site in Tengah, adds Mak.

However, in the EC sub-market, buyers are genuine homeowners, not speculators, says PropNex’s Gafoor. “People are buying with a long-term view: those buying today have to wait another three to four years for the project to complete before getting their keys. Upon completion, they have to fulfil the MOP [minimum occupation period] of five years, which means, they won’t be able to sell the project until nine years later and that will be in 2030,” he reckons. “If they want to enjoy the full value of the EC and sell only 10 years after completion, when the EC is open to foreign buyers in the resale market, that will be in 2035.”

As such, Gafoor believes the buyers of Parc Central Residences are not worried about the possibility of cooling measures as “they have entered the market with a clear mind, and have bought something within their budget, and with a long-term horizon,” he adds.

Check out the latest listings near Parc Central Residences, Provence Residence, Tampines, Anchorvale Crescent, Sengkang, Sembawang