SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Today marked the launch of The Linq @ Beauty World, located at Upper Bukit Timah Road. By 6pm this evening, 115 out of a 120 residential units in the integrated, mixed-use development were sold. This makes the project 96% sold at an average price in the $2,150 to $2,200 psf.
“The Linq almost sold out on the first day of sales,” says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Group. “This makes it the best-selling project in 2020 by percentage of units sold. Many buyers have been eagerly waiting for the launch since the en bloc sale in 2017.” Huttons Asia and PropNex are the joint marketing agents for the freehold project.
Jeryl Sing, general manager of BBR Holdings, the developer of The Linq, attributes the strong first-day sales to the reasonable pricing of the project, the freehold tenure and the fact that it's a mixed-use development with a direct link to the Beauty World MRT station. It will also be connected to the future mixed-use development at the integrated transport hub as well as the new Bukit Timah Community Building. “We are very happy with the good turnout, and that the buyers were able to get the units that they want,” says Sing.
The launch was carried out using Showsuite’s digital booking platform. It was conducted “very smoothly and efficiently across three physical locations” - The Linq sales gallery as well as the offices of the joint marketing agencies Huttons and PropNex, says Karamjit Singh, CEO of Showsuite Consultancy. “This is in line with the industry’s move towards embracing technology and the government’s call to do so, while maintaining safe distancing. This model of decentralising project launches using technology look set to be the default mode now.”
One-bedroom units from 431 sq ft and priced above $990,000 make up only 15 units in the development; and they were among the first to be fully taken up. All 45 two-bedroom units, starting from 549 sq ft, and priced from $1.2 million sq ft, have also been fully sold. Even the four-bedroom units of 1,346 sq ft are sold out. They make up 15 units and are priced from $2.7 million.
Three-bedroom and three-bedroom premium units with sizes ranging from 797 sq ft and 958 sq ft, make up 45 units in the project. Only a handful of these units are still available. Prices start from $1.6 million.
“It’s definitely a record performance,” says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex. “For sure, it’s only 120 units but to close the sales in a single day instead of over a weekend, is an outstanding performance, given the current market conditions – the pandemic and stricter rules on the reissue of the OTP [options to purchase].”
According to Gafoor, the price is attractive, at just below $2,200 psf, given the 20% premium that people are willing to pay for a freehold property relative to a 99-yer leasehold in the same location (District 21), and the premium for an integrated development.
Besides the pricing and the locational attributes of The Linq, Alan Cheong, head of research at Savills Singapore says, the strong sales is also proof that “Singaporeans’ love for real estate overrides that of other investments”.
Check out the latest listings near The Linq, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Bukit Timah Community Building, Beauty World MRT station