Over the week of Sept 18 to 25, new-home sales dominated transactions. This has been evident for much of 3Q2018. In fact, the three best-selling projects in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), or city fringe, in 3Q2018 were Park Colonial, Stirling Residences and The Tre Ver (see table).
Based on transactions nearing end-September, it looks like buying momentum in these three projects have continued.
At Stirling Residences, 435 units out of 530 released have been sold as at Oct 2, according to Chng Chee Beow, executive director at Logan Property. Located on Stirling Road and within a short walk to the Queenstown MRT station, Stirling Residences has a total of 1,259 units and is a 51:49 joint venture between Logan Property and Nanshan Group.
The latest round of property cooling measures on July 6 have made homebuyers “extra cautious”, Chng says. “Despite this, we are very encouraged by the healthy sales at Stirling Residences.”
At Park Colonial, located on Woodleigh Lane and at the doorstep of the Woodleigh MRT station, 500 units have been snapped up, based on caveats lodged as at Sept 23. This means the 805-unit project is 62% sold. It is developed jointly by Chip Eng Seng Corp’s property development arm, CEL Development, Heeton Holdings and KSH Holdings.
While both Stirling Residences and Park Colonial were launched on the eve of the property cooling measures, The Tre Ver was launched in August. As at Sept 23, 185 units had been sold. The 729-unit development, which fronts the Kallang River, is jointly developed by UOL Group and Singapore Land.
In 3Q2018, prices for non-landed homes in the RCR retreated 0.8%, according to the URA price index. Pricing was driven mainly by newhome sales, which contributed 74% of transactions in the RCR, notes Ong Teck Hui, JLL national director of research and consultancy. More RCR projects were launched in 3Q2018 and at lower prices, he adds.
The three top-selling projects in 2Q2018 were: The Verandah Residences, Margaret Ville and Park Place Residences. They were launched at median prices of more than $1,800 psf, higher than those of projects launched in 3Q2018 (see table). Overall, the median price of new launches in 2Q2018 was $1,885 psf compared with $1,706 psf in 3Q2018, he adds.
Meanwhile, more than 300 units at Jadescape on Shunfu Road were sold over the first weekend of its launch (Sept 22 and 23) at an average price of $1,658 psf, according to caveats lodged. The 1,206-unit private condo by Qingjian Realty is a redevelopment of the former Shunfu Ville, at the junction of Marymount Road and Shunfu Road.
On the weekend of Sept 29 and 30, Oxley Holdings launched the 215-unit Mayfair Gardens. At least 88 units had been sold as at Oct 2, which means the project is 41% sold. The average price of units sold was $1,900 psf.
“Developers are still going ahead with their launches as planned,” says Eugene Lim, ERA key executive officer. “We have not seen significant discounts being offered, as most developers have strong holding power.”