SINGAPORE(EDGEPROP) - Singapore-listed property developer CapitaLand Ltd has won the Top Developer Award at the the annual EdgeProp Excellence Awards.
CapitaLand also took home awards for One Pearl Bank, which won the Top Development, Design Excellence and Landscape Excellence Awards. Its landed housing project, Victoria Park Villas, clinched the Top Development Award. Sengkang Grand Residences, an integrated development that is jointly developed by CapitaLand and City Developments, won the Top Development and Innovation Excellence Awards in the Uncompleted Residential Project category.
Chew Peet Mun, CapitaLand’s managing director of workspace and residential, attributes the company’s success to its experienced residential development team, as well as project partners and consultants. “In November 2020, CapitaLand will mark 20 years since its listing, and throughout these years CapitaLand remains firmly committed to building well-designed, sustainable and accessible homes that make Singapore a better place to live in,” he says.
CapitaLand’s strength as a successful property developer comes from its tight-knit core of designers, project developers and marketing teams that make up the residential team, says Chew. “They have grown together with the company and weathered the market’s volatility and challenges collectively over many years,” he says.
The strength of its people has contributed to CapitaLand’s steady performance over the past few months, even as the entire real estate industry has been negatively impacted by the uncertainty caused by Covid-19, says Chew. He adds that the pandemic has caused more home buyers to emphasise home design and overall liveability when selecting a home.
In this way, credible property awards help consumers sieve out important information and shortlist quality developments with attributes that are most important to them, Chew says. “In the current pandemic, information has become even more important to home buyers as they need to seek new knowledge with respect to home designs and liveability possibilities to cope with the new normal,” he says.
The pandemic could result in structural changes in the way people live, work and socialise in Singapore in the future, and property developers need to future-proof their residential projects by putting in extra effort to truly understand the evolving needs of homeowners, says Chew. “We need to pay attention to changing lifestyles. It’s not just about how people live, but also how they work and play,” he says.
CapitaLand says it is exploring new ways to enhance its home designs by creating a more conducive environment for home buyers to work remotely in. “New homes should be equipped with spaces that have the flexibility to be converted into home offices,” says Chew. This flexibility could come from features such as the provision of workspaces that can be screened off for acoustic privacy, or wall surfaces that fit digital screens for conferencing, and such home features will make a positive difference to the overall quality of working from home, says CapitaLand.
Personal wellness and a growing affinity with nature among homeowners has led to strong demand for well-designed greenery and landscaping. CapitaLand’s leading experience in this area can be seen in One Pearl Bank, which features biophilic designs that aim to improve health and personal well-being through nature, on top of recreational and lifestyle amenities that offer a respite from work routines, says Chew.
“We are exploring how to incorporate even more transformable space and furniture within our apartments to maximise space efficiency and flexibility, while allowing residents to have a clear demarcation between personal and work life,” he says. CapitaLand also says it will look to provide enhanced data infrastructure to support future 5G technologies, as well as increase bandwidth capabilities in its projects to support future connectivity for work, study and leisure.
Widespread WFH (work from home) arrangements have also boosted the appeal of suburban integrated developments such as Sengkang Grand Residences. The development is beside Buangkok MRT Station on the North East Line, and comprises a bus interchange, hawker centre, community club, retail mall and a 680-unit residential component.
“It is not just about work from home. We believe the appeal of well-designed integrated developments like Sengkang Grand will garner more interest from home buyers seeking conveniences that meet the lifestyle needs of themselves and their families, right at their doorstep,” says Chew.
Sengkang Grand Residences resonated well with buyers when the development was launched in November 2019, and sold 216 units over the opening weekend. The 774-unit One Pearl Bank was also well-received during its opening weekend in July last year, moving about 160 units. To date, both projects are more than 40% sold, and Chew expects the sales momentum to hold steady going forward.
“The overall private property market this year has proven to be resilient, with buyers still keen on good value propositions despite the pandemic and economic uncertainties. Many investors are taking a long-term view and are willing to step into the market, especially when they see attractive entry prices,” says Chew.
CapitaLand has also witnessed an encouraging increase in visitors and sales at both One Pearl Bank and Sengkang Grand Residences since sales galleries were reopened for viewings by appointment in June. CapitaLand decided to release additional units from both developments for sale to meet the increase in demand, says Chew.
But he expects overall demand for new private residential homes to moderate in the coming months as the impact of the economic slowdown and market uncertainty set in, and that pent-up local demand will be progressively absorbed by the market. CapitaLand says it is looking forward to the gradual reopening of international borders and measured recovery in foreign demand.
Looking ahead, CapitaLand has once again partnered City Developments to redevelop the former Liang Court site in Clarke Quay into a new integrated development comprising two residential towers housing 700 apartments, a commercial component, a new hotel and a serviced residence. The developer says it is targeting this riverfront development to be launchready next year.
“Our residential team constantly aims to challenge themselves to better understand the lifestyles and aspirations of home buyers in order to develop new ideas, and create bespoke experiences and the right products for them,” says Chew.
Check out the latest listings near: One Pearl Bank, Victoria Park Villas, Sengkang Grand Residences, Buangkok MRT Station