Crowd at Watten House (Photo: UOL Group)
Singapore-listed UOL Group and Singapore Land Group (SingLand) announced that the joint venture partners had sold 102 (57%) out of 180 units on the first day of Watten House's private preview on Nov 18. The average price of the freehold condo on Shelford Road in prime district 11 was $3,230 psf.
"Watten House has ended the year well for UOL and SingLand," comments UOL Group CEO Liam Wee Sin. The new luxury development sits on a 220,241 sq ft site.
Units sold included three of eight penthouses in the development, says Anson Lim, UOL general manager (residential marketing). According to Lim, 96% of the 102 buyers were Singaporeans and permanent residents, purchasing for owner occupation and investment.
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Lim attributes the strong sales to the site's "rarity and potential upside due to Watten House's location in a predominantly Good Class Bungalow locale with nearby renowned schools and lifestyle amenities".
Another draw was the design of the project, notes Liam. "Our design concept is of a palatial home characterised by an Asian touch, with vernacular roofs and elegant proportions," he says.
Watten House is a redevelopment of the former Watten Estate Condo, which UOL and SingLand purchased en bloc for $550.8 million in October 2021.
“Majority of the buyers were drawn to the project’s freehold tenure," says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. "Due to its relative scarcity, freehold properties are sought after for legacy reasons. Currently, just 34% of existing new projects across Singapore are freehold. Over the past two years, prices of freehold properties in prime districts grew four times faster than leasehold properties. This indicates a preference amongst prime location homebuyers for freehold properties in the post-Covid property upswing.”
"Unlike other launches, there were no one or two-bedders at Watten House," says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex. Prices for the three-bedders start from around $3 million, from over $5 million for the four-bedders and $7.4 million for the five-bedders. "The take-up rate is highly commendable, considering it is a luxe project with premium positioning, larger unit types, and a higher price quantum," he adds.
UOL will close Watten House's show flats and sales gallery following the private preview this weekend (Nov 18-19), with the public launch held next year.
Read also: Private home prices up 1.5% q-o-q in 1Q2024, transactions down 20%: URA flash
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