AWARDS: Forest Woods — Location, price and positioning matter

By Angela Teo

/ EdgeProp |

October 30, 2017 8:20 AM SGT

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The scale model of Forest Woods at its showflat, which is strategically located beside nex mall

When Forest Woods was first previewed on Sept 24 last year, there were queues at the sales gallery for the two weekends prior to the actual launch on Oct 8. In fact, people had to queue for up to 15 minutes just to enter the sales gallery, and more than 4,500 groups were registered over the two weekends.

More than 800 cheques were received as expressions of interest prior to the sales weekend. Owing to overwhelming demand, units had to be sold by balloting on the first day, and a total of 337 units, or 65% of the 519 units in the private condo, were sold at an average price of $1,400 psf as at 5pm on Oct 8.

Jointly developed by City Developments (CDL), Hong Leong Holdings and TID Pte Ltd, Forest Woods emerged as one of the top-selling projects in 2016. The project is now 90% sold.

Source: City Developments Limited

A total of 337 units, or 65% of the project, were sold as at 5pm on launch day

“A year ago, when Forest Woods was launched in 4Q2016, the URA private property price index was still pointing downwards and the mood in the property market was still cautious, as the prognosis for the local and global economy was still relatively bleak on account of Brexit and the US elections,” recounts Tan Tiong Cheng, president of Knight Frank Asia Pacific and one of the judges for the inaugural EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2017. “However, Forest Woods attracted the attention of potential buyers, given its location near nex mall and the Serangoon MRT interchange station.”

More importantly, Forest Woods had the right unit mix, with just over half made up of one- and two-bedroom apartments and priced under $1 million, which is palatable to both owner-occupiers and investors, notes Tan. “When it comes to marketing, timing is important, and in terms of timing, it was nearly perfect.”

As a result, Forest Woods walked away with the Marketing Excellence Award on the evening of Oct 23.

Sherman Kwek, CEO-designate of CDL attributes the strong sales at Forest Woods to the fact that there has been no new launch at Serangoon Central area over the last few years. As a result, Forest Woods was “a highly anticipated project that came across as a compelling purchase for new homebuyers, upgraders and investors”.

Absolute prices that started at $688,000 for a one-bedroom unit, $830,000 for a two-bedroom unit, $1.1 million for a three-bedroom unit and $1.65 million for a four-bedroom unit proved to be a compelling proposition for new homebuyers, upgraders and investors. [“The project] offers great value at an attractive price,” Kwek says. About 88% of the buyers are Singaporeans, with the remainder comprising permanent residents and foreigners, including those from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Forest Woods, on Lorong Lew Lian, is in a mature housing estate. It is a mere five-minute walk to the Serangoon MRT interchange, bus interchange and nex mall. It is also near amenities, expressways and many schools.

“The plethora of facilities [at the development proved to be] immensely popular with buyers and was a factor in their purchase decision,” says Kwek. There are more than 60 facilities, including a three-level clubhouse with 24-hour gymnasium, a 150m Adventure Zone, a 50m pool, and a Welcome Lobby with a WiFi lounge. Residents also have access to fee-based services such as dry-cleaning and laundry, housekeeping, private chef, party and event management, personal trainers and pet care.

At the Forest Woods sales gallery, “an experiential room” was created to allow homebuyers to engage with some of the smart home features that are provided in the development. To facilitate the cross-selling of Forest Woods and CDL’s other project nearby, The Venue Residences and Shoppes, on Upper Serangoon Road, an interactive touchscreen kiosk was set up to enable homebuyers to get more information about the projects.