Boulevard of tycoons

When YTL Land & Development purchased the former Westwood Apartments in November 2007, it was at a record price at $2,525 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The record remained unbroken until the purchase of Hampton Court by Hong Kong-listed Swire Group’s property arm, Swire Properties. It paid $155 million for the former Hampton Court at Draycott Park, just off Ardmore Park, in January 2013. The purchase price for Hampton Court worked out to be $2,526 psf ppr.

A new benchmark price was set in June this year when Hong Kong-listed conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by Pansy Ho, daughter of Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho, paid $375.5 million, or $2,910 psf ppr, for the freehold Park House, located on the corner of Orchard Boulevard and Tomlinson Road.

Jeremy Lake, CBRE managing director of capital markets, brokered the sales of Park House and Hampton Court. He estimates the breakeven price for the new project at Park House site at $3,500 psf.

Dominic Lee, head of the luxury team at PropNex, reckons Shun Tak will launch a new project of about 170 units on the Park House site, and that selling prices are likely to be “north of $4,000 psf”.

Two months earlier in April, a, 61,600 sq ft site fronting Cusca den Road — situated between Park House and 3 Orchard By-The-Park — fetched $410 million in a government land sale (GLS) tender, which translated into $2,377 psf ppr. Luxury developer Simon Cheong of SC Global Developments jointly purchased the 99-year leasehold site with two Hong Kong-listed groups —New World Development and Far East Consortium International. It set a new record in terms of price psf ppr for 99-year leasehold sites.

The project is expected to be in line with SC Global’s new series of luxury projects — Petit Collectibles — featuring more petite sizes, which Cheong has defined as “offering living spaces with flexible functionality”.

The new luxury development on the Cuscaden Road GLS site is expected to offer about 220 units. Based on the price paid by the SC Global-led consortium for the site, Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International, estimates the breakeven price at $3,100 psf, and selling prices in the range of $3,500 to $3,700 psf.

PropNex’s Lee reckons, however, that the new project could even test the $4,000 psf level. After all, SC Global is known for setting new benchmarks in the luxury segment: At the 66-unit The Marq on Paterson Hill, a unit of more than 6,000 sq ft was sold for $31.4 million ($5,100 psf) in July 2007.

A new price threshold for luxury condos was reached when a 3,003 sq ft unit at The Marq was sold for $20.54 million ($6,840 psf) in November 2011. Meanwhile, at SC Global’s 34-unit Sculptura Ardmore, the super penthouse was sold for $60 million, or more than $6,000 psf, in August 2017.