Bukit Sembawang offers ‘stay first, pay later’ promotion at Skyline Residences
By Tan Chee Yuen
/ The Edge Property |
Bukit Sembawang appears to have taken a leaf out of CapitaLand’s “Stay-then-Pay” programme. In its launch of the “stay first, pay later” promotion for the remaining units at Skyline Residences, Bukit Sembawang is offering a 10% to 13% discount and a deferred payment scheme. Interested buyers need to pay only a 5% booking fee and another 15% eight weeks later upon exercising the option to purchase, as well as payment of stamp duty. The remaining 80% will be payable only a year later on June 30, 2017. DTZ and Knight Frank are the joint marketing agents for the balance units at Skyline Residences.
Since the scheme was launched on July 1, at least seven units at Skyline Residences have been sold. Only 30 units were still available as at July 5, according to agents. Buyers can move in three days after exercising the option but they are not allowed to rent or sub-let the units, the agents say.
The balance units at Skyline Residences are a mix of one- and three-bedroom units, as well as three-bedroom units with study. After the discounts, the 484 sq ft, one-bedroom units are priced from $964,000; 1,292 sq ft, three-bedroom units start from $2.145 million; and three-bedroom-plus-study-units begin at $2.42 million. Three penthouses are also available for sale under this scheme. These are four- and five-bedroom penthouses measuring 3,165 to 3,681 sq ft, and priced from $5.4 million to $6.3 million.
The 283-unit Skyline Residences was completed in 2015 and received its certificate of statutory completion in April 2016.
Bukit Sembawang is able to offer the scheme for Skyline Residences as the project obtained Temporary Occupation Permit in October 2015 and Certificate of Statutory Completion in April this year. Under the conditions of the Qualifying Certificate, Bukit Sembawang would have to sell all the units at Skyline Residences within two years of TOP, that is, by October 2017.
The freehold Skyline Residences is located in Telok Blangah and comprises three 24-storey towers with a total of 283 units. When it was launched in July 2011, average prices were $1,800 to $1,900 psf.
According to property agents, Bukit Sembawang was probably motivated to adopt a similar discount and deferred payment strategy for Skyline Residences following CapitaLand’s success with its “Stay-then-Pay” programme for the remaining units at the 1,715-unit d’Leedon on Farrer Road and the 1,040-unit The Interlace on Depot Road.
CapitaLand’s “Stay-then-Pay” programme kicked off on June 13 with a 15% discount and a deferred payment scheme, where Singaporean and Permanent Residents need to pay only a 10% down payment and the remaining 90% a year later. Meanwhile, foreign buyers pay a 15% down payment and 85% a year later. CapitaLand had sold 50 units at d’Leedon and 30 units at The Interlace.
Skyline Residences is located just 1.2km from The Interlace. While the former is freehold, and the latter is 99- year leasehold, potential buyers still compared the two projects in terms of absolute prices, point out property agents.
After the 10% to 13% price discount for the remaining units at Skyline Residences, three-bedroom units and those with an additional study are priced from $1,640 to $1,660 psf, while the penthouses have an average price of $1,716 psf. In terms of price psf, Skyline Residences is on a par with those of 99-year leasehold launches in the city fringe. For example, units at Principal Garden on Prince Charles Crescent were recently sold at $1,591 to $1,737 psf. At Highline Residences in Tiong Bahru, units sold recently were priced at $1,662 to $1,681 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis from June 21 to 28.
Even prior to the launch of the “Stay first, pay later” promotion on July 1, however, caveats lodged with URA Realis in the week of June 21 to 28 indicate that the developer had already adjusted prices at Skyline Residences to move the balance units. For instance, a 484 sq ft, one-bedroom unit on the 16th floor was sold for $950,000 ($1,961 psf), according to a caveat lodged on June 21. Another similar-sized one-bedroom unit on the 17th floor fetched $1 million ($2,064 psf) a month before, according to a caveat on May 3.
A caveat lodged on June 21 shows a 1,292 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the 20th floor was sold for $2.28 million ($1,765 psf); similar-sized units were sold in April and May at $1,833 to $1,843 psf. The transactions of the three-bedroom- plus-study units reflect a similar trend.
The latest transaction at Skyline Residences was that of a 1,475 sq ft, three-bedroom-plus-study unit on the 14th floor that fetched $2.52 million ($1,705 psf), according to a caveat lodged on June 24. In late May, an identical unit located on the 18th floor was sold for $2.8 million ($1,899 psf).
This article appeared in the The Edge Property pullout of Issue 736 (July 11, 2016) of The Edge Singapore.
Follow Us
Follow our channels to receive property news updates 24/7 round the clock.
EdgeProp Telegram
EdgeProp FacebookSubscribe to our newsletter
Search Articles