Raising their game
SINGAPORE: The long-awaited rollout of Marina One Residences by M+S could boost sentiment in the market if the strong indication of interest translates into sales. Projects in other segments — such as UOL Group’s 70 St Patrick’s and Qingjian Realty’s executive condos — show developers upping the ante through greater product differentiation and savvy pricing.
Before leaving for a holiday in Europe with his wife, Mr Seah was contemplating whether to book one or two units at Marina One Residences.
The Singaporean was one of the first visitors to the showflat when it opened for preview on Sept 13.
“Very impressive” was his verdict in a text message.
The owner of a freight forwarding and logistics business, Seah, who is in his 50s, is also a seasoned property investor with multiple properties in the city-state.
He fits the profile of discerning buyers that Marina One Residences seems to be drawing.
“They are very astute, well-heeled and well-travelled, with some having invested overseas in other global cities.
They are generally people in their 40s and 50s,” says Kemmy Tan, chief operating officer (COO) of M+S, the developer and joint-venture company formed by the sovereign wealth funds of Malaysia and Singapore, Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings, with a 60% and 40% stake respectively.
The developer is offering a 10% early-bird discount for its one- to three-bedroom units.
Indication is that some buyers are considering buying more than one unit.
Therefore, M+S is offering an additional 1% discount for those who purchase at least three units.
“Most of them are looking to buy and hold for future capital appreciation,” says Tan.
Ong Choon Fah, COO of DTZ, agrees.
She adds that there were many enquiries about the project.
“These are mainly seasoned investors buying for investment, for their children or for their own use.
There has been quite a lot of interest from foreigners as well.” The foreigners are predominantly Asians, from Malaysia, Indonesia and mainland China.
Just as it did for the launch of DUO Residences, its 660-unit project on Ophir Road (which was launched last November and is 94% sold to date), M+S is doing a simultaneous launch of Marina One Residences in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore on Oct 11.
It will then embark on overseas road shows to Jakarta, Hong Kong and the first-tier cities of Beijing and Shanghai in China.
The four property agencies that were marketing DUO Residences — CBRE, DTZ, ERA and Knight Frank — are also marketing Marina One Residences.
‘In a league of its own’
The developer has paid a lot of attention to detail, according to DTZ’s Ong.
At the reception area is a glass floor with a map showing the exact location and orientation of Marina One relative to other landmarks in Marina Bay.
A mini-theatre has also been created, with a fly-through-video presentation of the entire project.
Property agents can meet clients at the spacious lounge, which is equipped with a coffee bar and barista.
While most developers generally have two or three showflats, Marina One Residences has four, depicting each of the unit types — from a typical oneto four-bedroom unit.
The apartments will be fitted out with luxury finishings and materials similar to those at projects at the very top end of the market.
Kitchen fittings include Poggenpohl cabinets and Miele appliances.
Bathrooms are full marble with Villeroy & Boch accessories and sanitaryware.
All the units will have quality marble flooring in the living and dining area, with genuine timber flooring in the bedrooms.
All units except the one-bedroom apartments will have private lift access.
There will be four lift cores serving 18 units on each floor, so there won’t be a “common corridor” effect that you see in some developments, notes Tan of M+S.
“It’s really in a league of its own,” says Lee Liat Yeang, a partner in Rodyk & Davidson’s Real Estate practice group, who had visited the Marina One Residences showflat the first weekend it opened.
“It sits in the heart of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, with comfortable access to four MRT stations in time to come.”
Well aware of the shifting sands and headwinds, developers are sharpening their game through greater product differentiation and astute pricing and by keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
“Besides location, sales have become very project-specific, as buyers are now more discerning and take a longer-term view,” says DTZ’s Ong.
Developers’ new home sales for the months of July and August were among the lowest this year, scraping in at a dismal 484 and 432 units respectively.
That’s because there have been hardly any new project launches, especially during the Chinese Hungry Ghost month.
September is expected to see a bounce in sales volume in the light of launches in the second half of the month, such as Keppel Land’s Highline Residences in Tiong Bahru, which reportedly saw a take-up rate of 80% of the 160 units released on Sept 13.
The average price of units in the 99-year leasehold condo was $1,900 psf.
Meanwhile, UOL Group’s 70 St Patrick’s saw close to 100 units snapped up on the first weekend of preview on Sept 20.
The freehold project was priced at an average of $1,630 psf (see story above).
In this current buyer’s market, well-located, well-priced and mass-market projects are expected to fare better, with high-end property to remain relatively soft for now, says Credit Suisse in its property report on Sept 16.
‘Priced to sell’
Marketing agents say Marina One Residences is “priced to sell”, with prices pegged to recent market transactions in the Marina Bay area.
For instance, at The Sail, the three most recent transactions in July and August ranged from $1,742 to $3,122 psf.
At Marina Bay Residences, transactions over the last two months were at $1,947 to $2,320 psf.
To differentiate itself, unit sizes at Marina One Residences are generally larger than typical units in the CBD and Marina Bay area.
One-bedroom units start from about 700 sq ft, and are priced from $1.4 million, or $1,900 to $3,100 psf.
A two-bedroom unit is 1,066 sq ft, which is larger than the average two-bedroom units in most new launches today.
The three-bedroom units are about 1,500 sq ft, while the four-bedroom units are 2,250 sq ft, and the latter are limited in number.
The units have dual views of the sea and Sentosa Cove from the living room and master bedroom, and are priced from $5.5 million.
There are only eight penthouses in the project, with four in each tower, and the price tags are upwards of $20 million.
The $7 billion Marina One Residences mixed-use development is designed by celebrated German architect Christoph Ingenhoven, whose first project in Singapore was the office tower at 71 Robinson Road.
Marina One has a Green Mark Platinum rating and comprises two identical 34-storey residential towers with 521 units each, two office towers with a total of one million sq ft of Grade A office space and 140,000 sq ft of retail space.
The project is connected to four MRT stations and, eventually, to four MRT lines.
“In the future, you can take the MRT from Marina One all the way to Malaysia,” says DTZ’s Ong.
The Marina One development is flanked by two large parks — the Marina Station Square and the Central Linear Park — and therefore its views on both fronts are protected.
At the heart of the development is a 65,000 sq ft park the size of a football field; this means units facing inwards will have views of greenery.
The project will have the same prestige factor as a residential address in London’s Hyde Park or New York’s Central Park.
M+S intends to release 521 units in the first tower for sale.
The units in the second tower will not be released until completion in 2016.
In the initial phase, 150 to 200 units have been offered for sale, but they are already oversubscribed, according to Tan.
Unlike listed developers or those with foreign ownership, M+S is not affected by the conditions of the Qualifying Certificate and is therefore not required to sell all the units in the project within two years of obtaining the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP).
“We are not pressured by any timeline,” says Tan.
“We believe in the intrinsic value of our product and our location.”
Marina One is located in Marina South, which borders the Greater Southern Waterfront district.
The district is three times the size of the Marina Bay area and will form a new extension of the CBD under the URA Master Plan 2014.
“Singapore continues to be a choice location for investors of luxury real estate,” says Tan.
“And that is why we have decided not to put up the other tower for sale until after obtaining the TOP.”
The second tower could either be offered for sale or held for long-term lease as corporate residences.
This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 646 (Oct 6) of The Edge Singapore.
Correction
The City & Country article on Marina One titled “Raising their game” in The Edge Singapore (Issue 646, Oct 6), should have read that the project “sits in the heart of Marina Bay financial district”, and not as stated.
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