Unit at VisionCrest for $1,874 psf

By Tay Hock Meng

/ The Edge Property |

December 25, 2015 9:00 AM SGT

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A 1,227 sq ft three-bedroom unit on the eighth floor of VisionCrest Residence, a high-end condo at Oxley Rise in prime district 9 changed hands for $2.3 million ($1,874 psf), according to a caveat lodged on Nov 9. The unit was purchased back in 2007 for $2.98 million ($2,428 psf). This means the price of the unit has suffered a 22.8% drop.

Prior to this transaction, another unit, a 926 sq ft two-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor of the same block was sold for $1.73 million ($1,869 psf) in October. The unit had fetched $1.75 million ($1,893 psf) back in 2007. The price difference was 1.26%.

The latest units are located in a premium block, according to Nicole Lim, district division director of ERA Realty. And at the peak of the market in 2007, units were sold at prices ranging from $2,300 to $2,500 psf, she says.

Lim is currently marketing a three-bedroom unit of a similar size that has a price tag of $2.59 million ($2,111 psf). However, the owner of the unit is reluctant to part with the unit at a price below $2,000 psf. The owner had paid $3 million for the unit back in 2007 and has declined offers of $1,800 psf, she adds. . The lower price of $1,874 psf could be due to the poor facing of the unit, which overlooks the next block, reckons Lim. “Potential buyers may have some concerns about privacy.”

While there have been on-going buyer enquiries for units at VisionCrest, actual transaction activity has been more muted compared to newer projects in the Mount Sophia area, located across the road and closer to Plaza Singapura and the Dhoby Gaut MRT interchange station, says Lim.

VisionCrest Residences has four 12-storey blocks with a total of 265 units. The freehold condo was completed in 2007 by developer Wing Tai Holdings. The residential blocks are also adjacent to the 12-storey office block, VisionCrest Commercial. In front of VisionCrest Residence is the House of Tan Yeok Nee, a house constructed in 1882 and gazetted a national monument. The property was sold in 2013 by ERC Holdings to Perennial Real Estate, controlled by Pua Seck Guan for just below $90 million.

When VisionCrest was first launched in 2003, prices ranged from $1,000 to $1,200 psf. And when it was completed in 2007, units were sold by the developer at prices ranging from $1,700 psf to a high of $2.654 psf. The highest price achieved at VisionCrest was for a 1,227 sq ft 10th floor unit that fetched $3.3 million ($2,700 psf) in January 2008. The first buyer had paid $2,500 psf for the unit in August 2007 before flipping it in a sub-sale.

VisionCrest has a wide mix of unit types from studios of 603 sq ft to two-bedroom units of 947 sq ft, and three-bedroom units of as large as 1,475 sq ft and penthouses of 1,528 sq ft to 2,131 sq ft.

However, it is not the only high-end condo that has seen prices correct late, especially for units that were purchased at the peak of the market in 2007 and 1Q2008. The Paterson, an 88-unit freehold condominium by Singapore Land which was completed in 2004, saw a similar downshift in price. This was seen in the transaction of a four-bedroom unit on the 21st floor that changed hands for $4.1 million ($1,822 psf), according to a caveat lodged on November 13. The price was a markdown of 18.8% from the $5.05 million ($2,245 psf) achieved for the unit at the peak of the market in 2007. The unit had sold for $2.89 million ($1,286 psf) in 2003 when the project was first launched.

According to Andy Tan, senior group director, Trillion Property Pte Ltd, the price of $4.1 million represents a good deal for the buyer, but less so for the owner. Tan had brokered the sale of a similar sized four-bedroom unit on the 20th floor that was sold last November for $4 million ($1,778 psf). He believes that the owner of the 21st floor unit may have sat on the original asking price of $5.05 million for a long while before succumbing to pressure and selling for the lower price of $4.1 million.

Apartment projects near Oxley Rise

Project Name	Tenure	Completion	Avg Price ($ psf)	Sales Volume	Avg Rent ($ psf pm)	Rental Volume	Rental Yield (%)
Orchard Court	99 years	Unknown	1,179	1	3.4	2	3.5
Suites At Orchard	99 years	2014	2,615	1	6.4	19	2.9
Visioncrest	Freehold	2007	1,919	5	6	46	3.8
One Oxley Rise	Freehold	2009	1,663	3	4.6	23	3.4

Source: URA, The Edge Property

Looking for apartments / condos at VisionCrest Residence and nearby projects? Click here

This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 705 (Nov 30, 2015) of The Edge Singapore.

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