24-05-2014, 09:04 AM
INVEST
Buyers snap up Panorama condo units
Success of relaunch at Ang Mo Kio a matter of pricing it right, say analysts
Published on May 24, 2014 1:24 AM
By Melissa Tan
BUYERS snapped up scores of units at the relaunch of The Panorama condominium in Ang Mo Kio yesterday after the developer slashed prices by 12 per cent.
The success of this relaunch, after a lacklustre initial launch in January, was down to getting the pricing right, analysts said.
Wheelock Properties put up 95 units at the 698-year leasehold project for balloting yesterday.
Out of that, 80 to 85 were sold yesterday as at 7.30pm, said Mr Tan Tee Khoon, executive director of residential services at real estate agency Knight Frank which is marketing the project. "This burst of energy that came into the showflat is healthy," he said.
No sales breakdown was available but agents said the two-bedroom and one-bedroom units were the most popular. Prices for the smallest one-bedder, at 431 sq ft, started from $564,080 to $629,200 according to a price list obtained by The Straits Times. This works out to about $1,309 to $1,460 per sq ft (psf) which was the highest psf price on the list.
Marketing agents had previously said that the 431 sq ft unit prices would start from $565,000, a two-bedder from $820,000 and a three-bedder from $1,175,000.
The cheapest psf price listed was $1,127 psf for a 775 sq ft two-bedder plus study, which translates to slightly over $873,000 in total.
Analysts said the project's new pricing was attractive, given its location in a part of Ang Mo Kio more associated with landed housing. OrangeTee research head Christine Li said: "It has a more exclusive feel and is a good location for home buyers and investors... Once they priced it right, people who were waiting on the sidelines saw their opportunity."
The project was originally supposed to reopen for sales on May 11, but the developer decided to open the showflat just for preview instead that day.
The number of units snapped up yesterday dwarfed the project's total sales since its initial launch in January this year.
Wheelock had moved 58 units in January at a median price of $1,343 per sq ft - just 8 per cent of the 698 units available. It had sold only 56 units all in by the end of April, going by the latest available URA data, indicating that some units were returned by buyers. The slow take-up had prompted Wheelock to write off $110 million for the project, which sent it into the red for the three months to Dec 31 last year.
Wheelock had paid $550 million for the land in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, which works out to $790 psf per plot ratio (ppr) for the nearly 1.85ha site - far higher than the $560 and $650 psf ppr analysts had expected.
Analysts said the success of The Panorama's relaunch could also prompt more relaunches by other developers. At least eight projects on the market here have moved less than 10 per cent of their units, and some none at all, according to a report by HSR earlier this week.
melissat@sph.com.sg
Buyers snap up Panorama condo units
Success of relaunch at Ang Mo Kio a matter of pricing it right, say analysts
Published on May 24, 2014 1:24 AM
By Melissa Tan
BUYERS snapped up scores of units at the relaunch of The Panorama condominium in Ang Mo Kio yesterday after the developer slashed prices by 12 per cent.
The success of this relaunch, after a lacklustre initial launch in January, was down to getting the pricing right, analysts said.
Wheelock Properties put up 95 units at the 698-year leasehold project for balloting yesterday.
Out of that, 80 to 85 were sold yesterday as at 7.30pm, said Mr Tan Tee Khoon, executive director of residential services at real estate agency Knight Frank which is marketing the project. "This burst of energy that came into the showflat is healthy," he said.
No sales breakdown was available but agents said the two-bedroom and one-bedroom units were the most popular. Prices for the smallest one-bedder, at 431 sq ft, started from $564,080 to $629,200 according to a price list obtained by The Straits Times. This works out to about $1,309 to $1,460 per sq ft (psf) which was the highest psf price on the list.
Marketing agents had previously said that the 431 sq ft unit prices would start from $565,000, a two-bedder from $820,000 and a three-bedder from $1,175,000.
The cheapest psf price listed was $1,127 psf for a 775 sq ft two-bedder plus study, which translates to slightly over $873,000 in total.
Analysts said the project's new pricing was attractive, given its location in a part of Ang Mo Kio more associated with landed housing. OrangeTee research head Christine Li said: "It has a more exclusive feel and is a good location for home buyers and investors... Once they priced it right, people who were waiting on the sidelines saw their opportunity."
The project was originally supposed to reopen for sales on May 11, but the developer decided to open the showflat just for preview instead that day.
The number of units snapped up yesterday dwarfed the project's total sales since its initial launch in January this year.
Wheelock had moved 58 units in January at a median price of $1,343 per sq ft - just 8 per cent of the 698 units available. It had sold only 56 units all in by the end of April, going by the latest available URA data, indicating that some units were returned by buyers. The slow take-up had prompted Wheelock to write off $110 million for the project, which sent it into the red for the three months to Dec 31 last year.
Wheelock had paid $550 million for the land in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, which works out to $790 psf per plot ratio (ppr) for the nearly 1.85ha site - far higher than the $560 and $650 psf ppr analysts had expected.
Analysts said the success of The Panorama's relaunch could also prompt more relaunches by other developers. At least eight projects on the market here have moved less than 10 per cent of their units, and some none at all, according to a report by HSR earlier this week.
melissat@sph.com.sg
