Home sales pipe down as buyers turn more guarded

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Business Times - 20 Sep 2010

Home sales pipe down as buyers turn more guarded


Effects of cooling measures spreading to high-end segment

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Private residential sales appear to have been much quieter last week as the buzz created in the preceding week, when NV Residences was released, ebbed.

The government's August 30 cooling measures were expected by analysts to affect mostly the HDB resale and entry-level private condo markets, but could be causing some buyers in the high-end segment to be more guarded as well, gauging by the response to Twin Peaks' official launch yesterday, marked by the start of its ad campaign.

Overseas Union Enterprise, the project's developer, is understood to have sold about half of the 70 units it has released so far of the 99-year leasehold condo at Leonie Hill Road.

While OUE has been previewing the project for a few weeks, the bulk of the options are said to have been issued over the weekend. The average price is about $2,870 psf. Prices start from about $1.5 million for a one-bedroom unit of 550 sq ft.

The buyers were mostly Singaporeans and OUE is also said to have garnered strong interest from a further 16 or 17 potential buyers who need time, perhaps to do a quick check with their bankers.

Market watchers reckon OUE is probably eyeing a further recovery in high-end residential prices before releasing more units in its 462-unit project.

About 60 per cent of the units in the project are one bedders; the rest comprise two and three bedders. OUE is selling the units on a fully-furnished basis.

Over in Pasir Ris, City Developments has sold about 50 units of NV Residences since last Thursday, when it reopened the project's showflat - a slower pace compared with the 250 units sold in the preceding week, when the project was released.

As of 5 pm yesterday, the developer had sold 300 out of 350 units released of the 642-unit, 99-year leasehold condo in Pasir Ris. 'Given today's market conditions, we are very happy with the continued good response. We believe the sales momentum will continue based on the interest as shown by the crowds at our showflat,' CDL's spokeswoman said.

Singaporeans make up about 80 per cent of buyers at NV Residences, she added.

CDL reopened the NV Residences showflat last Thursday, followed by an official launch - marked by the start of an advertising campaign - on Saturday last week.

At NV Residences' preview on Sept 8, 160 out of 200 units released were transacted. CDL sold a further 90 units over the rest of that week, which included a holiday-extended weekend.

CDL initially priced its project at $830 psf on average but later raised prices marginally by 1-2 per cent.

Fellow residential property giant Far East Organization sold 32 units for the whole of last week, unchanged from the preceding week.

The sales came from a spread of the developer's various projects on the market - including Centro Residences in Ang Mo Kio and Floridian in the Bukit Timah area (with sales of five units each), The Greenwich in Seletar Hills area, Silversea in the Amber Road locale, Adria at Derbyshire Road, Vista Residences at Jalan Datoh in the Balestier/Thomson Road area, Hillvista in the Hillview location and Waterfront Gold at Bedok Reservoir.

Far East also sold units at Jardin in the Jalan Anak Bukit/Dunearn Road area, The Shore Residences at Amber Road and The Sound at East Coast Road last week.

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