Perfect Ten

Sim Lian Group, a developer, has sold almost half (187 of 386) of The Botany at Dairy Farm‘s 386 units on its first day of launch on Saturday. Prices averaged $2,070 for each square foot.

Its average sale price of $2.070 per square foot is slightly less than the $2.088 per square feet of non-landed private homes sold in January by OCR.

The project is located near Dairy Farm Nature Park in District 23 and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It is also close to Dairy Farm Mall which is under construction.

Sim Liam announced on Sunday that all 36 units of the project with one bedroom and 93 percent of its 104 units with two bedrooms were sold. Over 20 per cent were also sold of the 175 units with three bedrooms, 57 units with four bedrooms and 14 units that have five bedrooms.

Sim Lian stated that Singaporeans made 85 per cent all buyers. Foreign buyers and permanent residents accounted for the remaining 15 per cent. These included buyers from Germany, Switzerland, and other parts in Asia.

Investors were attracted to one-bedroom units due to the high rental demand of the German European School, located right next door. Owner-occupiers chose the area because of its tranquility and close proximity to nature.

The greater proportion of small units sold shows that there is still a demand for investment in the market. Some owner-occupiers, who are more interested in larger units, may need to take longer to assess their finances and commit to the purchase due to the high interest rate.

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The sales of new homes for private buyers were down in January. This was due to the gloomier outlook of the economy, higher interest rates, and inflation. The number booked for that month dropped by almost 43 per cent, from 684 units in January 2022.

Analysts believe that the transaction volume may increase with new launches expected in 2023. This could attract people who are on the fence, but housing affordability still remains a problem.

Launches of the 275-unit Blossoms by The Park in One-North, Pinetree Hill (520 units) and the 598 unit Lentor Hills Residences will take place within the next few months.

Two major projects are also in the works in the Katong region, the Tembusu Grand (638 units) and The Continuum (816 units).

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/48-of-the-botany-at-dairy-farm-sold-on-launch-day

In an effort to sell its remaining units by a crucial deadline, a freehold condominium in Bukit Timah has announced a discount of up to $110,000 on selected units.

Royalgreen advertised “Full Absorption (100%) BSD”, and another advertisement said “Up To $110,000 Discount for Select Condo Units”. District 10 freehold starting at $2,5xx per square foot.

Royalgreen is just one of many private residential projects that are nearing their five-year deadline for selling all units in this year. The penalty for not meeting the deadline can be severe, so some developers prefer to sell their remaining units on a discounted price rather than risk the penalty.

 Developers will have to pay additional stamp duty of 35 percent on the residential site purchase price, up from 25 percent previously, on top of the non-remittable 5 percent. The 35 percent ABSD will be refunded only if the developer sells all of their units within 5 years.

The promotion, which circulated on WhatsApp for certain Royalgreen units on February 18, came four days after Budget 2023 increased the marginal BSD for more expensive residential and non-residential properties.

According to the promotion, developer Allgreen Properties offers a $65,000 BSD plus a $45,000 discount on furniture packages for each of eight condominium units in selected stacks. Five other units will receive a $70,000 BSD each.

The promotion stated that the units selected (ranging from 710 to 721 square feet) are priced between $2,592 and $2,700 per square foot (psf).

The agents say this property is a great deal, based solely on price. Other prime district properties are selling for an average of $3,000 per square foot and $2,900 per square foot, while city fringe transactions are currently at $2,560 per sq. ft.

The value proposition for prime district properties is becoming more attractive, as the gap in price between prime districts and other regions has shrunk significantly. PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor stated this at a seminar on property organised by The Business Times in February.

According to WhatsApp promotional ads, Hyll on Holland offers a $10,000-$20,000 discount on selected two-bedders. Juniper Hill, in Bukit Timah, has offered a 5% discount and an $88,000 Fortune Hong Bao discount on selected units.

Wong Xian Yang said that prices in the central core region, which is more popular among foreign buyers, rose at a slower rate than those on the fringes and suburbs of the city in recent years. This was partly due to the cooling measures taken in July 2018 as well as December 2021.

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PropNex cited Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data for the fourth quarter 2022. This compares to 6,674 unfinished units on the city fringe, and 3,672 in the suburbs.

PropNex reported that median prices for prime district properties increased by 3.9 percent to $2.806 per square foot in 2022, from $2.700 per square foot in 2019. Median prices at the city fringe rose 23.6 percent to $2.242 per sq.ft. from $1.814 per sq.ft. over the same time period. Median suburban prices rose 39.7% to $2,004 per square foot in 2022, up from $1,434 in 2019.

Mr Timothy Oh (34), is one of the many people who recently bought a property in a prestigious district.

He had also rushed to buy his property before the BSD was raised on the following day.

He said that the unit in the prime district was priced at around $1.86m, or $2,500 per square foot, which is a bargain when compared to some of the new launches on the city fringe, where prices can reach as high as $2.600 psf and $2.700 psf.

Mr Oh, a single man who runs a marketing company and an event promotion agency in Taiwan, revealed that he was considering another two-bedroom apartment at Haus on Handy in the Dhoby Ghaut district, priced at $1.82m after a discount exceeding $100,000. He expects to receive his temporary occupation permit (TOP), in July 2023. When a residential project receives its TOP, the development is ready to move in immediately.

He stated that he chose One Bernam because he was able to make payments in stages through a $1.3 Million bank loan. This option wasn’t available for the Haus on Handy unit, which had been largely finished.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/district-10-freehold-condo-offers-discounts-to-offload-stock-before-absd-deadline