GEIS-新闻详情

53% of units sold at first executive condo launch of 2024

2024-01-28 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – The first executive condominium (EC) launched this year saw more than half of the available units sold over the weekend, with analysts offering mixed assessments of the take-up.

Some said the 53 per cent of units sold at Lumina Grand, launched in Jan 27, shows healthy demand for ECs, while one analyst noted that proportion sold has dropped from the highs of the previous years despite favourable conditions.

City Developments Limited (CDL), developer of the Bukit Batok project, said in a media release that 269 out of 512 units had been sold as at noon on Jan 28, with the three-bedroom premium and four-bedroom units the most popular.

Lumina Grand units are priced from $1.34 million for a three-bedroom to $1.39 million for a three-bedroom premium and $1.63 million for a four-bedroom. A five-bedroom unit at the EC is priced at $2.1 million.

The average launch price was $1,464 per sq ft, with an additional 3 per cent applied to units sold under the deferred payment scheme.

CDL group chief executive officer Sherman Kwek, in a statement, said: “The strong take-up rate for Lumina Grand reflects the keen interest among first-time buyers and HDB upgraders for well located and thoughtfully designed properties.”

In the statement, the property giant noted that only 30 per cent of ECs can be allocated to second-time buyers during the initial launch under current regulations, and that this quota had been reached for Lumina Grand.

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Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip said the demand from second-time buyers was “very strong”.

He noted that the split between first-time and second-time buyers was 43 per cent and 57 per cent.

ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu said there was sizeable pent-up demand from qualified buyers for the project as it is likely to be the only EC launch this year.

Mr Chu noted that there is a price gap of 44 per cent between an EC and a newly launched suburban private condominium located outside the central region. This is up from the gap of 29 per cent in 2019, making ECs an attractive option, he added.

He said astute home buyers are also drawn to the potential for ECs to be sold at private property prices, adding that EC owners typically make a gross profit of between $300,000 and $450,000.

Based on EC projects completed since 2015, there were only three unprofitable transactions, he said.

Propnex CEO Ismail Gafoor, meanwhile, said there is pent-up demand for ECs as there was a limited number of unsold ECs in the area. He cited the nearby Altura development being 89 per cent sold as at Jan 20.

“Furthermore, (with the project) being located near the upcoming Tengah new town, where plenty of new HDB flats are being built, some EC buyers may see it as a potential exit plan in the future, by selling their EC units to HDB upgraders eventually,” said Mr Ismail.

However, Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of Mogul.sg, observed that the take-up rates of the most-recent EC project launches have been slipping gradually, with Lumina Grand the lowest among four projects.