Strong weekend sales for fresh projects

This week saw high sales turnover rates for a number of condo projects.

Frasers Centrepoint sold 302 of its 330 units at the Woodleigh Close project. The units were sold at $790 per sq .ft. on average. According to Lim Ee Seng, chief executive of the company, majority of the buyers were Singaporeans and only 3% were foreigners and permanent residents.  

Seng was surprised by the strong demand, which he attributed to the improvement of the market sentiments and competitive, project-specific attributes. He said that the strategic location and affordability were the major selling points of the condo. The 99-year leasehold property was located near Potong Pasir MRT station and the future Woodleigh MRT station in the North-East Line. The developer changed its small to big flats ratio from 60:40 to 40:60 and slightly reduced the size of bigger units. With these adjustments, it was able to add 30 more units.

About 60% of the units were allotted for studios and two-bedder spaces. The price per square foot for one-bedders was quite higher, ranging from $930 to $1,070. Nevertheless, buyers were lured by the absolute price of smaller units at $370,000 to $440,000. Speculative investors also showed interest to the property, which was situated near the Stamford American International School.

Parc Seabreeze in Marine Parade sold 50 units from 1,050 psf to $1,550 psf, down from the $1,600-$1,700 price range during the preview of the condo in May 2008.

It was not only the mass-market sector that was doing well but the upper-mid market as well. The 152-unit One Devonshire sold more than 85% of its units at $1,800 psf on average.