Double Bay Residences may still take three years to complete, but some buyers of the 646-unit, sold out condominium project have already cashed out for a profit.
The 99-year leasehold project located at Simei Street 4 was launched in March 2009 amid uncertainty in the real estate market. Units were sold for as low as $409 psf, and the average selling price ranged from $600 psf to $650 psf. As the property market recovered in the second half last year and in the first four months of 2010, prices have gone up, reaching as high as $981 psf in March, when a 538-sq-ft unit was sold for $528,000.
Double Bay Residences, developed jointly by Kheng Leong and UOL Group, features five 13-storey blocks and nine 12-storey blocks. It is close to the Eastpoint Mall and Simei MRT station, as well as to schools including ITE College East and Changkat Changi Secondary School.
New projects in the area such as the university and new offices at Changi Business Park help generate interest from potential homebuyers as well as HDB upgraders who are looking for affordable units, said Noelle Lim of PropNex.
With the upcoming launch of another private condo, homebuyers are expecting another boost for unit prices. In May, a tender for a 99-year leasehold government land parcel of a 126,940-sq-ft site located at Simei Street 3 attracted 18 bids. The site was won by Chip Eng Seng Corp at a bid of $152.7 million ($523 psf ppr) based on a maximum gross floor area of 291,963 sq ft. The proposed project is a 280-unit condo, and property consultants expect a breakeven price of $860 psf to $900 psf and a selling price of about $1,000 psf when it is launched in the first half of 2011.
At Double Bay Residences, three transactions had ranged from $812 psf to $821 psf from May 25 to June 1, based on caveats lodged with URA Realis. A 936-sq-ft two-room unit located on the ninth floor was sold for $760,000 ($812 psf), which represents a 20 percent yield for the original owner, who acquired the unit for $630,867 ($674 psf) in April 2009.
In another block, a 1,001-sq-ft two-bedroom apartment located on the seventh floor was sold for $820,000 ($819 psf). This represents an 18.8-percent gain for the owner who had acquired it for $690,378 ( $690 psf) in March 2009.
Another 1,001-sq-ft unit located on the 12th floor went for $821,888 ($821 psf), representing a 14-percent gain for the owner, who acquired it for $717,683 ($717 psf) in April 2009.
The launch of Double Bay Residences has also boosted the prices of other 99-year leasehold condos in the vicinity. NTUC Choice Homes’ 602-unit Simei Green hit a high of $692 psf in May, when a 968-sq-ft unit located on the eighth floor went for $670,000. Executive condos can only be sold to Singaporeans five years following the completion but can be traded to foreigners and locals after ten years.
At the 242-unit private condo Tropical Spring, another development by Choice Homes, a 1,335 sq-ft-unit was sold for $940,000 ($704 psf), based on a May 3 caveat. The property was last bought ten years ago for $775,218 ($581 psf). A 1,926-sq-ft unit was also sold for $1.5 million ($779 psf) in April, representing a 74.4 percent gain for the previous owner who acquired the property for $860,000 ($446 psf) three years ago.
Double Bay Residences and other suburban condos located close to MRT stations are receiving strong homebuyer interest, though the property market has become more subdued in the previous month. Property consultants expect that prices will stay at its current level for now.