The developer plans to increase the selling price of Martin Modern in 2018. (Photo: Christopher Chitty)
Believing that private home prices will increase, property developer GuocoLand trimmed the number of units offered for sale at its luxury condominium Martin Modern in Martin Place, reported the Straits Times.
It noted that 110 out of the 450 units at the project have already been sold about two weeks following its launch, with the average selling price ranging from $2,009 psf to more than $2,500 psf.
GuocoLand also revealed plans to increase the selling price in 2018.
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“We’ve already started to moderate the releases… you want to achieve a good start so there is confidence in the project, I think we already achieved that. We should not be selling too much too fast,” said GuocoLand (Singapore) group managing director Cheng Hsing Yao.
Other developers also have the same sentiment.
Chinese developer Qingjian Realty put off the second phase of its sales launch at mixed-use development Le Quest, while Lendlease held back on releasing new units at Park Place Residences in Paya Lebar – in the hope of offering the remaining units at higher prices.
While Cheng declined to comment on how much prices may increase next year, he acknowledged the existence of “pressure for prices to go up” given the aggressive bidding of developers and fewer condo completions.
“The margin is already quite thin among developers, and land constitutes 60 percent to 70 percent of total cost, so when the land cost goes up so much, it is not a choice for the developers not to sell higher.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
