Artist’s impression of Fourth Avenue Residences in Bukit Timah. (Photo: Allgreen Properties)
Three private residential projects were launched for sale last weekend – among the first for the year. But out of the combined 687 apartments, only 103 units were sold, translating to a low overall take-up rate of 15 percent on average, according to a recent report from Credit Suisse.
Developer Allgreen Properties moved 70 units at the 476-unit Fourth Avenue Residences, which works out to a take-up rate of about 14.7 percent.
More: New Private Home Sales Expected To Slump By 20% In 2019: DBS
The 99-year leasehold project at Bukit Timah in prime District 10 achieved a new benchmark average selling price (ASP) of $2,375 psf, which was above analysts’ expectations as the nearby Mayfair Gardens recorded ASPs of $1,900 psf to 2,000 psf when it was launched in September.
Similarly, Roxy Pacific launched two freehold developments over the weekend – the 71-unit Fyve Derbyshire along Derbyshire Road in District 11 and the 140-unit RV Altitude in River Valley Road in District 9.
Fyve Derbyshire sold 13 units or 18.3 percent of its total number of units, while RV Altitude found buyers for 20 units (14.28 percent). The former achieved ASPs of $2,200 psf to $2,700 psf, while the latter saw ASPs ranging from $2,729 psf to $3,100 psf.
Credit Suisse said the low absolute number of units sold and the lacklustre overall take-up rate of 15 percent were within expectations, in light of the still healthy ASPs.
“Given still high pricing expectations by developers amidst buyer expectations of bargains with up to 24,567 units from 74 projects to be launched for sale in 2019, we expect the trend of low take-up rates to persist in 2019,” it noted.
Looking ahead, the financial institution expects total private home sales to fall by 25 percent year-on-year to 17,611 units for the whole of 2019. In particular, transactions in the primary market are projected to drop by 10 percent to 8,178 units, while resale deals could suffer a bigger decline of 35 percent to 9,433 units.
Can you afford a condo in Singapore? Check your affordability now. Get more details on the property market outlook for 2019
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
