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DEVELOPERS seem to have made encouraging sales of recently launched projects at the weekend - despite the stock market plunge.

Upmarket condo: Lippo Group has sold 36 units in its 29-storey Newton One condo, with commitments from buyers for another six units

GuocoLand is understood to have sold close to 70 units in The Quartz next to Buangkok MRT Station since it began previewing the 99-year leasehold project on May 17. The average price is about $490 per square foot (psf).

And in the more upmarket segment, Indonesia's Lippo Group has sold a total of 36 units in the freehold Newton One condo, with commitments for another half a dozen units from buyers who are expected to sign deals by tomorrow.

BT reported last week that 26 units had been booked before the start of the project's preview on Saturday. This suggests Lippo has since found confirmed buyers for a further 10 units.

The average price is around $1,250 psf. About 30 per cent of buyers are foreigners, including Indonesians. Units sold are mostly on the upper floors of the 29-storey development, which has 91 units. The 5,899-sq-ft penthhouse, priced at about $1,600 psf or a total of $9.6 million, is still available. Knight Frank is marketing the project.

Also in the luxury segment, market watchers say SC Global Developments has begun to market some of the 13 apartments it bought earlier this year at the completed The Tomlinson project developed by Wing Tai and AIG. SC Global's asking prices range from $1,800 to $2,000 psf - compared with its average cost of around $1,500 psf. SC Global's units are spread throughout the 20-storey freehold project.

For a start, SC Global is offering six units it restyled recently. 'Interest has been pretty good and a couple of units have been reserved,' an SC Global spokesman said yesterday. The company's remaining seven units in the project are also being restyled.

Over in the Seletar Hills area, Bukit Sembawang Estates sold another five terrace houses during the weekend at Mimosa Terrace (Phase 4), taking sales to 15 of the 39 units in this phase of the freehold development. Prices start at $1.26 million.

In the Bukit Timah area at the weekend, Wing Tai and Orchard Parade Holdings marked the official launch of The Nexus with the start of an ad campaign, but were tight-lipped about sales in the 242-unit freehold project. Prices range from $750 psf to $880 psf.

Over in the Jervois Road area, Frasers Centrepoint sold almost 10 units at the weekend in One Jervois, a 12-storey freehold condo. This takes sales to almost 50 units since the developer, part of listed Fraser & Neave group, began previewing the project in Singapore and Hong Kong two weekends ago on May 13.

The average price is $950 psf and Frasers Centrepoint has so far released about 100 of the project's total 275 apartments.

At Joo Chiat Road, Shining Holdings sold eight units at its small office, home office (Soho) project The Modules at the weekend when it officially launched the freehold development. This takes sales to 18 units since the group began previewing the 48-unit project earlier this month. A further 13 units occupying the entire third level of the four-storey development are the subject of sale negotiations involving a mainland China investor.

The average price is about $700 psf.