| SINGAPORE: The high end property market appears to be picking up.
In the first quarter of this year, 541 of such properties were sold, based on the number of caveats lodged.
This was triple the number compared with the first three months last year.
And while there are fears about the current stock market weakness, analysts have said high-end residential prices are more able to withstand such volatility.
The respite for the Singapore bourse on Tuesday came after heavy selling for the last three trading days - underlying the volatility of the stock market in recent weeks.
There are fears in some quarters that the market's weakness may hurt other segments of the economy such as residential property.
But some consultants have said the high-end residential segment may be more resilient to such shocks.
"At the end of the day for high end developments, where prices are in excess of S$2,000 per square foot, generally buyers of this class when come to making decision, numbers such as capital values, returns to investments, cost of funds all these go out of the window. Decisions are more product centric, so it depends what the property has to offer and what it represents in terms of lifestyle," said Steven Ming, director of Savills Singapore.
And the latest numbers show that buying of high-end properties isn't letting up.
A Boulevard Residences penthouse went for a record S$16m dollars last week.
And consultants point to good sales at Cairnhill Crest have been brisk after the offer of rental guarantee.
All this more than a year since City Development's The Sail condominium project set the ball rolling.
Launched in November 2004, the initial sales figures of The Sail were captured in the caveats lodged in the first quarter of 2005, representing some 6 percent of total transactions.
By the first quarter of this year, sales of high end units tripled to 15 percent of total caveats.
Even if buyers get caught short, the prime locations of these developments may be a saving grace.
"If you can't sell, you can easily rent it out and wait for the right timing to sell. A lot of such projects has actually been tenanted out to expatrites for a very decent rental. Subsequently, they are being sold on a sale with tenancy basis. I don't see that being a problem given the good location," said Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.
Yields of these high-end homes range between 3 and 4 percent. - CNA /dt
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