AS LUXURY home prices climb to new highs, developers are moving to capitalise on the upswing by further whetting buyers' appetites with new launches of upscale apartments.
Yesterday, CapitaLand said it will soon start previews for its latest development, the 73-unit Scotts HighPark, which boasts a 27-storey block consisting exclusively of spacious apartments of over 3,466 sq ft called the Penthouse Series.
City Developments (CDL) also said it will release 30 more units of its St Regis Residences, where a unit recently set a record price at over $3,000 per sq ft. And Hong Leong Holdings aims to launch its luxury 85-unit Tate Residences this quarter.
The niche high-end homes market is on an uptrend, with new developments reporting favourable sales largely owing to foreign demand.
At St Regis Residences, about 65 per cent of the buyers are from Britain, the United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Since its June 1 launch, CDL has sold 58 of the 173 units at $2,500 to $2,600 per sq ft (psf) on average, and has raised the price of some apartments by 2 per cent to 3 per cent.
Over at the 91-unit Newton One, the Lippo Group has sold 60 units at $1,230 psf on average since its mid-May preview and said prices have gone up to $1,420 psf.
Yesterday, Cheung Kong Holdings also said it has sold 232 units of its 248-unit Cairnhill Crest condominium and has booked a profit of $640 million from the sales.
The 40 units that it sold in March and April were at an average price of $1,825 psf.
More than 70 per cent of Cairnhill Crest owners are foreigners from countries such as Indonesia, China and Australia.
'The recent surge in positive sentiment in the high-end market has attracted a lot of buying interest from foreigners, and developers are trying to capitalise on it,' said property consultancy Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy, Mr Nicholas Mak.
At Scotts HighPark, the 36 four-bedroom units of 3,466 sq ft to 4,112 sq ft would appeal to foreigners, said consultants.
While it is rare to find so many large apartments in a block nowadays, it has not always been so.
Beverly Hills in Grange Road, which has units of about 3,800 sq ft and The Arcadia at Arcadia Road with units of about 3,600 sq ft to 4,200 sq ft are examples, said property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle's national director, residential, Ms Jacqueline Wong.
Both were built over 15 years ago, she said. Developers then stopped building such large units to cater to demand for smaller, more affordable homes.
But they are building bigger units again as foreigners want them, said market watchers.
Indeed, the chief executive of CapitaLand Residential Singapore, Ms Patricia Chia, said it has had strong expressions of interest from over 250 local and foreign potential buyers for Scotts HighPark. The condo, which also has two- to three-bedroom units, could be ready for previews by the end of this month or early next month.
It follows the sales of Tanglin Residences and the fully-sold The Botanic on Lloyd, said Ms Chia.
'We were able to tap into a wave of strong buying interest for high-end homes, and we expect this momentum to trickle to the high to mid market this year.'
A market watcher said the nearby recently-marketed Newton One could be used as a gauge, while another said CapitaLand may price it above Newton One, at possibly $1,350 to $1,400 psf.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
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