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Sentosa Cove development attracts strong interest from buyers
By Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 July 2006 2215 hrs

Units at the latest condominium development in Sentosa Cove are being snapped up by both local and foreign buyers.

Eight-five percent of the 264 units of the property, Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove, by City Developments were sold in just four days.

Buyers have been paying up to over $8 million for exclusive waterfront living.

Luxurious designer fittings and an exclusive address are all common features of high-end residential developments.

But what's special about this development is the unblocked panoramic vistas of the ocean.

While a price tag of between $1.5 million to over $8 million might seem hefty to some, buyers say living in an exclusive community like Sentosa Cove and a stunning view make this development priceless.

Raymond Kway, Buyer, said: "One of the only places in Singapore to have a resort-like style of living so more as a place to spend your holidays, rather than go out of the country, so some place where the family comes here for rest, recreation, a bit of sun and sea. The price is not cheap, I guess if you treat it as a long-term investment, as a retirement home for me, you can't really put a value on the price."

Forty percent of the buyers are foreign, coming from Europe, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Japan.

Some have even bought up whole floors comprising 2 to 3 units.

Lee Mei Ling, Assistant GM, Marketing City Developments Ltd, said: "We have young professionals who like this resort style living and the well-heeled and well-travelled who might use this as a resort home. Of course we have investors who have seen the potential in this development."

Due to the good response, the developers have released all units for sale even before the official launch later this week.

They have also increased the early bird average price of $1,300 per square foot by about 2 to 3 percent.

But CDL says, because of the unique location, this cannot be compared to other luxury developments like its own St Regis, which is priced at some $3,000 per square foot.

Lee Mei Ling said: "There's no true comparison because of the limited number of units that have true oceanfront views, so I don't think it's comparable. This is possibly the best site of Sentosa Cove, it's surrounded by water, they'll probably experience real true seafront living."

Situated at the tip of Sentosa Cove, the development is part of the gated community which will only have some 2,600 units of high-end residential units when it is completed.

And if the crowd is anything to go by, it looks like the high-end property market is sailing ahead. - CNA/ch