s chief executive officer (CEO), Ms Patricia Chia. At Citylights condominium in Jellicoe Road, prices have been increased by about 5 per cent to 6 per cent so far this year, on top of a 4 per cent to 5 per cent price hike last year, she said.
Units at the 99-year leasehold project are now going for an average $650 per sq ft (psf), up from $590 psf when the 600-unit project was first launched at the end of 2004.
This means a typical 900 sq ft apartment would cost about $585,000 now, compared to about $530,000 previously.
Over in West Coast Road, prices at the entry-level Varsity Park have edged up about 5 per cent since the project's launch in September 2004, from $440 psf to $460 psf.
And upmarket RiverGate has seen a spectacular 50 per cent jump in prices, from $1,080 psf during its launch in mid-2005 to $1,600 psf now.
Ms Chia revealed these price increases at the annual Mid-Autumn Festival celebration held by the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) at the Copthorne King's Hotel yesterday.
Other developers The Straits Times spoke to at the event were equally bullish.
Mr Chua Thian Poh, chairman and CEO of boutique developer Ho Bee, said its 256-unit The Coast at Sentosa Cove would be previewed next week at average prices of between $1,400 to $1,500 psf.
This is almost double the $800 psf Ho Bee set in November 2004 for its first Sentosa condo, The Berth by the Cove, and slightly higher than the $1,350 psf average price of the latest Sentosa Cove launch, City Developments' (CDL's) Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove.
As for the still-sluggish mass market, Redas president and Pontiac Land chairman Kwee Liong Keng said at the event yesterday that the industry expects prices in this entry-level segment to rise by between 5 per cent to 10 per cent over the next year.
This is compared to a less than 5 per cent rise for the whole of this year, according to Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng.
Robust economic factors like a strong stock market, low unemployment and the upcoming integrated resorts will help boost mass market prices, said Mr Kwee.
Mr Chia Ngiang Hong, CDL's group general manager and a Redas vice-president, said: 'We believe that the low- to mid-ends of the market will catch up (to the rising high-end segment) and close the gap'.
