Thursday, October 19, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline : 9 applicants vie for each Premiere flat
 This story was printed from TODAYonline | |
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| 9 applicants vie for each Premiere flat Condo-style HDB apartments, marketed by private developer, snapped up in 12 days Thursday ? October 19, 2006 Tor Ching Li chingli@mediacorp. SINGAPORE'S first public housing project built and sold by a private developer has set a record, with nine applicants vying for each unit. In its 12 days of showflat viewings and online bookings, the Premiere @ Tampines attracted 5,708 bookings for the 616 units ? or 9.3 applicants per flat. In comparison, the Housing Development Board's (HDB) last high-profile development, the 50-storey Pinnacle@Duxton, received 2.8 applicants for each of its 1,848 units two years ago. Said Ms Diana Kuik, executive director of property developer Sim Lian Group: "We expected response to be good, but this is simply overwhelming. Some 44,000 people in all turned up to see the showflat, which had condominium finishings such as teak parquet flooring, Italian kitchen hobs and built-in wardrobes. Flats in the eight-block cluster were priced between $138,000 and $450,000 for two, four and five-room units ? or around $300 to $310 per sq ft. Property agents said a confluence of factors ? the location of the site in a mature estate and near Tampines MRT, the premium finishings and the fact that there would be no resale levy for units purchased ? resulted in the strong demand. It is believed applicants are mostly HDB upgraders or first-time flat buyers. Propnex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: "This shows there is great demand for such developments built in mature estates. If it was not located in a mature estate, there would not be such great demand." Mr Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president of ERA Singapore, said that condominiums would never sell out in a mere 12 days. "This development bridges the gap for those who want premium fixtures but not necessarily condominium facilities. We can probably expect more such projects in future," he said. The fact that buyers of The Premiere ? who will be decided via ballot ? will not have to pay a $30,000 to $50,000 resale levy if they currently own a flat bought directly from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) was another plus factor, said analysts. According to the HDB, this is because the buyers of Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) will pay market prices, without HDB subsidies. The only drawback, said Mr Chris Koh, vice-president of the Dennis Wee Group, was that buyers would have to pay 5 per cent in cash, the procedure for private property transactions. Nevertheless, the successful launch of the first DBSS would also encourage other private developers to take on future HDB projects. Said Mr Mohamed: "If such projects are sure sell-outs, then even if the profit margins are low, it is a viable proposition. Other potential mature estates that could be targeted for such schemes, said analysts, are Queenstown, Bishan, Toa Payoh and Bedok. | |
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// posted by Shajahan @ 10:21 AM 