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Emerald of Katong emerge as best selling new launch in 2024
Emerald of Katong, Nava Grove and executive condo project Novo Place chalked up the strong launch sales the real estate industry has seen in a while as almost 1,480 new condominium units were taken up over the weekend.
The weekend tally could lift new home sales for November to over 2,200 units, their highest monthly ever since March 2013.
Property developers in November unleashed an unprecedented line-up of six new projects collectively offering 3,551 homes, more than the 2,485 new units marketed in the first six months of the year and rushing out projects to catch a fresh new wave of rising sentiment.
According to Huttons Asia, “Observations on the ground revealed there were more prospective local and foreign buyers using a trust structure to buy a home for their children. This indicates a strong build-up of wealth for local buyers and influx of funds from overseas into Singapore”.
Mogul.sg chief research officer Nicholas Mak said that the recent flurry of activity, coming after months of slow sales and few launches, could raise the spectre of another round of cooling measures. If buying momentum continues at this pace, ” the risk of government intervention would greatly increase”, he noted.
Singapore homebuyers “have been generally observed to tend to either sit on the fence or dive into the deep end”, said Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank.
Alan Cheong, executive director, research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, remarked: “It’s not Fomo (fear of missing out). It’s fear of the uncertain future.”
Much of the recent buying is being fuelled by anxious parents ploughing in funds to helper their young working adult offspring buy a home, fearing that Singapore’s continually rising property prices will make housing unaffordable for them, said Cheong.
Emerald of Katong: Standout sales
Touted as the best-selling project of the year, Sim Lian’s Emerald of Katong clocked a take-up rate of 99 per cent on the first day alone, when bookings commenced on Saturday (Nov 16).
As at the end of the day on Saturday, 835 units of the 846 units in the popular East Coast region had been snapped up, at starting prices ranging from $1.2 million for a 484 square feet one bedroom plus study to $3.5 million for five-bedroom luxe units sized from 1,475 sqft.
The last time a new project launch saw a near-full take-up rate was in July 2022, when AMO Residences sold 98 per cent of its 372 units, according to PropNex.
Tembusu Grand in Katong
ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu noted that the median price for new projects in the Rest of Central Region is about $2,955 psf. He added that, next door, Tembusu Grand is now over 82 per cent sold with prices averaging $2,458 psf. Tembusu Grand is a new launch condominium project developed by City Developments Limited.
Chuan Park near Serangoon Gardens
The 916-unit Chuan Park near the Serangoon Gardens estate launched by Kingsford Development last weekend was similarly met with overwhelming interest, with some 2,800 cheques collected. Chuan Park sold 696 out of a total of 916 units and is now 76% sold. Its attractive location with Lorong Chuan MRT just 1 minute away and it is within 1km to 8 primary schools.
As at Sunday, 359 or 65 per cent of Nava Grove’s 552 units have been sold, at an average price of $2,448 psf, said developers MCL Land and Sinar Mas Land.
PropNex’s Gafoor said Nava Grove’s performance exceeded expectations. “The strong take-up rate is impressive, despite competition from nearby Pinetree Hill and other large projects that were recently launched like Chuan Park and Emerald of Katong.”
“We note that Nava Grove’s take-up rate was double that of Pinetree Hill during its launch weekend,” he added.
UOL’s nearby Pinetree Hill project in Ulu Pandan, that was put on the market last July, sold nearly 29 per cent (150 units) of its 520 units at an average price of $2,460 psf at launch.
Huttons Asia’s Yip added that Nava Grove’s starting price of just under $1.4 million for a two-bedr00m unit was “probably the best entry price for a prime city-fringe address”. Prices went up to close to $4 million for a 1,722 sqft five-bedroom unit with a private lift.
Still, “around 83 per cent of the two-bedroom and 71 per cent of the three-bedroom units were sold,” said Yip. “Many buyers went for the premium units, showing a willingness to pay more to stay in this private residential enclave.”
(Source: The Business Times)