Showflat buzz not translating to sales
Jan 11, 2012
Sheena Chua
|
 |
The busy scenes at showflats over the past weekend are not translating into sales transactions, as home hunters take longer to make up their minds. With the effects of multiple rounds of cooling measures in full swing, and economic uncertainty coming into play, new sales have significantly slowed.
(Despite the traffic, new sales of recent projects are coming in slower, say property agents. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)
Industry insiders The Straits Times spoke to say buyers are now keeping their options open, watching out for lower prices on upcoming launches.
The paper reported that Qingjian Realty’s Riversound Residences in Sengkang East Avenue has attracted “hundreds of viewers”. In spite of the traffic, UBS Investment Research reported a “lukewarm take-up” of the project. Only 50 of the 250 units launched at the estate were sold, at an average price of $850 per sq ft (psf). For instance, one four-room flat spanning 1,259 sq ft sold for $1.13 million (or $896 psf) after discounts. The project comprises 590 apartments.
Property agents told The Straits Times some 700 home seekers visited the showflat over two days, but the majority of them were only looking around, not planning to make a purchase.
Indeed, this trend seemed to carry across other launches. For one, the 577-unit Archipelago at Bedok Reservoir faced a similar sales slump. Its developer UOL Group declined to provide The Straits Times with numbers, but said, “We are pleased with the interest and level of visitors at our showflat over the last few days.
“We had transactions done over the weekend. Buyers are taking more time to commit and we hope to see more sales going forward,” it added.
This reluctant buying sentiment arose despite a negotiable absorption of stamp duty of around 3% and an additional 2% discount, according to the UBS Investment Research report. It commented, “If not for the recent property measures, we believe these discounts would not have been offered.”
One developer who has absorbed the 3% stamp duty is Far East Organization. Its project The Hillier, situated at Upper Bukit Timah, chalked up another 75 of its 528 units over the weekend. In total, the development has sold 300 units at an average price of $1,197 psf. Besides absorbing the stamp duty, furniture vouchers (with varied values depending on the size of the apartment of choice) were offered as incentives.
While first-time buyers in the mass-market segment are not affected by the latest property cooling measures (which largely target local and foreign property investors via the additional 10% buyer’s stamp duty), fewer such genuine homebuyers are keen to seal the deal, explained Global Property Strategic Alliance CEO Jeffrey Hong to The Straits Times.
According to The Straits Times, 90% of buyers were Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs). Foreign buyers made up the remaining numbers.
In the meantime, upcoming launches such as Suites@Newton, Parc Rosewood in Woodlands, and Watertown in Punggol will continue to test waters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comments:
|
|
|
