Two new condos sell more smaller, pocket-friendly units

Two condos about to be launched are heavily skewed towards smaller units in a bid to offer potential buyers more pocket-friendly prices.

City Developments (CDL) said yesterday that 89 per cent of the 519 units in its Forest Woods project in Lorong Lew Lian will have up to three bedrooms or 1,184 sq ft in size.

The showflat preview began last weekend while the launch should be next week. Units will be priced from $688,000 for a one-bedroom with study unit, $838,000 for a two-bedder and $1.1 million for a three-bedder.

Around 2,000 visitors were at the preview, CDL said. The project is being built by a joint venture between CDL, Hong Leong Holdings and TID.

Mr Vijay Natajaran, an RHB Research Institute analyst who visited the showflat during its soft launch, said "buyers flocked on the back of the excellent location and attractive pricing... Our calculations show that nearly a third of the units are likely to be priced below $1 million - which partially explained the strong turnout".

At indicative average selling prices of about $1,400 psf, CDL's profit margin could be over 20 per cent, he estimated.

Forest Woods "has an extremely prime location in a mature estate, very near the Serangoon MRT Interchange, bus interchange and Nex Shopping Mall", CDL group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong said in a statement. It is within 1km of Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) and Yangzheng Primary School.

Similarly, about 96 per cent of the 626 units at The Alps Residences in Tampines Avenue 10 will be three-bedroom types orsmaller, and up to 1,087 sq ft.

Units are priced from $491,000 for a one-bedder, $691,000 for a two-bedder and $918,000 for a three-bedder. About 80 per cent of units are priced below $1 million.

About 6,000 visitors were at its showflat preview last weekend, a turnout that may be due to "a dearth of new condominium launches in Tampines since the launch of The Santorini, also an MCC Land project, in 2014", a spokesman for the project said.

Units at The Alps Residences are smaller than those at the nearby The Santorini.The largest two-bedder at The Santorini is about 915 sq ft, while the equivalent at The Alps is 689 sq ft.

But the play on lower quantums may just work for The Alps Residences, which is priced from $900 to $1,200 psf, while average prices at The Santorini are about $1,103 psf.

The Alps Residences will be launched for sale on Sunday.

wrennie@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on September 30, 2016.
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