It's like open house during weekends, says one resident

It's like open house during weekends, says one resident
PHOTO: It's like open house during weekends, says one resident

SHE spent more than a year preparing for this moment.

From building an online presence to placing fliers on doorsteps, real estate agent Jas Ng spared no effort to make herself known to the residents of executive condominium (EC) La Casa.

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She is not the only property agent eyeing the site, located in a quiet neighbourhood in Woodlands Drive 16.

After all, this 444-unit EC is the latest second-hand EC available on the market after some of the units reached the end of the minimum occupation period (MOP) earlier this year.

The appeal of the EC, a hybrid of public and private housing, has attracted much interest in recent months, especially after the sale of a $2.05 million EC unit in Tampines last December.

Much of the debate has centred on whether the EC has been serving the housing needs of the sandwiched class, as more people who can afford private property are now snapping up ECs.

Introduced in 1996, the EC was the Government's plan to help Singaporeans achieve their dream of owning a private condominium but at lower prices.

As of December last year, there had been 23 ECs built. Seventeen more have been launched for sale but not completed yet. In all, there will be an estimated 23,236 completed EC units by 2017, reported The Business Times.

Brisk

Since February, when the first units in La Casa hit the five-year mark, transactions at the condo, once thought to be the last EC in Singapore when it was launched in 2005, have been brisk.

From February to May, a total of 45 property transactions with caveats have been filed with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Some of the bigger units have sold for as much as $1.03 million.

Advertisements placed on property sites and checks with real estate agents revealed that there are many more owners who are interested in cashing in on their property.

More than 160 advertisements have been placed on property portal Propertyguru and 60 on the STProperty website.

"It's like open house during the weekends," said civil servant Jasmine Lim, 40. "Potential buyers would bring their families, and property agents would lead them around."

She bought her three bedroom and one study unit for $670,000 in 2008.

She said: "The advertisements (in the mailbox) are fine, but they'll always call our house phone at night, when I'm preparing or eating dinner."

Mrs Lim added that the property agents started coming last year.

Mr Ian Hui, 34, an interior designer, said: "There have been a lot of enquiries. I've received two to three calls every day and my mailbox has quite a lot of pamphlets and namecards."

The highest offer he received was close to $1 million.

He had bought his three-room flat on the 12th storey for $400,000 five years ago. But he has no intention of selling for now.

"If you sell high, you also have to buy high," he said.

"My daughter is 2½ years old and my parents also live here. My wife is Malaysian so it's convenient for her. My workplace is also nearby."

He noted that the busiest period was in March and April, where a lot of his neighbours were selling their units and moving away.

"People would view the units as late as 10pm, even on weekdays."

Ms Ng, who is in her 30s, has sold more than 20 exclusive units and has 18 more units to sell. She said: "Woodlands definitely has its potential for growth, with the upcoming MRT line (Thomson Line) and Woodlands Regional Centre."

The development, by Far East Organisation, was launched at an average price of $380 per square foot (psf).

But the prices are quite different now.

Ms Ng recently sold a three-bedroom, 1,292 sq ft unit for $1.1 million. This translates to $852 psf, which is an increase from the $506 psf that the original owner bought it at.

The price went up to $906 for a 872 sq ft, 2 bedroom unit in Feb.  But do these attractive selling prices prove that the EC is a good investment? Definitely, in this buoyant property market, said real estate analysts.

In April, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan told participants at a Our Singapore Conversation session that there is a "sense of inequity" at the profits that EC buyers make, considering they receive housing grants from HDB when they buy it.

Like first-time owners of Build-To-order (BTO) flats, EC buyers receive subsidies of $30,000, if both buyers are citizens and their household income is $10,000.

The income ceiling for a household stands at $12,000 for an EC buyer, compared with $10,000 for a BTO buyer.

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP international, warned that historically, not every EC has been a money-spinner for their owners.

Advantage La Casa

"Sellers of two-thirds of the 23 ECs available on the market now actually made a loss if they sold off their property in the period 2004 to 2006.

"The La Casa owners are enjoying an advantage because the market is in their favour," he said.

But HSR International senior team director Chew Hock Ngee does not think that the owners of La Casa see their property as purely an investment tool because there were trade-offs.

"During the MOP, they would have missed the opportunity to buy a second property. Also, they can only sell after five years, and only to permanent residents."

Mr Mak is not surprised by the current selling frenzy at La Casa.

"It's like that every time a development reaches the five-year mark, whether its a BTO or DBSS (Design, Build and Sell Scheme) or EC. The property agents will swoop down like vultures," he said.

When The New Paper visited the estate of 10 blue and white 12-storey blocks on two recent weekends, it spotted at least three property agents showing prospective buyers around.

HSR's Mr Chew, who declined to reveal how many units he has sold at La Casa, said that most sellers choose to move out because of their growing families and to be closer to their parents or schools.

DWG property agent Wong Yian, who has sold five units and has four more sellers, said that buyers are attracted to La Casa because of the "good price" for a large floor area.

Despite the launch of two new ECs in Woodlands this year, buyers are still drawn to La Casa because they can move in immediately, added property agents.

Prices for Twin Fountains, located next to La Casa, ranged from $660 to $790 psf when it was launched in April. The development will be completed in October 2016.

This is close to the median price psf of a unit in La Casa. In May, it was $790 psf, according to URA.

"Honestly, (considering how much they bought it for) they can make a lot of money," said Ms Wong.


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