http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...ekend-20130318
Published March 18, 2013
Urban Vista 43% sold after launch weekend
By kenneth lim
DEVELOPERS of the 582-unit Urban Vista condominium project sold 250 apartments, or 43 per cent of the total, over the weekend, according to a representative for the developers Fragrance Group and Aspial Corp subsidiary World Class Land.
The bulk of the 99-year leasehold units that sold between Friday, in which 180 units were sold at a preview, and Sunday were one- to three-bedroom units, the representative said. The developers released 230 units at the preview and an additional 80 units over the weekend.
The apartments were priced at an average of $1,350 per square foot (psf), which included a 7 per cent discount for homeowners in light of recent property cooling measures. Prices for units released at the Friday preview started from $588,000 for a one-bedroom unit at an average area of 450 sq ft; $768,000 for a two-bedroom at an average 600 sq ft; $1.1 million for a three-bedroom at an average 900 sq ft; and $1.5 million for a four-bedroom at an average 1,050 sq ft.
Overall, Urban Vista comprised 135 one-bedroom apartments, 249 two-bedders, 160 three-bed-rooms and 37 four-bedroom units.
The developers bought the land at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Tanah Merah Kechil Link in August 2012 for $285.2 million, and estimates at that time put break-even cost at about $1,000 psf.
Also on Friday, City Developments' 912-unit 99-year leasehold D'Nest project at Pasir Ris Grove sold more than 350 units after a one-day preview at a discounted early-bird price of about $920 psf.
Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex Realty, said Urban Vista's weekend sales were reasonably successful, given the circumstances.
He said that with a take-up rate of more than 40 per cent, "signs are very healthy" that genuine buyers and long-term owners are still looking for opportunities to invest.
But he noted that Urban Vista had been priced at a discount, a reflection that developers are giving up margin in order to sell units in the face of property cooling measures.
"I would say such 7 per cent discount is a real discount, in the sense that if the additional measures were not in place, they would have priced at more than $1,400 psf and yet would have gotten even more sales," he said.
"Many developers are cutting their profit today, and price sensitive to the current buyers' norm. Today is a buyers' market."
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