80% of Trilive to be dual-key units

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80% of Trilive to be dual-key units

Published on May 27, 2014 2:08 AM

By Tee Zhuo


ABOUT 80 per cent of the units in a condominium being developed in Kovan will be dual-key apartments, which suit multi-generational families - and owners aiming to avoid stamp duty.

All 94 of the three- and four-bedders at the 222-unit Trilive, and 88 of the 124 two-bedders, will feature two separate entrances.

No other project here has had such high a proportion of its apartments earmarked as dual-key flats.

The national average was around 7.5 per cent last year, according to a Knight Frank report.

Developer Roxy-Pacific Holdings said the large number of dualkey units at Trilive focused on "multi-generational living" and will fill a "special market niche".

Chief executive Teo Hong Lim said in a statement: "With Singapore's rapidly ageing population and higher cost of living, the formation of bigger families is a trend to be expected, and Trilive is well placed to meet this housing need of the future."

OrangeTee research head Christine Li noted yesterday that dual- key apartments have been used as a way to avoid the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD).

Ms Li told The Straits Times: "Developers want to appeal to investors who want to rent out their units, but want to overcome the ABSD."

Under the ABSD, Singaporeans who already own one property are levied an extra 7 per cent of the property price when they buy a second property. People who own two or more homes pay an extra 10 per cent.

A dual-key unit means a buyer can live in the apartment while renting out the sub-unit and so avoids having to buy two separate homes in order to get rental income.

Developers are expected to build more dual-key units. A Knight Frank report last week noted that developers allocated an average of just 7.5 per cent of units in a project to dual-key apartments in 2013, although that is up from 3.4 per cent in 2011.

Ms Li added that Kovan is a particularly good area for landlords and has one of the highest rental yields in Singapore.

Expatriates are especially keen, given the affordable rents and convenient location.

Units at the freehold Trilive, which will be launched next month, will range from 463 sq ft one-bedders, to 1,195 sq ft four-bedders.

The smallest dual-key units will be two-bedders at 614 sq ft to 689 sq ft. The project is expected to be completed within three to four years.

While prices were not available, Mr Teo told The Straits Times yesterday that it would be priced similar to or below that ofthe nearby Wing Tai Holdings project The Tembusu, which sold nearly two-thirds of its units on the first day of sales.

Prices at the 337-unit freehold project were about $1,400 to $1,500 per sq ft at its launch last August.

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Published May 27, 2014

70-80% of Trilive to be dual-key units

Roxy-Pacific says launch date not fixed, but it should be within a month

By Lynette Khoo

[email protected] @LynetteKhooBT


LISTED developer and hotel operator Roxy-Pacific hopes to use dual-key units and the concept of three-generation (3G) living to unlock value at its new freehold project, Trilive.

Seventy to 80 per cent of the 222 units in the Tampines Road project will be dual-key units.

Roxy-Pacific chairman and chief executive Teo Hong Lim told The Business Times yesterday that the launch date has not been fixed, but that it should be within a month.

The pricing will take its reference from another freehold project in Kovan, The Tembusu by Wing Tai, which achieved a median price of $1,554 per square foot (psf), based on caveats lodged until last month. Leasehold properties in the area are going for $1,300 to $1,400 psf, he said.

Agents from Huttons and PropNex say that indicative prices for Trilive start at $765,000 for a one-bedder and $898,000 for a two-bedder.

A two-bedroom dual-key unit may start at $997,000, a three-bedroom dual-key unit from $1.355 million and a four-bedroom dual-key unit from $1.72 million based on guided prices.

Trilive's freehold status should earn it a premium, given the current dearth of en bloc sites to develop new freehold projects, Mr Teo said. He added that this also differentiates Trilive from Hillford, a 60-year-leasehold project in Jalan Jurong Kechil that was marketed as a retirement resort and sold out in a day.

A dual-key home typically comprises two sub-units with two separate keys and, in some cases, separate entrances. At Trilive, the sub-units are connected by a common foyer.

Roxy-Pacific's earlier freehold project in District 9, Liv on Wilkie, touted the concept of triple-key units, but with only two entrances; 38 of its 81 units were sold as at last month since its launch last November.

Mr Teo said the positioning of Trilive for 3G living was prompted by a shortage of such offerings in the market and a need to differentiate this project.

A project that is senior-friendly has to be made so from the time it is on the drawing board, he said, because having to change features retroactively will be more costly.

Trilive is within a 10-minute walk from Kovan MRT Station and Heartland Mall.

A recent report by global consultancy Knight Frank has noted that demand for dual-key units is likely to be sustained from yield-seeking investors and families looking to house a few generations.

Mr Teo said: "As one of Singapore's last and biggest freehold sites, Trilive represents an investment ahead of its time, where each dual-key homeowner has the opportunity to own two suites at the same time, for higher returns and rental possibilities."

Roxy hopes to replenish its landbank for freehold projects, but recent regulations have made it harder to push through en bloc sales.

Elsewhere, Wheelock Properties moved 95 out of 126 units released at Panorama in Ang Mo Kio last Friday and over the weekend, after prices were cut some 10 per cent. The take-up for the one and two-bedroom units prompted the developer to release 30 more units. Wheelock said most of the buyers were aged 30 to 40, and almost all were Singaporeans or permanent residents.