http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...0-psf-20140830

Published August 30, 2014

Marina One condo to launch at S$2,600 psf

Pricing takes into account prime location and connectivity to 4 MRT lines, says developer

By Lynette Khoo

[email protected] @LynetteKhooBT


LUXURY condo Marina One Residences is set to launch in mid-September at an average asking price of S$2,600 per square foot - a level that market watchers deem challenging given current market conditions.

It is part of the Marina South integrated project developed by M+S Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Temasek Holdings and Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional following a historic land swop between the two countries involving KTM railway land.

Four firms - ERA, CBRE, Knight Frank and DTZ - have been appointed to market the residential units, while commercial leasing for the office and retail spaces will be handled by CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield.

Only one out of the two 34-storey residential blocks in the 1,042-unit condo will be released for sale initially, said M+S. The launch date is yet to be fixed but the sales gallery will be open from Sept 13 to Oct 12.

According to M+S, the company does not come under qualifying certificate (QC) rules, which require a developer with foreign shareholders or directors to finish building a residential project within five years and sell the units within two years of completion. At another of its integrated projects - Duo in Bugis - 63 units of the 660-unit Duo Residences remain unsold.

But while market watchers have said that there is no hurry for the developer to sell all the units, some felt that the pricing strategy for Marina One Residences could be more aggressive given the substantial stock of unsold units in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11.

An M+S spokesman explained, however, that the indicative pricing "takes into account Marina One's integrated offering of prime residential, office and retail space in the prime Marina Bay district and its connectivity to four MRT lines".

At another Marina Bay project, V on Shenton, units were sold this year at a median price of S$2,118.5 psf by United Industrial Corporation. V on Shenton still has 158 unsold units since its launch in August 2012.

Meanwhile, resale units at Marina Bay Suites were transacted at a higher median price of S$2,753.5 psf this year, according to caveats lodged. As at end-June, there are still some 19 unsold units though the project was launched in December 2009.

Century21 Singapore chief executive Ku Swee Yong noted that market conditions are more challenging now with a shrunken pool of potential buyers after borrowing limits were changed under the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework, and the large number of unsold units in competing projects nearby.

In addition, the vacant plots of land between Marina One and the sea to its south could be released in future government land sales for office and residential developments, he said.

Given the TDSR borrowing limits, consultants are expecting more interest in smaller units than larger ones.

According to the condo plan, some 44 per cent of the units at Marina One Residences will be one bedders sized 657-775 sq ft and 28 per cent will be two-bedders measuring 969-1,130 sq ft.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng noted that one appeal of the condo is its location at the "upper echelon of the central business district location" compared to Tanjong Pagar, making it a more prestigious address for expatriates.

But "investors who buy bigger units may find it harder to lease out because expatriates will be on continual reduced housing allowances and senior expatriates (who are seconded here with their family) may not necessarily opt for it", he said.

The Grade A office and retail spaces at Marina One and Duo will come onstream in 2017.

UEM Sunrise is partnering Mapletree Investments to manage Marina One, which will have 140,000 sq ft in net lettable area (NLA) for retail space and 1.88 million sq ft in NLA for office space.

Separately, Temasek is in a tie-up with CapitaLand and Iskandar Waterfront Holdings to develop a S$3.2 billion township in Iskandar's Danga Bay in Malaysia.