http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...-5-to-10-lower
PRICE CUTS
The Crest relaunched with prices 5% to 10% lower
Prices now from S$980,000 to S$3m, say marketing agents
By Lynette Khoo
[email protected]@LynetteKhooBT
16 Oct
DEVELOPERS of The Crest, a 99-year leasehold project in Prince Charles Crescent launched in June, have re-opened the showflat, tagging the units at prices said to be 5 to 10 per cent lower than earlier.
This follows sluggish sales since June. About 50 of the 469 units have been sold at a median price slightly above S$1,800, based on data on developers' sales from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
A one-bedder between 614 and 775 sq ft now starts at S$980,000, and a two-bedroom unit, at S$1.28 million, said marketing agents of the project. A standard three-bedder starts at S$2 million, a four-bedroom unit, at S$2.5 million and a five-bedder, at S$3 million.
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The Business Times understands that cheques have been collected and sales will begin on Thursday.
The Crest, about 450 m from Redhill MRT station, is located in the Jervois precinct, fringing the Good Class Bungalows of the Chatsworth and Bishopsgate estates.
Its developers Wing Tai Asia, Metro Australia Holdings and UE E&C had in September 2012 acquired the plot for S$516.3 million or S$960.28 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).
Under URA Realis system, 132 units have so far been "launched" to date at The Crest. But when contacted, a Wing Tai spokeswoman said the development was still in "preview" stage, and agents marketing the development are calling it a "relaunch".
Consultants say that developers shy away from calling a launch a launch because of recent dismal showings.
The steady stream of new launches in Redhill and Commonwealth have ended up with unsold units, creating an "overhang" in the area, said Nicholas Mak, the executive director at SLP International.
"The fact is that there is a steady supply of condo units around Redhill," he said. Those who are buying for investment purposes are more likely to have been sidelined by the additional buyers' stamp duty (ABSD) and prefer to wait out the uncertainty shrouding the property market.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said that The Crest's pricing "has breached the affordability of buyers for homes in that locality". He added: "In such cautious market times, almost no buyer is eager to buy a property unless they can see for themselves that prices are indeed cut."
At Alex Residences in Redhill a year ago, Singapore Land had also lowered prices to an average of S$1,680 psf for units sold after the total debt servicing ratio kicked in. The move quickened sales, he noted.
Meanwhile, Keppel Land's Highline Residences in Tiong Bahru remains at "preview" stage, though 142 units have been sold at a median price of S$1,848 psf, based on developer sales figures from the URA.
Mr Mak said that developers typically want to space out their launches to avoid competing head-on with each other. "If the timing of the launches are too close, they end up competing for the same group of buyers."
Upcoming project launches include mass-market projects Tre Residences in Geylang East Avenue 1 and Symphony Suites in Yishun Avenue 9. Executive condominiums slated to begin sales include Lake Life by Evia Real Estate in Jurong and Qingjian Realty's Bellewoods in Woodlands; Qingjian's Bellewaters in Sengkang was launched on Wednesday.
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