One Sophia sells 10% of its residential units at an average price of S$2,750 per square foot.

The strata office units of the development were launched in October, and the residential units are now being previewed.

November 7, 2024

CONDOsingapore.com



One Sophia, a mixed-use development, has sold 35 residential units at an average price of S$2,750 per square foot (psf) since its preview sale began on Wednesday (Nov 6). This represents approximately 10% of the 367 units that are currently available to the public. Developer SingHaiyi reported that the majority of the sales were for studio and two-bedroom units, with all unit categories having been sold.

The transactions were conducted in the premium Core Central Region, where the market for new residences was generally subdued.

The starting price for studio units, which are 40 to 42 square metres (sq m), is S$2,650 per square foot. One-bedroom units, which are 45 to 51 sq m, are priced at S$2,782 per square foot. Two-bedroom units, which are 60 to 71 sq m, are priced at S$2,561 per square foot. Three-bedroom units, which are 95 to 116 sq m, are priced at S$2,782 per square foot.

The residential units were sold subsequent to the development's strata office units' introduction in late October. Between S$3,121 psf and S$3,493 psf, 23 units, or 30%, of its 79 strata offices were sold at that time.

During the launch weekend, sales amounted to S$102.5 million, with an average price per square foot of S$3,330. As of Thursday, approximately 34% of the strata office units in the development had been sold, with a total selling price exceeding S$118 million.

Raymond Chia, the chief executive officer of SingHaiyi group, announced in a statement on Thursday that the sales debut of One Sophia's residential development was initially scheduled for January 2025. "However, we have elected to hold a preview sale in November in response to the substantial interest and enquiries we received from prospects who attended the strata office launch last month."

He noted that One Sophia has attracted both local and international purchasers thus far.

Located on the site of the former Peace Centre and Peace Mansion in District 9, the mixed-use development occupies a 7,118 sq m plot. It consists of two residential towers, The Collective at One Sophia, and a 13-story commercial structure, One Sophia.

Commercial use will comprise approximately 60% of the gross floor area (GFA) of the development, which amounts to 33,700.29 sq m. The remaining 40% of the GFA will be designated for residential purposes.

In December 2021, the site was acquired by the joint developers, which are entities associated with CEL Development (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng) and SingHaiyi, for a sum of S$650 million. This resulted in a land rate of S$1,426 psf per plot ratio (ppr), which included a premium to supplement the 99-year lease on the sites.

With the inclusion of a 7% bonus GFA from an incentive scheme, the land rate was approximately S$1,388 psf ppr.

Ismail Gafoor, the chief executive of PropNex, observed that new-home sales in Singapore's prime Core Central Region (CCR) have been subdued since April of last year, when the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty was increased. He stated that developers sold only 54 new private residences in the CCR during the entire third quarter. "The Collective at One Sophia's preview sales have already exceeded half of that amount." In addition, he stated, "New launches typically have a preview period of two weeks; however, The Collective at One Sophia had a preview runway that was significantly shorter, lasting five days."

Marcus Chu, the chief executive of ERA Singapore, added, "The (preview) for keen buyers demonstrated that the interest level is highly encouraging, and buyer interest remains consistent, given the number of projects launching this month."

Public reservations of The Collective at One Sophia will commence in January.