ST : Canopy sells 100 units over the weekend

Oct 18, 2010

Canopy sells 100 units over the weekend

WITHIN an hour of opening its doors on Saturday, The Canopy in Yishun had sold all the 20 units allocated to upgraders.

Another 80 or so units were booked by first-time buyers over the weekend, said Mr Tan Zhi Yong, managing director of MCC Land, which is developing the project.

The executive condominium (EC) - only the second to be launched in the last five years - has 406 units in total. In the first month of sale, 95 per cent of the units are set aside for first-timers, which means upgraders and other buyers can only buy 5 per cent of these units.

But next month, the remaining unsold units will be opened up to all buyers.

Mr Tan expects better sales then, saying demand is especially strong from upgraders.

In total, the project drew about 450 applications for its units, Mr Tan told The Straits Times.

But he said some applicants dropped out of the race because their monthly income levels exceeded the $10,000 cap imposed on EC buyers.

ECs, the most premium form of public housing, are subject to similar restrictions on eligibility, ownership and resale as normal HDB flats. But after 10 years, these restrictions are lifted and the developments become like private condos.

Several hundred interested buyers thronged the showroom over the weekend, Mr Tan said.

But not all the visitors ended up booking a flat, because while ECs have risen in price and quality over the last 10 years, the income ceiling for eligible buyers has stayed the same.

This means many buyers who can afford the units in The Canopy have breached the income cap, he said.

'A lot of buyers asked us to appeal for them, some saying that they had just crossed the income ceiling this month only.'

FIONA CHAN