ST : Brisk sales at UOL's condo near Tanjong Pagar

Nov 17, 2010

Brisk sales at UOL's condo near Tanjong Pagar

By Esther Teo



Spottiswoode Residences saw 130 units sold in a three-day preview ahead of its main launch today. -- PHOTO: UOL

SPOTTISWOODE Residences, near the soon-to-be-rejuvenated Tanjong Pagar area, has achieved brisk sales of 130 units during a three-day preview.

Prices ranged from $1,720 per sq ft to $2,150 psf, developer UOL Group said. Four out of the seven penthouses were also sold, with one fetching a price of $1,850 psf.

UOL said that 86 per cent of the buyers were Singaporeans, mostly aged 40 and above. They tended to buy higher-priced units commanding sea views, and included doctors, professionals, bankers and businessmen, UOL said.

The remaining 14 per cent of buyers were evenly split between permanent residents and foreigners, who were mostly Malaysians.

The freehold plot, which will host a 36-storey tower, is next to Spottiswoode Park and close to Tanjong Pagar, which is slated to be transformed into a bustling waterfront district once container terminals in the vicinity move out.

The firm will release 80 more units at the 351-unit project during its main launch today.

UOL Group chief operating officer Liam Wee Sin told The Straits Times that the good take-up rate - and benchmark prices seen at some recent property launches - reflected the growth potential that some of these locations offered.

Private home sales for the entire Singapore market last month totalled a healthy 1,058 units, he said.

'We don't want to see sales figures drop drastically low... I'm not worried that the market is overly hot if sales are about 1,000 units a month.'

Demand remains healthy for homes in good locations and for well-conceived projects, as buyers - often in the prime of their careers and with financial reserves - recognise the longer-term potential of many of these projects, Mr Liam added.

He said that the Government's Aug 30 property market cooling measures, together with the increase in supply of residential sites through the government land sales programme, have also had their intended effect in cooling the mass market segment. Mr Liam expects prices to remain steady across the market.

The Spottiswoode plot is the last in UOL's residential land bank here. However, Mr Liam said the firm is continually looking for new market opportunities.

UOL said that more than 10 former owners of units in Spottiswoode Apartment and Oakswood Heights - which stood on the site before being sold en bloc in 2007 - bought units in the new project. Several people bought multiple units for family members, it added.

Spottiswoode Residences comprises a 36-storey block with mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments, 25 three-bedroom units and seven penthouses.

Sizes for the typical one- to three- bedroom units vary from 603 sq ft to 1,421 sq ft.