Updated, March 4, 2018, 11:38 p.m., to change the MRT station nearby the upcoming Margaret Ville and Stirling Road projects to Queenstown MRT station.

Transactions have picked up at the 400-unit Artra on Alexandra View, with 34 units sold since the start of the year, based on caveats lodged. This means the project is about 60% sold, according to George Tan, head of residential projects at Savills Singapore.

Prices at Artra have also been creeping up steadily, with many of the units sold in the past month being high-floor units above the 29th floor. Prices achieved ranged from $1.52 million ($1,939 psf) for a 786 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 29th floor to $4.61 million ($1,784 psf) for a 2,583 sq ft, five-bedroom+family apartment on the 43rd floor.

The project was launched last April by Hong Kong developers Far East Consortium International and New World Development Co in a 70:30 joint venture. Back then, prices started from $1.2 million ($1,527 psf) for a 786 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the fifth floor.

Artra is the only development in the Alexandra View neighbourhood that is linked directly to the Redhill MRT station. The 44-storey development will have a retail podium with a Fairprice supermarket, 16 shops and a childcare centre.

Condominiums in the Alexandra View neighbourhood have been fully sold. Next door, the newly completed 429-unit Alex Residences was 100% sold in November when the final two units on the 35th and 37th floors were sold by developer Singapore Land at a median price of $1,948 psf. The 40-storey tower obtained Temporary Occupation Permit last September.

The pickup in interest and prices was due to a recovery in new-home sales as well as bullish land bids by developers last year.

Interest in Artra had grown since the start of the year in the absence of competition from new projects in the vicinity, according to a property agent who is marketing the project.

Some buyers are also jumping in now in anticipation of higher prices at upcoming launches located one MRT stop away at the Queenstown MRT station.

They are the 316-unit Margaret Ville by MCL Land and the 1,259-unit development on Stirling Road by a joint venture between Logan Property and Nanshan Group. Both developments are built on 99-year leasehold sites purchased in government land sales in December 2016 and May 2017, respectively.

The two new projects are expected to be launched at prices in the range of $1,900 to $2,000 psf. “This makes Artra’s average price of $1,678 psf look attractive to buyers, particularly since it’s a mixed-use development linked directly to the MRT station,” notes a PropNex Realty representative. He attributes this to the increase in transactions in Artra.

This article appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 820 (March 5, 2018).