SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - EL Development sold over 200 units out of 275 at its project Blossoms By The Park at Slim Barracks Rise by 6pm on April 29. This translates to a take-up rate of 73%. The average price of units sold was $2,423 psf.

According to the developer, all the one- and two-bedroom units in the development have been snapped up, except for the two-bedroom penthouse units. One-bedroom units from 549 sq ft were priced upwards of $1.3 million ($2,352 psf), while two-bedroom units of 678 sq ft were priced upwards of $1.5 million ($2,211 psf).

“The two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-study units were the favourite among buyers,” says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Realty Network.

Over 70% of the three-bedroom and three-bedroom dual-key units were sold from $2.3 million ($2,183 psf) and $2.1 million ($2,276 psf) respectively. About a third of the four-bedroom units were taken up. These were priced from $2.9 million ($2,243 psf).

The strong sales had even exceeded the developer's expectations, particularly when it was achieved two days after the latest round of property cooling measures came into effect on April 27.

“Before the property cooling measures, I was pretty optimistic about the expressions of interest,” says Lim Yew Soon, managing director of EL Development. The developer had garnered 745 cheques over the past fortnight. Hence, the project had been subscribed 2.75 times ahead of its launch.

Lim had initially considered delaying the project by a week but decided to proceed with the launch today [April 29]. “It wouldn’t have made any difference if I had delayed the launch by another week,” he says. “It’s not like the government would repeal the cooling measures. So we just went ahead with the launch as scheduled.”

Blossoms By The Park has achieved the highest first-day sales in 2023, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, on a percentage basis in 2023. “I had expected more than 50% sales, but close to 75% is definitely a positive thing.”

The property cooling measures were designed to dampen investment purchases by foreigners, notes Gafoor. “They are not meant to deter Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) from buying a home,” he adds.

According to EL Development’s Lim, 96% of the buyers are Singaporeans and PRs, with foreigners making up the balance 4%.

"The cooling measures were targeted at a small group of buyers and first-time buyers were not affected," says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. "The excellent sales will give confidence to buyers who may be sitting on the fence to commit if their finances permit."

Lee Liat Yeang, senior partner of Dentons Rodyk real estate practice group, attributes the solid first-day sales at Blossoms By The Park to the belief that “Singapore’s real estate market is attractive”. “It’s so attractive that the government has to impose the highest additional buyer’s stamp duty [ABSD] to deter foreign buyers,” he says.

However, even the ABSD for Singaporean and PR investors buying their second and subsequent properties has been raised. “The higher ABSD has jolted people to sell first before buying their next property,” according to Dentons’ Lee. In the meantime, they will rent before taking their time to purchase their next home. “Foreigners waiting for their PR approval will also rent in the meantime,” he adds. “Hence, many investors believe the rental market will continue northward.”

The healthy sales response also indicates the demand for homes in the one-north precinct, given that the supply of new private residential launches in the area is limited, says PropNex’s Gafoor. The last project launch in 2021, the 165-unit One-North Eden, is fully sold. “There were no launches in the area for 14 years before One-North-Eden,” he adds.

Blossoms By The Park is one of the two sites for residential use around Biopolis and Fusionopolis. The other is the upcoming 142-unit The Hill @ One-North. Homes at one-north have investment appeal, notes Huttons' Yip. "The rents at one-north are estimated to be 20% higher than nearby non-landed projects like Dover Parkview and Heritage View and are likely to outperform given the limited supply." he says.

At one-north, there are 400 multinational companies, 15 public research institutions and institutions of higher learning such as Insead and Essec Business School, and corporate campuses like Unilever’s global campus, Unilever Campus @ one-north. There are about 50,000 knowledge workers, and more in the vicinity, at the National University Hospital (NUH), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Science Parks 1 and 2. “Both owner-occupiers, as well as future tenants, would like to live within a short commute to work,” says ERA’s Chu.

Check out the latest listings near Blossoms by the Park, One-North Eden