Four Seasons Park condo may be 21 years old, yet it is able to achieve the same price levels as newly completed luxury condos in the vicinity of Cuscaden Walk, Angullia Park and Tomlinson Road, located just off Orchard Boulevard. Last month, a 3,821 sq ft, six-bedroom unit on the 24th level of one of the three blocks was sold for $10.5million ($2,748 psf). That same unit fetched $6.8 million ($1,780 psf) in a sub-sale in 1995.
Two six-bedroom units on the 24th floor of two adjacent towers at Four Seasons Park sold four months
apart fetched identical prices of $10.5 million
In May, another six-bedroom unit of identical size with the same floor and unit number in a neighbouring block had also changed hands for $10.5 million, according to a caveat lodged then. Chandran VR, managing director of boutique real estate agency Cosmopolitan Real Estate, who was managing its tenancy on behalf of the previous owner, says the unit has a “premium view” of Orchard Road, the city skyline and, on a clear day, all the way to the Johor Straits.
As the previous owner had spent more than $1 million renovating and upgrading the unit three years ago, the original asking price was $13 million, adds Chandran. Nonetheless, at $10.5 million, the sale translated into a 69.4% capital upside for the previous owner, who had bought the unit for $6.2 million ($1,623 psf) 10 years ago. The seller is believed to be a foreigner.
Four Seasons Park contains 202 units in three 26-storey blocks sitting on a land area of 299,775 sq ft. Before Ardmore Park Condo was launched in 1996, Four Seasons Park was the standard-bearer for luxury condos. The project was developed by listed property group Hotel Properties Ltd, controlled by Singaporean tycoon Ong Beng Seng. It was launched in the early 1990s and completed in 1994. Even in 1995, units were sold at prices in the range of $1,600 to $1,700 psf.
Four Seasons Park is located across the road from Four Seasons Hotel, which is also owned by HPL. In fact, Four Seasons Park was the first hotel-branded residence in Singapore when it was launched. This was prior to the entry of a new generation of hotel-branded residences such as the 173-unit St Regis Residences (completed in 2008) and the 58-unit Ritz-Carlton Residences on Cairnhill Road (completed in 2013).
The appeal of Four Seasons Park lies in the size of its units, with the smallest being three-bedroom units starting from 2,260 sq ft. The four-bedroom ones range from 2,357 to 2,874 sq ft. There are none with five bedrooms, but the six-bedroom units are 3,821 sq ft and the penthouses are 6,017 sq ft.
However, like other luxury condos in Singapore, even Four Seasons has seen rentals erode owing to reduced expatriate budgets and increased competition from newer condos. Three years ago, its six-bedroom units could fetch a monthly rental of $25,000. Today, rents are in the range of $17,500 to $18,000, says Chandran.
Despite competition from newer luxury condos, Four Seasons Park is still sought after because of its location (it is a short walk to Orchard Road), spacious units and unblocked views, as well as extensive grounds of close to 300,000 sq ft. “It even has a winter garden— an air-conditioned glass conservatory within the grounds,” says Samuel Eyo, managing director of Singapore Christie’s Homes.
The only drawback is that because Four Seasons Park was built in the 1990s, it does not have private lift access to each unit, unlike most of the newer luxury condos. And owners will need to renovate the units. “If you renovate the unit well, you can command a good price, as seen in the recent transactions,”Eyo adds.
Next door to Four Seasons Park and fronting Tomlinson Road is the 70-unit Tomlinson Heights by HPL, completed in August last year. The luxury condo tower sits on a prime freehold site of 76,888 sq ft and contains a mix of spacious three-bedroom units sized from 2,540 sq ft, five-bedroom units from 4,004 sq ft and five-bedroom penthouses from 4,941 sq ft.
According to property agents, the developer has adjusted its selling price since the start of the year, and “the project is selling well”. Prices of units sold at Tomlinson Heights between May and July ranged from $2,680 to $2,915 psf, according to caveats lodged. However, owing to the unit sizes, the absolute prices have been high, with a 4,047 sq ft, five-bedroom unit on the fourth floor sold recently for $11 million ($2,718 psf), while a 2,745 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the 23rd floor fetched $8 million ($2,915 psf), based on recent caveats.
This means the price levels at Tomlinson Heights are almost on a par with that of the two units sold at Four Seasons Park. “Some people may [choose] to buy a unit in a new luxury condo tower while others prefer the huge grounds of an older condo,” says Eyo. “It’s all a matter of personal choice, and buyers have quite a lot of choices today.”
Luxury condominium developments near Orchard Boulevard with recent transactions
Interested in condos/apartment in prime districts? Click here to start searching!
This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 699 (Oct 19, 2015) of The Edge Singapore.