SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - On June 8, when Singapore was still in the midst of the Phase One reopening, the owner of a three-bedroom unit at The Sea View in District 15 managed to sell his property solely through virtual viewings. According to Aaron Wan, group district director at PropNex Realty and the seller's agent, the 1,410 sq ft unit will go for $2.85 million ($2,021 psf) when the option to purchase is eventually signed. Wan says the transaction marks a new record psf price for a three-bedroom unit at the freehold development.

The Sea View, located on Amber Road, is a 546-unit development with one- to three-bedroom units. Three-bedders range from 1,518 to 2,928 sq ft, while other units are 527 to 1,410 sq ft. According to URA caveats, the previous record price for a three-bedroom unit at The Sea View was for a 1,647 sq ft unit on the 19th floor, which changed hands for $3.2 million ($1,943 psf) in January 2018.

According to Wan, the buyer was looking to purchase a new home in the East Coast area and was exploring available resale properties and new projects. “The Sea View stood out for him, given that the development sits on a relatively large site area of 185,580 sq ft. It is also rare to find a high-floor, sizeable, three-bedroom unit in District 15 on the resale market these days,” he says.

Separately, Wan was a cobroke agent who represented a buyer that purchased a pair of adjacent bungalows in Pasir Ris on June 4, also during Phase One of the reopening. The two 99-year leasehold properties at 114 and 114A Pasir Ris Road each sit on a 5,000 sq ft plot, and were sold after virtual viewings. The two-storey bungalows have a built-up area of 6,500 sq ft each. According to Wan, the two properties were jointly sold for close to $7 million in total, which is at a land rate of about $700 psf and about $3 million below their valuation. While Wan represented the buyers, Charlotte Ang and Elena Ang of OrangeTee & Tie were the exclusive agents for the developer of the bungalows.

“Given the challenging market situation at the time, the owner felt that it was more prudent to find a buyer who could offer a reasonable price, so that he could realise a significant part of the value of his property,” says Wan. “The price of $7 million is also a reasonable offer, especially since the property will become home to a large multi-generational family.” He adds that the buyer plans to knock down the dividing wall on the ground floor to allow access between the two houses.

Anecdotally, Wan says that buyers and sellers in the resale market have grown more comfortable in relying on virtual home viewings to close deals, especially after the two-month “circuit breaker” period. He adds that the extra hurdles during the sales process meant that only serious investors and home buyers were active in the resale market in the past few weeks, and they were more likely to close deals if the property met their expectations and the price was realistic.

“Some buyers still expect to see more fire sales appear on the market in the coming months, and cash-rich investors hunting for investment properties in prime Districts 9, 10, and 11 are moving quickly to secure deals when the properties are realistically priced,” says Wan.