The resurgence in resale demand is causing prices at Ardmore II — as well as the other two developments in the series — to climb
The rising tide of optimism in the luxury private residential market is helping to lift prices in the resale segment, says Dominic Lee, head of The Luxury Team at Prop Nex Realty. “Strong sales momentum in the primary market has also driven down inventory, with buyers turning to the resale market for good deals,” he adds.
In the prestigious Ardmore Park area, it is not just Wheelock Properties’ Ardmore Park Condo and Ardmore Three that are seeing strong buying interest, but Ardmore II as well.
The 118-unit Ardmore II is the second of three in Wheelock Properties’ Ardmore Series. Launched in September 2006, the condominium was fully sold within a few months at an average price of about $2,600 psf. All the units are identical four-bedroom units of 2,024 sq ft. The 36-storey twin tower project was completed in 2010.
On Oct 23, a unit on the 20th floor of the condo changed hands for $5.42 million ($2,678 psf). This is the latest of half a dozen transactions done so far this year. The other five saw prices ranging from $2,421 psf for a 14th-floor unit to $2,866 psf for a 36th-floor unit.
The first in the Ardmore Series, the 330-unit Ardmore Park Condo was launched 21 years ago at the peak of the 1996/97 property boom. It attracted queues for days before its launch. The freehold development was sold out within three days and prices crossed $2,000 psf, which was a record then.
Even today, more than two decades later, Ardmore Park Condo is considered the benchmark for luxury projects. The development, which has three 30-storey towers, sits on a sprawling eight-acre site. All the typical units are four-bedroom units of 2,885 sq ft each. There are also four 8,740 sq ft penthouses. At the market’s peak in 2010, one of the penthouses fetched $30 million ($3,432 psf).
Prices of units that changed hands at Ardmore Park Condo this year ranged from $2,773 psf for a 15th-floor unit to $3,293 psf for a 25th-floor unit. Most of those sold this year were priced above $3,000 psf.
Ardmore Three is a departure from the rest in the series. Unlike the first two, which have four-bedroom units, all the 84 units at Ardmore Three are three-bedders of 1,744 to 1,798 sq ft so as to attract the younger set. The single 36-storey tower was completed in 2014. Prices, which started at $2,989 psf for a low-floor unit, hit a high of $4,335 psf when a unit on the 36th floor was sold for $7.7 million in June this year.
“Prices at Ardmore Three have been relatively stable,” notes PropNex’s Lee. This year, units sold above the 30th floor have been priced at more than $4,000 psf.
This article, written by Timothy Tay, appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 804 (Nov 6, 2017).