Things are heating up in the Prince Charles Crescent neighbourhood, off Alexandra Road. There has been a flurry of transactions at The Crest, with three units sold in the week of Aug 23 to 30, based on caveats lodged and downloaded as at Sept 6.
The smallest among them was a 635 sq ft, one-bedroom unit on the sixth floor of one of the three towers, and it fetched $980,000 ($1,543 psf). The second was an 893 sq ft, two-bedroom-plus- study unit on the 21st floor that was sold for $1.6 million ($1,792 psf). The third was a 1,453 sq ft, three-bedroom-plus-study loft unit on the 10th floor that fetched $2.32 million ($1,594 psf).
Launched in June 2014, The Crest has seen 130 of a total of 469 units sold. The 99-year leasehold condominium is jointly developed by Wing Tai Holdings, retail group Metro and UE E&C’s development unit Maxdin and designed by renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito. It comprises three 23-storey towers and four low-rise, five-storey blocks on a sprawling 256,000 sq ft site. Construction of The Crest is well underway, with its Temporary Occupation Permit expected to be obtained in September 2017.
The upcoming 469-unit The Crest on the left of Alexandra Canal, and the 15-year-old Tanglin View on the right
The Wing Tai-led consortium purchased the land parcel in a government land tender with a bid of $516.3 million ($960 psf per plot ratio) in 4Q2012. To qualify for the additional buyer’s stamp duty remission, the consortium has to develop and sell all units in The Crest within five years. Failing to do so will mean incurring an ABSD of 10% on land cost (with interest of 5% a year); for sites purchased from Jan 12, 2013, the ABSD of 15% applies.
To move units, Wing Tai has come up with a marketing campaign that includes a 15% discount and interior design package worth $80,000 for one-bedroom units by interior design firm SuMisura. The developer is also understood to have offered a 6% commission rate to salespersons in April and May.
Adjacent to The Crest is 663-unit Principal Garden by a joint venture between UOL Group and Kheng Leong Co. The project was launched last October with units priced at an average of $1,600 psf. The developer has been offering a price cut of $5,000 for units sold in July and August. The latest transaction, based on caveats lodged, was that of a 1,572 sq ft, four-bedroom unit sold for $2.5 million ($1,593 psf) on Aug 24. A total of 296 units have been sold at Principal Garden, based on caveats lodged and downloaded as at Sept 6. The project is scheduled for completion at end-2019.
Sales have been swifter at Principal Garden because of the compact unit sizes, with 73% of the units being one- and two-bedroom apartments measuring 484 to 807 sq ft and priced from $812,000 ($1,676 psf) to $1.3 million ($1,624 psf), according to property agents.
In comparison, units at The Crest are larger, with the smallest starting from 635 sq ft for one-bedroom units and priced from $980,000 ($1,543 psf). Most of the units at The Crest are two-bedroom units measuring 743 to 1,001 sq ft and priced from $1.25 million ($1,684 psf).
Located across the Alexandra Canal, but also bearing the Prince Charles Crescent address, is 384-unit Tanglin View. The 99-year leasehold project was developed by property giant Far East Organization and completed in 2001. The latest transaction at Tanglin View was that of an 872 sq ft, two-bedroom unit that changed hands for $1.1 million ($1,239 psf), according to a caveat lodged on Aug 24.
This article appeared in The Edge Property Pullout, Issue 745 (Sep 12, 2016) of The Edge Singapore.