Cuscaden Reserve relaunched at prices from $2,900 psf, down 20% from average transacted prices

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

March 3, 2024 5:19 PM SGT

The 192-unit, 28-storey Cuscaden Reserve completed in August 2023, has been relaunched at prices 20% below average transacted prices (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Singapore property developer SC Global and its joint venture partners, Hong Kong-listed New World Development and Far East Consortium, have slashed asking prices at Cuscaden Reserve by as much as 20%.

According to a WhatsApp message from property agents, units at Cuscaden Reserve will have prices from $2,900 psf. A two-week preview began on March 2, with expressions of interest (EOI) by cheque submissions. Booking of units is said to begin on March 16. PropNex, ERA, Huttons Asia, OrangeTee & Tie and SRI are appointed marketing agents.

Based on caveats lodged to date, 12 units (6.25%) out of 192 have been sold at an average price of $3,625 psf. Hence, the new starting price reflects a 20% price cut.

Read also: Final units at Perfect Ten and Pasir Ris 8 sold

"Response over the weekend was pretty strong, with buyers attracted by the price point," says Ken Low, managing partner of SRI.

Booking of units will proceed on March 16. Given the exclusivity of the project, units will likely be sold by private placement, notes Dominic Lee, head of luxury at PropNex.

Cuscaden Reserve was designed by SCDA Architects (the same architect for SC Global's two other luxury developments, the 55-unit Ladyhill and the 66-unit The Marq on Paterson Hill) and obtained Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in August 2023.

SC Global and its joint venture partners paid $410 million for the 61,597 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site in April 2018. SC Global is said to have a 40% stake in the joint venture, with New World Development holding another 40% and Far East Consortium, the remaining 20%. The partners emerged at the top of nine bids at the close of the government land sale (GLS) tender. Their purchase price for the land also translated to a record $2,377 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Based on caveats lodged, 12 units have been sold at Cuscaden Reserve at an average price of $3,625 psf (Source: EdgeProp Landlens/URA Realis)

Since the residential development site was purchased before the July 2018 cooling measures, the developers' additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) for unsold units within a five-year or 5.5-year (during Covid) sales period is likely to be 15% of the land acquisition cost or $61.5 million. However, it's subjected to a 5% interest rate per annum, which brings the total to an estimated $80.4 million, based on a 5.5-year sales period.

However, apart from the ABSD, the developers of Cuscaden Reserve could also be motivated to sell their remaining units before the debut of the upcoming project at the Orchard Boulevard GLS site just across the road.

The 80:20 joint venture between UOL Group and Singapore Land (SingLand) Group beat three other developers to win the 75,657 sq ft, 99-year leasehold GLS site on Orchard Boulevard with a top bid of $428.28 million. The land rate of $1,617 psf ppr is 32% below Cuscaden Reserve's $2,377 psf ppr six years ago.

URA awarded the Orchard Boulevard GLS site to the UOL-SingLand joint venture on Feb 21. The future development, estimated to have 280 units, will be linked underground to the Orchard Boulevard MRT Station on the Thomson East Coast Line next to the site.

SRI's Low reckons the new condo by UOL-SingLand could be priced in the $3,000 to $3,200 psf range. The upcoming development is expected to have larger format units, mainly two-, three- and four-bedrooms, similar to Watten House. Hence, the new project at Orchard Boulevard will likely focus on a different market segment, "with predominantly family-sized units targeted at the younger rich or retirees looking to right-size", he adds.

Cuscaden Reserve, on the other hand, is the second development under SC Global's Petit Collectible, a series of luxury projects featuring smaller units. However, these developments still enjoy SC Global's estate management and trained concierge service under its Seven Palms Resort Management and Concierge Services.

Typical units at Cuscaden Reserve are a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments from 700 sq ft to 1,163 sq ft. There are six 2,099 sq ft four-bedroom apartments from the 21st to the 26th floors. They are reconfigured from a two- and three-bedroom apartment on these floors. A sole duplex penthouse of 3,755 sq ft spans the 27th and 28th floors.

According to caveats lodged, the highest psf price achieved to date is $3,830 psf for a 1,163 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the 26th floor that fetched $4.452 million in June 2022. The last transacted unit was a 936 sq ft, two-bedroom unit on the 23rd floor of the 28-storey block. It fetched $3.537 million ($3,777 psf) in December 2023.

Read also: OPINION: Is it time to review ABSD rates?

"The latest price discount and the unit sizes at Cuscaden Reserve has, therefore, attracted mainly investors," says SRI's Low. He points to recent transacted rents, where a one-bedroom unit was leased out at $5,600 per month last December, and a two-bedroom unit was leased out for $8,000 a month last November. Hence, rents achieved are hovering at $8 psf to $9 psf per month.

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