Sim Lian Group’s Emerald of Katong: Will it be another top-seller?
By Cecilia Chow
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
Emerald of Katong attracted a total of 10,000 visitors over the first three days of preview from Nov 1 to 3 (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
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With 10,000 visitors during the first three days of previews from Nov 1 to Nov 3, expectations are high for Sim Lian Group’s 846-unit Emerald of Katong to achieve strong sales on Nov 16.
Anticipation built up further when the joint marketing agents collected 3,629 cheques from interested parties over the two-week preview period, as of the evening of Nov 13. This is equivalent to the project being 4.3 times subscribed.
The stage was set by the performance of Kingsford Group’s 916-unit Chuan Park, which saw over 2,800 cheques collected during eight days of previews—equivalent to being three times subscribed. On Nov 10, 696 units (76%) were sold in a single day at an average price of $2,579 psf, making it the top-selling private condo this year.
Get the latest details on available units and prices for Emerald Of Katong
The crowd at the VIP preview of Sim Lian Group's 846-unit Emerald of Katong on Nov 1 (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Emerald of Katong is not the only project launching on Nov 16. Two other developments are also set to debut that same day: the 552-unit, 99-year leasehold Nava Grove in District 21—a joint venture between MCL Land and Sinarmas Land—and the 504-unit Novo Place executive condo at Plantation Close in Tengah, developed by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments. During the preview stage, Nava Grove received 840 cheques as expressions of interest.
Located in the prime Tanjong Katong neighbourhood in District 15, Emerald of Katong falls within the Rest of Central Region (RCR).
Designed by MAN Architects, this 99-year leasehold project spans a 221,436 sq ft site and features six blocks ranging from 18 to 21 storeys. The units are available in a variety of layouts, from one-bedroom-plus-study to five-bedroom luxe, with sizes ranging from 484 sq ft to 1,561 sq ft.
The 99-year leasehold Emerald of Katong spans a 221,436 sq ft site and features six blocks ranging from 18 to 21 storeys (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
‘Attractively priced’
“Emerald of Katong will be attractively priced for its location and functional layout,” says Kuik Sing Beng, executive director of Sim Lian Group.
Property agents indicate starting prices from $2,300 psf. In the lead-up to the sales launch this coming weekend, over 2,000 cheques are expected to be collected as expressions of interest.
Prices start from $1.2 million for a 484 sq ft unit, $1.5 million for a 624 sq ft two-bedroom premium and $1.6 million for a 678 sq ft two-bedroom premium plus study. Starting at 883 sq ft, three-bedroom units are priced from $2.1 million, while three-bedroom-plus-study units of 969 sq ft start from $2.3 million.
Four-bedroom-plus-study units, sized at 1,152 sq ft, are priced from $2.7 million and four-bedroom premium units, starting at 1,259 sq ft, are priced from $3 million. The five-bedroom luxe units, beginning at 1,475 sq ft, are priced from $3.5 million.
“Buyers are looking forward to Emerald of Katong’s launch as it will offer a wider selection of units, such as smaller apartments, which tend to sell more quickly,” says PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor. “Another compelling factor is the price quantum, with prices of two-bedders starting from just over $1.5 million, which is very attractive for a well-located RCR project within walking distance to an MRT station.”
Narrowing price gap
Based on PropNex Research analysis, after factoring in the transactions at the 348-unit, 99-year leasehold Norwood Grand in Woodlands (Outside Central Region or OCR) and the 226-unit, freehold Meyer Blue on Meyer Road in the RCR, which were both launched in October, the median unit price gap between RCR and OCR for the first 10 months of 2024 has narrowed to just 22% (See Table). The price gap is still narrower than the 26% to 27% witnessed in the pre-Covid-19 years of 2017-2019, says Gafoor.
With the launch of Chuan Park in the OCR at the average selling price above $2,500 psf and the upcoming launches of Nava Grove and Emerald of Katong, both of which are in the RCR, Gafoor reckons “there is a chance that the median unit price gap could narrow further”. However, it will also depend on the transacted prices at Nava Grove and Emerald Katong this weekend.
The narrower price gap between the different regions could be due to developers pricing their projects “sensitively” to appeal to a predominantly Singaporean homebuyer base, says Gafoor.
Since the introduction of the 60% additional buyer’s stamp duty for foreign buyers, Singaporeans typically made up around 90% to 95% of buyers at new project launches, with the rest made up of permanent residents and foreigners, says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia.
“Currently, the majority of buyers are in the 30-40 age group, as they have the finances to either buy their first home or upgrade to a private condo,” adds Yip. “There is also an increasing number of buyers in their 20s supported by their parents. Some buyers may be staying in the neighbouring landed enclave.”
Currently, the majority of buyers are in the 30-40 age group, as they have the finances to either buy their first home or upgrade to a private condo (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
East Coast lifestyle appeal
Emerald of Katong is located on Jalan Tembusu and within a five-minute walk from the Tanjong Katong MRT Station (on the Thomson-East Coast Line), one MRT stop from Parkway Parade shopping centre on Marine Parade Road and a five-minute bicycle ride from the beach at East Coast Park.
Popular schools nearby include Tanjong Katong Primary School and Haig Girls’ School, with Kong Hwa School, CHIJ (Katong) Primary School, Dunman High School and Tao Nan School within a 2km range.
The 99-year leasehold condo at Jalan Tembusu (Parcel B) was purchased for $828.8 million or $1,069 psf per plot ratio in July last year.
According to Sim Lian, the project is launched under the new Gross Floor Area (GFA) harmonisation initiative, where air conditioner ledges are not included in the strata area, hence maximising usability and efficiency.
Showflat of the three-bedroom-plus-study at Emerald of Katong (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Last year, three other private condo projects were launched in District 15. The nearest is the 638-unit, 99-year leasehold Tembusu Grand by joint venture partners City Developments (CDL) and MCL Land. The project was launched in April last year, and with 528 units sold as of Nov 12, it is 83% taken up at an average price of $2,457 psf.
Further up on Dunman Road, the 99-year leasehold Grand Dunman was launched in July last year. The project by SingHaiyi Group likewise saw 10,000 visitors on its preview weekend. Based on caveats lodged, the project is about 71% sold at an average price of $2,529 psf. Grand Dunman is across the street from the Dakota MRT Station on the Circle Line.
Located closer to Paya Lebar Quarter is the 816-unit, freehold project The Continuum on Thiam Siew Avenue. The District 15 project by joint venture partners Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments was launched in May 2023. The project is nearly half sold at an average price of $2,766 psf.
“Projects in District 15 tend to attract strong interest as many buyers are drawn to the East Coast lifestyle,” says Yip of Huttons. “Projects in the area, such as Grand Dunman and Tembusu Grand, sold more than 50% on their launch day. Furthermore, Katong is an area rich in culture and heritage.”
The 670-unit The Tampines Trilliant, completed in 2015, was the last executive condo developed by Sim Lian Group in Tampines. It has two more upcoming ECs in the pipeline for launch, starting with the 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines (Photo: Tampines Trilliant website)
Upcoming ECs in Tampines
Sim Lian Group is not new to the East. The developer launched the biggest private condo in Singapore to date, the 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines at Tampines Street 11. It is a redevelopment of the former privatised HUDC estate Tampines Court, which Sim Lian purchased for $970 million in 2017.
The 2,203-unit project was launched in February 2019 and sold out by February 2022. The average price of units sold was $1,356 psf. The project was completed in 2023. Based on 448 sub-sales and resales recorded in URA Realis to date, the average price of Treasure at Tampines has increased 23% to $1,667 psf.
Sim Lian’s Kuik attributes the strong take-up at Treasure at Tampines — despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 — to its strategic location in a mature regional centre, proximity to amenities such as Tampines MRT Station, and the three malls around it. He adds that the project attracted a wide range of buyers — from HDB upgraders to first-time homeowners and property investors, given its wide variety of unit types and over 100 condo facilities.
The developer has purchased two executive condo (EC) sites in Tampines over the past 13 months. The first EC site, purchased in October 2023, was the 301,392 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site at Tampines Street 62 (Parcel B) for $543.28 million ($721 psf ppr). Sim Lian topped six other bidders to win the site.
The 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines is fully sold and completed in 2023 (Picture: Sim Lian Group)
Sim Lian intends to launch the EC at Tampines Street 62, the 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines, “in the coming months”.
The second EC site is at Tampines Street 95, with Sim Lian again submitting the highest bid of $465 million ($768 psf ppr) at the close of the tender in October. It beat four other bidders and set a new benchmark land rate for ECs. The 241,982 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site can be developed into a new EC project with about 560 units.
Following the upcoming launches on Nov 16, Huttons’ Yip doesn’t expect any further public launches of projects at the year-end.
Upcoming launches scheduled for 1Q2025 include Sim Lian’s Aurelle of Tampines; Roxy-Pacific Holdings’ 113-unit freehold Bagnall Haus (former Bagnall Court) along Upper East Coast Road; the 501-unit Elta private condo at Clementi Avenue 1 by a joint venture between MCL Land and CSC Land Group; the 1,193-unit PARKTOWN Residence by UOL Group and CapitaLand at Tampines Avenue 11; and the 777-unit The Orie, a private condo at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 by a joint venture made up of City Developments, Frasers Property and Sekisui House.
Since the launch of The Botany at Dairy Farm in March 2023, the 386-unit, 99-year leasehold condo is 98% sold at an average price of $2,039 psf, based on caveats lodged (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
‘Big push’ in 4Q2024 developers’ sales
Last year, Sim Lian launched the 386-unit The Botany at Dairy Farm. Since its launch in March 2023, the project is 98% sold at an average price of $2,039 psf, based on caveats lodged. The project has only eight units available for sale.
Kuik attributes The Botany’s strong sales to its proximity to the Bukit Timah and Dairy Farm nature reserves, the German European School Singapore, the newly opened Dairy Farm Mall and its location just a 10-minute walk from Hillview MRT Station on the Downtown Line.
Apart from the new launches, some existing ones are also moving units steadily, says PropNex’s Gafoor. They include the 520-unit Pinetree Hill (adjacent to Nava Grove), Tembusu Grand (next door to Emerald of Katong) and the 474-unit Hillock Green at Lentor Hills estate.
New home sales are projected to end the year in the range of 5,500 to 6,000 units (excluding ECs). “Collectively, these transactions will help shore up new home sales in 2024 and pave the way for a more positive 2025, amid optimism around potential interest rate cuts and an uptick in consumer sentiment,” says PropNex’s Gafoor.
Developers’ sales this year have been muted for most of the past nine months, with only 3,049 private units sold (excluding ECs)—a 43% decline from the 5,329 units sold in the same period in 2023. “We expect the launches in 4Q2024 to give developers’ sales a substantial boost,” he adds.
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