Upcoming launches in 2Q2021

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

March 25, 2021 6:00 AM SGT

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The preview of Irwell Hill Residences will be followed by that of Grange 1866, a boutique 60-unit condominium (redevelopment of iliv@Grange) the next weekend. Prices are expected to start from $2,700 psf.

Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, expects Irwell Hill Residences and other upcoming launches to “ride on the positive sales momentum” seen at Midtown Modern. Irwell Hill Residences is the first new launch in prime District 9 in 15 months, he notes.

Others include the 351-unit One Bernam and the 165-unit One-north Eden. “They each have their unique selling points catering to different target groups,” says Yip. For example, One Bernam, located in the Tanjong Pagar district within the CBD, will be attractive to investors, while One-north Eden will be able to tap the “pent-up demand” in the one-north area, where there has not been a new launch in 14 years, he adds.

The upcoming Grange 1866 is ra edevelopment of the former iliv@grange (pictured above) [Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore]

Another upcoming launch is the 413-unit executive condo (EC), Provence Residences at Canberra Link. There has not been a new EC launch in Sembawang since January last year, with the launch of Parc Canberra, notes Nicholas Mak, head of research at ERA Realty. “The very healthy initial take-up at Midtown Modern will boost confidence of developers and home buyers for subsequent projects,” he says.

Other projects in the Core Central Region (CCR) that are expected to come onstream over the next three months include the 90-unit Peak Residence on Thomson Road, the 230-unit Perfect Ten at Bukit Timah and the 138-unit Klimt Cairnhill, says Lee Sze Teck, director of research, Huttons Asia.

“The market has been on a roll after the circuit breaker with many new launches doing very well on the first day of sales,” adds Lee. “With Midtown Modern achieving superb first day sales, it has certainly boosted the confidence in the market especially when a number of new launches in the pipeline are in the CCR.”

Normanton Park, The Reef at King's Dock (pictured) and Normanton Park and Midtown Modern were the first three new private residential project launch this year to achieve a three-digit sales figure in the first weekend of launch (Photo: Keppel Land/Mapletree)

Since exiting the circuit breaker in 2H2020, demand for homes has picked-up, notes Leonard Tay, Knight Frank head of research. “It was just that there were no new launches of note in February 2021,” he adds. “Hence, developer sales in the private residential market took a breather during the month with 645 transactions (excluding ECs). This was a 60.5% decrease or an almost 1,000-unit decline when compared to January.”

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According to Han Huan Mei, director of research at List Sotheby’s International Realty, Midtown Modern marks the third new residential project launch this year to achieve a three-digit sales figure in the first weekend of launch – after Normanton Park and The Reef at King’s Dock. “This is certainly a sign of positive market sentiment as well as that of genuine home buyers who are ready to enter the market,” she says. “They could be a mix of end-users and investors. Some of them could already have in mind the project they want to buy, while others could be opportunistic buyers who zeroed in on projects with strong attributes that were priced attractively.”

The outlook for 2021 “remains relatively positive and resilient”, says Chia Ngiang Hong, group general manager of City Developments Ltd (CDL). Factors that support the private housing market – including pro-business policies and a stable political environment – remain intact. “With the rolling out of vaccines, signs of improvement in pandemic containment and macroeconomic recovery, housing demand and buying sentiment may pick up further in the coming months,” he adds.

BLD-AMBER-PARK-SCALE-MODEL - EDGEPROP SINGAPORE

Amber Park sold 20 units in February, making it one of the top-selling projects last month (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

In just the first three months of 2021 to date, CDL has moved around 260 units in its existing launches. This brings the developer’s total inventory to around 1,400 units (including those with joint venture partners). For the month of February, Amber Park condo was among the best-sellers, having sold 20 units at a median price of $2,447 psf.

“Indeed, developers want to sell as many units as possible to clear their inventory and mitigate any policy risk,” notes ERA’s Mak. “I think the government should increase the land sale supply for the 2H2021 programme. Looking at the absorption rate, the government needs to be less conservative. If they don’t increase the supply of land this year, all the land tenders will end up with higher and higher prices.”

And this leads to the perennial question of whether there will be another round of property cooling measures in the offing. “The effect of having too many cooling measures is, what we call in economics, ‘adaptive expectations’ - people are pre-empting them,” says Alan Cheong, executive director of research at Savills Singapore. “I think there may be more cooling measures, but I don’t believe it’s going to be hard-coded rules and regulations. I think the policymakers will do their best to think it through before introducing them.”

Find out here on why Normanton Park project sold 600 units in 1 weekend

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