14/01/2019
Allgreen Propertiesโ first of three new projects in prime District 10 is drawing buyer interest. Will the developerโs $1.2 billion bet on The Bukit Timah Collection pay off?
This year, an estimated 60 residential projects are slated for launch. Kicking off the year is Allgreen Propertiesโ highend condominium Fourth Avenue Residences. The 476-unit project held its preview over the weekend of Jan 5 and 6, drawing more than 2,000 visitors.
โWe are encouraged by the turnout at the preview,โ says Anson Lim, Allgreen Propertiesโ senior general manager โ residential marketing and sales. โAs the first major project of the year, we also hope that we can inject positive sentiment into the property market.โ
Lim reckons that about 70% of the prospective buyers are residents in the Bukit Timah area, while 30% are from the surrounding city-fringe areas, for instance the Upper Bukit Timah and Toh Tuck area in District 21, the Alexandra-Commonwealth area in District 3 and the Buona Vista-Clementi area in District 5. โSome are looking to buy for their own use โ and there is a good mix of investors and owner-occupiers โ while others are looking to buy for their children or grandchildren,โ he observes. Fourth Avenue Residences is located adjacent to Sixth Avenue MRT station on the Downtown Line and in the vicinity of a Good Class Bungalow area. It is also near top schools such as Hwa Chong Institution, Nanyang Primary School and Methodist Girlsโ School.
The upcoming private condo is situated on a 99-year leasehold site that was purchased by Allgreen Properties in a government land sale (GLS) tender in December 2017 for $533 million, or $1,540 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).
Pent-up demand
According to Lee Sze Teck, head of research for Huttons Asia, the last GLS site that was sold in the Bukit Timah area in prime District 10 was more than 20 years ago. The site on Duchess Avenue was purchased in 1995 by Wing Tai Holdings and developed into the 251-unit Duchess Crest. Meanwhile, the last new launch of a private condo in the area โ the 175-unit The Sixth Avenue Residences โ was 12 years ago. โPent-up demand has therefore been building up for more than 10 years,โ says Lee.
โFurthermore, not many projects in the prime districts can claim to have an MRT station at their doorstep,โ adds Lee. On Bukit Timah Road, Fourth Avenue Residences is the only residential development with a direct covered linkway to the MRT station. Recognising the pent-up demand, Allgreen, a property group controlled by Malaysiaโs richest man Robert Kuok, purchased not just one but three residential sites in the prestigious residential enclave in December 2017. Besides the Fourth Avenue Residences site, Allgreen Properties bought Royalville and Crystal Tower. Both of these are freehold, collective sale sites. Royalville, which is located near Fourth Avenue Residences, was purchased for $477.94 million ($1,960 psf ppr) while Crystal Tower was acquired for $180.65 million ($1,840 psf ppr).
Source:sg.finance.yahoo.com
