Draycott
8 sold at up to $1,850 psf
27 July 2006
WING
Tai Holdings has sold 70-plus units at its Draycott
8 condo at prices ranging from $1,600 to $1,850 per square foot
since it began previewing the development in November last year.
The
listed property group now plans to officially launch the leasehold development
- marked by the start of an advertising campaign - in late August, at
a higher expected price range of $1,700 to $2,000 psf.
As
well, the group has started to sell two-bedroom units in the condo,
located in the prime Draycott Park area.
Wing
Tai began selling the project in November when landscaping work was
completed.
The
project received its Temporary Occupation Permit in July last year
The
136-unit condo stands on a site with a remaining lease of about 90 years
of the original lease of 99 years.
The
development comprises three blocks of 24 storeys each.
Two
of the blocks each have 44 four-bedroom apartments and two penthouses
while the third tower comprises 20 two-bedroom units and 24 two-bedders
with lofts.
Wing
Tai told BT earlier this week that about half of the 70-odd units sold
so far were snapped up by a US fund. The price is understood to be around
$1,600 psf.
The
company said the rest were bought by individuals from the United Kingdom,
Australia, Denmark, France, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Singapore.
Wing
Tai deputy chairman Edmund Cheng, pleased with the consistent take-up
since the preview, attributes this to the development's prime location,
high quality and exclusive services, including a spectacular clubhouse
said to be the biggest for a condo here, plus concierge services for
residents.
Mr
Cheng also believes that Draycott 8 has benefited from the ongoing collective
sales of both freehold and leasehold properties in the neighbourhood
in several ways.
First,
it provides immediate replacement units to occupants of collective sale
properties. And from the viewpoint of those investing in Draycott 8,
the entry price level is lower compared with a freehold property, resulting
in a higher yield on rental income.
Also,
investors can eventually look to a collective sale of the estate as
a strategic exit option, given the growing phenomenon of en bloc sales
involving leasehold properties.
'These
factors, coupled with the changing mindset of buyers towards leasehold
properties, bode well for Draycott 8,' Mr Cheng said.
The
Draycott 8 site has a remaining tenure of 90 years because Wing Tai
had to hold back the project after it bought the plot for a record price
at a state tender that closed in early June 1997 - on the eve of the
Asian financial crisis.
Wing
Tai paid $1,103.60 psf per plot ratio - the highest amount ever for
99-year leasehold residential land in Singapore.
BT
reported in August last year that market watchers reckon Wing Tai could
have written down the site's land value to a level that reflects a breakeven
cost of below $1,400 psf, after making provisions in financial years
1998, 1999 and 2002.
