(SINGAPORE)
St Regis Residences along Tanglin
Road has set a new benchmark of $3,000 psf for property prices - 25
per cent higher than the previous record of $2,400 notched in the mid-1990s.
More
than one transaction has been done at this price, said Kwek Leng Beng,
City developments Ltd (CDL) executive chairman, at the $6 million showflat
opposite the St Regis site yesterday.
So
far, CDL has launched 50 units of the 173-unit development and 38 have
been sold at an 'early bird special' with an average price of $2,500-$2,600
psf. This works out to about $10 million for a 4,000 sq ft four-bedroom
apartment. Prices will probably increase later to the 'preferred average
price of $2,800 psf'.
About
60 per cent of the buyers are foreigners.
Mr
Kwek said that one investor from the Middle East even wanted to buy
one of the two 23-storey residential towers.
The
deal did not go through but CDL group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong
said that the option was still open.
CDL
also received offers to buy the 20-storey hotel tower but this, Mr Kwek
said resolutely, 'was not for sale'.
And
perhaps with good reason. The development banks on the international
appeal of the St Regis brand name, which is owned by Starwood Hotels
and Resorts. Among other amenities, the St Regis Residences will be
offered the hotel's noted butler service.
In
response to a query on the similarities with another 'branded' condominium,
The Four Seasons Park, Starwood president (Asia-Pacific) Miguel Ko said
that the two developments are not comparable.
Mr
Ko, who himself lives at The Four Seasons Park, said that he was taken
by the luxury brand association but pointed out that an underground
link that was meant to connect the hotel to the residences never materialised.
'You can't send the butler across the street,' he added.
The
St Regis management offers a leasing service for owners who want rental
returns. The details of this service have not been confirmed but it
has led one property consultant to ask if CDL is 'just selling hotel
rooms'. Still, even if it is, this seems to be what the jet set wants.
The same consultant conceded that St Regis Residences is a 'unique product
that justifies its asking price'.
Wallace
Chu, Savills Singapore head of research, does not expect to see a buying
frenzy, unlike the case at CDL's The
Sail @ Marina Bay. Not only is St Regis being sold 'by appointment
only', he points out, 'CDL will be targeting a specific market'.
Merrill
Lynch analyst Sean Monaghan expects CDL to reap a huge profit from the
St Regis project, but he still maintains a 'neutral' call on the stock.
He
said that he is not too shocked by the asking prices either. 'It was
a shock 18 months ago with the Sail.'
