Several factors responsible for rise in EC sales
Artist’s impression of Northwave EC in Woodlands.
UPDATED: Sales of executive condominium (EC) units picked up in July, buoyed by the quick sell-out of Hundred Palms Residences in Hougang. The project sold all 531 units within just seven hours at a median price of $843 psf.
Overall, developers sold 978 EC units last month, an increase of 301 percent from 244 units in June.
“The strong performance of Hundred Palms Residences despite its optimistic pricing reveals that there is still demand for new ECs,” said Ong Teck Hui, National Director of Research & Consultancy at JLL.
However, he cautioned not to draw too many conclusions as there were other factors as well.
“The absence of new EC projects in the vicinity and its location in a mature housing area, transportation accessibility and proximity to amenities contributed to strong demand from buyers,” said Ong.
Previously launched ECs also saw good sales last month including The Visionaire in Sembawang which sold 65 units at a median price of $830 psf. The nearby Parc Life moved 63 units at a median price of $790 psf, while Northwave in Woodlands found buyers for 43 units at a median price of $776 psf.
JLL’s analysis of the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s data shows that developers sold 3,004 EC units in the first seven months of 2017, up 11 percent from last year.
According to analysts, the lower supply of new EC units has driven up demand.
There were 1,555 units launched between January and June, 41.5 percent less than a year ago, said Ong.
At the same time, market sentiment has improved significantly since the end of 2016 and this has spilled over to ECs, noted Wong Xian Yang, Head of Research & Consultancy at OrangeTee. “As such, unsold inventory in the EC market has dwindled significantly,” he said.
Ong revealed that the number of unsold uncompleted EC units fell by 54 percent to 1,591 units in Q2 2017 from the previous year.
He expects EC prices to increase in the coming months due to the lower supply, but not by much as buyers are still price sensitive.
Wong thinks that prices could potentially rise by one to five percent on the back of higher land prices and market demand.
Looking ahead, Ong noted that there is only one EC project at Anchorvale Lane in Sengkang in the launch pipeline, while the next EC land sale at Sumang Walk in Punggol is slated for December.
Developers Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments are targeting to launch the Anchorvale Lane project in Q1 2018. Located beside Punggol Reservoir, the 2.1ha site is expected to yield over 600 units.
Wong reckons that the future project could command launch prices in the range of $810 psf to $840 psf. As for the Sumang Walk site, he expects to see 10 to 20 bids ranging from $340 to $370 psf per plot ratio.
Get the latest insights on the EC market from an industry expert at our Guru Talk seminar held at the Northwave showflat in Woodlands this Saturday (19 August). To register, go to www.pgevents.propertyguru.com.sg/event/gurutalknorthwaveaug2017/
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
