Marine Parade condo prices head north

Private previews of The Shore Residences (the former Rose Garden enbloc site) by Far East Organization in December followed by an official launch on Jan 1 drew crowds to the showflat on weekends. The new 408-unit development opposite Katong Shopping Centre has seen close to 200 units sold at an average price of $1,175 psf as at last week.

What’s more, the project has also spurred renewed interest in the Marine Parade-Amber Road neighbourhood in East Coast, according to the URA Realis database of caveats lodged from Dec 18 to Dec 23.

The development that has seen close to half a dozen units change hands at prices ranging from $920 to $1,000 psf in December was the 612-unit Cote D’Azur, a 99-year leasehold condominium completed in 2004 by Fraser Centrepoint Homes. The highest transacted price at Cote D’Azur last month was for an 840 sq ft, fourth-floor apartment, which was sold for $840,000 ($1,000 psf), according to a Dec 1 caveat. The seller had bought the apartment only eight months earlier for $690,000, or $822 psf, hence seeing a 22% capital appreciation in that short period. It shows just how dramatic the turnaround in the market was last year.

Two 1,141 sq ft apartments — one on the 18th floor of Block 68 and the other on the seventh floor of Block 66 — were sold for $1.088 million ($954 psf) and $1.05 million ($920 psf), respectively in December. The owner of the 18th-floor unit had purchased it for $687,300 ($602 psf) in July 2002 when the project was first launched. Thus, the seller saw a 58.5% capital gain after seven years. Likewise, the owner of a seventhfloor unit had also purhased it from the developer for $662,070, or $580 psf, thus seeing a 58.6% gain over the same period.

Two fourth-floor apartments in Block 66 were sold in late December, according to caveats lodged on Dec 21 and 22. One was a 904 sq ft unit that was sold for $836,000 ($925 psf), while the other was a 1,539 unit that went for $1.52 million ($987 psf). The owner of the 904 sq ft unit had purchased it from the developer in August 2004 for $472,000, or $522 psf. At that time, the property market was at the bottom of the cycle, thus the owner saw a 77% gain from the sale after five years.

The owner of the 1,539 sq ft apartment had purchased the unit in July 2002, when the project was launched, for $854,340, or $555 psf. He enjoyed a 78% price appreciation after seven years.

Across the road from Cote D’Azur is the 546-unit freehold condo The Sea View by Wheelock Properties, which was completed in 2008. In December, two apartments at the high-end project were sold at prices in the $1,400 psf range.

A sixth-floor apartment of 1,410 sq ft at Block 37 of The Sea View was sold for $2 million ($1,418 psf). The last time the property changed hands was in a sub-sale in July 2006, when it was sold for $1.18 million ($838 psf). The first owner had purchased the unit for $1.08 million ($769 psf) when the project was first launched in July 2005.

A 19th-floor, 1,216 sq ft apartment at Block 31 of The Sea View was sold for $1.726 million ($1,420) in December. The owner had purchased the property in a sub-sale in April 2008 for $1.568 million ($1,290 psf).

Also in the neighbourhood is One Amber, a 562-unit development by joint developers UIC, Singapore Land and UOL Group. The project is expected to receive its temporary occupation permit in 1Q2010. The most recent transaction was that of a 15th-floor apartment in one of the four 23-storey blocks. The unit was sold for $1.47 million ($1,120 psf). The owner had purchased the 1,313 sq ft apartment for $1.01 million ($769 psf) in December 2006, hence enjoying a 46% gain.

From the transaction prices in the secondary market, it is clear that prices in the Marine Parade-Amber Road neighbourhood are heading back to the peak levels seen in mid-2007.

Source : The Edge – 18 Jan 2010