Tag Archives: Luxury Property

SC Global launches high-end apartment at The Marq

Posted on 17 May 2012 | Comments Off on SC Global launches high-end apartment at The Marq

Luxury property developer SC Global Developments has launched a high-end apartment at The Marq on Paterson Road.

The unit, decorated by French luxury goods designer Hermes, promises to bring a new meaning to luxury living.

This, as buying of luxury properties typically located in city and fringes has picked up.

The project will be the world’s first apartment entirely decorated by Hermes but SC Global said the 6,200 square feet apartment at its flagship development The Marq is not for sale.

The unit, which will be used only as a private hospitality apartment for private functions, symbolises the peak of luxury living.

About half of the 66 freehold units situated in two 24-storey towers at The Marq put up for sale have been taken up since its launch in the second quarter of 2007.

It added four out of 10 buyers are foreigners.

SC Global CEO Simon Cheong said: “For high-end apartments, it’s for the discerning few. We don’t have many apartments. We just completed the project and we don’t really have a launching programme. It’s only by appointment only, as far as SC Global is concerned. The luxury market is a very different market altogether.”

Sale of luxury properties in the city area, which has softened in recent months, showed a pick-up last month.

In April, the number of new homes sold by developers in the city doubled from the figures in March. But analysts are mixed on the buying trend of these more expensive apartments for the remaining 2012.

Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said: “Because of the government measures like additional buyer’s stamp duty, where there is additional stamp duty for foreign purchases… the core central region where there is high foreign participation is going to remain fairly low for the next half a year or so.”

Analysts said the narrowing price gap between luxury and mass market properties in recent months prompts some to take a second look at properties in the city and fringes.

Chua Yang Liang, head of research (Southeast Asia) at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “There is this motivation for Singaporean buyers to go into the market primarily because of the price gap. The gap of pricing between the high end market and the mass market has narrowed, compared to the historical high when the series started in 2007. The gap of the two markets then was about 2.5 times in favour of the high-end market. Right now, we are looking at about 1.4, 1.5 times only.”

According to URA Price Index, prices of non-landed properties in the central region and city fringes fell 0.6 per cent in the first quarter while prices for private residential properties in the suburbs increased by 1.1 per cent.

Source : CNA – 16 May 2012

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Luxury property buyers ‘cautious about getting their next home’

Posted on 6 Jun 2011 | Comments Off on Luxury property buyers ‘cautious about getting their next home’

Sales of luxury properties have hit a sluggish patch in recent weeks.

That is according to industry players who said that the segment has underperformed despite the overall property boom last year.

Analysts said most buyers of luxury properties, who are mostly foreign investors, are turning cautious about buying their next multi-million-dollar home, due to the uncertain global economy.

Hamilton Scotts, for example, has seen slow sales, despite being one of the most anticipated super luxury properties to be launched in the last three years.

Out of the 56 units in the property, only 19 have been sold at between S$3,000 and S$3,700 per sq ft. The freehold property was launched in mid-2008, in the heat of the global financial crisis.

Sales of similar luxury properties have also been slow, with the exclusive development 8 Napier selling 27 out of the total 46 units. Its latest transaction was in April at S$3,000 per sq ft.

Hamilton Scotts was developed at a cost of more than S$100 million and it features a S$20 million en suite car porch. Each unit is selling at between S$8 million and S$10 million or an average of S$3,800 per sq ft.

Hamilton Scotts developer KOP Properties said luxury property buyers have been cautious with their cash.

“I have not shown people – the buyers and consumers – what this project really looks like. I think people are unsure about the car porch mechanism so I think we really need to show them the entire thing and to be able to fully showcase all the wonders of this project,” said Ms Leny Suparman, chief executive officer of KOP Properties.

“For the past 3 years, despite the fact that we didn’t have a show flat and we have been selling very well off the floor plans and the sales gallery in our office, I think we have done very well,” said Ms Suparman.

Mr Liang Thow Ming, head of residential services at Credo Real Estate, said sales of luxury properties tend to be slower when compared to mass market home sales.

“If you look at properties of these price tags somewhere in the region of S$8 million to S$10 million, you don’t expect these units to fly off the shelf anyway, so I think the pace of sales at Hamilton Scotts is comparable to the general luxury market,” said Mr Liang.

But analysts said the luxury property segment will cool off further, after recovering slightly last year from the property downturn during the global financial crisis.

In the last three quarters, prices of uncompleted non-landed core central region homes – which include most luxury properties – grew by 3 per cent.

This is a much slower growth compared with the 26 per cent increase in prices in the whole of 2007, during the last property boom.

Source : Today – 6 Jun 2011

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