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28-03-15, 00:10
http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/premium/money/story/new-bartley-condo-opens-viewing-20150321
New Bartley condo opens for viewing
More than 70% of its 797 units are priced below $1 million each
Published on Mar 21, 2015 2:42 AM
By Rennie Whang
THE Botanique at Bartley opens for viewing today with over 70 per cent of its units priced below $1 million, although some of them are small in size.
The 797-unit project in Upper Paya Lebar Road has nine 17-storey towers of one- to three-bedders. The 200 one-bedders range from 495 to 689 sq ft each while the 382 two-bedroom units are 657 to 958 sq ft. The 215 three-bedders are from 926 to 1,356 sq ft.
Prices start at $598,000 for one-bedders, $798,000 for two-bedders and $1.16 million to $1.68 million for three-bedders.
This gives an overall pricing of just below $1,300 per sq ft (psf). This could be slightly higher than the median launch prices of $1,260 psf at nearby Bartley Residences in February 2012, and $1,296 psf at Bartley Ridge in March 2013, noted SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak. However, development costs have risen since 2012 and the land price for Botanique at Bartley is higher, he said.
The project should be completed in 2019 and sales start early next month.
UOL Group president (property) Liam Wee Sin told a briefing yesterday that the firm wanted to create a "more saleable" mix.
"It's partly a quantum game, but we were not preoccupied with quantum in coming up with the mix... We data-mined on sizes and buying, and thought we could have all units within the three-bedder (configuration)," he said. "While we keep it small, we keep it liveable."
Also, its two- and three-bedroom "flexi" units can be converted into dual-key apartments.
The project is a three-minute walk from Bartley MRT station and could benefit from Paya Lebar's potential commercial hub status, said Mr Liam. It is also near Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary), Maris Stella High School and the Australian International School.
Mr Liam acknowledged challenging market conditions, with competition from several large projects launched this year.
"But supply going forward is likely to taper off, and there should be no more major (condo) offerings in the rest of this year, apart from executive condominiums," he noted.
Meanwhile, UOL's 445-unit Thomson Three - launched in September 2013, after the Total Debt Servicing Ratio took effect in June that year - has just eight units left unsold. It also has just 31 of 186 units left to sell at Seventy St Patrick's, which was launched in September last year.
But take-up has been slower at Riverbank@Fernvale, which has 259 of 555 units left since its launch in February last year.
Mr Liam said buyers are beginning to show stronger signs of interest. Some launches had slow sales before Chinese New Year but they have picked up subsequently, and expectations that interest rates will not rise aggressively have helped.
"The market is still filled with liquidity and there are still high aspirations among Singaporeans to upgrade," he added.
While margins have been compressed in today's market, the ability to manage the cost of construction and in other areas - as well as getting good sites - is all the more important, he said.
"UOL has always been able to get locations with strong attributes (and growth potential)...We hope buyers will see the upside with us."
[email protected]
New Bartley condo opens for viewing
More than 70% of its 797 units are priced below $1 million each
Published on Mar 21, 2015 2:42 AM
By Rennie Whang
THE Botanique at Bartley opens for viewing today with over 70 per cent of its units priced below $1 million, although some of them are small in size.
The 797-unit project in Upper Paya Lebar Road has nine 17-storey towers of one- to three-bedders. The 200 one-bedders range from 495 to 689 sq ft each while the 382 two-bedroom units are 657 to 958 sq ft. The 215 three-bedders are from 926 to 1,356 sq ft.
Prices start at $598,000 for one-bedders, $798,000 for two-bedders and $1.16 million to $1.68 million for three-bedders.
This gives an overall pricing of just below $1,300 per sq ft (psf). This could be slightly higher than the median launch prices of $1,260 psf at nearby Bartley Residences in February 2012, and $1,296 psf at Bartley Ridge in March 2013, noted SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak. However, development costs have risen since 2012 and the land price for Botanique at Bartley is higher, he said.
The project should be completed in 2019 and sales start early next month.
UOL Group president (property) Liam Wee Sin told a briefing yesterday that the firm wanted to create a "more saleable" mix.
"It's partly a quantum game, but we were not preoccupied with quantum in coming up with the mix... We data-mined on sizes and buying, and thought we could have all units within the three-bedder (configuration)," he said. "While we keep it small, we keep it liveable."
Also, its two- and three-bedroom "flexi" units can be converted into dual-key apartments.
The project is a three-minute walk from Bartley MRT station and could benefit from Paya Lebar's potential commercial hub status, said Mr Liam. It is also near Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary), Maris Stella High School and the Australian International School.
Mr Liam acknowledged challenging market conditions, with competition from several large projects launched this year.
"But supply going forward is likely to taper off, and there should be no more major (condo) offerings in the rest of this year, apart from executive condominiums," he noted.
Meanwhile, UOL's 445-unit Thomson Three - launched in September 2013, after the Total Debt Servicing Ratio took effect in June that year - has just eight units left unsold. It also has just 31 of 186 units left to sell at Seventy St Patrick's, which was launched in September last year.
But take-up has been slower at Riverbank@Fernvale, which has 259 of 555 units left since its launch in February last year.
Mr Liam said buyers are beginning to show stronger signs of interest. Some launches had slow sales before Chinese New Year but they have picked up subsequently, and expectations that interest rates will not rise aggressively have helped.
"The market is still filled with liquidity and there are still high aspirations among Singaporeans to upgrade," he added.
While margins have been compressed in today's market, the ability to manage the cost of construction and in other areas - as well as getting good sites - is all the more important, he said.
"UOL has always been able to get locations with strong attributes (and growth potential)...We hope buyers will see the upside with us."
[email protected]