Unloading of One Shenton units begins

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Published January 9, 2007

Unloading of One Shenton units begins

Owners are now asking for some $500-600 psf more than what they paid

By UMA SHANKARI

(SINGAPORE) Speculators are looking to make a quick buck from reselling units at the red-hot One Shenton - just days after the project was launched.

Both investors and agents have taken out advertisements in the newspapers over the past two days, pitching 'choice units' and 'good investments' to potential buyers.

BT understands that as many as 50 apartments in the 341-unit project by City Developments could already be up for resale.

For example, one investor who picked up an entire floor of more than 10 units is now looking for buyers, and is willing to sell the entire floor or individual units.

Interested parties who missed the boat at One Shenton's launch last Friday can still have their pick of studio, as well as one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments - but for higher prices.

While units in the 99-year leasehold condominium were mostly sold for $1,500 to $2,200 per square foot (psf) during the weekend launch, owners are now asking for between $2,000 and $2,800 psf.

One agent BT spoke to said smaller units have slightly higher prices (in psf terms) than larger ones.

Owners will no doubt feel the higher resale prices are justifiable in light of the project's popularity. When CityDev launched the project, 95 per cent of apartments were snapped up within 30 hours, the developer revealed later.

And as of last night, just three of the 330 non-penthouse units were left.

Penthouses, which were not immediately launched with the rest of the apartments, have been sold since.

BT understands that at least one penthouse, out of a total of 11, has been sold for $2,500 psf.

CityDev declined to say how many penthouses have been released for sale so far, but said penthouses are released 'based on application'.

Going into the new year, resale activity is likely to continue to be strong at One Shenton if the nearby Marina Bay Residences (MBR) - where units were sold out in three days last month - is taken as an indicator.

A scan of newspaper advertisements over the past two days showed that many MBR unit-owners are still putting their apartments on the market, one month after the launch. Previous media reports have said owners are looking for as much as $3,100 psf for their units in MBR.