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Modest sales for Reflections condo units

Prices appear to have softened, but buyer interest ongoing, say experts

Published on Jul 21, 2012

By AMANDA TAN


IT MIGHT be a glittery new condominium dotting the skyline of Keppel Bay, but some buyers of Reflections are not looking at a particularly shiny picture.

Property consultants said the 1,129-unit Reflections at Keppel Bay has turned in a 'modest performance' over the five years since its launch in 2007. Residents started moving into the completed condo early this year.

As of last month, the high-end project by Keppel Land had sold 853 units out of 950 launched, at a median price of $1,828 per sq ft (psf), going by the Urban Redevelopment Authority's data. Another 154 units have been kept by the developer as corporate residences.

A three-bedder of between 1,378 sq ft and 2,271 sq ft costs $2.5 million to $4.5 million.

Prices appear to have softened.

Mr Alan Cheong, Savills Singapore's head of research, said average prices there in the first half of this year were $1,870 psf, down from $1,937 psf in the same period last year.

Primary sales have also slowed to less than 15 units for the last three quarters, said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

But the 50 subsales in the last six months reveals ongoing buyer interest in the project, which was completed last year.

Still, prices have not appreciated significantly, Mr Ong said, partly because market conditions and prices for the high-end residential sector have softened since 2007.

Also the large size of the development and the plethora of suburban condo launches could have diverted interest from Reflections, he said.

Mr Nicholas Mak, SLP International's head of research, pointed to a mixed bag of profitable and unprofitable transactions.

For example, a 1,841 sq ft apartment was sold at a profit of $137,300 late last year, while a 1,528 sq ft unit was sold at a loss of $327,015 in May this year. Both units were bought in 2007.

Reflections is the second condo in the area developed by Keppel Land. The fully sold Caribbean at Keppel Bay, finished in 2004, was its first project there. The developer is monitoring the market to launch Plot 3.

Experts say rental yields for both Reflections and Caribbean should hover around 3 per cent. Caribbean is the cheaper choice.

Rents at Reflections are in the $4.50 to $5 psf per month range, while Caribbean is priced below that, possibly boosting the latter's rental demand, Mr Cheong said.

The difference could be significant for expatriates on a budget, Mr Ong noted. Rental units at Caribbean, being older, could also come bundled with tenancy, offering more certainty for investors.

However, Mr Mak said that demand for homes in Harbourfront and Telok Blangah will hold up, as there are still not many sites for private flats.

In response to queries, a Keppel spokesman said Reflections 'is likely one of the best-selling high-end condominium projects' over the last five years. It said the developer's selling price is between $1,700 psf and $3,200 psf.

'The transacted price of a resale unit is on a 'willing seller-willing buyer' basis. The resale price depends on the floor level, orientation, view, size and location of the unit. Hence, the prices of the units transacted may not be a like-for-like comparison,' the developer said. It said since the launch of its 154 corporate residences in March, about half have been leased.

'We believe that projects such as Reflections at Keppel Bay, which possess strong and unique selling points, will continue to attract home buyers and investors alike,' the spokesman added.

Singaporean Charles Xie, 37, said he looked at both the Caribbean and Reflections, and chose the former. He paid $1.8 million for his ground-floor, three-bedder unit, adding that he preferred a low-rise project.

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Additional reporting by Alvin Lim