http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...uyers-20130525

Developers use 'Soho' label to draw buyers

Same label used to market residential and commercial units

Published on May 25, 2013

By Melissa Tan


THE upcoming launch of The Siena in Bukit Timah is the latest in a string of developments to be marketed as "Soho" (small office, home office) units in recent years.

These units usually feature high ceilings, a loft area and other design features - and are mostly meant to live and work in.

The Siena, a 99-year leasehold project in Farrer Road with 54 units, is developed by Far East Organization under a dedicated Far East Soho brand. Unit sizes range from 538 sq ft to 980 sq ft.

Far East said that for projects under its Soho brand, ceiling heights usually range from 3.35m to 4.8m and home-buyers can choose to have the unit come with a 5 sq m loft platform.

The Siena is expected to be launched at the end of this month; prices start at $1.28 million for a 538 sq ft one-bedder, which translates to around $2,380 psf.

"Soho"-labelled projects have become popular in recent years as developers capitalise on the label to draw buyers, market watchers said. And for good reason.

Soho home-owners told The Straits Times that they willingly paid a premium for their units, pointing to the design and flexible use of space.

"The loft concept is attractive and the high ceiling makes the place look much bigger," said 36-year-old bank executive Ivan Koh. He bought a two-bedder unit of around 680 sq ft at The Cape in March, paying about $1,900 psf.

Mr Koh and his wife, 27, also a bank executive, intend to live in the unit once it is completed.

Units at the freehold 76-unit The Cape have sold for $2,013 to $2,216 psf since the start of this year. The median price last month was $2,179 psf.

In comparison, prices at the freehold 40-unit 16 @ Amber, which is just down the street, ranged from $1,599 to $1,687 over the past five months. The median price in April was $1,582 psf.

Other buyers said they were drawn to the idea that a Soho unit could be used as both a home and an office.

"There's more flexibility on whether we want to use the loft platform for sleep or work," said Mrs Jenny Yeoh, a business director. She and her husband, a 60-year-old doctor, bought a Soho unit of over 800 sq ft at The Hillier in Bukit Batok early last year for slightly below $1,400 psf. They plan to live in it.

The 528-unit 99-year leasehold The Hillier sold out slightly more than a year after its January 2012 launch.

New sale prices at the project this year ranged from $1,326 to $1,538 psf. This was slightly above the $1,143 to $1,442 psf range recorded at the adjacent Kingsford at Hillview Peak development.

However, "Soho" does not always refer to homes.

Commercial units have also been marketed under the Soho category, such as PS100 at Peck Seah Street in Tanjong Pagar. This is a mixed development with a 314-room hotel called Oasia Downtown and 100 office units. The office units were snapped up at an average price of $3,000 psf in March last year, just over one weekend.

In another instance, Hong Kong-listed property developer Xpress Group said last month that it was selling 28 so-called Soho commercial units in North Bridge Road. The strata units, being offered as a bulk sale, are at Southbank, a mixed-use development.

The apparently liberal use of the "Soho" label has drawn flak, with a Forum letter published in The Straits Times last month arguing that it was a developer tactic to boost new sale prices.

The writer, Mr Daniel Choy, said that the term could confuse buyers as it was unclear whether it referred to a residential or a commercial unit.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority responded, saying that "Soho" is indeed a marketing term used by property agents and does not refer to a specific development type.

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