I have been scouting for a property since the start of this year and did my due diligence by going to ura site to check for upcoming projects, then google-ing on projects on areas/roads that i am interested and then calling up developers so that i can go for preview launches before official launches.
i seen about 10 plus 20 new developments in d9,10,11 but most other developments belong to genre of having one or two tall towers built on small plot of land. i was patiently waiting for the prices to go down since 2 years ago but they seem to have more or less stablised now. in my opinion it is not very realistic to keep waiting as sellers and developer launch prices are more or less on par. the h1n1 is a lame virus with ridiculously low mortality rate plus with a vaccine on way, its not going to affect economy.
Finally i chose and bought a 1-room (few floors below sky terrace) in Martinplace during preview launch. 1400+ psf. havent regretted since and really looking forward to TOP
.
initially i didnt want to consider cos it was along crowded kim yam road and buddist lodge. but they opened a new road Martinplace road just for this development which leads direct to martin road. what i really liked was the large spaces and really cool facilities like 50m pool, sky terrace, tennis court etc. older developments are more generous with space. for new developments in freehold d9, it is rare to have so much space. only about 20-30% of land in martinplace res is used for resident blocks. the rest is for facilities.
would have wanted a higher floor unit but the larger 1 rms (646 sq ft) are facing the pool and max only 13 floors. the smaller ones 592 go up to 30+ floors but i decided to go for slighter larger and pool view. i suppose a very high floor has higher potential to sell for extra-ordinary price but that is irrevelent to me (my gf loves the place and said she will never ever agree to sign to sell it. at most rent out
). in which case, it makes most economical sense to buy a mid floor unit since rental yield is not much higher for high floor units). the
I been to both Alexis and Illuminaire (the two extremely "hot" developments that sold out within days). i must admit the psf for them is fairly attractive and their location unbeatable for freehold. but their size is like un-liveable. one room is 400+ sq ft and and how they can squeeze 2 rooms in 600+ sqft is beyond me. illuminaire still got 2 balconys ??!
As mentioned, the real draw for me to martin res is the large space and the facilities. however the drawback is that it is near buddist lodge. but this is not a major issue cos you have your own alternative road out and do not have to squeeze through kim yam. thats of course my own personal opinion.