http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...86501,00.html?

Published July 5, 2008

Kovan Residences preview sells 50

Average price is $870-900 psf; buyers mostly Singaporeans


MORE than 50 units have been sold at Kovan Residences since a private preview party last Saturday.


Poolside ambience: Kovan Residences will have 512 apartments in eight blocks, all 18 storeys high

The average price at the 99-year leasehold condominium next to Kovan MRT Station is between $870 per square foot (psf) and $900 psf. And the units sold so far include three penthouses that fetched about $2 million to $3 million each.

Buyers up to now are mainly Singaporeans, most of whom have private home addresses, although a few HDB upgraders have also bought.

'We have attracted buyers who are purchasing for their own occupation as well as for investment because of the convenient location next to an MRT station,' said Centurion Properties CEO Tony Bin, whose company is the majority shareholder of the project's developer Centurion Kovan. Lian Beng is another shareholder, with a 19 per cent stake.

Centurion Properties is ultimately controlled by UOB-Kay Hian stockbrokers Han Seng Juan and David Loh Kim Kang.

Last Saturday, they invited 150 business associates, friends and relatives to a private preview at the showflat, which eventually resulted in the 50-plus units being sold. Kovan Residences is also being marketed to Messrs Han and Loh's business associates in China and Hong Kong.

The lowest-priced unit in the development is a two-bedroom apartment for just over $700,000. The most expensive is a penthouse below $4 million. Three-bedroom apartments start from $1 million.

Kovan Residences will have 512 apartments in eight blocks, all 18 storeys high. The 16 penthouses in the development range from around 2,400-4,600 square feet and come with a private pool or a Jacuzzi. The project is being developed on a 190,000 sq ft site bought in a state tender in October last year for $436 psf per plot ratio.

Another new project being offered this weekend is Livia at Pasir Ris Drive 1. The average price is said to be $650 psf.