Far East launches high-end Inessence brand

[mr funny]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...14340,00.html?

Published July 1, 2010

Far East launches high-end Inessence brand

By NICHOLAS YEO


FAR East Organization (FEO) launched its luxury development brand 'Inessence' along with a sneak preview of 'Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard' yesterday.

Four developments, Skyline, Alba, Boulevard Vue and Scotts Tower will come under this brand.

Two hallmarks of the 'Inessence' Projects are the white plan concept which allows customers to customise the unit layout and the use of well-known architects, such as Arquitectonica and Fumihiko Maki.

'Inessence' was conceptualised one to two years ago, with the launch of Boulevard Vue and Alba.

FEO has been building the brand name 'through the buyers, one on one'. 'Now that the product has proven itself, we are launching the brand,' said Chia Boon Kuah, chief operating officer of property sales.

Chng Kiong Huat, executive director for development and planning, said: 'We like to believe we are a supermarket of sorts, we sell properties ranging from the simplest to the most luxurious. 'We want to market a product that is clear and direct regarding luxury and to do this, we need a clear brand.'

As the market becomes more sophisticated, FEO believes there is a greater need for market segmentation.

Of the four projects, Boulevard Vue and Alba have already been launched. Skyline will be launched later this year. According to Mr Chia, Skyline will be priced from $3,900 psf onwards.

Skyline will be built on the former Skyline Angullia site, which was bought by FEO in 2006 for $100 million, at $1,073 psf ppr. Breakeven was estimated then to be about $1,400 psf. Currently, 'Alba is marketing for $2,900 psf onwards and Boulevard Vue at $3,700 psf onwards', said Mr Chia.

As of May, nine out of 28 units at Boulevard Vue had been sold. In the month of May, two units were sold at an average price of $2,971 psf. As for Alba, 18 out of 50 units have been sold. The transacted prices ranged from about $2,000 to $2,550 psf.

Boulevard Vue's units are large, ranging from 4,500 sq ft to 11,054 sq ft. In contrast, Alba's and Skyline's unit sizes start from 1,862 sq ft and 1,744 sq ft respectively. The expected TOP date for Boulevard Vue is 2013, Alba the year after and Skyline in 2015.

A launch date has not been set for Scotts Tower. On the topic of pricing strategies, Mr Chia said, 'We respond to the market when we think it is appropriate.'

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_547990.html

Jul 1, 2010

Far East gears up Inessence brand for upscale crowd

By Dickson Li


A LUXURY brand of exclusive apartments that take creature comforts to a new level has been unveiled by Far East Organization.

Its Inessence brand, launched yesterday at the Skyline@Orchard Boulevard showflat along River Valley Road, allows buyers to work with a design team to plan their apartments and choose upscale fixtures 'at no extra cost', said Far East executive director of development and planning Chng Kiong Huat.

Residents will be serviced by a dedicated concierge team and their properties will be protected by a security system that distinguishes between guests and residents.

Inessence currently comprises three separate developments: Alba at Cairnhill Rise, which will cost about $2,900

per sq ft (psf); Boulevard Vue at Cuscaden Walk, priced at $3,700 psf; and Skyline@Orchard Boulevard at Angullia Park, which will set buyers back $3,900 psf.

Boulevard Vue features two penthouses, one of which is 11,000 sq ft and boasts its own swimming pool in the sky. The other, an 8,000 sq ft unit, has already been sold.

Far East's executive director and chief operating officer of property sales, Mr Chia Boon Kuah, wants Inessence to tap the real estate market for high net worth individuals here.

'In the Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, high net worth individuals allocate 28 per cent of their wealth to real estate, and 60 per cent of that is allocated to residential,' said Mr Chia.

'Here in Singapore, we have the highest concentration of millionaire households in the world.'

Mr Chia remains bullish about property, despite a Citigroup report this week that expressed fears of an oversupply of upscale homes.

It said one-third of prime District 9 units due for completion in the next 12 to 15 months remain unsold.

Mr Chia said: 'In 2007, at the peak of the property market, the market sold 1,004 units worth $6.4 billion.'

Citing surveys indicating that Singapore has become one of the world's most liveable cities, he said location will be one of the apartments' main draws.

'Today's Singapore is far more interesting, vibrant and cosmopolitan than three years ago.

'In the first six months, the market sold only 238 units, so if we double that (for the full year), we believe that there is still that upside.'