THE first major condominium launch this year attracted very strong interest at its preview, with crowds packing its Jurong West showflat three days beginning last Friday.
Property developer Frasers Centrepoint said it had sold 300 units at the 712-unit Caspian by 9pm yesterday. It sold out the first batch of 250 units at the condo, which was priced at $580 per square foot (psf), by the afternoon. It subsequently released another 100 units with better facing, and priced them at $20 psf more.
The 300 units were sold at between $340,000 and $990,000. Most of the buyers were Singaporean HDB upgraders. Foreigners and permanent residents accounted for just 6 per cent of the sales. About 31 per cent of the buyers opted for the interest absorption scheme. They paid 3 per cent more on the purchase price.
The developer said the response to the private preview last Friday was so keen it kept the Caspian showflat open past midnight, and sold 80 units. It sold another 120 units last Saturday.
‘There is pent-up demand for new properties,’ said Chesterton Suntec International’s head of research and consultancy, Mr Colin Tan.
A market watcher said the $580 psf price for Caspian is not exactly very cheap but some buyers are probably hoping that the development plans for the Jurong area will help to raise the value of their properties in the future.
The 99-year leasehold condo is near Lakeside MRT station in Jurong, a new growth area in Singapore. Caspian was also priced cheaper than nearby condos Lakeholmz and Lakeshore. Caveats lodged show Lakeholmz units were traded in the third quarter of last year, at $564 to $626 psf. Lakeshore units were going for around $750 psf.
Recent deals for The Centris at Boon Lay, one MRT station away, were done at an average of $550 psf, according to caveats lodged last month.
Frasers Centrepoint chief executive Lim Ee Seng said the brisk sales for Caspian showed there is demand for mass market projects at the right price. He said: ‘A well-located, reasonably-priced mid-market development always has its following.’
Source: Straits Times - 9 Feb 2009
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