Urban Suites, The Interlace on the radar of sub-sale buyers

Urban Suites at Hullet Road, two 1,572 sq ft, three-bedroom units on the fourth and fifth floors were sold for $4.6 million ($2,931 psf) each

| BY AMY TAN |THEEDGE SINGAPORE | JULY 22, 2013

Based on caveats lodged from June 28 to July 5, it looks like interest has picked up in projects that are  near completion such as Urban Suites and The Interlace. At Urban Suites on Hullet Road, two 1,572 sq ft,  three-bedroom apartments on the fourth and fifth floors were sold for $4.6 million ($2,931 psf) each, according to caveats lodged on July 2. The last transactions for both units were recorded in February 2010, when they were purchased from the developer. The owner of the unit on the  fourth floor had purchased it for $3.87 million ($2,463 psf), hence seeing a price appreciation of about 19% in three years. Meanwhile,  the unit on the fifth floor was purchased for $3.89 million ($2,476 psf), hence, the capital upside is about 18.4%.

The 165-unit freehold Urban Suites is developed by CapitaLand and Wells Fargo and located in the prime Cairnhill neighbourhood, on the site of the former Char Yong Gardens. The new development, designed by Kerry Hill Architects,  has two 20-storey towers and a 17-storey tower and is expected to be completed by year-end.

To date, all the units have been sold. Apartments range from two-bedroom units of 1,044 sq ft each to duplex and triplex penthouses of 4,715 sq ft each. CapitaLand had launched the first phase of Urban Suites in December 2009, just before Christmas, and 60 units were sold at $2,400 to $2,700 psf. A month later, a second phase of 66 units was sold in Singapore and Indonesia at prices ranging from $2,500 to $2,800 psf.

According to Phylicia Ang, head of residential sales at Savills Singapore, foreigners have been a key demand driver in the high-end property segment until sales were hit by measures to cool the property market, especially the introduction of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) of 10% for foreigners in December 2011, and a hike to 15% in January. “Sales volume in the high end property segment has been thin in the last few years,” she says.

Based on an asking price of $5.38 million for a 2,002 sq ft, four-bedroom unit at Urban Suites and an asking rent of $12,000 a month posted on PropertyGuru. com.sg, the gross rental yield works out to 2.7%. Sellers in the subsale market may see gains vary, depending on whether they purchased before or after January 2011,  says Ang. In January 2011, the government introduced a seller’s stamp  duty of 16%, 12%, 8% and 4% on  those who sell their properties within the first to fourth year of purchase, respectively. If prices of projects that are close to completion are comparable with those of new launches in the same neighbourhood, they tend to be favoured as buyers can either move in immediately or put the property on the market for rent, notes Ang.

A 1,259 sq ft, three-bedroom unit at the 99-year leasehold The Interlace was sold for $1.7 million ($1,350 psf)

Units traded in sub-sales at The Interlace hit $1,350 psf at end-June. A 1,259 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the ninth floor of one of the blocks stacked in hexagonal configurations was sold for $1.7 million. The last transaction recorded for the unit was in February 2010, when the buyer purchased it from the developer for $1.33 million ($1,059 psf). Hence, prices have appreciated more than 27% in the last three years. On July 1, a 3,563 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the second floor was sold for $3.04 million ($854 psf).

As at end-June, only 216 units at The Interlace remained unsold. About 16 units were sold last month at a median price of $928 psf, according to URA data. The remaining units are the larger apartments, says Savills’ Ang. She adds that sub-sale prices will increase as the project nears completion. “The appeal of The Interlace is the many different unit types, so buyers and future tenants have a lot of choices.”