Source : Business Times - 23 Jun 2008

Source : Business Times - 23 Jun 2008

A CLOSELY watched property market preview has yielded encouraging results amidst the current subdued market conditions.

Ho Bee Investment and NTUC Choice Homes have sold 80 units at Dakota Residences over the weekend. The developers have so far released 122 units in the 348-unit project at an average price of $970 per square foot - lower than the $1,000 to $1,100 psf Ho Bee had indicated in June 2007 when the developers emerged as the top bidders for the 99-year leasehold site.

Good location: Buyers like the project’s proximity to Dakota MRT Station and the popular Old Airport Road Food Centre

No deferred payment is available for the 19-storey condominium project, which will front Geylang River.

Buyers are predominantly Singaporeans, many with private home addresses. ‘The majority of them live in the East Coast area, some even in landed homes. We have quite a number of professionals among the buyers,’ said Ho Bee executive director Ong Chong Hua.

‘It shows that if you price your project right, there are still buyers. There’s quite a bit of pent-up demand. Also buyers like the project’s proximity to Dakota MRT Station and the popular Old Airport Road Food Centre. The location is also very close to the popular East Coast area,’ he added.

The plans for the Sports Hub and and Kallang Riverside area have also helped to stir interest in the project, Mr Ong reckons.

The project comprises a mix of two, three and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses. Both penthouses in the stack of 122 units released so far have been sold - a 3,700 sq ft unit went for $3.37 million and the other, a 2,605 sq ft unit, fetched $2.62 million. A typical three-bedroom apartment of about 1,300 sq ft in the development costs about $1.3 million on average.

Ho Bee and NTUC Choice Homes paid $524 psf per plot ratio at a state tender last year for the Dakota Residences site, which attracted a whopping 15 bids.

Asked if the developers will consider raising Dakota Residences’ selling prices, Mr Ong said: ‘We’ll review it but any price adjustment will be moderate. Sentiment is still fragile. If you’re too aggressive in raising prices, you run the risk of stalling the sales momentum.’

Urban Redevelopment Authority data released last week showed developers sold 441 new private homes in May, up from 284 units in April.