Units at Horizon Towers going for $860 psf

Source : The Edge – 20 Jul 2009

More homeowners at Horizon Towers are putting their units up for sale after the proposed $500 million en-bloc sale to a joint venture led by Hotel Properties Ltd fell through in April. The 99-year leasehold property near Orchard saw a total of eight transactions from June 1 to 26 versus only one deal in May.

There were four units sold at an average of $848 psf, from June 19 to 26, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. A 2,378 sqft unit on the 13th floor sold for $2.05 million, or $862 psf. The original owner had purchased it for $1.28 mill. On the same floor, a unit with a floor area of 2,421 sq ft was sold for $2 million or $826 psf, after it was purchased for $1.82 million the month before. A 2,583 sq ft unit on the sixth floor, which the owner purchased for $1.08 million in 2002, was sold for $2.18 million. On the 12th floor, a 2,378 sq ft unit was sold for $2.046 million. Property agents say owners who were counting on the en-bloc sale going through are now putting their units on the open market as it may take some time before they are likely to receive a similar offer.

This comes as new developments are springing up near Horizon Towers, along Leonie Hill Road. For instance, opposite Horizon Towers is Soilbuild Group’s 44-unit Leonie Parc View, the former Furama Tower en-bloc site, which is expected to receive Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) late this year. There have been no transactions since 2007, but asking prices in the sub-sale market are in the range of $2,500 to $3,200 psf, according to property agents. Soilbuild bought the site of the former Furama Tower in an en bloc purchase for $76 million in 2007.

Down the road, another boutique high-end condominium, The Lumos (formerly Hilton Towers), is being developed jointly by boutique developer Heeton Holdings and Koh Brothers and is expected to be completed in 2011. There were no recent transactions, though units sold for over $3,000 psf during the launch in 2007.

Meanwhile, residents at The Grangeford have already moved out following the en-bloc sale to Overseas Union Enterprise in 2007. The existing condo has yet to be torn down and redeveloped, similarly with Futura, directly across from Horizon Towers, which was sold en bloc to City Developments Ltd in October 2006.

There has also been a lot of activity at Frasers Centrepoint’s One Jervois, a 275-unit freehold condo in Jervois Close, just off River Valley Road. The project is expected to be completed in September, and owners are likely to receive their keys the month after. From June 19 to 26, there were three sub-sales at One Jervois, transacting from $1,100 to $1,127 psf.

According to property agents, asking prices in the sub-sale market at One Jervois have since risen to $1,300 psf; the interest is attributed largely to the fact that the development is close to completion and considered “reasonably priced”, as properties in the prime district now post asking prices averaging $1,500 psf.