Source : The Edge – 14 Sep 2009
In the Marina Bay area, transactions at Marina Bay Residences have once again reached stratospheric levels, with prices returning to levels seen in 2H2007. Sub-sales of units at Marina Bay Residences have steadily crept up from a low of $1,433 psf in April to a high of $2,500 psf last month. This is the highest price per square foot achieved not just in 2009 but since May last year, when a 3,961 sq ft penthouse on the 52nd floor changed hands for $10.7 million, or $2,700 psf.
The 55-storey, 428-unit luxury residential tower is part of the first phase of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC), a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use development jointly built by the consortium of Keppel Land, Hongkong Land and Cheung Kong (Holdings). When the 99-year upmarket condominium first previewed in December 2006, all the units were snapped up at an average price of $1,850 psf within days without the need for an official launch.
Marina Bay Residences is scheduled to be completed in mid-2010, and as the completion of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort nears, and interest mounts, prices have naturally also increased.
Most recently, a 1,227 sq ft, 50th level unit at the condominium was sold for $3.07 million, or $2,500 psf. According to caveats lodged with URA Realis, the seller of the apartment had purchased the two bedroom unit at the launch three years ago and paid $2.71 million ($2,205 psf) for it.
On the 51st level, a 1,130 sq ft apartment was recently sold for $2.71 million ($2,400 psf). This is the second time the unit has changed hands in a sub-sale. The last time it happened was in July 2007, when it was sold for $2.49 million ($2,200 psf). The original buyer of the unit paid $2.07 million ($1,835 psf) when the project was first rolled out.
Another unit that has been flipped twice in the last few years is a 710 sq ft unit on the 49th floor that recently changed hands for $1.63 million ($2,299 psf). The previous owner bought the unit in a sub-sale for $1.53 million ($2,149 psf) in June 2007, while the original buyer paid $1.29 million ($1,817 psf) in December 2006.
On the 21st floor, a 1,636 sq ft three-bedroom apartment changed hands for $3.76 million ($2,300 psf). The previous owner had purchased the unit when the project was first launched, for $3.03 million ($1,851 psf). Meanwhile, a similarsized apartment on the 44th floor was recently sold for $3.89 million ($2,380 psf). The previous owner purchased the unit in June 2007 in a sub-sale for $3.78 million, or $2,310 psf.
With residential sales having picked up strongly in recent months, the consortium is reviewing plans to launch its second residential tower, the 66-storey Marina Bay Suites. The project was shelved early last year when the global financial crisis hit. The 221- unit Marina Bay Suites was supposed to offer mainly three- and four-bedroom apartments of 1,600 to 2,700 sq ft. However, according to industry sources, given the strong demand for small one- and two-bedroom apartments in the Central Business District, the consortium is considering reconfiguring some of the larger units.
Just a block away from Marina Bay Residences is an even more actively traded residential project, and the first residential development in the Marina Bay area: the 1,111-unit The Sail @ Marina Bay developed by City Developments Ltd and AIG. The 99-year leasehold twin-tower development was completed in 4Q2008. Most recently, an 861 sq ft apartment on the 39th floor of the 70-storey Tower One was sold for $1.81 million ($2,100 psf), which represents a 79% gain for the seller, as the unit was first purchased for $1.01 million ($1,174 psf) in November 2005 when the tower was first launched.
Earlier, in August, a 50th floor, 1,184 sq ft apartment unit in the 63-storey Tower Two also hit the $2,000 psf level when it changed hands in a resale for $2.55 million ($2,154 psf). It was first purchased in November 2004 for $1.17 million ($984 psf), when the tower was first launched.
In June and July, three units at Tower One of The Sail had been transacted for around $2,500 psf. A 1,776 sq ft, 67th-floor apartment was sold in July for $4.53 million, or $2,549 psf, which was the highest price psf achieved this year. The other two transactions were in June: a 936 sq ft apartment went for $2.34 million, or $2,499 psf, and a 2,174 sq ft unit changed hands for close to $5.48 million, or $2,520 psf. This is in stark contrast to early this year when sentiment was still weak and transactions from February to April saw the prices of some units plummeting to levels below $1,200 psf.
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