Wheelock to launch Orchard View in Q1

Source : Business Times – 20 Jan 2010

It receives more enquiries on luxury property market

WHEELOCK Properties (Singapore) is planning to launch the freehold Orchard View at Angullia Park in the first quarter of the year.

The news comes as CapitaLand rings in more sales from Urban Suites. It has sold 126 units – 90 per cent of the 140 launched to date, and 76 per cent of the 165 in the freehold project.

According to Wheelock’s director Tan Bee Kim, the company has received an increasing number of enquiries on the luxury property market as compared with three months ago.

‘It is encouraging that we have been approached by several interested parties keen to purchase the units in Orchard View for their own occupation,’ she said.

The 36-storey Orchard View stands on the site of the former Angullia View, which Wheelock bought in late 2004. The new project will comprise 30 four-bedroom units, each measuring 2,530 square feet and spanning an entire floor.

The project will be receiving its temporary occupation permit soon. Wheelock held a private preview for it in August last year and sold three units, at an average price of close to $8 million each or about $3,131 per sq ft (psf).

Over at Urban Suites, CapitaLand sold another 66 units in the second phase of launch. These include homes sold in Jakarta last weekend.

The units went for $2,500-2,800 psf. Prices rose by about 4 per cent from the $2,400-2,700 psf range in the first phase of the launch.

According to CapitaLand, all of the two-bedders and many of the three-bedders at Urban Suites have been sold. Two of the five penthouses available were also picked up, one for around $8.6 million and the other over $9 million.

On the whole, some 70 per cent of the buyers were foreigners, from countries such as Indonesia, China, Australia and Canada. Indonesians alone made up 40 per cent of buyers.

‘With the return of business and consumer confidence in Singapore and Asia, we expect buying interest for well-located homes in the high-end segment of the market to be sustained,’ said CapitaLand Residential Singapore CEO Patricia Chia.

‘We see prices for the mid to high-end segments of the market rising by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent this year.’

Market watchers have centred their attention on the prime property market this year. Sales in the sector have gradually picked up as sentiments improve.

For instance, City Developments’ Volari at Balmoral Road is almost fully-sold – just one penthouse remains of the 85-unit development launched last year.

Developers are also said to be preparing more high-end sites for launch. Far East Organization’s Altez in the Tanjong Pagar area and CapitaLand’s Urban Resort Condominium are some which could be in the market soon.

Urban Resort Condominium will have 64 units, which are generally larger than those in Urban Suites next door. CapitaLand plans to launch it after Urban Suites is fully sold.