During its preview, Tripartite Developers announced that a significant number of units, specifically 144 out of 276, were taken up in their private condo Kassia.
The selling prices varied from $1,821 to S$2,177 per square foot, and the one- and two-bedroom units were in high demand. According to Tripartite, the majority of buyers, around 90%, are Singaporeans, while Permanent Residents (PRs) account for the remaining 10%.
Kassia is the 11th and final project in the Flora Drive-Flora Road residential enclave, developed by Tripartite Developers over a span of 30 years. Tripartite Developers is a joint venture consisting of Hong Leong Holdings, City Developments Ltd (CDL), and TID. They were responsible for overseeing the development of the three million sq ft plot that was acquired in the 1970s.
Betsy Chng, the head of sales at Hong Leong Holdings, highlights the strong demand for well-designed homes with functional layouts, as evidenced by the take-up rate.
Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, highlights that at Kassia, a significant number of homebuyers found the units priced around $1.5 million to be particularly appealing. According to the analyst, the 657 sq ft two-bedders were the most popular unit type over the weekend. The units were priced at $1.196 million and an impressive 90.3% of them, specifically 65 out of 72, were successfully sold.
One-bedroom apartments measuring 474 sq ft, priced from $883,000, were also highly sought after, with 37 out of 52 units (71.2%) quickly sold. One-bedroom-plus-study apartments measuring 549 sq ft were also in high demand, with 19 out of the 28 units (67.9%) already reserved.
According to Chu, the majority of homebuyers fell within the age range of 30s and 40s, comprising a balanced mix of owner-occupants and investors. He states, “Homebuyers and investors view units priced up to $1.5 million as more sensible choices due to the prolonged period of high interest rates and the increased Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) being important factors to consider.
According to Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, Kassia is the second major project launch in the Outside Central Region (OCR) after the June school holidays. On its launch weekend, Sora managed to sell 102 out of 440 units, which accounted for 23% of the total sales.
Yip noted that there has been a lack of noteworthy new 999-year or freehold non-landed condominiums launched in the OCR since 2021. “The prices of units in Kassia are quite appealing in today’s market.” According to him, there has been a lack of freehold projects offering one-bedroom units priced below $1 million since the pre-Covid years.
“Kassia’s sales launch has achieved one of the highest take-up rates for new projects this year, second only to Lentor Mansion,” according to Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
