CK Asset Holdings, one of the flagships held by the family of Hong Kong’s wealthiest billionaire Li Ka-shing, went ahead and launched Perfect Ten today, despite the property cooling measures that took effect on December 16.
According to a source, roughly 12 flats had been sold as of 5 p.m., with eight being two-bedroom homes and four being three-bedroom ones. The majority of the buyers were claimed to be Singaporeans. The average price per square foot reached is claimed to be $3,200. The developer did not respond to a request for comment.
On December 16, CK Asset Holdings said that purchasers will get a 5% “one-time discount” over the weekend. Francis Wong, director of Property Enterprises Development (Singapore), a member of CK Asset Holdings, said that this was “to simplify their decision-making in light of the new cooling measures.”
According to a press release issued by the developer on December 16, the starting price for a second floor (low-floor) unit was reduced to $3,040 psf from $3,200 psf before the measures, and the starting price for a 19th floor (high-floor) unit was reduced to $3,437 psf from $3,618 psf before the measures.
The freehold Perfect Ten, which is located in Singapore’s prime residential enclave of Bukit Timah in Singapore District 10, features a total of 230 units with a mix of two- and three-bedroom flats. Two-bedroom condos range in size from 753 to 797 square feet, while three-bedroom units range from 1,227 to 1,281 square feet.
“Perfect Ten has created a new standard over $3,000 psf in the Bukit Timah neighborhood, even at the lower original launch price,” says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. “In the aftermath of the cooling measures implemented only four days earlier, the sales are remarkable for the opening day of a new luxury apartment building.”
Most projects would have been pushed back as a result of such harsh property cooling restrictions, but Perfect Ten was not one of them, according to Yip. “Buyers are purchasing based on the developer’s reputation,” adds Yip. “Overall, it was a successful sales result.”
ERA, Huttons, OrangeTee & Tie, and PropNex were chosen as the project’s joint marketing agency. The transactions are alleged to have been driven by Huttons.
The 285-unit freehold Royalgreen, which is part of Allgreen Properties’ Bukit Timah Collection, was the most recent launch in the Bukit Timah neighborhood prior to Perfect Ten.
On the first weekend after its introduction in October 2019, 33 apartments were sold at an average price of $2,750 per square foot. According to a caveat last month, the highest price attained to yet is $2,900 psf for a 1,475 sq ft, four-bedroom property on the first floor that sold for $4.28 million. Based on caveats registered, the freehold project is now 61.4 percent sold. In November, the freehold Juniper Hill at Ewe Boon Road, which is also part of Allgreen’s Bukit Timah Collection, sold for a high of $2,926 psf for a 581 sq ft one-bedroom flat.
“Perfect Ten’s sales are in line with most project launches at the top-end of the market,” says Dominic Lee, PropNex’s luxury team leader.
Two private elevators servicing each of the 88 three-bedroom condos are among the bells and whistles featured at Perfect Ten, according to Lee. According to him, the master bathroom would have a cosmetics refrigerator for the women as well as Bluetooth-enabled music. “At the moment, they aren’t available in any other projects,” he says. “Having two private elevators is a fantastic advantage since it eliminates the need to wait for a lift. “It’s all the small things that build up.”
Perfect Ten also offers views of the Bukit Timah and downtown region, according to Lee. “The architecture will be iconic; you won’t be able to overlook it in the future while driving through Bukit Timah.”
Most property advisors and brokers, on the other hand, believe that the slower sales are just a “knee-jerk response” to the property cooling measures. Since September 2009, this is the tenth wave of property cooling measures. “And there’s no doubting that the unsold housing inventory, at about 15,000 units, is quite low,” Lee adds.
Nicholas Mak, the head of research at ERA Realty, agrees. Homebuyers may be on the fence for the time being while they examine the situation. He adds, “It’s simply a pause.” “Even first-time purchasers should speak with their lenders to see how the Total Debt Servicing Ratio [TDSR] would impact their loans.” The TDSR has been reduced from 60 percent to 55 percent.
“The silver lining is that there is still demand for high-end houses, particularly if they are well-located, well-designed, and come with the newest amenities,” adds ERA’s Mak, citing Perfect Ten’s sales today.
